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vol . I , no. 51 : August 24-30, 2022 : losgatan.com
kInch leavIng p4 : concert assocIatIon’s 75th p12 : upcomIng events p14 : ny tImes crossword puzzle p17 Jonathan Natividad
BEACH V’BALL TAKES OFF IN LOS GATOS Coach Jeff Alzina comes full circle
Doug McNeil cofounded Lighting for Literacy
Emanuel Lee, Sports Editor
Jeff Alzina has come full circle. After 25 years living in Southern California, the alltime winningest coach in AVP history returned home to Santa Cruz in February 2019 to become the head coach of the Santa Clara University beach volleyball program. Then, just three months ago, Alzina teamed up with Los Gatos resident and Director Courtney Burry to launch the Mandala Beach Volleyball club. Mandala holds practices at West Valley College in Saratoga and Main Beach in Santa Cruz, and will add practices at Northgate High in Walnut Creek by October. For the 54-year-old Alzina, becoming the head coach of a club volleyball program represented a unique opportunity and challenge with a deeper meaning. “I’ve got a 7-year-old daughter and really strong roots to the Santa Cruz area, so the whole idea of building something from scratch was something extremely attractive to me,” said Alzina, a fifth generation Santa Cruzan. “I’ve thought about doing a club (again) for close to 15 years. The time was right for it.” ➝ Volleyball, 10
WELL-KNOWN HUMANITARIAN LOSES FIGHT WITH ALS Judy Peterson, Reporter
Doug McNeil was a vibrant Monte Sereno resident who helped bring solar lighting to thousands of youths across the globe. He died July 31 after a fiveyear battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Professionally, McNeil was an aerospace engineer at NASA and worked on the Hubble telescope. But his best-known contribution is Lighting for Literacy, which he co-founded in 2011. The organization trains local STEM students to make inexpensive, solar-powered LED lights with off-the-shelf parts. ➝ Humanitarian, 8
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TEXTBOOK FORM Sydney Morey, a junior at Los Gatos High, plays for the newly formed Mandala Beach Volleyball Club. Morey’s mother, Courtney Burry, is the club director.
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