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Volume 8 Issue 239
Santa Monica Daily Press IT’S TEA TIME SEE PAGE 4
We have you covered
Yoga takes the field
THE TAKE THAT MCHALE ISSUE
City Hall wants Lincoln
BY DANIEL ARCHULETA Managing Editor
SAMOHI It was hard to take yoga seriously at first.
BY MELODY HANATANI
When quarterbacks coach Jason Battung first introduced yoga to the Santa Monica High School football team he knew that more than a few players might think it strange. They did. When Battung gathered the players for the first couple of sessions there were more than a few giggles. He knew that winning over high school-age young men wasn’t going to be easy. He knew that some may consider it uncool, but he knew that it would benefit them in the long run. “Everybody thought it was weird,” senior wide receiver Chris Featherstone said. “After we realized this is helping us be more flexible, we all opened up to it.” Featherstone said that it helped him gain more flexibility and explosiveness. But, aside from the physical benefits, he said that it helps in harder to quantify ways. “Our chemistry is already set,” he said. “We’re good with it.” Battung couldn’t be happier. After coming to the football program he wanted to add a new wrinkle to their workouts. Yoga has helped countless pro and college players and he figured it could help the Vikings on and off the field. On the field, Battung said, it helps increase athletic performance by training muscles to operate loosely. It also helped players make better cuts during drills. He believes that the yoga regiment has helped players rejuvenate muscles quicker by allowing blood and oxygen to flow more freely in their bodies. But more importantly, Battung sees the biggest difference in the players’ mindset. He called it mental toughness. “It is easy when you are distracted and you are playing video games,” Battung said of many of his players’ typical mindset. “I challenge them to sit in stillness. Sometimes, they can’t do it.
Daily Press Staff Writer
LINCOLN BOULEVARD An unsightly stretch of Highway 1 that has long been thought of needing a little TLC could soon be in the hands of City Hall. City officials have renewed discussions with the California Department of Transportation — better known as Caltrans — about relinquishing the state’s control of SEE LINCOLN PAGE 9
Studying the impact of Expo on circulation Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures appearing on upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agendas. Consent agenda items are routinely passed by the City Council with little or no discussion from elected officials or the public. However, many of the items have been part of public discussion in the past.
BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL A set of suggestions to stave off anticipated traffic impacts around the Exposition Light Rail terminal in Downtown will get a second look as officials prepare for the arrival of the electric train in 2015. The City Council tonight is slated to hire Fehr & Peers to conduct a study that will examine the projected increase of pedestrians and cyclists around the light rail station Benjamin Brayfield news@smdp.com
SEE YOGA PAGE 8
STRETCH: Luke Zelon (right) of the SAMOHI football team during a yoga workout at the school.
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