Storm can’t stop naming the best of the fall season

That other art was going to be the graphic to kick off the Athletes of the Year for the Fall Season, which we then moved back a day and began running Wednesday with Crystal Springs’ Kaiya Brooks being named Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year. Over the next week, we’ll run stories about the best the county had to offer in cross country, girls’ golf and tennis, water polo, volleyball and football. Eight in total.

We do take the selections seriously and there is a lot we consider when making our choices. Some honorees were slam dunks, athletes we identified early to keep tabs on as the season moves along and who went on to prove us right.

Others were selected because, in addition to their strong performances, they also have an interesting story when you dig a little deeper.

There were a few selections, however, with which we struggled. Probably the toughest decision we had was choosing a Football Player of the Year. Our selection might come as a bit of surprise to some, but he is certainly worth the honor.

So if we didn’t choose your favorite, just appreciate what these athletes did this season and enjoy their stories.

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When it comes to sports, it mostly runs downhill. Trends that happen in the professional ranks, become adopted at the college level and then trickles down to the high school and youth level.

Take Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry. His ascendency as a 3-point shooter has led to a generation of young basketball players working on their game from behind the arc.

Well, here is a case of things working uphill and it involves a negative aspect of youth sports: the overbearing parents who try to run over anyone because of a perceived slight of their child.

A large percentage of high school coaches and athletic directors have had to deal with a parent demanding answers for why their child isn’t playing or accusing a coach of playing favorites or not knowing what they’re doing. For the first time I can ever recall, the parents of a professional athlete took issue with the treatment of their adult child and are now out to get the coach fired.

U.S. Men’s National Team head soccer coach Greg Berhalter is being investigated by U.S. Soccer for an alleged physical assault of his then-girlfriend. An incident that occurred in 1991 when Berhalter was 18 years old. During an argument, he allegedly kicked the woman, who he would later marry.

Now it turns out the people who brought the incident to light are the parents of 20-year-old Gio Reyna — the son of Berhalter’s longtime friend and former teammate Claudio Reyna and his wife, Danielle Reyna, who made six appearances with the U.S. women’s national team.

Reports came out after the United States had been eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar last month that Berhalter had contemplated sending the younger Reyna home because of a poor training attitude, after he was told he would be used sparingly during the tournament.

Apparently, the elder Reynas took exception to this and are pulling a typical over-involved parent maneuver: trying to get the coach fired.

Of course Danielle Reyna did not ask anyone to be fired, when she admitted in a press release she was the one to bring it to the attention of U.S. Soccer. She was Rosalind Berhalter’s roommate in college and knew of the “trauma” the incident caused. It was so traumatic she waited 30 years to make it an issue?

Regardless of what the investigation U.S. Soccer launched pulls up, that’s not the point. And in no way am I minimizing what Berhalter did, again, 30 years ago. The point is, it’s time for Gio Reyna’s parents to treat him like an adult and let him deal with his issues.

If I’m Gio Reyna, I’m thoroughly embarrassed by my parents’ actions. This is retaliation by Claudio and Danielle Reyna — plain and simple.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117. To report scores or tips, email sports@smdailyjournal.com.