Maffei on fire

All athletes talking about taking that next step -- whether it's from the youth ranks to high school; high school to junior college; junior college to four-year college; or from college to the pros. There is always an adjustment the player has to make as the competition gets better and stronger. So far, College of San Mateo baseball player Justin Maffei has adjusted to the junior college ranks just fine. A former Serra standout, Maffei, in his first month of college ball, is hitting a robust .579 after a 4 for 5 performance in Wednesday's Coast Conference Golden Gate Division opener. That average is tops in the state. CSM manager Doug Williams, however, would rather Maffei stayed under the radar. "We don't want to jinx it," Williams said. It is hard, however, to hit a "quiet" .579. In 10 games, Maffei has 22 hits in 38 at bats, scoring 18 runs and driving in 10. Among those 18 hits were six for extra bases, including a home run. "He hit very well during the fall and he's been very receptive to the coaching," Williams said. "He has the ability to do it. He also runs very well and has a cool demeanor." Making his performance at the plate even more eye-popping is the fact he is changing positions. An infielder and sometime outfielder at Serra, Maffei is making the move to full-time center field seamlessly. "It's to his credit. He's a pretty tough kid, mentally," Williams said. "He did play some center field at Serra. He has a good arm and is accurate." And despite the game of baseball being one of limited success and more failure -- remember, getting three hits in 10 at-bats is considered very good -- Williams believes Maffei can keep it up. Maybe not at the pace he is currently going, but he has the skills to be a very good hitter. "No one is going to hit .600 (for a season)," Williams said. What about .519? That's the team record for a season batting average set by John Schmidt in 1995. Regardless of where Maffei finishes, he's already shown he can play this game. "For a freshman, it's pretty impressive," Williams said. *** Recently, I've taken officials to task in this space and in the past, I've ripped the Central Coast Section. Fans, however, have mostly gotten a pass. Until today. While covering the Woodside-Mountain View CCS Division I girls' soccer semifinal game Tuesday night, I couldn't help but notice many of the fans (not Woodside) didn't seem to have a clue about the game of soccer. Considering all the players on the field are very good and have advanced as far as they have at the high school level, I'm assuming they have been playing for years. You would think that the fans (not Woodside) would be a bit more soccer savvy. First off, soccer is a physical game. There is a fair amount of contact. There is not always a foul every time two players come together and make contact. Secondly, many fans (not Woodside) lamented the fact that Woodside was taking its time putting the ball back in play with the Wildcats leading 1-0. Attention fans: That, too, is part of the game. The winning team is in no hurry and wants to burn as much time as they can. It is up to the referee to decide how much time is being wasted and adjust accordingly. You've heard of stoppage time? This is where it comes from. If a referee decides a player is stalling egregiously, he can give that player a yellow card. Keep these things in mind at the next soccer game you attend. Much like players, officials are usually taught not to have "rabbit ears" -- which means not to react to every little criticism or insult directed their way. No matter what fans are saying (to a certain extent), players and officials are taught to let it go in one ear and out the other. There are times, however, when officials have to stick up for themselves to keep fans in check, especially at the high school level. Tuesday night's Woodside-Mountain View girls' soccer game was a prime example. Two Mountain View fans were in the stands near the Mountain View goal. For the most part, they were encouraging the Spartans defense, but for a few minutes after Woodside took a quick 1-0 lead, they started riding the lineswoman on that side of the field. It culminated with a question directed at the lineswoman: "Do you even know what offside is?" Without skipping a beat, the lineswoman looked directly at the pair and said: "Do you know what it means to shut your mouth?" I didn't hear one more complaint directed her way from the duo again.