EL SEGUNDO HERALD March 11, 2021 Page 3
Football Preview
By Gregg McMullin
Are you ready for some football? With
high school sports resuming, one of the most
anticipated sports to return is football. When
the Eagles play their first game of the season
next Friday night, at South Torrance, it’ll
have been 404 days since the last time they
suited up for a game. A lot has changed in
that time, including a head coaching change
for the first time in 26 years. When Steve
Shevlin coached his final game on October
31, 2019, he had already mentored his replacement,
and now Shawn Green takes over
as the face of the program.
Coach Green will inherit a young team
loaded with talented juniors as well as a
stripped-down version of a varsity program
that has shrunk this season to just 32 players.
“The numbers are a reflection of some players
opting to play other sports that intersect
with football,” Green said. He believes this
is a one-time anomaly that will self-correct
in the fall. He’s anticipating continuing the
success with a roster filled with players he
coached on the freshman team and whose
team went undefeated two seasons ago.
Coach Green’s philosophy is the same as
his mentor, to focus on the student while
teaching the athlete inside the discipline,
overcoming adversity, and teamwork in a
camaraderie environment. His passion for
the game and his demeanor with his players
reminds you of a younger Steve Shevlin.
Most of the coaching staff put together by
Coach Green is holdovers from Shevlin’s staff.
While Coach Green is expected to call the
offense, Mike Wagner will direct the defense.
Coach Wagner is another who learned from
his predecessor, Dan Heck, who helped make
the Eagles have one of the top defenses in
the South Bay. Coach Green has filled out
Business Briefs
Now Accepting Registrations for Free
Rain Barrel Home Delivery Program
Dear Neighborhood Therapist,
I have been having a lot of anxiety recently,
and I am hoping to find counseling.
I have looked online and all therapists seem
to promise basically the same thing. I feel
like I don’t want to pay someone to tell me
what’s wrong with me. Do you have any
suggestions to help navigate this process?
– Frustrated With the Process,
Manhattan Beach
Dear Frustrated,
I’m really glad that you asked about
this, and I completely agree that you do not
need to pay someone to tell you what is
“wrong” with you. Every single one of us
can find plenty of things that are “wrong”
with us according to some expert or some
social expectation. While some people find
genuine comfort in a diagnosis that confirms
that what they are going through is “real”
or even “normal,” I think working towards
a diagnosis does very little in terms of actually
helping someone to face the problems
that caused them to seek out a therapist in
the first place.
Now that I’ve made my little speech, here
are a few things to look for in the initial
phone calls and meetings:
The most important thing is to find someone
who you believe is genuinely interested
in helping you. The good news is that this
should not be a problem. The vast majority
of therapists get into this field precisely because
helping people is important to us. If
you do not get the sense that your therapist
is genuinely interested in helping you, don’t
move forward.
Second, in your initial call or “consultation,”
listen for signs that a therapist is
curious about your experience, as opposed
to trying to fit you into a pre-existing box
or jumping quickly to a diagnosis and treatment.
Your therapist should recognize that no
set of problems and circumstances interacts
with every person in exactly the same way.
If you really think about it, the idea that
a person who is not you could possibly
be an expert in YOUR life doesn’t make
much sense.
Third, give it a little bit of time but also
trust your instincts. As with any working
relationship, it may take a few meetings to
find a rhythm or rapport. If something feels
off after a few meetings, bring it up if you
feel able to. A good therapist will want to hear
this, and you can decide together whether or
not to continue. If you get pushback, it’s probably
best to end the professional relationship.
Do expect to work. Psychotherapy is not
like going to the doctor, where hopefully you
are “cured,” sometimes by just taking a pill
or lying down for surgery. Of course you will
have to provide some basic information during
the meetings, but you should also expect
to be asked to think and to reflect in a way
that gives your mind a workout.
Most importantly, though, you should
feel that the therapist has created (or will
create if you haven’t started yet) an atmosphere
where your honest reflections will
be accepted with kindness and interest, and
never shame. It is often this last part where
the magic happens.
Please write to tom@tomandrecounseling.
com or text to 310.776.5299 with questions
about handling what is affecting your life,
your family, the community or the world.
Tom Andre is a Licensed Marriage & Family
Therapist (LMFT119254). The information
in this column is for educational purposes
only and nothing herein should be construed
as professional advice or the formation of a
therapeutic relationship. •
The West Basin Municipal Water District
announced a new contactless delivery program
to provide qualified District residents
with free rain barrels worth approximately
$100 per unit.
The 55-gallon eco-friendly rain barrels
help residents collect rainwater to use for
landscaping and reduce urban runoff into
local storm drains. One rain barrel can save
up to 620 gallons per year. This year, 1,000
free rain barrels will be available for direct
delivery to eligible homes. To register for a
rain barrel delivery or learn more about the
program, please visit www.westbasin.org/
rainbarrels or call (310) 371-4633 for details.
“Capturing rainwater with a free rain barrel
from West Basin is a great way to water
your garden, prevent runoff pollution from
flowing into waterways, and save money,”
said West Basin Board President Harold C.
Williams. “West Basin encourages residents
to save water and use local resources whenever
possible.”
West Basin’s rain barrel distribution program
is part of a larger District-wide water-efficiency
program that launched in 1990. Since its inception,
the program has helped the District
to conserve more than 7 billion gallons of
water through the distribution of more than
300,000 water-saving devices. Since 2014,
West Basin has given away more than 8,000
free rain barrels to local residents.
Registration is required. Some conditions
apply. Rain barrel deliveries will be scheduled
in groups, with lead times of up to a
few weeks between order and delivery dates.
South Coast Conference
Cancels Spring Sports
The presidents of the South Coast Conference
Colleges made the decision to suspend athletic
competition for traditional spring sports for the
2021 season, it was announced February 25.
To ensure El Camino College student athletes
remain in shape and ready when competition
does return, the college is returning athletes
to campus for conditioning purposes, March
10. Conditioning will occur outside only
and the athletic department will implement
social distancing guidelines recommended by
the California Department of Public Health.
Equipment will not be shared.
“We realize that maintaining optimal athletic
stamina is critical to the future performance of
our student athletes,” said El Camino College
President Dena P. Maloney. “By implementing
stringent and proven safety measures we
can offer student athletes the opportunity to
strengthen their abilities and be ready when
they do compete.”
“At this time we are excited to have our
student athletes get back on campus for conditioning,”
said ECC Athletic Director Colin
Preston. “It is the first step that is needed
in the process to return to what our student
athletes love to do; practicing and competing.
We will continue to evaluate the current trends
in Los Angeles County and will be prepared
for the next steps.”
Sports returning to campus for conditioning
include badminton, baseball, women’s basketball,
football, men’s and women’s soccer,
softball, men’s and women’s swim and dive,
men’s and women’s track and field / cross
country, and men’s and women’s volleyball. •
Your Neighborhood Therapist
Junior quarterback Conor Hochberg returns to guide the offense.
See Sports, page 8
First-year head coach Shawn Green addresses his team with the same passion as his mentor Steve Shevlin did.
Douglass
MORTUARY
“Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954”
B U R I A L - C R E M AT I O N - W O R L DW I D E T R A N S F E R
P E T M E M O R I A L P RO D U C T S
500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE
EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245
Te l e p h o n e ( 3 1 0 ) 6 4 0 - 9 3 2 5 • F a x ( 3 1 0 ) 6 4 0 - 0 7 7 8 • F D 6 5 8
Burkley Brandlin
BBS & Swatik LLP
LAW
AT T O R N E Y S AT L AW
Lifetime El Segundo Residents
Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury
Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation
310-540-6000
*AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization