Rick Devereux
While many of his former classmates are able to relax and enjoy the
first few days of summer, recent Newport Harbor High graduate Trevor
Theriot has been sweating under the sun in Hacienda Heights and Las
Flores.
Theriot has been shuttling between football practices for
tonight's Shrine game as well as the Orange County All-Star game held
July 8.
The Shrine game, which pits the stars from public schools against
standouts from private schools, kicks off at 7 at Mt. San Antonio
College.
The public school stars practice at Wilson High in Hacienda
Heights while Orange County's South squad practices at Tesoro.
The Shrine game has held two practices a day plus team meetings
this week. The South has had practices at the same time. The busy
schedule has made Theriot unable to attend two South practices, but
the UCLA-bound linebacker will meet with coaches tomorrow to go over
what he missed.
While all-star games usually have reduced playbooks with
restrictions on what type of offensive and defensive schemes teams
can run, learning a new playbook, no matter how watered down, in a
matter of weeks can be difficult. Added to the effort is the task of
learning offense and defense for the South team, as Theriot will
start at running back as well as outside linebacker.
"It's just a matter of studying and knowing the plays," Theriot
said. "I'm going to meet with my [South] coaches [Sunday] to catch up
on things I might have missed."
Theriot, who was the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year after rushing
for 1,328 yards on 222 carries for a 6-yard average, will start at
outside 'backer for the public schools in the Shrine game.
"I think the Shrine game is going to be memorable because it is a
bigger game and the talent there is so deep," said Theriot, the CIF
Southern Section Division VI Co-Offensive Player of the Year. "There
are going to be a lot of big names. Almost everyone on [the public
school defensive unit] is going to a big [collegiate] program."
Theriot, a preferred walk-on at UCLA, said he enjoyed the
off-the-field activities the players participated in during the week
leading up to the Shrine game, which raises funds for child burn
victims.
"We went to a hospital and interacted with the kids, which was a
lot of fun," said Theriot, the Sea View League Male Athlete of the
Year.
The Shrine players for both teams stay in the same hotel and are
shuttled to practices, meetings and hospital visits. But the squads
interact when the schedule eases in the evening.
