school

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Drum roll, please. With the high school football season set for zero week Aug. 20-21, The Times begins a nine-part series profiling some of the area’s top players with a top 10 position list.

Let the series begin

Quarterback Chris Fields III of Carson passed for two touchdowns and ran for three touchdowns in loss to Delano Kennedy.

(Craig Weston)

The Times’ nine-part series previewing top high school football players begins Tuesday with a profile of Carson quarterback Chris Fields III, the reigning City Section player of the year. Headed to Georgetown, he has risen from the bottom to earn his place as a top quarterback.

Here’s the other profiles:

Running back AJ McBean of Mira Costa ran a 10.61 100 meters in his first meet of the season.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Wednesday: Running back AJ McBean of Gardena Serra worked hard when no one was watching to gain a scholarship to Stanford and establish himself as a bruising ball carrier.

Austin Miller a 15-year-old sophomore receiver, is helping bring attention to Bellflower’s football program.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Thursday: Sophomore receiver Austin Miller of Bellflower decided to earn respect by attending his local public school and proved his point by earning a scholarship offer from Ohio State, then committing.

Luke Gazzaniga is a tight end for Santa Margarita who dares people to try to tackle him.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Friday: As the youngest of three brothers, tight end Luke Gazzaniga of Santa Margarita used to engage in the Oklhoma drill with his brothers growing up, showing his toughest that he retains.

Offensive tackle Vincent Shields of Murrieta Valley in the middle.

(Sandy Huffaker/for The Los Angeles Times)

Saturday: Offensive lineman Vincent Shields of Murrieta Valley is rising fast as a college prospect, and if you like dogs, you’ll love Shields, whose family owns a dog-training business.

Godschoice Eboigbodin of JSerra is a basketball player turned football player at JSerra.

(Craig Weston)

Sunday: Defensive lineman Godschoice Eboigbodin of JSerra is a native of Nigeria learning the sport and becoming more than good.

Crenshaw wide receiver Deance’ Lewis (11) celebrates his touchdown with tight end De’Andre Kirkpatrick (10).

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Monday, Aug. 17: Linebacker De’Andre Kirkpatrick of Crenshaw has overcome family tragedy to become one of the best in the City Section.

Orange Lutheran quarterback TJ Lateef goes airborne hurdling over Wesley Ace (18) of Gardena Serra.

(Craig Weston)

Tuesday, Aug. 18: Defensive back Wesley Ace of Gardena Serra is switching to cornerback and can’t wait to show off his speed.

Kicker Gabriel Goroyan of Westlake enters the 2026 football season as one of the best for his position.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Wednesday, Aug. 19: Kicker Gabriel Goroyan of Westlake has a 4.7 GPA, a scholarship to Stanford and can kick or punt with the best.

Top kickers/punters

Special teams is important for winning football games, so let’s take a look at kickers/punters to watch for this season.

Westlake’s Gabriel Goroyan has distinguished himself with his strong leg, making him an outstanding kicker and punter. He’s committed to Stanford.

Ethan Miller of San Clemente had nine field goals last season and was cool under pressure. Jerry Shifman of Mater Dei should be a candidate for a field goal beyond 50 yards. Carter Sobel of Sierra Canyon had nine field goals. Caleb Sylvia of Mission Viejo made a 49-yard field goal in 2025.

Colin Elia of Temecula Valley was 10 of 11 on field goals. Ayden Brannum of Fontana averaged 48 yards on punts. Noah Ahari of Chino Hills had nine field goals. Peter Batsaras of Cypress earned an invitation to an all-star game with his kicking skills. Jackson Hauducoeur of Upland is a returning All-CIF kicker. Kasra Maghami of Harvard-Westlake showed potential as a freshman. Dylan Moreno of San Pedro is back for his senior year trying to return to his All-City form as a sophomore.

If you look closely at the CIF participation survey for 2025-26, there’s a notable stat. While there’s record overall participation of 835,088 for boys and girls sports, the number for the most popular sport, football, dropped to its lowest level since 2022 at 87,718.

The CIF looks for trends, so next year’s numbers will be the most important.

There is a rise in eight-man football, but that also shows how schools might be struggling to field 11-man teams. Lots of City Section teams have failed to recover since the 2021 COVID season in no longer having junior varsity programs.

LAUSD teams began practices last week but some have struggled to get players cleared because school nurses have to clear physicals and some aren’t around. The LAUSD has money to pay the nurses to come in early before school starts but this issue continues to happen seemingly every season, disrupting teams’ practice schedules.

Crenshaw has received a new football locker room courtesy of Nike.

Reseda, Eagle Rock and Canoga Park are having their fields worked on and will be all road games this season.

Corona Centennial and De La Salle have finalized an agreement to play their football game at Cal’s Memorial Stadium on Sept. 26 at 2 p.m.

Bishop Diego has 370-pound tackle Donovan Tupa’i (left) and 270-pound tackle Terrence Tasila.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The Marmonte League is filled with big linemen, which should make for some interesting clashes. Bishop Diego has perhaps the biggest in 6-foot-3, 370-pound Donovan Tupa’i. Teammate Terrence Tasila can hold his own in the buffet line at 6-1, 270 pounds. Speaking of buffets, Tupa’i said he once went for five visits to the buffet, filling each plate. Call him the Buffet Buster.

Teams traveling to Hawaii will be playing Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week to open their seasons. Here’s this week’s schedule.

JSerra High quarterback Kate Meier threw for 3,729 yards and 58 touchdowns as a freshman last fall when the Lions went 28-0.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Flag football action begin on Saturday, with Oxnard and Oaks Christian among the teams opening with wins.

Here’s a preview of teams and players to watch, with defending Division 1 champion JSerra expected to compete for another title.

One of the best tournaments of the year is set for Friday and Saturday in Costa Mesa, bringing out most of the top teams in the Southern Section and City Section. It’s first look at Sierra Canyon joining flag football with a new coach and lots of top transfer students from Orange County.

Alums return to Dorsey

Dorsey High alum and former major league Don Buford sits under a towering ficus tree on campus Saturday during the school’s all sports reunion.

(Caleb Otte / For The Times)

A reunion of those who attended Dorsey High and played sports took place Saturday. It was organized by Hall of Fame football coach Paul Knox and drew plenty of alumni.

Here’s a look at the activities.

Notes . . .

Former Orange Lutheran baseball coach Eric Borba has been hired as the new head coach at Servite. He served 16 years as coach at Orange Lutheran before stepping down in 2024….

Former San Fernando football coach Bill Marsh died last Monday. He was 79. It was his wishbone offense that led the Tigers to back-to-back City titles in 1974 and 1975. Here’s the report.

Safety Sean Byrnes from Villa Park has committed to Idaho State….

Former UCLA softball player Anna Vines is the new softball coach at Village Christiain….

Aiden Echavarria of Whittier Christian has committed to Pepperdine baseball….

Outfielder Dru Wilson from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has transferred to Sierra Canyon, joining Mateo Mier, who came from Harvard-Westlake….

Sophomore Brett Burnor has been named the starting quarterback at Mission Viejo….

Infielder Sebastian Navarro of Mater Dei has committed to UC Davis….

Pitcher Carson Caras from Harvard-Westlake has committed to Pepperdine….

Jackson Alba of Palos Verdes has committed to UC Irvine baseball…..

Pitcher Mac Kennedy from Sierra Canyon has committed to Santa Clara….

Catcher Logan Miller from Mater Dei has committed to San Diego State….

Vaughn Sharp from Yorba Linda has committed to Cal State Northridge baseball….

Standout left-handed pitcher Roy Kim from Great Oak has transferred to Norco, the likely No. 1 baseball team in preseason rankings in 2027. Kim is committed to Stanford and gives Norco three top pitchers with the return of Jordan Ayala and Jacob Melendez.…

Defensive back Jacob Whitehead from Crean Lutheran has committed to Arizona. He’s the fifth Crean Lutheran player to commit to Arizona, joining Braylen Ross, Caden Jones, Evan Mack and Ty Johnson.…

Noelle Quinn is returning to UCLA women’s basketball to be an assistant coach. She was a standout guard for the Bruins, played 12 years in the WNBA, became head coach at Bishop Montgomery, then left to be head coach of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm….

Eva Madarang is the new girls soccer coach at Agoura….

The 13U PONY baseball team from Placentia won the World Series championship, the fourth time in five years that the group of players have won a title. The MVP was eighth-grader Finn Knapp, who had 71 stolen bases on the season and had three triples and three doubles in the tournament. He has a brother who plays for El Dorado High….

Justin Siegel has resigned as softball coach at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame to become an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount. Assistant Brian Luderer is the leading candidate to take over. Luderer has two daughters in the program….

The girls volleyball season picks up steam this week with a number of local teams traveling to Hawaii for the Ann Kang tournament, including Division 1 powers Sierra Canyon and Mira Costa.

From the archives: Jordin Canada

Jordin Canada in 2022.

(Kamil Krzaczynski / Associated Press)

Back during her days playing basketball for Windward, Jordin Canada said one goal was to become a nurse. But she became so good at basketball, from UCLA to the WNBA, the nursing days were put on hold.

Playing for Atlanta this season, she’s averaging 11.3 points and 7.7 assists. She graduated from UCLA in 2018 after a standout career at Windward, where she was a two-time player of the year by The Times in 2013 and 2014.

Here’s a story from 2013 about her magic on the court.

Recommendations

From The562.org, a look at Moore League football.

From the Star-Telegram, a story on a Texas high school football coach being suspended for the season for conducting illegal practices in May.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Gardena Serra defensive back Rodrick Pleasant.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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The “brrrt” of the GAU-8 Gatling gun in action, the whistle of the TF34 engines as A-10 Warthogs fly at low level, the hurried calls of Joint Terminal Attack Controllers needing support from above – welcome to the first episode in our opening season of “Special Access” on TWZ’s YouTube channel, a series where we take you up close to the latest military technology and inside the wire at elite military units.

In this episode, Jamie Hunter visits the U.S. Air Force A-10 Weapons Instructor Course that has been the center of excellence for the Warthog and its missions for nearly 50 years, but is now closing down as this close air support master nears retirement. Jamie had the rare opportunity to fly with the 66th Weapons Squadron’s A-10 team at Nellis Air Force Base, in Nevada, as they supported a capstone exercise one last time during the Weapons School’s final graduation events for new Weapon Instructors before they gain their prestigious graduate patches.

“The fundamentals of combat search and rescue, close air support, forward air control, even counter-maritime mission sets, as well, that starts the minute you walk in the door. The beauty of the weapons school is that it truly teaches you how to be an expert in your aircraft. It also teaches you, more importantly, how to be an expert in integration,” says Maj. Alex “Trippin” Boules, one of the last A-10 weapons instructor pilots at the 66th Weapons Squadron.

The final Weapons Instructor Course, or WIC, concluded in December 2025 as the last pair of students graduated from the six-month course, which has been run by the USAF Weapons School since 1977. Many graduates of the 66th Weapons Squadron have taken part in significant combat operations since that time, such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the recent Operation Epic Fury in Iran. The latter saw A-10s taking on a critical role watching over combat search and rescue operations in partnership with special operations teams to recover downed U.S. aircrews.

Despite repeated calls for the A-10 to be retained in service, the Warthog is ultimately nearing retirement. Three squadrons have been granted a reprieve to continue operations until 2030, but the writing is on the wall for the Warthog as increasing numbers arrive at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) boneyard in Arizona for storage.

So get ready for one last blast of A-10 action from Nellis as the 66th Weapons Squadron winds down the Warthog Weapons School.

The Last Days Of The A-10 Warthog Weapons School

Contact the presenter: jamie.hunter@teamrecurrent.io

Dorsey High’s 1982 City Section football championship team walked onto the stage with a youthful swagger. Though it has been decades since they celebrated within the halls of the school, it was like they had never left that courtyard.

Alumni and family cheered and danced alongside them at Dorsey’s first full athletics reunion. Soon after, the cheerleaders for the 1976 championship basketball team came out to perform. The up and coming sports teams for the 2026-27 school year came out with their families, as hundreds of people celebrated the legacy and the future of the school.

But Dorsey has undergone a lot of changes since the turn of the century.

In 25 years, it has gone from a well-attended school with a successful athletics program to one that has faded into the background of Los Angeles.

The last football championship came in 2001. The next year, Dorsey enrolled 2,211 students, the most in school history, according to Public School Review. Now, enrollment is hitting a low with 792 students, according to US News, and the athletic teams are trying to find that powerhouse status again.

Enter former football head coach Paul Knox. He had a solution — or at least an idea. Bring together the athletics alumni of Dorsey for a day of celebration, with a look ahead to the future.

On Saturday, hundreds of current and former Dorsey Dons came to the school for the reunion. There were a lot of stories, old photos, laughter and love being passed around from people who haven’t touched the campus in four decades. Alumni from all the way back in the 1950s came. Knox gave tours of the renovations the school has undertaken, and the event also highlighted the soon-to-be football stadium and new basketball gym.

Later in the day, the current teams were introduced to everybody in attendance as was the 1976 City championship basketball team. The chance to showcase both the past and present is what inspired Knox, who hasn’t coached at Dorsey since 2014, to put on this event.

“The atmosphere that is here, the pride that everybody has in the school in general … it’s one of the most passionate alumni that you are going to have,” Knox said.

Dorsey’s enrollment struggles are not unique. Across California, public school enrollment is down. In the Los Angeles Unified School District, enrollment dropped over 16,000 in the past year. Private and charter schools are on the up in both academics and athletics, leaving places such as Dorsey — that dominated for so long — behind.

Dorsey High alum and former major leaguer Don Buford sits under a towering ficus tree on campus Saturday during the school’s all-sports reunion.

(Caleb Otte / For The Times)

Dorsey has a long history of sending athletes to the professional leagues. Former major leaguer Don Buford, who graduated in 1955, was present at the event. He barely had a moment to himself as multiple other alumni wanted to chat and grab photos with him, and Buford was happy to exchange excited, reminiscent anecdotes.

Buford was sitting in front of a massive ficus tree, with roots the size of a 5-year-old child coming up out of the ground. He took a moment to look back when talking to a class of 1958 alumni, noticing the size of the plant.

“When I went here, this was just a little tree,” he said.

Eighty years of students coming through the halls of Dorsey watched the small seedling sprout into a towering, beautiful beast.

Knox, and the administration of the school, are treating this reunion as the initial seed for the rehabilitation of the athletics program and hopefully the entire school.

“The passion is there,” Knox said. “We’re really hoping to inspire the teams now, to show them that there’s depth behind the things they do.”

Beyond the prime directive of the event, it simply served as a way for the Dorsey community to experience joy. So many former players caught up with their coaches. People were introducing themselves to legendary alumni that they hoped to meet. Finding a face without a smile would’ve been a Herculean task.

The day also served as a chance to show the current students at Dorsey what opportunities are out there for them, whether that be from sports or otherwise. Former champions were highlighted alongside what Dorsey hopes are their future champions.

Baseball alumni all wore shirts that said “Legacy of Greatness … Five Rings, One Legacy.” Their most recent championship was in 2014. Little signs like that permeated the day, as did a big one displaying every Dorsey championship.

The idea that the school has a history of success, and they want to get back there, was the cornerstone of the event — without it being explicitly stated.

“Once you go here, you get that feeling,” Knox said.

Even with all the fanfare, the man giving out raffle tickets at the front entrance encapsulated it perfectly.

“It’s a great day to be a Don.”

“Our main goal is to empower robots’ brains.”

China has launched its first robot school, where a number of humanoid robots are trained before transitioning into the workforce.

At least eight people, including students and teachers, were killed and 15 others injured after a student opened fire inside a school in Thailand. Police said the gunman later died by suicide.

JOHANNESBURG — Oprah Winfrey says she will close the school for underprivileged girls she set up in South Africa two decades ago at the end of next year.

Winfrey opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in 2007 after being inspired by conversations with former South African President Nelson Mandela about the transformative power of educating girls. He was among the guests at the school’s opening ceremony.

Winfrey’s charitable foundation ran and funded the school, but it was always part of the agreement that the academy campus near Johannesburg be ultimately handed over to the provincial education department, the academy said.

“The dream was never simply to build a school,” Winfrey said in a statement issued by the academy on Wednesday. “It was to invest in the limitless potential of young women. That mission doesn’t end with one campus. It continues in every girl whose future can be transformed through education.”

The academy said Winfrey’s commitment to educating South African girls would continue through an expanded national scholarship program supporting academically talented girls at leading schools across the country.

More than 500 girls have graduated from the academy and some have attended top universities in South Africa, the United States and Europe, according to the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation.

The Gauteng provincial government will take over the 52-acre academy campus, which has 21 classrooms, six science and computer laboratories, a 10,000-volume library and a 600-seat theater. It did not immediately say what the plans for the property were.

Gauteng Provincial Minister for Education Lebogang Maile said those currently enrolled in the school will be able to complete their education with uninterrupted financial support.

The academy drew international attention shortly after opening in 2007 when several students accused a dormitory matron of physically and sexually abusing them.

Winfrey traveled to South Africa to meet with students and parents, publicly apologized, and commissioned an independent investigation.

The matron was acquitted of criminal charges in 2010.

Gumede writes for the Associated Press.

DETROIT — Two people who attended a prestigious Michigan fine arts school reported conduct of a sexual nature by Jeffrey Epstein, a major donor, according to an investigation that also uncovered dozens of allegations spanning decades against nearly 50 other people.

Interlochen Center for the Arts operates a summer camp and performing arts school that draws students from around the world. It hired a law firm in 2024 to investigate reports of sexual abuse by faculty and staff. Subsequently, it expanded the work to include information about Epstein, the 66-year-old financier who killed himself in jail in 2019.

Interlochen removed Epstein’s name from a lodge after he was convicted of sex offenses in Florida in 2008. The building, renamed the Green Lake Lodge, recently was demolished after the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages about Epstein that had been compiled over the years.

Sanghavi Law Office says it collected 70 accounts from alumni alleging “physical conduct of a sexual nature” by 47 faculty and staff members affiliated with Interlochen from the 1950s through the 2010s, most before 2000.

“The information gathered during this investigation is, simply, devastating,” the 97-page report says, noting that alumni reported grooming, flirting, sexual touching and sex.

Interlochen said it provided names of people accused of misconduct to Grand Traverse County authorities in northern Michigan to determine what steps, if any, might be taken. None are employed at the school and more than a third are dead.

“We are deeply sorry for the harm experienced by members of our community and extend our apologies to those impacted by abuse at Interlochen,” president Trey Davey and board chair Barrett Rollins said in a letter to the community posted online.

“While the vast majority of the incidents described in the investigation took place decades ago, and reports of abuse at Interlochen have significantly decreased over the past 25 years, the passage of time does not diminish the experiences of our alumni,” they said. “Sexual abuse committed by an adult in a position of power or trust against a student is wrong, then and now.”

Interlochen today “is fundamentally different from the institution described in this report,” Davey and Rollins wrote, with comprehensive safety policies and a changed culture.

Epstein, who played the bassoon, was an Interlochen camper in 1967. He donated more than $400,000 to the school between 1990 and 2003.

Two women told investigators that Epstein engaged in conduct of a sexual nature with them, one of them at the Interlochen lodge that bore his name. He brushed against her body “over her clothes, in a manner in which he indicated was accidental,” according to the report.

Epstein also paid for her to visit him in New York while she was a student. She said “every time he was ‘handsy’ with her, she would freeze until he would stop,” the report states.

The other woman said she gave Epstein a massage at his home, according to the report, and he may have asked her to remove her top. She said she had no further contact with Epstein or his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Outside of the school investigation, at least two Interlochen alumnae made allegations of grooming and abuse against Epstein and Maxwell, according to federal records and media reports. Their identities were not made public.

One testified against Maxwell in 2021 when she was convicted of sex trafficking. It’s unclear whether those women spoke to the law firm hired for the Interlochen investigation.

White writes for the Associated Press.

When you take a guided tour of the nearly completed Harvard-Westlake River Park Sports Complex in Studio City, you lose count how many times you’re saying, “Wow.”

From the underground parking lot to the 8,200-square-foot weight room, from the two gymnasiums to the 52-meter pool, from the eight tennis courts to the two all-weather turf playing fields, from the yoga room with a million-dollar view to the 11 locker rooms with projector screens, the $200-million project is certainly living up to expectations.

There’s also a cafeteria, a smoothie machine, 117 toilets, wrestling room, fencing room, training room, community rooms, more than 150 security cameras, an underground water basin and facial recognition technology from the parking lot to enter the coaches’ area. In the main gym foyer, there’s an area for people to watch live streams of games while purchasing food.

With two gyms and two sports fields, the school would be capable of holding basketball or soccer tournaments. The P.A. system in the main gym is state of the art.

Not only will students who attend the upper school on Coldwater Canyon enjoy the facility but so should fans and visiting teams with all the amenities such as large visiting locker rooms. The only question is when an official opening will take place.

Construction is nearing completion, but it’s unclear when teams will start practicing and playing there because the facility still needs to go through inspections and receive a Certificate of Occupancy from the city. The school is targeting early 2027 for activity to begin at the site.

The basketball teams are unlikely to use the main gym this coming season unless they are allowed to practice there.

Construction began in April of 2024. The project replaces the beloved Weddington Golf & Tennis Center and took several years of obtaining permits, having community meetings and receiving city approval to overcome a vocal group within the community objecting to losing the Weddington center.

There are still 14-foot-high covered fences hiding the progress off Whitsett Avenue, but those will be coming down soon to give community members a peak what’s been going on.

Head of athletics Terry Barnum and communications director Ari Engelberg have been providing updates to school administrators. The school added two new sports this year, flag football and girls lacrosse, in anticipation of the new field space.

The first year it opens is expected to be trial and error on how to best use the facilities, figuring out traffic patterns and welcoming the public to grounds that can be used during the school day, from the tennis courts to a privately run cafe to a walking path next to the L.A. River.

July 28 (UPI) — A 16-year-old who used an assault-style rifle to kill two other students and two teachers at his Georgia high school will spend the rest of his life in prison.

On Tuesday, a judge sentenced Colt Gray to life without parole for the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Another teacher and eight other students were injured in the shooting.

Gray pleaded guilty to all 55 counts, including those of murder, on Friday.

“You do not seem to be tormented by what you did, you seemto relish following in the footsteps of the murderers you idolize,” Judge Nicholas Primm of Barrow County Superior Court told Gray on Tuesday. “You aren’t rackedwith guilt. You’re proud of yourself.”

“There’s no joy here,” Primm said. “It’s only a measure of closure. The slain will not return to life. The injured will not forget their wounds. And a 16-year-old, 16-year-old boy, will live and die in prison.”

Gray was 14 at the time of the shooting and was charged as an adult. The two students who died — Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo — were also 14. Gray also killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.

Prosecutor said in the sentencing hearing that Gray became obsessed with school shooters through an online community and that his jail phone calls with his mother showed he was “thrilled” to be compared to them.

Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was convicted in March on charges of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for giving his son the weapon he used to commit the shootings.

Family members of those killed had urged the judge to give Gray the maximum sentence for his crimes.

“It is a life sentence of grief and trauma for those left behind,” said Aspinwall’s wife, Shayna. Their daughters were 2 and 5 when Gray killed their father.

In a sign of how high school football practices in Southern California have changed over the last 20 years, Crespi athletic director Brian Bilek was holding a beeping device on Monday to determine what modifications might be needed to practice in heat.

It was 100 degrees in Encino, but the reading from the wet-bulb device measuring heat and humidity gave out a number that allowed for practice to take place with precautionary measures.

Southern Section players were in shorts and wearing helmets around the Southland. City Section teams began five days of mandatory acclimation periods to get players into shape.

It’s an annual ritual that once had programs practicing twice or even three times a day. CIF rules that restrict tackling to two days per week and a maximum of 45 to 90 minutes a day were adopted in an effort to protect players from concussions and injuries.

By the weekend, when the shoulder pads come on, coaches will be breaking out in smiles watching their freshmen players trying to figure out the routine for the first time.

Crespi coach Brad Vonnahme grew up in the Central Valley and coached at Fresno State. He described the weather from those days as “toasty.” Monday’s environment, though, was probably the hottest opening day in his four seasons at Crespi.

It’s a big year for the Celts. They’ve improved each season after Vonnahme was put in charge of a rebuilding project following Crespi’s 0-10 season in 2022. The Celts have responded with records of 2-8 and 5-6 before their 10-1 mark last season.

This year, they’ve upgraded their schedule, adding rival Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for a season-opening nonleague game Aug. 21.

Asked if his team can continue to climb, Vonnahme said, “I think we can. But most importantly, we have to try. Everybody wants us to continue to elevate.”

Crespi’s Russell White carries the ball during a game against St. John Bosco on Nov. 7, 1986.

(John McCoy / Los Angeles Times)

This season marks 40 years since Crespi’s greatest team, led by running back Russell White, won the Division 1 championship over St. John Bosco in 1986. It remains the only San Fernando Valley team to win a Division 1 football title. Many of the players are expected to attend the Notre Dame game for a recognition ceremony.

Crespi returns a number of players who were standouts as sophomores, led by quarterback Chase Curren. They’ll need to be bigger, faster and stronger. If all goes well, they will play Salesian on Oct. 30 to decide the Del Rey League title.

A strong group of teams will be traveling to Hawaii next month, so they’ll be getting ready a little faster for football and surfing. Chaminade, Edison, Beaumont, San Clemente, San Juan Hills, Newport Harbor, El Camino Real and Villa Park are among the teams with Hawaii trips.

Athletic directors are back from vacation and will be busy trying to clear players who transferred. Making sure paperwork is correct is one of the most important tasks, because one mistake can lead to forfeits.

July 27 (UPI) — The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice said Monday that they’re taking “significant action” against school districts in Maryland and Michigan because of policies allowing school personal to protect students’ personal gender identity.

In a press release, the departments said Anne Arundel public schools in Maryland and Ann Arbor public schools in Michigan were “hiding sensitive information about children’s health well-being from their own parents.” They cited parental rights in the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office received complaints from Maryland parents who said that the school was helping their child “pretend to be male.” The principal declined to give the parents information about their student, and the assistant principal refused to turn over records, the release said. It said the SPPO and the Just Department’s Civil Rights Division will start applicable judicial proceedings and the district may face the loss of federal funding.

In Michigan, the release said, SPPO has found an Ann Arbor district policy requiring school employees to protect a student’s gender identity from their parents “likely violates FERPA.” The departments have given the district until Aug. 10 to “demonstrate why ED and DOJ should not move forward with enforcement.”

“This is not only an affront to basic moral principles, but also to parents’ rights under federal law,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Today, ED and DOJ are putting districts on notice that we will use every tool available to hold them to account for this egregious behavior.”

The Times’ preseason top 25 high school football rankings for 2026:

1. ST. JOHN BOSCO: Braves have few weaknesses but must prove they can win in the rain after last season’s first-round playoff debacle to Orange Lutheran.

2. CORONA CENTENNIAL: The offense is going to be balanced and explosive with quarterback Jaden Jefferson the trigger man and Quentin Hale his partner in battle.

3. SIERRA CANYON: Trailblazers have the offensive linemen and running back to run the ball and the defensive linemen to attack quarterbacks.

4. SANTA MARGARITA: Eagles won’t be ready to start the season dominating with too many young players but beware by season’s end.

5. ORANGE LUTHERAN: There’s already signs the Ray Fenton coaching formula is working with lots of talent on both sides of the ball.

6. MISSION VIEJO: Diablos have their best offensive line in years, giving coach Chad Johnson lots of options.

7. MATER DEI: Depth is gone but there’s enough talent to be very good on their best day.

8. SAN CLEMENTE: Just trust Jaxson Rex to do anything and everything for improved Tritons.

9. CHAPARRAL: There’s a crazy amount of offensive firepower ready to be unleashed.

10. RANCHO CUCAMONGA: They play tough, hard-nosed football.

11. EDISON: Quarterback Sam Thomson’s fourth year as starter sets the stage for big Chargers season.

12. CREAN LUTHERAN: If the Saints’ many transfers get eligible, quarterback Caden Jones should flourish.

13. GARDENA SERRA: With five starters back on the offensive line and the arrival of RB AJ McBean, Cavaliers are ready to play smashmouth football.

14. CHAMINADE: There’s speed and size surrounding sophomore quarterback Jeremy Mellalieu.

15. SERVITE: New coach Rick Garretson has a history of building top teams with speed, which Friars have plenty.

16. JSERRA: Lions will be competitive in nonleague games but Trinity League remains formidable challenge.

17. DAMIEN: USC commit Gavin Williams is the definition of the word elite on defense and offense.

18. PALOS VERDES: Ryan Rakowski is back for fourth year as starting quarterback and is a proven winner.

19. OXNARD PACIFICA: Quarterback Taylor Lee is back with lots of skill-position players.

20. LOYOLA: If Cubs can get production at the quarterback position, they can surprise teams.

21. BISHOP AMAT: Still one of the toughest teams to beat on their home field.

22. WESTLAKE: The scoreboard operator will deserve extra pay trying to keep up with Warriors’ scoring barrages.

23. CARSON: Best in the City Section looking to beat some Southern Section teams with improved line play.

24. CORONA DEL MAR: Should have excellent passing attack if the line can provide protection.

25. TUSTIN: Lots of individual talent but can they get breakthrough win against a top opponent?

Walking down a hallway at UCLA’s Wasserman Football Center earlier this week, I became a believer.

Bouncing hurriedly in my direction was a bright-eyed kid with a huge smile. I didn’t know him. He didn’t know me.

Yet as he passed, he suddenly stuck out his hand for a fist bump, which I was too stunned to ignore, and so I pounded back while wondering.

What just happened?

Then it hit me.

Bob Chesney just happened.

New UCLA football coach Bob Chesney has won over cynics with his unflinching optimism and attention to detail.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

The new football coach has infused the completely rebuilt program into a place so energetic, his players run around sharing their inspiration to complete strangers.

“Yeah, we’re gonna win here,” Chesney says.

This shared spirit starts every morning in this building, in the team meeting room, where Chesney orders his players to stand and sing the school fight song as if they are standing on the field after a victory.

The words to the song are displayed on a giant screen, which increasingly isn’t used because most of his players have now learned the song by heart. Those who fail to sing get tagged with a red laser pointer, so pretty much everyone croons.

“I’m not gonna let people put limits on us,” Chesney says. “I’m not gonna let them tell us what we can and can’t do.”

This shared spirit continues deep into the night, as some of his players recently had a pool party at the home of Cori Close, the Bruins national championship women’s basketball coach. She was not teaching them how to swim. She was teaching them how to win.

“People say why here?” Chesney says. “I say, why not here?”

He shows up for my early afternoon visit last week dressed uniquely for a $33.75 million coach of a Big Ten school on the outskirts of Hollywood.

He is dressed like a player. Black shirt, black shorts, thin sheen of sweat adorning his expressive forehead.

“Been lifting weights,” he says.

Are weight machines set aside for the coaches?

“Lifting with the players,” he says. “These guys are telling me what to do.”

UCLA coach Bob Chesney stands on the field in between players and shouts instructions during a spring practice.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Full disclosure: I arranged my visit full of skepticism about this guy that has UCLA fans swooning.

C’mon. Seriously? He’s ready for this? How can he be ready for this?

The son of a small-town high school football coach in Pennsylvania coal country, Chesney had risen from obscurity to … more obscurity. He had previously coached at four different small schools you couldn’t find on a map. Salve Regina? Assumption? What?

This will be Chesney’s first shot under the bright lights. And he is taking that shot with a program whose best shots couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.

The Bruins have not been to the Rose Bowl game in 28 years, and he is going to fix that? They have not won a Rose Bowl game in 41 years, and he was going to change that culture?

The celebrated Chip Kelly couldn’t do it. The emotional Jim Mora Jr. couldn’t do it. The cheerleading Rick Neuheisel couldn’t do it. The cerebral Karl Dorrell couldn’t do it. The affable Bob Toledo thought he had done it until his team inexplicably quit on him just 60 minutes from a berth in the national championship game.

I had covered all of these coaches, hearing their annual promises, seeing their annual collapses, realizing USC had a stranglehold on the college football money and attention in this town, and I had come up with an inescapable conclusion.

What Chesney is trying to do with UCLA football can’t be done.

Then I met him.

The best word to describe initial impressions of the 48-year-old former college safety would be, wow.

He talks fast. He oozes belief. He sells UCLA. He sells himself. He doesn’t shrink from his giant task. He doesn’t rationalize or equivocate his team’s sordid history.

He’s like one of those charming smart kids who never takes no for an answer.

“I feel it,” he says.”I feel it.”

No wonder his recruiting has been phenomenal, ranked seventh nationwide for the class of 2027, a trend that began this summer with 42 transfers, many of whom will start. No wonder he has been recognized by fans while hanging out in West Hollywood or Griffith Observatory or Dodger Stadium, where he’s already sat wide-eyed in a meeting with Dodger manager and UCLA grad Dave Roberts and Sandy Koufax.

He feels it, and the Bruin Nation feels it with him.

“Everybody’s included,” he says. “You wanna be included? C’mon, you’re included.”

As the self-proclaimed driver of the Bruin bandwagon in recent years — only to be derailed by midseason every time — I’ll pass on the inclusion. I’ve got to see it before buying it. But right now, Chesney has worked me up into such a lather that, yeah, I’m believing.

First, Chesney points to his resume, a litany of small schools who accumulated big victories, a dossier that includes only one losing season and none in the last seven years.

His head coaching career started at Division III Salve Regina (Rhode Island), where he turned eight consecutive losing seasons into three straight winning seasons.

“‘You can’t win there, nobody can win there’ is what they said,” Chesney says. “We won there.”

James Madison coach Bob Chesney and running back Wayne Knight celebrate after winning the Sun Belt championship on Dec. 5 in Harrisonburg, Va.

(Robert Simmons / Associated Press)

Then there was Division II Assumption in Massachusetts, where he took a team that had two winning records in 17 years and led them to five consecutive winning records and three straight playoff appearances.

“They said, ‘You can’t do it, nobody can do it,’’’ Chesney says. “We did it.”

Then there was Holy Cross, also in Massachusetts, where he took the team to a record five straight Patriot League championships while advancing as deep as the FCS quarterfinals.

“They told us, ‘The academics are too tough, the tuition is too high, you can’t win there,’’’ Chesney recounts. “We won there.”

Finally there was James Madison in Virginia, where he took a team whose stars had all followed Curt Cignetti to Indiana and still triumphed, leading them to a Cinderella appearance in the College Football Playoff.

“A lot of people doubted it, a lot of people didn’t believe it could work,” Chesney says. “We’ve proved a lot of people wrong throughout the years.”

After his resume, Chesney points to his surroundings. He is more awed by UCLA’s gravitas than any other football coach I can remember. It’s clear he can sell the school because he has such respect for the school.

“Here you’re a handshake away from changing your life … the school has an 8% acceptance rate, you’re walking around this campus with valedictorians and future CEOs and doctors and lawyers,” he says. “You’re surrounded by greatness, you have a chance to breathe this rare air that very few people get a chance to breathe.”

But for Chesney to fill this air with a football championship requires a price. It is a price that, so far, many potential donors have been reluctant to pay. But in today’s college football world, it is the cost of doing business.

Face it, Cignetti couldn’t have changed Indiana’s fortunes so rapidly if it wasn’t for Mark Cuban money. Chesney believes he can do the same thing here … with a little push.

Longtime UCLA donor Angelo Mazzone chipped in $10 million recently, and more such gifts are needed for UCLA to be able to pay the players that bring them a championship.

”There’s a major financial commitment that comes with getting those four- and five-star kids, but we can really turn the tables with that kind of help,” Chesney says. “Every single thing that is needed is here, we just have to make sure we get the support from the people on the outside that we need to actualize our dream.”

UCLA coach Bob Chesney shares his vision for the program during his introductory news conference on Dec. 9.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

He’s doing all the right things while chasing that dream.

Even as his bosses are pushing to move the team out of the Rose Bowl to SoFi Stadium, he loves the Rose Bowl, and took his team there for its spring game on a weekend that began with him standing outside the brightly lit marquee with his father and his son in the dark.

“It was one of those moments, I was like, man, the history of this place … to me to play in the Rose Bowl, what an honor and a privilege,” he says.

The game actually drew a decent spring crowd of 10,000-12,000, partially because Chesney had worked so hard at banging the drum. He and his players even brought pizzas to various campus groups in hopes of enlisting support.

“You want to be around this program, you can be around this program,” he says.

Then there’s his opinion of USC. He doesn’t have one. He never mentions them. For a UCLA coach, this is a good thing.

“I guess we’re perceived to be in their shadow, and for whatever reasons we weren’t an option the last couple of years, but look at our recruiting, I know we’re becoming an option for L.A. again,” Chesney says. “I think you can change a lot of people’s opinions on who they want to be rooting for.”

As in all levels of football, it all comes down to the quarterback, and Chesney had his first win by convincing budding star Nico Iamaleava. The kid was roundly criticized in this space for holding out and then walking out on his Tennessee team last year, but he has since grown up, and could be the sort of game-changer that Chesney requires.

“Watching Nico with his athletic ability, his arm, creating plays after the play with his legs, I have very high hopes,” says Chesney.

There are potentially outstanding transfers at half of the positions, and, with some solid returning players — this is a team that beat seventh-ranked Penn State, remember — the Bruins have a decent foundation.

UCLA coach Bob Chesney pats running back Anthony Woods on the helmet during the team’s spring game at the Rose Bowl on May 2.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Throw in a favorable 2026 schedule that doesn’t include Ohio State or Penn State or Washington or Iowa, and one thinks they might even have a chance at making some miracles.

“You’re going to see a different brand of football, one that is united, that is passionate, that is physical, that is tough, that has a lot of fun playing together,” he said.

You’re also going to hear a sound that died in the brief DeShaun Foster era, a sound that has never lasted more than a couple of weeks in the last 30 years.

That rumble is the Bruin football bandwagon. It’s revving up again. The inimitable force that is Bob Chesney wants to include you on the start of its journey.

Let him.

Some people don’t need an introduction.

Joe Torre, for one.

You know him. Baseball icon. Hall of Famer. The only big leaguer with 2,000 hits as a player and 2,000 wins as a manager, he steered the New York Yankees to four World Series championships — and the Dodgers to consecutive National League West crowns and NLCS appearances in 2008 and 2009.

So you’re well-versed on Torre’s baseball bonafides, but you might not be aware of the most meaningful part of his legacy: He’s spent the past 24 years helping people who actually would need to be introduced to him.

Kids who are too young to know Torre the player, manager, color commentator — but who can, unfortunately, relate with what he went through when he was their age. Kids who, like him, are growing up afraid and anxious because of domestic violence at home, and who need what Torre didn’t have — somewhere safe to go to for help.

Since 2002, Torre and his wife, Ali, have been behind the expanding the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation. Across the nation, they’ve set up safe spaces in schools, specialized classrooms that feel more like living rooms and that are manned by professional counselors trained in domestic violence intervention.

San Francisco Giants assistant manager Ron Washington hugs Joe Torre before a game at Dodger Stadium on May 14.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

They’re at schools in New York, Cincinnati, Tahiti and in L.A., at Bellflower Middle/High School and John Adams Middle School, John H. Glenn High and McKinley Elementary School, Palisades Charter High, Santa Monica High, Waite Middle School and Washington Preparatory High.

And they’re open to all, whether you’re a kid experiencing violence or you want to be able to help peers who are.

This past year, the foundation says it reached more than 28,000 students. And since it began, more than 425,000 young people, families, schools, and communities.

These Safe at Home spaces are all named “Margaret’s Place,” in honor of Joe’s mom, who was for years the victim of his father’s violent ire.

“It’s a tough subject to talk about,” Joe Torre said. “But you can’t run away from it.”

He did, though. He’s 85 now, but until he was 54, Torre didn’t reveal that baseball had been his refuge when he was growing up. He didn’t tell anyone that when he was a kid, if he saw his dad’s car in front of his house, Joe would go to a friend’s house and wait until he left for his job as a New York police detective. Joe didn’t share memories like he would later, of seeing his big sister, armed with a knife, standing between their mother and their father, who was going for his pistol.

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Joe Torre poses swinging a bat prior to a game in 1971.

(Dave Pickoff / Associated Press)

He didn’t recognize what those traumatic experiences he’d tried to bury did to him, not until he started to talk about them.

“I thought I was born with this shyness and this nervousness,” Torre said before a Dodgers game in May, when the club introduced him and Ali and players and coaches wore T-shirts during batting practice that read: “Everyone deserves to be safe at home.”

“During my playing career,” Torre continued, “if we lost a game and I didn’t get any hits, I’d beat myself up. I was fortunate, I had a good career, but there was always something missing. I really probably could have enjoyed it a lot more than I did.”

That didn’t change until 1995, when he started talking about the domestic violence he experienced. He was surprised, he said, to find himself sharing his story, opening up for the first time at a “Life Success” seminar in Cincinnati, Ali’s hometown.

“Ali, she says, ‘You want to go to this Life Success symposium with me?’” Joe said. “And she’s eight months pregnant with our daughter and I’m not about to say no to anything she asks me to go. So we go in and they separate you, and they put you in groups of six strangers — and I’d just been named manager of the Yankees, so I’m very self-conscious.

“But after a day or so, you’re in it, you know? And then we went home and I called my sisters and asked them questions. Because they always tried to protect me, so I had to drag it out of them … ‘Did dad hit mom?’

“The biggest thing for me was knowing that my dad bringing fear down on the home was what caused my feelings that I was embarrassed to have. Once I went through that, I was able to go deeper.”

Yankees manager Joe Torre bumps fists with catcher Jorge Posada after a win in April 2004.

(Brian Kersey / Associated Press)

Speaking about what was previously unspeakable helped him cope with his trauma. He said it made him a more empathetic manager and a more confident man. It also made him want to speak out publicly and to encourage others to do the same, to break the cycle of silence.

So they’re getting the word out at — where else? — ballparks. There was the stop at Dodger Stadium in May, and before that, in 2025, seven major league teams had activations at games, as did 63 minor league clubs who hosted a “Safe At Home Awareness Game.”

Because often we do need an introduction, to connect kids with people who can keep them safe, who can assure them they’re not the only ones in their position.

“He’s talked about this many times: If he had access to a program like Margaret’s Place, he wouldn’t have felt like he had to carry this burden alone,” said Rose Robles, the foundation’s senior director of programs. “That was one thing he’s really stressed, he felt he was the only one that was going through this.

“And he would have had some options, some choices for how to respond to what he was experiencing and how to understand it. One thing that we say is that violence thrives in silence, and that is basically what he was experiencing.”

Forty-four percent of the kids Margaret’s Place counselors helped in 2024-25 were dealing with some form of violence at home. Twenty-seven percent have experienced some form of relationship or dating violence. They also help kids who’ve been exposed to community violence or other traumatic events, or who are grieving a traumatic loss.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre pauses for a moment while answering questions in August 2010.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

At Bellflower Middle and High School, Principal Jessica Cummings said a Teen Dating Violence Awareness Week and parent workshops focused on fostering healthy relationships increased awareness on her campus.

“We are grateful,” she wrote in an email, “for this partnership and the positive impact it has had.”

Of the students surveyed after receiving services, Safe at Home indicated that 99% reported feeling safer and 93% said they used the tools they learned in counseling.

Torre has absorbed decades of anecdotal feedback too — the knowing nods he sees in the crowd when he’s talked to groups of kids about this, the cameraman who slipped him $20 to put toward the foundation, the interviewer who shared his account of having grown up in a violent household.

“Anyone can become a victim,” Ali Torre said, “Our goal is to intervene and prevent. There are little boys we can have conversations with: ‘You don’t have to repeat the cycle.’ To little girls, ‘There’s an option for you…’

“And Joe has opened a lot of doors for us.”

When you think of Joe Torre, it’s as a former Dodgers skipper. A nine-time All-Star and the 1971 National League Most Valuable Player.

You should also think of him as a champion of children who now know that they aren’t alone, and that they have people who will go to bat for them.

At one point in the documentary, House of Hope, the protagonist, Manar Wahhab, breaks down in a classroom corner in the school she founded with her husband in the occupied West Bank. The cameras keep rolling.

“To step into someone’s life with a camera at the moment when they’re really down, it feels a little bit uncomfortable, but we made the choice together to keep filming during these moments. I wanted the audience to be there with them,” director Marjolein Busstra told Al Jazeera.

The film follows Wahhab, a Palestinian woman who established a Waldorf school with her husband, Milad Vosgueritchian, in al-Eizariya in the occupied West Bank.

House of Hope Vision Kindergarten & School teaches the Waldorf philosophy of non-violent resistance and offers children a space to express their emotions and cope with the trauma and difficulty of living under occupation.

“The school protects the children’s dignity in the present moment. It’s more about refusing to let occupation shape their inner world, so that they can actually be children and have agency,” Busstra said. “It’s in Waldorf philosophy that they make space to express the feelings.”

Working with a Palestinian crew, Busstra spent three years with Wahhab, travelling to the occupied West Bank nine times throughout the course of the documentary. She first met Wahhab 18 years ago during a film workshop in the West Bank.

Although the documentary centres around the elementary school, Wahhab is the story’s driving force. The story follows Wahhab and Vosgueritchian, both at the school and at home with their children.

“I started filming the school, but right away, I knew I wanted to do it about Manar’s inner life,” Busstra said. “I think hope is a difficult word at the moment, but I have a deep awe for Manar, who keeps creating and teaching even while carrying so much herself.”

For Wahhab, her respect for Busstra and their existing friendship helped her trust the film crew during vulnerable moments.

“We both believe deeply in education, in children’s creativity and freedom and in seeing the human being as something whole and beautiful in mind, soul and spirit. Those shared values created openness and trust between us and helped shape a film that is not only about events but also about humanity,” Wahhab told Al Jazeera.

The film was produced by Think-Film, the company behind The Voice of Hind Rajab, which tells the story of the five-year-old Hind killed by Israeli forces in 2024. Soldiers fired 335 bullets into the car carrying the girl and six of her family members – a story that became a symbol for the system failure to protect children in Gaza.

Although sometimes difficult, Wahhab said she made an effort to let the crew document multiple facets of her life.

“Over those three years, the crew met many versions of Manar. Sometimes they arrived, and I was fresh, energetic and cooperative. Other times, they found me exhausted, angry, overwhelmed, or ill,” she said. “I understood that I had to be as authentic as possible, because I was representing not only myself, but also my community, hope, peace and the voice of Palestinians.”

Wahhab and Vosgueritchian founded the school out of a desire to offer a different kind of education to Palestinian children and to provide a place where they felt safe and could share their emotions.

“The school was born many years ago when we saw the hardships surrounding our community and wanted to create something different, a space of love, safety, creativity and healing,” Wahhab said. “House of Hope is an idea, a mission and an energy that we carry wherever we go.”

In an increasingly violent Israeli occupation, Wahhab considers the Waldorf philosophy essential.

“I do not see nonviolence as weakness. Actually, I believe the opposite. Violence is easy. Nonviolence requires courage, awareness, patience and inner work. It asks us to see beyond our own pain and ego and to hold on to our humility even when circumstances are trying to pull us away from it,” she said.

“The world absorbs the energy that we create, and right now, there is so much fear, anger and violence in our world. I think we need more peace within ourselves, peace with one another and peace with nature,” Wahhab added.

After Hamas’s incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, came Israel’s brutal military response. Life became increasingly difficult for Wahhab, Vosgueritchian and the children at House of Hope, but the crew continued to document their realities.

“The story I wanted to create with Manar stayed the same, but after October 7, everything became heavier. They were so down for a while. They were like different people, like they lost all hope,” Busstra said. “The school built this safe haven, but the occupation is always rattling at the door.”

Israel’s intensified military actions in the West Bank, including the shooting and killing of children, are a constant spectre. In another scene, Wahhab watches her son leave for school and checks to see if he has a phone charger and spare clothes in case he is held at a checkpoint for hours.

“The energy is so heavy now. I hope people understand that we are not asking for something extraordinary. We are asking for basic human rights, the right to live with dignity and freedom, the right to safety and the right to be fully human beings,” Manar said.

Busstra, who closely followed Wahhab for three years, said she wants audiences to go “beyond the framing of us vs them”.

“I hope that this stays with people, not as something distant that happens to others, but something they can locate within their own understanding of what it means to love someone in an unsafe world.”

Wahhab believes the film offers a more nuanced perspective of Palestinians.

“I think that in the West, many people see a very limited picture of Palestine and the Middle East. Sometimes they see us through stereotypes as terrorists, as people who are undeveloped or somehow less than themselves,” she said. “I hope this film helps people look beyond those images. The news does not tell the full reality. It often shows only violence and people killing one another. It doesn’t show the essence of people’s lives. It shows negativity,” she said.

Wahhab encouraged people to consider the documentary through a lens of shared humanity.

House of Hope won the best international feature documentary prize at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in May 2026 and was recently screened at UNESCO in Paris. It will soon be screened at the Jerusalem Arab Film Festival.

“Even though our story is deeply rooted in the West Bank, its message is universal. Our hope is that people everywhere can see our story and take something meaningful from it.”

Seven in 10 people asked said they loved camping, rising to 85% of those under 30

Camping is the pitch perfect way to spend a staycation, especially if you are younger, a survey suggests.

Seven in 10 people asked said they loved camping, rising to 85% of those under 30. The top spot is the National Trust’s campsite at Great Langdale beneath Langdale Pikes in the Lake District.

It took 28% of the votes from the 2,000 Brits asked in the poll, with Watermouth Valley in Devon second (19%), followed by Red Squirrel in Glencoe, Scotland, (18%) and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park on 17%. The Duchess’s Meadow in the Peak District and Cloud Farm in Devon both got 14%.

Nearly a quarter believe Britain is the best place in the world to pitch a tent. The main attractions are reconnecting with nature (45%), spending more time in the UK (44%), enjoying time with family (37%), and saving money (33%).

Other draws include getting away from it all (31%), peace and quiet (29%), the great out-doors (23%), gazing at the stars (21%), and waking to the sound of birdsong (19%).

George Wallis, of Isuzu UK which commissioned the poll, said: “The findings have highlighted some wonderful places in the UK. The UK is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, it’s no surprise loading up and heading somewhere remote remains timeless.”

July 24 (UPI) — A Georgia teenager changed his plea to guilty Friday in the shooting deaths of four people at Apalachee High School in 2024.

Colt Gray, 16, entered a non-negotiated plea of guilty to 55 charges, including malice murder, aggravated battery and aggravated assault, CBS News reported. He was charged as an adult.

A non-negotiated plea means that though he’s changed his plea to guilty, he has not made a deal with prosecutors concerning his sentencing.

The judge in the case will determine his sentence, which ranges from life with parole to life without parole. The defense and prosecutors will each present a case for their preferred sentence, ABC News reported.

Gray is accused of fatally shooting two students — Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn — and two teachers — Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irmie — at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., in 2024, when he was 14 years old. He’s also accused of injuring nine others in the shooting.

Breanna Schermerhorn, Mason’s mother, presented a victim impact statement Friday in court, saying her son “was so much more than victim.”

“Mason was kind, compassionate, funny and fiercely protective of others,” she said. “As a child with exceptional needs, he understood what it felt like to struggle and be overlooked by others. Instead of becoming bitter, he became an advocate.”

Breanna Schermerhorn said Gray knew that the shooting was wrong and would impact countless lives.

“I had no doubt in my mind if Cole had actually attended school as he should have, that Mason would have befriended him,” she said.

Prosecutors said Colt Cray used an AR-style rifle his father, Colin Gray, gave to him for Christmas despite being warned by sheriff’s deputies that his son had threatened an attack at school.

In May, a jury found him guilty of 29 charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Colin Gray was the first adult charged in Georgia in connection with a school shooting by their child.

A transcript from an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by former JSerra girls’ basketball coach Chyanne Butler indicates the school could be facing a Southern Section investigation for CIF rules violations.

“We are aware of the transcripts and the trial,” Southern Section spokesman Thom Simmons said Friday.

JSerra has “no comment” while the case continues, a school spokesman said.

Butler alleged employment discrimination after being dismissed in January of 2025. A jury trial earlier this year resulted in a hung jury over an allegation of gender discrimination and a new trial is scheduled for Aug. 24 in Orange County Superior Court with Judge David O Carter presiding. Allegations of race discrimination and a sexual harassment claim against an assistant coach were dismissed.

JSerra has not self-reported any CIF violations even though in the first trial, an assistant coach testified under oath about recruiting a player from another school and then providing family expenses including “medical insurance, medical bills, groceries, toiletries, incidentals, basketball shoes.”

That would be a violation of CIF rules.

The Southern Section usually sends allegations of rules violations back to the school to investigate.

Butler is represented by attorney Tim Lawson, who deposed JSerra officials.

July 22 (UPI) — The Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh building, damaged twice by fire, would cost too much for the school to fully rebuild on its own, the school’s board of governors said Wednesday.

Rebuilding the school in line with artist and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s original design would cost about $355 million, the school said in a press release Wednesday.

That amount is “equivalent to five times the GSA’s annual turnover [revenue], an amount that is not affordable and which would compromise the financial sustainability of the institution.”

The Art Nouveau building, completed in 1909, was damaged by fire twice. Much of the building was destroyed in 2014 after a student’s art project was ignited by an overhead projector. In June 2018, when the rebuilding was nearly complete, another fire destroyed it. There was no cause found for the second fire, which ignited a dispute between the school and its insurance company that ended in arbitration that wrapped up this spring.

Neil Baxter, architectural historian and former lecturer in architectural history at the school, said the building is “of the greatest world importance,” and said, “The Scottish government should step up, and if it can’t, the British government should step up,” The New York Times reported.

The school released an 80-page analysis Wednesday that highlights the potential for the Mackintosh Building “to become an anchor project in a creative and cultural production innovation district, attracting investment to the city, driving the growth of its creative economy, and supporting new businesses and employment opportunities.”

Ann Priest, chair of the Glasgow School of Art’s board of governors, said early discussions with Scottish and British government officials ahead of the announcement “have been supportive and incredibly positive.”

Priest said the board believes the building should be a “heritage-led economic regeneration project, building on the existing creative and cultural production assets within this part of the city, to strengthen Glasgow’s creative eco-system and its position as one of the UK’s leading creative economies.

“The Mack will always have a special place at the heart of The Glasgow School of Art’s history, and we have further plans within the next phase of work to create museum standard interpretations of the building that will exist alongside its retained architectural elements and help tell the story of this remarkable place and the people who have worked and studied there for years to come,” Priest said.

Gordon Gibb, a former director of professional studies at the school’s architecture department, said that the school needs another organization to “take over” the restoration.

“This is a building that influenced world architecture and changed Victorian traditionalism into modernism,” Gibb told The Times. “We have detailed records of every part of it,” he added, “so it should be brought back.”

THE school summer holidays are upon us, with six weeks to fill to entertain the kids.

If you’re looking for fun for the whole family without breaking the bank then this bumper list is for you – we’ve scoured the country for some of the best cheap and free attractions.

Summer of Play, Various Locations – from £9

The National Trust brings back its Summer of Play programme running from July to September across the country.

The events on the schedule are free but admission fees are around £10 and under.

At Arlington Court in Devon, find activities such as archery, giant slingshots, and a water play zone – great for keeping everyone cool in a heatwave.

Gibside near Tyne & Wear is packed with experiences such as racket sports, axe throwing, and classic games like a bean bag toss.

Pokémon fans will also delight in recognising their favourite character in trails across different National Trust sites.

Expect to get involved with trading card games and collect Mega Evolution stickers.

To find a site near you visit the National Trust’s Summer of Play website. 

Free entry but admission fees into National Trust sites apply

National Racehorse Week, Various Locations – free

From 22 to 31 August during National Racehorse Week, families have a chance to grab a free ticket for over 85 behind-the-scenes events across the country.

Choose between meeting racehorses or exploring training yards to learn more about a side of British racing that is often overlooked.

To find an event near you visit the National Racehorse Week website. 

Free tickets available on the National Racehorse Week website

North of England

Starry Nights in Lake District, Cumbria – free

The Lake District in Cumbria is home to many low-light Dark Sky Discovery Sites making it the perfect place to go on a stargazing trail.

Grab your camping gear and find budget-friendly campsites for £15-£17 on pitchup.com.

Some favourites includes North Lakes Campsite in Deanscales, Blaithwaite House in Wigton, and Cardewless in Carlisle.

Find the most isolated lake of Lake District at Ennerdale Water and venture east for the darkest skies in Cumbria. Look out for free stargazing events a few times a year. 

For those looking for a nighttime walk, head to St Bees Beach on the west coast when the tide is out.

Sitting above the Bassenthwaite Lake, Whinlatter Forest offers lucky stargazers a chance to spot the Milky Way. 

Free but campsite charges apply

National Railway Museum, York – free

The National Railway Museum in York is perfect for train fanatics.

Visit the Great Hall for the gold leaf stripes of Duchess of Hamilton, the Japanese high-speed rail nicknamed ‘bullet train’ or ‘Mallard’, the world’s fastest steam locomotive. 

For something extra special, check out Wonderlab:The Bramall Gallery for an interactive experience to test your engineering skills.

Free Entry. Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery day passes start from £8.60.

Mere Sands Wood, Lancashire – free

Spot a variety of butterflies fluttering around at Mere Sands Wood in Lancashire on a guided walk through the reserve. 

Perfect for all members of the family, go on an easy two-hour walk and stop by different sites to find a range of beautiful butterflies and insects.

Alternatively if butterflies aren’t for you, go on the Tomato Soup at the Cafe Loop which is a 1.3 mile walking trail that ends with a bowl of soup.

Experiences are free but adults pay £6 for the Butterfly Walk

Manchester Museum, Manchester – free 

Manchester Museum is a great way to take the family out for a day and learn about what makes us human and how we connect with nature. 

Don’t forget to say hi to the giant T.rex, Stan, explore the lives of ancient Egyptians or marvel at archaeological objects.

This summer, discover the world of bugs from 21 July to 28 August in Bugtastic!

Take part in producing insect prints, designing comics starring superbugs, and make bug-like costumes.

Free entry although booking is advised for the Exhibition Hall. 

South and West of England

WhizzFizz 2026, Buckinghamshire – free

From 27 July to 1 August, WhizzFizz is holding a free summer festival across Buckinhamshire in Aylesbury, Chesham, and High Wycombe. 

The schedule includes an interactive board games show, collage workshops and poetry workshops for children. 

Sessions are free but participating kids are expected to be registered for the events. Adults are required to stay but don’t need a ticket. 

Free admission

Boating in Regent’s Park, London – from £3.40

Hop on a boat from now to September in Regents Park and take in the beautiful surroundings. 

A 30-minute boat journey ranges from free for toddlers to £6.50 for adults during off-peak hours.

Alternatively, the Children’s Boating Pond is £5.20 for a 20 minute session. 

Prices start from £3.40. Off peak hours are 11am-1pm on weekdays and 10am-noon on the weekends.

British Museum, London – free

The British Museum is at the heart of Central London with a large worldwide collection dating back two million years and the best part is that general admission is free.

This summer celebrate the 25th anniversary of John Constable’s birth with a free exhibition.

Explore a collection of Constable’s paintings where he depicted British landscapes from fields in East Anglia to the clouds of Hampstead Heath.

Free Admission

Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre, London – from £10

Experience 400 years of history in London’s original theatre district and transport yourself back into the time of Shakespeare. 

Enjoy classics such as Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar this summer for £10 if you grab a standing ticket. 

Prices start from £10

Mudchute Park and Farm, London – free

Families with animal lovers in the group will delight in this free family farm on the Isle of Dogs. 

Find over 100 animals in the 32 acre farm including goats, pigs, and even llamas.

Before leaving, stop by the Mudchute Kitchen Cafe for delicious home-cooked food, cakes and tea. 

Free Admission

Smithsonian Starstruck at the Science Museum, London – free

Experience this free virtual reality experience at the Science Museum in London.

Visitors embark on a cosmic journey discovering galaxies, constellations and watch volcanoes on an exoplanet erupt into glitter.  

Free Admission

Summer in the Square, London – free

Taking place in Portman Square Garden in Marylebone from 7th – 12th July, this free festival brings families together with a range of activities. 

Choose from Wimbledon open air screenings, wellbeing sessions, and opportunities to get creative with watercolour sessions.

Kids can get involved with workshops hosted by Marylebone Youth Theatre, opt for Fairytales in Oz or The Tempest Tale. 

Free Admission

Uber Boat Audio Guide, London – £2.50

Board on to an Uber Boat and cruise down the Thames with a funny and educational twist.

For £2.50, learn history, TV and cinema facts that you can later impress friends and family with. 

£2.50 for audio guides

Lady Vale Walk, Bodmin – free

Take the family out for a chance to spot some of their favourite characters from The Gruffalo. 

Follow the signs for the Lady Vale Walk in Cardinham Woods near Bodmin to hunt for the Gruffalo characters along the path.

Don’t forget to bring the camera and take a picture next to the sculptures as you venture deeper into the forest. 

Free admission

Brighton Beach and Pier – £1

Brighton Beach is one of England’s top beach destinations with plenty of activities for the whole family. 

The Brighton Palace Pier is a £1 admission fee and boasts its own helter skelter for £3.

Other attractions include a soft-play area and Brighton’s largest arcade with classic games such as penny pushers and air hockey. 

Take a ride on the world’s oldest operating railway, Volk’s Electric Railway, where an adult return fare is £7 and a children return is £4.40.

Visit the Fishing Museum for free and discover the history of Brighton’s fishing village.    

Prices start from free to £7

Song of the Sea Cave, Cornwall – free 

Instead of splashing out for a holiday away, visit this hidden gem for a beach holiday.

Jump into this natural tidal pool at Nanjizal Beach in St Levan, Cronwall and cool off from the hot summer.

Nicknamed “Song of the Sea Cave”, this low tide pool will make you feel as though you’ve escaped to a warmer destination surrounded by clear waters.

Dip into the mermaid pool and watch the light glimmering through the narrow arch. 

Free admission

Central and East England

Silverstone Museum, Towcester – free 

This summer until 31 August, Silverstone Museum in Towcester is offering Kids Go and Eat Free for children ages 15 and under.

Explore immersive exhibits, iconic cars and learn about racers that have shaped the history of motor sports.

Highlights include a Mixed and Virtual Reality behind the story of Alberto Ascari, racing Scaletric cards on a 25-meter long track and a collection of championship winning vehicles. 

Prices start from free to £24 for adults when booking at least 1 day in advance.

Norwich Theatre Family Festival, Norwich – free

On 4 August, Norwich Theatre brings a dramatic schedule for the whole family with free workshops and interactive experiences. 

Those interested in crafts and set design should check out workshops in puppet-making and set-art.

For the thespians and vocalists in the group, there are storytelling workshops and community singalongs.

All workshops apart from Storytelling and Sensory Stories don’t require a booking and are available to drop in. 

Free admission but Storytelling and Sensory Stories workshops require booking. 

Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden, Cambridge – free

From 25 June to 1 September, adult tickets into Botanic Garden in Cambridge will be reduced as part of the Great British Summer Savings Scheme.  

Boasting different sections, the Botanic Gardens offers visitors to explore British wild plants to exotic tropical plants to beautiful roses.

On 15 July, visit the Garden’s Main Lawn for Sounds Green 2026 and enjoy swing and jazz from The Basin Street Brawlers with a standard entry ticket. 

Don’t forget to have a tea break on the terrace of The Garden Cafe when all the walking and dancing is done.

Children under 17 go free and adult admissions are £7.60.

Tudor House Museum, Worcester – free

Step back into time at the Tudor Museum in Worcester from Wednesdays to Saturdays from 10am-4pm. 

This summer, the Tudor House Museum brings a range of family activities on Thursdays to Saturdays exploring a different historical theme each week. 

Take home a family portrait at the Victorian Parlour, write top secret messages using wartime codes or design a banquet fit for royals. 

Free admission

Scotland

Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh – free

Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh offers the chance to hike up the remains of a dormant ancient volcano for free. 

Once you get to the top of this 2,000 old hillfort, enjoy the views of St Margaret’s Loch from the summit before climbing back down. 

Free Admission

Summer Family Fun, Edinburgh – free

From 29 June – 7 August, the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh is hosting Summer Family Fun on Mondays and Fridays. 

Drop in anywhere from 10am – 4pm with the family and discover weekly changing themes ranging from dinosaurs to space to ancient Egyptians for free.

Free Admission

Open Air Pool, Stonehaven, Aberdeen – free 

Jump into the UK’s only art deco, Olympic-sized lido at Stonehaven’s Open Air Pool in Aberdeen.

Now open for the summer, there is something for everyone looking to cool down from the heat.

Little ones under the age of 8 can enjoy splashing in a paddling pool (while accompanied by an adult).

If there are older kids in the group, slide down the playground of inflatables.

Catch the inflatables during the weekends from 1pm to 3pm in early and late season or all throughout the week from 3 July – 18 August. 

During the early and late season there is live music which can be enjoyed by everyone after the inflatables close. 

Day tickets start from free for under 5’s to £10.40 for adults. £1 deposit required for lockers.

Inverness Walk, Inverness – free 

If a hike up the hills at Inverness is on the itinerary, don’t forget to check out this walk around River Ness and Ness Islands. 

Explore Inverness by finding key sights of the city close to the station.

Highlights include the Inverness Cathedral designed by Alexander Ross, the Inverness Castle, and the floating Ness Islands.

On the walk, cross footbridges and spot fishermen catching salmon and birds frolicking along the river.

Free Admission

Northern Ireland

Street Art, Belfast – free

Belfast is known for its colourful streets and going on a Belfast Street Art Walking Tour may be the perfect way to learn how this creative community became so famous.

Starting from the Duke of York, go on a 2 hour walk and discover the artists who have transformed the vibrant walls of the Cathedral Quarter for £10.80.

Alternatively, download the Street Arts Cities app on your phone and go on a self-guided tour at your own pace for free. 

Prices start from free – £10.80

Ulster Museum, Belfast – free

Visit Belfast’s Botanic Gardens and drop into free workshops where kids can discover their inner fashionista or book into object handling sessions.

The interactive center offers ways to connect with creativity or learn about artefacts from different civilisations and natural wonders. 

Free Admission

17th Century Walls, Londonderry – free 

Marvel at the only walled city of Derry built in 1613-1618 and learn about the history and heritage it holds. 

Check out the impressive collection of 7 gates and cannons which have been carefully looked after and restored.

Free Admission

The Giant’s Lair, Slieve Gullion Adventure Playpark – free

Transport your little ones to the land of giants, fairies, and pixies with this free fairytale trail at Slieve Gullion Forest Park in County Armagh.

Walk the same path of mischievous Flynn the fairy and be careful not to wake the sleeping giant, Slieve Gullion.

Find fairy houses, sip on dandelion tea at the Giant’s table, pass the ladybird house and catch a glimpse of the naughty witch, Calliagh Berra. 

Free Admission

Wales

Caerphilly Cheese Festival, Caerphilly, Wales – free

Making a return, the Caerphilly Cheese Festival takes place on the 29th and 30th August at Caerphilly Town Centre and is free to attend. 

Explore the packed schedule consisting of food, drink and craft stalls, funfair attractions, street and music entertainers.

Don’t forget to gorge on cheese while you are there.

Free Admission

Cardiff Bay Barrage, Cardiff – free

For something free, families can choose to go on a stroll or an easy bike ride while enjoying the views of Cardiff Bay and the Severn Estuary.

Check out other facilities such as the children’s play area, Skate Plaza and adiZone outdoor gym. 

Free Admission

Margam Country Park, Port Talbot – free 

Near Port Talbot, there are plenty of fun activities for the whole family at this park with free entry. 

Visit the Fairytale Village and step into miniature houses with whimsical themes, play a game of giant chess and draughts, or wander through the willow cathedral. 

A unique feature is the Wood Vibrations Trail where kids have the opportunity to create music and appreciate nature.

Pass the giant musical instruments made from felled trees, grab a stick and watch them play their hearts out.

Free Admission, but car park charges apply (£8.90 for cars or £5.90 if arriving 2 hours before closing)

Holyhead Festival, Newry Beach – from free

From 23 July – 26th July, celebrate culture with the community at the Holyhead festival at Newry Beach with music, street food and craft stalls. 

There is also a programme of fun such as the Family Foam Sessions (With Peppa Pig) and fairground rides, although additional charges may apply (£5 and under) 

Free Admission. Foam Party tickets start at £2 for adults and £5 for children attending Peppa Pig sessions.

After a gunman killed 17 students and staff at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., the survivors became the big story, not the shooter. Many students in the liberal enclave, as well as family members of the victims, rallied to agitate for stricter gun control laws.

But not all of them. One of those exceptions was Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed inside the school. Pollack pressed his case for President Trump’s reelection at the Republican National Convention on Monday night on the grounds that he thought the school’s liberal policies on student discipline had contributed to his daughter’s death.

“After my daughter’s murder, the media didn’t seem interested in the facts. So I found them myself. I learned that gun control laws didn’t fail my daughter. People did,” Pollack said, blaming “far-left Democrats in our school district” for adopting insufficiently harsh disciplinary measures to catch previous red flags about the gunman, a troubled former student.

“I was just fine with the old approach to discipline and safety — it was called discipline and safety,” Pollack said, criticizing the school’s “restorative justice” policy. “But the Obama-Biden administration took Parkland’s bad policies and forced them into schools across America.” He praised Trump for ending support for those policies, and told listeners their children’s safety depended on Trump being reelected.

Trump has occasionally wavered in his rhetoric on gun control policies, but his administration has time and again come back to conservative positions against universal background checks and bans on semiautomatic rifles, which have become Democratic orthodoxy.

The Times profiled Pollack in 2019. A native of Long Island, N.Y., who voted for Trump in 2016, Pollack was angered by the media’s close focus on gun policy rather than on other factors leading up to the shooting. Pollack appeared at the White House a week after the massacre.

“I’m pissed,” Pollack shouted in a listening session at the White House. “It’s not about gun laws right now. That’s another fight, another battle. Let’s fix the schools and then you guys can battle it out.”

Pollack was also critical of the student activists who survived the massacre and then called for tighter gun control policies. “They just got famous off the death of these kids,” Pollack told The Times in 2019. “Their agenda was to get famous and spew more of their liberalism ways without looking at the facts.”