June 14, 2010

Lakeshow has a mission

Kevin McCarthy
 

The next time Lakeshow is on the court and an errant pass is crossing the sideline, keep an eye on Coach Joe Fuca. If it’s anywhere near him, watch to see if he reaches out and nestles the ball in his hands, bringing an end to the speed and misdirection of the ball. Why is this worthy of noting? It’s because in his college days, Fuca grabbed everything that came his way as a star receiver on the gridiron for Cal Lutheran University.

photo of Lakeshow 17s
Lakeshow 17s

Yes, Fuca was a footballer in college and good enough to earn tryout stints with both the then-Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys after graduation. Then it was a resumption of the regular life we all experience -- family, work and so on.

However, seven years ago an idea came to him during a men’s church retreat: putting together a club basketball team. The guiding light: Fuca wanted to create a family-like environment with his players so that they felt comfortable to always be a part of the program. In fact, one of his coaches, Stefan Tappin, who helms the 15s team, was on the first Lakeshow 17s team. Tappin lead his squad to the Rumble In The Bay (RITB) championship last month.

Thus, Lakeshow Basketball began.

With 45 players now advanced to the college level and seven more going from this year’s class, Fuca still stresses this four-word maxim as the foundation of his Lakeshow enterprise: be polite, be respectful.

"It fosters friendship and loyalty," said Fuca. "Plus, we want to go to a restaurant or hotel wherever we are playing, return later and have the staff there greet us and say, "wow, your team is really respectful."

The Lakeshow program consists of a 15s, 16s, a showcase 17s team and a Spring Senior squad. Three years ago, Fuca decided to merge with MVP Flight, a premier grade school AAU program in the East Bay, to help give some players a chance to stick with one quality program from fourth grade through high school. The merger has also helped with providing a tax free non-profit status for the fundraising efforts.

How is that working out?

This year’s Lakeshow 17s put together an 11-game winning streak, taking the San Francisco City tourney championship plus winning six in a row at the RITB. The Lakeshow 15s have compiled a 30-3 record so far this spring Spring and won the RITB National Division.

There is also a personal aspect for Fuca as his son Joey is a Lakeshow graduate and will be entering his senior season as a member of The Master’s College men’s basketball squad in Santa Clarita. The younger Fuca just concluded averaging 14 points a game while running the team from the backcourt. He earned Golden State Athletic All-Conference honors in 2009-2010. Another son, Christian, is a seventh-grader and working his way into the Lakeshow program.

"I’ll be finished [with the Lakeshow program] when he’s done," according to Fuca.

What’s intriguing is how closely the premise of Lakeshow adheres to Cal Lutheran’s mission statement: "... The mission of the University is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice."

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Here’s Fuca commenting on the players making up his 17s squad:

Here is the Lakeshow schedule for the remainder of the summer:

Here is the link to the Lakeshow Basketball website.