There is one cool, fun and awesome thing that happens in the first week of March. That is…the Speedball Tournament!
Hawthorne High School is very excited and proud to host their 11th Annual Speedball Tournament. It will take place and occur in the high school gym on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 6:00 PM. If you are interested in playing in the Speedball Tournament, please reach out to Mr. McMann and/or Mrs. Gerdes for information. But if you are not, feel free to come out and support your friends/peers if they are participating in the Speedball Tournament this year!
About Speedball: Speedball is a very cool, fun and exciting school sport (tournament) that happens every year in the month of March. It is fast paced but not an easy sport since you have to run and move your body a lot, just like in each and every sport that schools have. Speedball is also a mixture of soccer and basketball together and for this case, the rules have all the evidence to prove this claim.
Rules & How To Play Speedball: A jump ball or tip-off will be the first thing to be done for each and every game in speedball. Once you have the ball in your hands, you cannot move or take any steps, otherwise it is a travel and turnover for the other team. You also cannot dribble the ball on the ground: doing so will also cause a turnover for the other team…so you must either throw or kick the ball to your teammates. Another thing to point out and mention is that, once the ball is on the ground, you cannot touch the ball with your hands and this will also cause another turnover for the other team, so you must kick it up to your teammate or yourself.
Scoring Points: In order to score points, you can either throw or kick the ball to your teammate in your opponent’s end zone or you can make a 3-pointer. However, it is a lot easier and better for most people to score points by catching the ball in their opponent’s end zone since that is what they do most of the time. But sometimes if they feel lucky enough or if they are behind, they can challenge themselves by making a 3-pointer to take the lead or catch up to the other opponents/team. But that is why this sport is not easy and it requires a lot of skill, patience and time in order for things to work out best for the teams.
Requirements: Each and every team is required to have 10-12 players and the members have to pay $12 in order to participate in the tournament. There has to be a minimum requirement of 3 girls on each and every team and they must have a school staff member as a player or coach in order to participate in the tournament. Otherwise, your team will not be accepted or eligible to play in the tournament. However, you can have more than 3 girls on a team if you are confident and/or feel up to it. In terms of school staff members, they can be and come from either elementary, middle or high schools. There will also be T-shirt colors that will come as a first served basis when the team roster is completed and the full payment is received by Mr. McMann and/or Mrs. Gerdes.
Anyways, with all of this information being said, here are the teams who are participating in the Speedball Tournament for the 2025-2026 school year:
1. Team: The Fluffies
Players: Uriel Acosta, Fonzi Coba, Randy Colondres, Jordi Corrales, Damian DelValle, Kenzie Doyle, Simone Green, Sebastian Jimenez, Valentina Sanchez, Hugh Shortway, Leandro Solorzano & Ali Visaev.
Captain: Ali Visaev & Managers: Jasiel Alfaro & Diego Navarro
Coach: Philip Habib
2. Team: The Brothas
Players: Aiden Baird, Dean Cohen, Anthony DeLallo, Andrew Galland, John Kenworthy, Jessica Kinahan, John Lopez, Isabella Lopez, Jack Lorper, Charles Manke, Addison Menne & Olivia Passero.
Captain: John Lopez & Coach: Ferraro
3. Team: TMNT
Players: Kenny Callaghan, Joey Cannone, Kaylee Hopper, Jake Pollick, Adam Reilly, Emma Ryglewicz, Giovanni Trovato, Kaitlyn Van Gunst, Justin Vukovic & Peter Williamson.
Captain: Adam Reilly & Coach: Richard Grofsick
4. Team: Legion of Doom
Players: Kyle Alamo, Brett Botbyl, Raenzo Galindo, Cassiel Maldonado, Ethan Nedswick, Audrey Parsons, Sophia Perez, Schuyler Reed, Angel Reyes, Amy Sanchez & Nicholas Warner.
Captain: Brett Botbyl & Coach: Ryan McMann
5. Team: Michigan Wolverines
Players: Lauren Cabrera, Emmanuel Jimenez, Isabella Hewitt, Lauren Iannacone, Nicholas Panagia, Braylen Ray, Charles Retkwa, Mikel Silverio, Alex Steffani & Aniyah White.
Captain: Charles Retkwa & Coach: Iezzi
6. Team: Mark´s Minions
Players: Connor Arabia, Aidan Downey, Brandon Renna, Yaniel Rodriguez, Carter Solloway, Ella Alberta, Angel Almorza, Savannah Barry, Altino Carradice, John Janiec & Isabella Paz.
Captain: Brandon Renna & Coach: Mark Rulli
7. Team: Mujica´s Elite
Players: Ryan Callaghan, Timothy Culhane, Kian Fisher, Ashlyn Iannacone, Julia Jara, Ryan Mai, Vivian Manke, Christiano Mussa, Alejandro Perez, Ryan Phillips, Nick Rojo & Damien Torres.
Captain: Vivian Manke & Coach: Mujica
8. Team: Los Caballeros
Players: Christopher Estevez, Nasrallah Hachimi, Aaron Reyes, Ayden Frances, Brianna Rodriguez, Flor Mariel Acosta, Alex Camillo, Cole Fliorent, Khriss Mejia, Krishna Patel & Maggie Walsh.
Captain: Nasrallah Hachimi & Coach: Bailey Hansen
9. Team: H-20-Bliteration
Players: Luana Pastor, Brian Almanzar, Catherina Callegari, River Foley, Ivan Grullon, Doug Michel, Kevin Barba, Steve Barba, Angiolino Caro, Camilo Forero & Victoria Lora.
Captain: Kevin Barba & Coach: Dios
10. Team: One fih Two fih Red fih Blue fih
Players: Orti Bautista, Kemora Clyburn, Sebastian Landreville, Ziyad Khalil, Sophia Olivera, Luis Rodriguez, Alex Torres, William Watson & Sandra Wietecha.
Captain: Kemora Clyburn & Coach: Franklin
11. Team: Anonymous
Players: Derian Carranza, Victor Constanza, Antonio Nunez, Jhefry Orellana, Mathias Ortiz, Emmanuel Sanchez, Brianna Liriano, Marlinda Mata, Junior Nunez, Kevin Bonilla & Lia Bruno.
Captain: Junior Nunez & Brianna Liriano
Coach: Osvaldo Duran