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89 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, August 2, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 1, 2004 Leaf Jensen serves during Saturday�s four-on-four grass volleyball tournament at Hawthorne Park. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Volleyball proves to be Jensen’s forte Grass tourney winds up today at Hawthorne Park By DON HUNT Mail Tribune In the fall of 1989, Leaf Jensen headed to the University of San Diego as an aspiring soccer player. But the Toreros, who finished as the runner-up at the 1992 NCAA national tournament, were loaded with talent. Jensen never even made the team. "I was a defender and they had two All-Americans on defense," Jensen recalled Saturday. "I wasn’t going to beat them out." Advertisement Jensen was a little burned out on the sport, anyway, and giving up soccer allowed him to spend more time on his other athletic passion: volleyball. Jensen joined a club team in college and he’s been playing and coaching volleyball ever since. He’s among more than 100 players who are participating in a four-on-four grass volleyball tournament this weekend at Hawthorne Park. Jensen’s team, called Team Wags, finished second to a University of Oregon foursome in the men’s open division on Saturday. Today’s play calls for a coed format. "I played some city league volleyball with my dad in high school but I’ve never really been coached," Jensen, 33, said. "I learned the game from watching and talking to other guys and just by playing it." Jensen, a left-hander who takes advantage of the strength generated by his 6-foot-1, 205-pound frame, spent a lot of time on the courts and beaches of Southern California throughout his college days. He graduated from San Diego in 1993 with a degree in history and then enrolled at Southern Oregon University, where he obtained his teaching credentials. Jensen, now a history teacher at Scenic Middle School in Central Point, served as the head volleyball coach at Crater for seven years before resigning in April to spend more time with his wife and two young children. "I missed my son’s birthday two years in a row and his first Little League game," he said. "Those are precious moments you’ll never get back, and it just got to the point where I had to give up coaching." But not playing. Jensen participates in local city leagues, heads to Eugene and Portland a few times a year in search of better competition and is an easy mark for outdoor tournaments like the one going on this weekend. "It’s great to be out here in the sun with your shirt off, going barefoot and working up a sweat," he said. "And I really like the four-on-four format. You’re constantly getting touches and everyone has to set, pass and hit." Jensen teamed with South Medford High head volleyball coach Adam Wagman, Panthers JV coach Josh Elbert and Crater JV coach Michael Gooding in Saturday’s competition. With Wagman doing the majority of the setting, Gooding manning the middle and Jensen and Elbert hammering kills from the outside, it was obvious the quartet had played together before. "We’ve played together for at least 10 years," Wagman said. "We all know what each guy is capable of and we always know where everyone is on the court. And we’re not afraid to critique each other. No one takes it personally." Team Wags went 7-1 in pool play and beat Grant Ford Point of Grants Pass in the semifinals. Jensen pulled his left hamstring in that match and was no longer able to jump. Even so, Team Wags pushed the college players to three games before losing 15-21, 24-22, 21-17. In Saturday’s other title matches, the Jell-O Shots of Roseburg defeated Team Grizz 21-13, 21-13 in the women’s A division and the Island Babes beat Team Dodgeball 21-15, 21-14 in the women’s B division. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times