Scotts Valley High coach Jim Hart is a bit on the optimistic side going into this fall season of girls basketball. After all, what isn’t to be optimistic about?

In what can best be described as a bitter loss Saturday, Nov. 20, the No. 3-seeded San Lorenzo Valley High football team fell 36-14 in the first round of the Central Coast Section playoffs to an impressive No. 6-seed Menlo High School.

With the fall sports seasons closing, basketball is the main focus since it’s the only winter sport at Bethany University. The teams are off to inauspicious starts in the preseason, but will look to turn it around when conference play starts next month.

What would you plant if you lived in a flat area with very poor drainage? Where the landscape is shaped by limestone or dolomite bedrock, and the shallow soil is filled with carbonate rock? Where there is limited surface water and no above-ground rivers, and where lakes and swamps are present, but the water is marshy and not palatable for drinking? Where you have two seasons, six months of rain and six months dry, and — oh yeah — did I mention you get 100 inches of rain during the wet season?