Ramona Sophomore Basketball Standout
by Keith Antigiovanni

London Houchin knows what it takes for a Ramona High School Championship.

First Team All-CIF, San Diego Union-Tribune Conference Player of the Year and All-CIF Academic — all are words to describe Ramona sophomore basketball standout London Houchin.

London, the youngest of three children, comes from a family with a strong background in athletics. Her father, John, a Ramona High School alumnus, played college football, her older brother Jake played football, baseball and soccer, and sister Holland played soccer, volleyball and track at Ramona High. Both Jake and Holland received scholarships to Colorado Christian University: Jake in football, Holland in basketball.

Coming into this past season, the goal for Ramona girls basketball was to make the CIF playoffs, which the team accomplished.

"Right before a game, I like to go over the opponents’ strengths and weaknesses," London said, when asked about the key to winning consistently. "I think about our plays and strategy on how to beat them. I think about my leader-ship role and what I have to do to keep my team ‘pumped’ up.

"Every game is different, because every team has their own way of playing, but we have to adjust our strategies. One thing that never changes is my process of thinking about the fundamentals. I enter every practice as if it’s a game, because I was told by my dad that ‘How you practice is how you play the game,’ and of course it’s a lot of work, but you work hard in practice and have fun in the game."

Preparation is important, but even a standout player like London knows there is a lesson to be learned in how she reacts to the result of the game, win or lose.

"My attitude totally changes when we lose," London said. "It makes me break down the game and (what) I could have done or what the team could have done to win, but after a victory, I tend to enjoy it a little too much. Instead of thinking about what we could do to beat them and what we could do to improve our game, we just walk away without thinking about the lesson we could have learned."

London admitted she was surprised about the awards and accolades she received after her outstanding season.

"I knew that I worked very hard, and coming into the season, (I had) high standards for myself. There are a lot of good players out there," she said. "I took it as a challenge this year to see where I was standing compared to the other players in California. Now that I have an idea where I’m out, I’ll have to work 10 times harder this year because the competition is even better."

London said her expectations for next season include a personal goal of getting into a Division One school.

"I like to set my goals high, but our first goal as a team last year was to make CIF, which we accomplished," she said. "This year is to compete for the champion-ship and win it. Making the playoffs last season gives us the experience we need to know what it takes."