MSN_021517
Malibu Surfside News 021617
Malibu Surfside News 021617
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
malibusurfsidenews.com Sports<br />
Malibu surfside news | February 15, 2017 | 35<br />
For Cohen, it’s more than fun and games<br />
Malibu senior<br />
reflects on how his<br />
sport shaped him<br />
Ryan Flynn<br />
Freelance Reporter<br />
Last week, Malibu boys<br />
basketball’s sparkplug likely<br />
played his final home<br />
game.<br />
The final two games of<br />
the regular season were like<br />
a nostalgia tour for 18-yearold<br />
Harrison Cohen. After a<br />
Feb. 6 senior night, a 56-35<br />
blowout loss to powerhouse<br />
St. Bonaventure, the Sharks<br />
took to the road two days<br />
later and narrowly lost to<br />
Santa Clara, a team coached<br />
by Cohen’s former coach<br />
and mentor Bobby Tenorio<br />
49-43.<br />
Tenorio, formerly the<br />
Sharks’ head coach, is the<br />
one who encouraged Cohen<br />
to focus on only one sport.<br />
Finding his niche, his role<br />
on the team and his place<br />
among his Malibu classmates<br />
didn’t come easy for<br />
Cohen. He moved from<br />
Santa Monica to Malibu in<br />
ninth grade. Struggling with<br />
learning disabilities, in a<br />
new place where he knew<br />
basically no one, it was basketball<br />
that truly helped Cohen<br />
bloom.<br />
“My freshman year at<br />
Malibu, without basketball,<br />
I don’t think I would have<br />
been able to be myself,” Cohen<br />
said. “My friend group<br />
is so diverse because of this<br />
game. It’s really helped me<br />
come out of my shell.”<br />
Through the team, Cohen<br />
made friends and was<br />
able to come into his own<br />
in Malibu. He’d first gotten<br />
into sports as a boy as a way<br />
to combat his learning disabilities,<br />
at the behest of his<br />
mother.<br />
Harrison Cohen, a senior on the Malibu boys basketball team, served as a spark of energy for the Sharks this year.<br />
Photo Submitted<br />
“I just really fell in love<br />
with sports,” Cohen said.<br />
“Towards fourth grade I<br />
started to really love basketball.”<br />
The game, he said, taught<br />
him humility, trust, hard<br />
work and teamwork. In addition<br />
to junior varsity play<br />
in Malibu, Cohen played<br />
club and AAU ball all across<br />
Los Angeles. Among highly<br />
talented AAU teammates,<br />
Cohen learned quickly how<br />
to be a role player and fill in<br />
all the gaps, be it through<br />
grinding hard on defense or<br />
making the extra pass. Cohen<br />
also refereed at the local<br />
YMCA, giving him the<br />
ability to see the game from<br />
another perspective.<br />
His senior year, Cohen<br />
finally got his shot with<br />
Malibu’s varsity team. He<br />
would come off the bench,<br />
but as a do-everything player,<br />
Cohen seemed perfect<br />
for the role. Coach Richard<br />
Harris often uses the word<br />
“energy” when describing<br />
the scrappy Cohen, who<br />
said defense in particular is<br />
something he takes pride in.<br />
“When the crowd starts<br />
chanting and you get a steal<br />
or whatever, it starts to really<br />
motivate you,” Cohen<br />
said. “It raises your heart<br />
rate and gets your adrenaline<br />
up.”<br />
The senior guard focuses<br />
on being an “all-around<br />
player” and it shows in his<br />
play. Talkative and active<br />
on the court, Cohen at times<br />
can be a ball of energy for<br />
Harris to call upon when the<br />
team needs a spark.<br />
“[Cohen] is a very hard<br />
worker. He’s passionate<br />
about basketball,” Harris<br />
said. “He’s been a great addition<br />
to the team. His energy<br />
off the bench is a catalyst<br />
to this team overall.”<br />
With his high school career<br />
coming to a close, Cohen<br />
is looking toward a future<br />
that may include some<br />
more basketball at the college<br />
level. He has received<br />
offers from multiple schools<br />
and plans to pursue a degree<br />
in sports business or kinesiology.<br />
In addition to Cohen, the<br />
Sharks bid farewell to seniors<br />
Cade McMillin and<br />
Keaton Hicks.