Los Angeles Galaxy

Some of the best soccer players in America came to Glendale on June 14 to help youngsters with their skills. The "Practice with the Pros" clinic, hosted by the Crescenta Valley Soccer Club and the Los Angeles Galaxy, brought out 130 youngsters to the Glendale Sports Complex. Six players from Major League Soccer's L.A. Galaxy helped local youth players from 5 to 15 years of age master the game and have some fun at the same time. Galaxy pros Joseph Ngwenya, Chris Aloisi, Paul Broome, Josh Gardner, Ned Brabavoy and Ricky Lewis put the local players through their pace sand autographed soccer balls, while joking and taking photographs with many of the boys and girls in attendance.

Full Force Hoops Academy Full Force Basketball Academy will hold five-week youth basketball clinics Mondays and Thursdays at the Glendale YWCA, 735 E. Lexington Drive, Glendale. The elite basketball training and conditioning clinic will run from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Mondays. The shooting clinic will be conducted 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursdays. The clinics are geared for boys and girls of all ages. For more information, call (818) 731-8014 or visit the organization’s website at www.fullforcebasketball.

Gretchen Hoffman PASADENA -- The third annual Desi Geestman Foundation Soccerfest scored big with local residents and soccer players alike. The event kicked off Sunday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena with a Los Angeles Galaxy training clinic for children, autograph signings and playing tips. A carnival of soccer-themed game booths, including a "Harness the Galaxy" ring toss, kept attendees occupied throughout the day, and live music served as a backdrop.

With the 405 Freeway set to be closed this weekend, transportation officials have identified several "hot spots" that are expected to be hit hard by traffic gridlock. The Times' Dan Wiekel identified some of them: CANYON ROADS: It's the mostly two-lane, north-south canyon roads connecting the San Fernando Valley and western Los Angeles County. Those roads, which traverse affluent neighborhoods such as Bel-Air, can bog down in normal weekend traffic. They include Sepulveda Boulevard, Beverly Glen Boulevard, Benedict Canyon Drive, Coldwater Canyon Drive, Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard.

Jim Riggio CERRITOS -- Both St. Francis and La Canada highs have had solid seasons in boys' soccer, so perhaps it came as no surprise Monday when both were seeded when the CIF Southern Section released its playoff pairings. The Golden Knights (20-4-3) won the Mission League title and received the No. 3 seed in the Division IV bracket. They will face the Workman and Gabirelino highs, who will face each other Wednesday in a wild-card match. Workman (12-6-4)

sports notebookFlintridge Sacred Heart and La Cañada awarded seeds, as CIF announces girls' volleyball postseason draw.GLENDALE -- The following are odds and ends from the weekend in area sports. LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN Six of the area's eight girls' volleyball teams earned playoff berths on Sunday, when the CIF Southern Section announced the draws for the 2005 postseason. Leading the way were Flintridge Sacred Heart and La Cañada, both of which earned seeds. The Mission League-champion Tologs will be the No. 2 seed in Division IVAA and will host St. Paul, the third-place team from the Del Rey League, at 7 p.m. Tuesday.