Is this the year of the Grizzly on the volleyball court? Watching The Bear Creek School’s volleyball team progress over the last few seasons, one might think that 2011 just might be.
For head coach Sally Goodspeed and the strong Overlake girls’ soccer program, the 2011 season represents one more chance at state glory. After coming off heartbreaking back-to-back losses in the 1A state finals to Seattle Academy (2-1 in 2009) and Bush (1-0 in 2010), the Owls have reloaded and are ready to start the long journey back to Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.
REDMOND MUSTANGS
• Head Coach: Patrick Scheibe, 17th season
• Last season: 4-6-0 (7th in 4A Kingco), 6-6-3 overall
• 2011 Turnout: 70
As more of a specialized sport than the other fall offerings for student-athletes at Redmond High School, golf has always been about quality over quantity for head coach Chris Zimmerman.
Although only 14 kids tried out for the boys’ golf team this year, 11 of them are returning from last season, and four of them played in the 4A state tournament just last spring.
REDMOND HIGH SCHOOL
Head Coach: Denis Villeneuve, 21st year
Last year: 6-3, 3rd in Kingco (boys); 8-1, 3rd in Kingco (girls)
2011 turnout numbers: 70
Longtime cross country coach at Redmond High School (RHS), Denis Villeneuve, loves to share his passion for running with the young Mustangs heading through his program every year. In his 21st season, Villeneuve had another very strong turnout of 70 kids, with about a 2-1 ratio of boys to girls.
Redmond High School football head coach Jeff Chandler isn’t one to sugarcoat the situation at hand as his team prepares to play in arguably the state’s toughest and most talented football league — 4A Kingco.
Redmond’s first annual Great Day of Play turned out to be a smashing success, as thousands of Redmond residents got to enjoy a myriad of activities at the City Hall campus last Friday, Aug. 19. From a 3-on-3 youth basketball tournament to a 5K run, along with the high-flying trampoline acrobatic tricks from the Skyriders, the festival celebrated the importance of being active and having fun as part of a healthy lifestyle.
The Reporter recently posed the question ‘If you could change any one thing about high school athletics, what would it be?’ to our local prep athletic directors. Here are their responses:
As much credit as coaches and athletes get for their successes and achievements on the field, there’s one piece of the high school sports puzzle that often goes unnoticed, and that is the crucial role of the Athletic Director (AD).
With any new nonprofit organization, even one that has a good business model, nobody can be certain that it will be successful in the long run. Case in point is Redmond’s own Eastside Basketball Club (EBC), which opened in the summer of 2009 as a way kids looking to play competitive basketball could join an accredited Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team.
As a sports writer for a local community weekly like the Redmond Reporter, the summertime is often the most fun, yet unpredictable, part of my job. From September to mid-June, there’s always something to cover, from previews of all the local sports teams, to rivalry matchups featuring some of the top local high school athletes. Once school gets out, however, it gets a little difficult.
Tom Sovay, the PGA Director of Instruction at The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge, has been a busy man as of late — but also a very happy one. In between a completely booked schedule of teaching golf lessons and playing weekend tournaments to sharpen his game, he took a shot at the big time back on June 29, attempting to earn one of just two spots for the U.S. Senior Open in a one-round sectional qualifier at Woodinville’s Bear Creek Country Club.
Oliver and Lyle Rudnicki lived out a dream that very few amateur golfers will ever realize – playing the hallowed grounds at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The Redmond High School twin seniors were two of the 78 junior players in the Nature Valley First Tee Open, a unique Champions Tour event that paired juniors with touring professionals.
About two years ago, community volunteers and local soccer moms began to notice a trend that needed to be addressed. Families in Redmond’s growing low-income population were itching to send their kids to play soccer, but simply couldn’t afford the fees and necessary equipment.
Over the course of the 2011 baseball season, Redmond High head coach Dan Pudwill gained a full understanding of the difference between the roles of manager and coach. With the Mustangs being unbelievably deep and talented this past season, having three players committed to playing D-I baseball and a number of contributing varsity returners, Pudwill’s role with the club was far different this year than in the past.
For just about any basketball program – and particularly at a small school in the 2B classification – the graduation of two all-state basketball players usually means at least a year or two of rebuilding. The Bear Creek Grizzlies, however, turned out to be the exception rather than the rule.
Redmond High’s James Boker, who graduated last Wednesday with the rest of the Mustang senior class, was recently selected to play in the renowned East-West All-Star game, a high school football showcase pitting the top players from the eastern and western halves of the state.
In this day of specialization when it comes to high school prep sports, the three-sport athlete has become an increasingly rare breed. But don’t tell that to Bear Creek School junior Morgan Rial.
Morgan Rial’s soccer, basketball and track coaches reminisce on their favorite memories involving our Female Athlete of the Year:
