WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
SPORTS
Five Tigers earn all-state bids
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mores. Thyler Monkus was
named a second-team out-
The 3A Eastern Oregon ¿HOGHU DQG LV WKH KLJKHVW
League and district champi- ranking Tiger. Dylan Gro-
RQ6WDQ¿HOG7LJHUVEDVHEDOO gan was named a third-
team was rewarded with team catcher, and Ryan
several all-state nomina- Bailey was tabbed the
tions this week.
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Five Tigers earned the Klay Jenson (pitcher) and
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honorable mention selec-
tions.
German George of
Clatskanie was named the
Player of the Year. Ryan
Thompkins of Clatskanie
and Glide’s Al Skinner
were named Co-Coaches
of the Year.
ALLISON
it was all I could do ... I was
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bring him back ... to see
him come back, I’m like,
‘Yes! He’s coming back!
The light’s coming back
on!’ ”
BY SAM BARBEE
HERMISTON HERALD
Monkus led the Tigers
with a .545 on-base per-
centage and also in runs
with 47. He played exten-
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behind the plate. Grogan
was third in batting av-
erage (.373) and led the
team in slugging percent-
age (.639) and on-base
plus slugging (1.073)
and home runs (3) as a
shortstop, third baseman,
catcher and pitcher. Bai-
ley led the team in average
(.386), hits (32), RBI (31)
and second in slugging
(.518).
As a pitcher, Jenson
finished with a 2.65 ERA
with 58 strikeouts in 42
2/3 innings pitched. He
led the Tigers in strike-
outs and innings. Flores,
who played predominate-
ly at shortstop and pitch-
er, was second in average
(.378) and struck out just
twice in 100 plate appear-
ances.
Allison was 13 and
completely devoid of
identity. He ached to grab
his helmet and stick and
go run around a lacrosse
field — to be The Beast
again.
That’s when Hermis-
ton Youth Lacrosse Pro-
gram Coordinator Tram-
pis Palmer contacted the
beleaguered Allison and
asked him if he wanted to
be involved in the youth
program. At first, Allison
hesitated. He felt burned.
He thought maybe sports
wasn’t for him anymore.
But with encourage-
ment from his mother, he
gave it a go. Thinking he
would just be helping “as
a ballboy or something,”
he made his way to Fun-
land Park for the first
practice of the spring.
With a smile, Palm-
er greeted Allison with
“Hey, coach!” surprising
the 13-year-old.
He was the assistant
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sixth-grade team. The next
spring, as a 14-year-old,
he was given the keys to
the third- and fourth-grade
team.
All
accomplishments
aside, rediscovering his
love for lacrosse and sports
put “the light back in his
eyes,” DiAna Allison said.
He went from gloomy and
barely speaking to bounc-
ing around the house, tell-
ing stories, smiling. Pre-in-
jury Andre had made an
appearance, and he was
there to stay.
“It was dark. He was in a
dark place,” DiAna Allison
said. “Seeing him like that,
Allison called his expe-
rience an identity crisis. He
experienced two years of
being a ship without sails.
He had no idea who he was,
what he was going to do, or
how he was going do it.
Allison’s injury changed
him and who he was. His
life changed for the better,
however. He learned that he
couldn’t play sports forev-
er, but that he needed a plan
beyond that. His attitude
improved.
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for everything after high
school,” he said. “You have
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in high school and make a
career for after high school.
The injury taught me that
sports aren’t everything.
Lacrosse is a big deal to
me, and I love these kids
that I’m coaching, and I
love to see them grow, but
the injury taught me that
you may be good at sports,
but sports aren’t everything
after high school.”
As a 14-year-old, he
earned parents’ trust af-
ter one practice, and he’s
earned their respect, too.
“Coaching was therapy
for me,” he said. “I miss
playing football with all
my buddies. I miss being
a part of the team, but I’m
SAM BARBEE PHOTO
so happy it happened in
high school because I was Andre Allison (in white), a Hermiston High School junior, smiles with his third- and fourth-grade
youth lacrosse team after winning the Spokane Youth Lacrosse LAXFest May 16-17.
oblivious.”
everything went well. So,
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daughter, who watched her
brother’s lacrosse games
with enthusiasm while
playing softball, decided
that she, too, wanted to play
lacrosse that spring.
“As an educator, it has
been phenomenal for my
son,” Smith said. “He’s
jumped three reading lev-
els. He’s been on honor roll
every year since.”
Lacrosse has given
Smith’s son an avenue
for success that baseball
wouldn’t have provided.
The relative simplicity of
lacrosse compared to base-
ball was what he needed.
Some has to do with
friends playing lacrosse.
Hermiston’s DiAna Al-
lison, whose son, Andre,
coaches a youth team, said
some children see their
friends playing and are in-
terested, or they are con-
vinced by friends who play.
It’s a growing sport on the
West Coast and, until re-
cently, was unknown to
many children.
For
some
parents,
though, the environment
is much more relaxed
than baseball can be. They
pointed out how political
baseball can become at the
lower levels, but much of
that is absent in lacrosse.
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youth participation up to
around 75 children, a num-
ber that seemed a pipe
dream two or three years
ago.
“It is a fun game,” Di-
Ana Allison said. “When
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actually see them — on
TV it’s one thing, but to be
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it’s different.
May 21. Instantly, she felt
at home.
It was green, she said,
continued from page A6
but also felt smaller than it
come visit, so I went and really is. Clark’s enrollment
visited and loved the cam- is about 16,000, which
pus,” Ledbetter said. “She makes it the second-larg-
offered me my scholarship, est community college
we talked about it at home in Washington. But, said
and I thought it would be a Ledbetter’s father Mike, it
UHDOO\JRRG¿WIRUPH6R, doesn’t feel that big.
decided it was a good plan
“It, to me, felt smaller
for my future.”
than Blue Mountain,” he
Hill played college said.
softball at Portland State
In 2011, Blue Mountain
University and set career Community College had an
records in home runs (31), enrollment of 2,732.
RBIs (135), wins (67), ap-
But it was more than just
pearances (147) and innings the small feel and coach fa-
pitched (815 1/3), as well miliarity that drew in Led-
as the single-season record better. She felt welcome,
for home runs (12) and is too.
the only 20-game winner in
“I loved it. Everyone
Vikings history, which she there is friendly,” she said.
accomplished twice in 2006 “I walked in, and immedi-
and 2007.
ately people were like, ‘Do
“I’m really excited for you need help? Where are
her,” Hermiston softball you at? What do you need
coach Kylee Lete said. to do?’ So I just liked that
“It’s been a dream and goal everyone was friendly and
she’s had, I can imagine, outgoing and it wasn’t awk-
since she was a young girl. ward, like I was lost. They
I think that’ll be a great tool made me feel at home and I
for her and a great opportu- KDGEHHQWKHUHIRU¿YHPLQ-
nity for her to play. I’m re- utes.”
ally excited for her and that
Ledbetter has some ex-
opportunity.”
perience playing high-lev-
Clark is a member of the el, competitive softball.
Northwest Athletic Confer- She’s played on Washing-
ence and competes in the ton Explosion, based out
South Division. This past of Connell, Washington, of
season, Hill’s second, the the American Softball As-
3HQJXLQV ¿QLVKHG sociation (ASA) with girls
(4-16 league), and Ledbet- from Washington, Oregon
ter, who plans on pitching, and Montana. The pro-
walks into a roster that is gram has sent more then 20
losing half its pitchers to girls to collegiate programs
graduation.
across the country. Ledbet-
/HGEHWWHU ZDV ¿UVW FRQ- ter’s coach, Ron Thompson
tacted by Hill towards the was instrumental, Ledbetter
end of her senior season said, in creating exposure
at Hermiston and visited for the pitcher.
Lete said Ledbetter’s
experience in that level of
softball will help her in the
transition to the collegiate
game with better athletes
and better hitters.
“I think she’s taken, as
far as athletics go, she’s
been around the game
since she was little,” Lete
said. “She’s played travel
ball. I think the exposure
to that, she knows what
kind of athletes she’s go-
ing to see at the college
level. And I think that’s
gonna be an advantage for
her, knowing what she’s
going to see as far as that
goes.”
continued from page A6
pretty young, but there
were so many tears. I was
just bawling.”
THE DEPTHS
For two years, Allison
sat in his house and stewed.
He could no longer vent his
frustrations by throwing a
lacrosse ball against a wall
or workout or play catch.
The diagnosis echoed in
his mind. He couldn’t
shake it. He found him-
self drifting away from
his friends.
This came to a head at
a school assembly for the
football team. He sat with
his former teammates,
only to be told because he
was not a football player
he couldn’t sit with them.
“What a blow,” DiAna
Allison said. “Things
like that were happening
to him, a lot of crushing
things like that. They
would come over and try
to spend time with him,
and all they wanted to do
was talk about football. It
crushed him even more.
He said, ‘Mom, I don’t
have anything in com-
mon with them anymore.
I can’t even talk to them.’
That was tough.”
The young man was
struggling with who he
was. It was as if his for-
mer world cast him out.
“I went through a cou-
ple summers where I was
really depressed,” he said.
“It was a rough time.”
THE RISE
LACROSSE:
continued from page A6
Smith’s son was recruit-
ed to play because of low
numbers three years ago.
He is dyslexic and process-
es things just a hair slower
than his peers. This was
known beforehand, and
LEDBETTER:
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