Wednesday, August 18, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
SHS hopes to boost sports participation
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
Fall sports at Sisters High
School got underway offi-
cially on Monday, August 16,
and Athletic Director Gary
Thorson has a message for all
high school students:
<Get involved!=
The official Oregon
School Activities Association
(OSAA) fall sports season,
which includes cross-country,
cheer, football, volleyball, and
soccer, is scheduled to be back
to normal after more than a
year of canceled and truncated
seasons due to COVID-19.
During that span, partici-
pation plummeted. Thorson
wants to reverse that trend.
According to Thorson,
turnout for sports during the
pandemic took a plunge, and
he wants sports rosters filled
to the brim this year.
<It9s not too late for kids
to join teams,= he said. <The
sooner the better obviously,
but all the teams can take on
kids over the next few weeks.
<We are very excited to
have our fall sports return-
ing for our athletes, coaches,
and fans. As we stand right
now we are back to normal in
terms of scheduling and there
are no mask requirements for
our athletes while they are
competing, and we are grate-
ful for that.=
Registration for fall sports
can be completed on the high
school athletics page by click-
ing on the <Register Here=
button for the Family I.D.
portal.
To encourage participation,
pay-to-play fees for the school
year have been waived for in-
district athletes, so there is no
cost to join a team.
<It9s the best deal in town,=
said Thorson.
All freshman and junior
athletes must get a sports
physical to be cleared to prac-
tice, according to Thorson,
as well as sophomores and
seniors who did not take part
in a sport last year.
Thorson says he feels con-
fident and excited about the
coaches for the fall season.
One new face to Outlaw
athletics is Clayton Hall,
who will lead the foot-
ball program. Hall will be
assisted by Hayden Hudson,
Eric Beckwith, and Randy
Gardner. Hall takes over
from last year9s co-coaches,
Thorson and Neil Fendall.
Fendall took a teaching posi-
tion at Bend9s new Caldera
High School, where he has
also been installed as the head
football coach.
The first game of the sea-
son is September 3, before
school starts, and Hall wants
athletes to be reminded that
they need to have taken part in
at least nine practices in order
to play.
Hall, who will be teaching
physical education at Sisters
High, spent last season coach-
ing at Ridgeview and spent
the previous three seasons at
Neah-Kah-Nie High School in
Rockaway Beach.
Charlie Kanzig will be
back in the saddle as the coach
for cross-country with assis-
tance from Sarah Thorsett and
volunteer Dennis Dempsey.
Kanzig held the position from
1995-2013 before taking a
leave to work internationally
and returning as an assistant
to Josh Nordell in 2015.
Rory Rush returns for
her fifth year as head vol-
leyball coach. She is assisted
by Katherine Bradbury and
Jennifer Noble.
The Law Offi ce of
JOHN H. MYERS, LLC
— Downtown Sisters —
WILLS & TRUSTS
Make it easy for you and your loved ones.
Call for a free 30-minute consultation.
Protect what you’ve
worked for.
541-588-2414
204 W. Adams Ave., Ste 203
www.centraloregonattorney.com
Sisters
Dental
WE ARE HERE
FOR YOU!
Trevor Frideres, D . M . D .
Greg Everson, D . M . D .
541-549-2011
491 E. Main Ave. • Sisters
www.sistersdental.com
Hours: Mon., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
Brian Holden will start his
fifth year as head coach of
girls soccer and is assisted by
David Rowell.
Sisters Middle School
teacher Jeff Hussmann is in
his third year at the helm of
the boys soccer program and
is assisted by Roger Alvarez
and Kevin Eckert.
The cheer squad is also
beginning the fall season
under the tutelage of Anne
Christmas, who is in her sec-
ond year as coach. She has
been involved with the pro-
gram for five years.
Thorson is committed to
doing everything possible to
ensure a successful athletic
program.
<Our kids deserve a great
experience and we are going
to make that happen for
them,= he said.
Practice
schedule
Boys Soccer: Monday-
Friday; 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Girls Soccer: Monday-
Friday 6:30 to 8 p.m. and
Wednesdays and Fridays, 8
to 10 a.m.
Football: Week one
practice is daily 8 to 10
a.m. and 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Contact Coach Hall at
clayton.hall@ssd6.org for
the full schedule.
Volleyball: Contact
Rory Rush at volleyball
rush@gmail.com.
Cross-Country: 8 to
9:30 a.m. Meet at the track.
Cheer: M-W-F from
3:45 to 5:30 p.m. Meet in
the commons.
MUSIC: Irish music
filled hearts, pantry,
and nonprofit9s coffer
Continued from page 3
coolest venue the band has
ever played.
The band, featuring musi-
cians from Sisters, Redmond,
and Bend, offered up songs
like <The Fields of Athenry=
and <Galway Bay.= Michael
Long played uilleann pipes,
or Irish bagpipe, much of
the evening. He also played
percussion. At one point he
brought out what Lundgren
called <the cosmic drain-
pipe= 4 a low-D penny-
whistle 4 and played a fine
tune.
Local musician Michele
Sims delighted on her flute
and took a turn on button
accordion. Another local,
Jeff Sims, played guitar.
Vocal duties were shared by
Amanda Wrenn, who also
played fiddle, and Jason
Herzog, who also played
bouzouki and whistle. They
harmonized on several num-
bers, and closed the evening
with a goodbye song.
Then McGrady got on
the mic for an unexpected
announcement: an anony-
mous donor in the crowd had
made a last-minute offer to
match all the donations made
17
to Warfighter Outfitters that
night 4 up to $5,000.
<Cort Horner and I
counted the cash donations,=
said McGrady later. They
counted $560 with a prom-
ise of another $100, <plus
matching funds from the
anonymous donor.=
Horner said of the event,
<It was great! It9s always a
privilege just to share with
people about the organiza-
tion and our mission. The
anonymous donor coming
forward was a huge sur-
prise but not unprecedented.
So many people have fam-
ily members who are veter-
ans and really understand
how valuable resources like
Warfighter Outfitters are to
their reintegration into soci-
ety and continued well-being
after separation.=
He said the organization
<truly appreciated= being the
recipient of the community
garden9s fundraising.
<At an average cost of
under $20 per veteran for our
outings 4 free to the vets,
of course 4 we really make
our funds go a long way,= he
said.
Music in the Garden
offered <a beautiful setting,
wonderful and generous
attendees, perfect weather,
and great music,= Horner
said. <What more could you
ask for?=
Holistic Mental Health Solutions
Medication Management
Counseling • Functional Medicine
Audry
Van Houweling
PMHNP-BC
Quick and
Affordable Help
541-595-8337 • www.shesoarspsych.com
204 W. Adams Ave., Ste. 202, Sisters