Former athlete excels with PSN ■ CAREER Oregon stand out Peg Rees explored playing, coaching and broadcasting sports By Ryan Frank **se*srx*e Snow *Uyx*si*' P«* Rm» recalls a post game meal following on® of her city league basketball game* when *he was approached by the son of a teammate The kid asked il she was "the TV lady" and why she knew so much about sports Kees explained with a smile that she had played basketball, soft bat! and volleyball (or the Uni versity ol Oregon The youngster asked which was bar favorite sport This is the question that Rees has been trying to answer for sometime now In four yaars at Oregon. Rees earned 10 varsity letters tn three sports and made four trips to national tournaments in two dif ferent sports From ltMH to 1093 she coached women’s volleyball at Oregon and led them to three natiunal tournaments In 1993. Rees became a color comments tor for women's basketball and softball for Prime Sports North west (PSN). Currently Raw* is in her first year as a half lime administrator and a half-time teacher with Physical Activity and Recreation Services She teaches basketball and volleyball along with ten nis. bowling and golf Re*** lettered in basketball four times and three times in softball and volleyball at Oregon She went to nationals in both softball and volleyball and helped turn the women's basketball program from the worst athletic program on campus into a winning team her senior season And if it was n't for time constraints, she said she would have liked to try out for the golf team When Rues began her career at Oregon in I97J. sports were quite different from the way thev are now There were no six digit shoe contracts for coaches and no one had heard of free agency Rees wore the same uni form fur all three sports, worked a summer job because there were no scholarships for women and played basketball games where she now teaches it — in Certinger B54. 7£.€*i(aui do now.* tt«w» raid "The upon* would overlap « little Basketball would start pm n< mg wh*n vn) levball wm finishing up W» went to nationals three limn in volleyball *0 ! had to |oin the team a little hit Lute, hut I would rail* miu three or four week* of prank* end m*rb» the ft ret pro season tournament “When I f)ni*hed volleyball I would siart up with basketball the mm! Monday ' When flee* made her trip to the national championship tour nament a* an athlete in volley* hall and to the Women * (College World Serin* in *oftbail. there were 24 team* in one plate, ready to play until a national champion wm decided “All 24 team* were on sita It wm great." Keen said "You *aw such peat play and met «o many (ample You were there for four or five day* fust playing and playing and playing and they whittled it down until they had a winner." But with all the time thet Resw devoted to athletic:*. *he made »ure that *he kept up with her simile* I was a good student," the •aid, “It mattered to me There wm only a short amount of time to *tudy to I had to focus when I did study Thera wm no choice You had to learn to study cm the road and in the hut ” Shortly after Rees finished her academic? career at Oregon, the was hired a* the volleyball c oach at her alma mater She spent nine year* in thru position, and during her Iasi year c oaching the Duck* she began working with PSN a* a c olor commentator But coaching wm h«» fir*! love. “Thera are few thing* that afford you the opportunity to get to know people at their best and at their worst and be stuck in a situation where you have to meet goal* together,' she said It is really rewarding “ Before Rees began c oac hing at Oregon, she spent two year* at St Mary's High School, a pri vate school in Lm Angeles, and nine year* at Lebanon High School in Inbantm Ora . c oach ing the same three sports at the high sc hool level that she played at the college level U There are fir* thing i rhui afford nm the opportunity to Jftt to knot* people at their he it and at their wont PSKCotof&MVMHttot —-— Jf Whtl« at Liiwwn, «h* look the ««ftb*ll team to a third place finuh in the ttate tournament Although the only coached vol. ley-bail at the college level, toft ball eras har favorite tpofl to coach. "In to ft bail you could affect the outcome ttrttegn ally and you had to able to react at the moment," the Mid "In banket' ball and volleyball you do all your coaching in practice * But Reas didn't love every* thing about coaching "I don't mita the paper work. I don't mist the travel and I don't mu* recruiting." the Mid "Rarruiltng era* the wont “ Dec pile thote feeling*. Reet Mid the it thinking about returning to ow lung although not at Oragon or even el the col lege level She Mid the it teri outly considering coaching for KidSporlt. an organisation that run* tport* program* for eie mentary u hool children "I would like to coach Kid' Sport* hecaute I love kid* and I think that it it important fm kid* to get good in turn lion at a young age." the Mid When the finished coaching a! Oregon, Rea* alto became a color commanialor for volley ball f emale tporttcaiter* are something that Re«» would Ilka to tee more often “I think it it evtremely impor tant that I am doing lelevition (for PSN| hither there aren't enough women who are quail lied to talk about tport* — but I don't think that it the cate. I think people don't know how to find them — or women don't know that the opportunitkw anial." Rees tald "But l think it it really important for young female player* to hear a woman talk knowledgeably about tport* Turn lo CAREER. Page 9 bhoot on over to the Star Cheeseburger J 0} AM 4ay Saturday fHtlyotd locution only) Famous Big Star* AB AvjfLo* ivcfy4iy “All you can eat” Hotcakes 7:00am 10:30am daily A CarTsrJr. c East Broadway ft Httyard (Off*r» or* limited t«m* only) TRAVEL BARGAINS! 1000 4401? OiMA 440 It M8G0VA. 4401? MONGIONC. S»|f MANULA !M0tt a*,**'**..* stair vnt.+tom &ji*i SAIGON mo I! honcxuu >«• it COStAKA aeon ionoon mi? KKAMVun 4 7* ft AMkttKMM 4 n it •QME W8 RMTS *■» amms 6i«ti MUNCH 4«S ft KUN 44S ft CUAtAMAlA OSOIT stcwv . m et 33 isoi?24a oota G.I.L. TRAVEL i-too-m-nM ,\iumm Association lead flan'I fnllaw fake an active to* in »W*M r«|at *1 the timer.MI, at Il*re»n n«c tun# m mm ra pun lh* Siuil.nl Alumni Anew utt« Tate the ^^uluMli In tun nan intalne In camnua <-*ent» Meet (e-v^Or tn ihe comanuMIv and ta l'“»l t>u>ln.iu » •»i.e,ifthen the bund between M taken! • and alumni tank l# the future Nrltnnl now Jam the AAA Build a better University. Appht al»>n« are in 124 A*Ea