08
vernonia’s
voice schools
june
2008
New Coach Brings Experience and Results to Vernonia Football
By Scott Laird
Alex Etta has some very serious football experience. And he is sharing that experience
with Vernonia.
Etta is the Vernonia Middle School head football coach and is looking for players to add
to his team after a successful first season last year. Etta is hoping to build and develop
a consistent program for Vernonia youth players to feed into an already successful high
school program.
But first, about that experience Etta brings to Vernonia.
“I played professionally in NFL Europe for seven years,” said Etta recently. “ I played for
Amsterdam, Barcelona, and London, and in Italy as well.” Etta was a running back, kick
returner, and even played a little defense as a strong safety during his time in Europe.
Etta, at 5’9’’ and 200 pounds, was never the biggest guy on the team. “But I was always
one of the hardest working,” explained Etta. “They did speed and strength testing week-
ly, and I was always in the top three in both. And that’s very unusual, because usually the
fast guys aren’t the strong guys. And the strong guys aren’t the fast guys. I used a good
work ethic to make myself successful, and I try to teach that when I coach.”
Being a high school star in Folsom California, where his team went 13-0 his senior year
earned him a full scholarship to Dickinson State in North Dakota. A successful college
career and great natural speed (“I run a 4.4 forty yard dash.” Which is really fast!) got
the attention of professional scouts and the opportunity to play in Europe.
Now Etta finds himself in Vernonia where he, his wife and one-year-old son live. Etta is
a stay at home dad, and is hoping to settle in and stay in the community.
Etta says he has really connected with his players and earned their respect last season.
“I will look them in the eye an tell them, ‘Look what I was able to do. If you try hard
enough, you can accomplish things in your life too.’” Etta has begun a weight lifting
program for his returning 8th graders, and is working to teach his players new offensive
plays and defensive schemes. “I always try to be learning and I encourage my players
to always be learning, too.” Etta stresses good grades from his players, and has received
compliments from parents who have noticed improvements by their kids. “If they get
good grades in school, it leads to better learning in football. And that goes both ways, so
that’s important,” said Etta.
Last season Etta took his team to what is called a “Jamboree” where a bunch of teams
come and play five short scrimmage games, all in one day. “We were the smallest team
in numbers there,” said Etta. “And we won every game. I heard people talking and say-
ing, ‘Is that really Vernonia?’ We really impressed them.”
Etta is trying to recruit more players for his team. “I want everyone to consider joining,”
said Etta. “Even if they’ve never played organized football before. I want the skate-
boarders. Everyone has a chance with me. A couple of my best players were brand new
to the sport last year.”
“I am willing to work around kids schedules to get them to come out. I’ll even work
around their skateboarding schedule, if that what it takes,” joked Etta.
“My hope is that by starting kids early in a program we can develop better players. I try
to tell my players that they could have a chance to earn a scholarship, go somewhere,
change their life,” said Etta “And I’m a real example of that, so the kids believe me when
I talk with them.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the Vernonia Middle School Football program
can Call Alex Etta at 503- 781-2142
Student Athletes Recognized
By Scott Laird
Blake Moeller and Jeramey Lende, both Vernonia High School students, have been
recognized for their achievements on the football field and have been offered special
invitations because of their success.
Moeller who is finishing his junior year has been invited to attend an exclusive one-
day Nike Football Training Camp. The camp gives players the opportunity to be
exposed to high level one-on-one training with nationally recognized coaches, train-
ers, and NFL and college players. It is a great opportunity to showcase his talent and
gain exposure to college recruiters and national media.
Moeller, also a track star at Vernonia, recently placed seventh at the State meet in the
200 meters with a personal best time of 23.68.
Lende has been invited to play in the annual East-West All Star Shrine game on
August 2nd in Baker City. Players for the Shrine game are nominated by coaches
from their league and selected by a Shrine panel and team coaches. Lende, who was
named all league first team on defense as a linebacker and all league second team on
offense as a running back, was also named the league defensive player of the year.
The Young Writers Club
This year the students at Washington Grade School have been using the Six Traits of Writing to develop strong writing skills. These focus on ideas, organization, voice,
word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. Third graders are focusing on writing effective paragraphs and note taking skills.
To celebrate April as National Poetry Month, some students from Vernonia put their pencil to paper to create some of their own verse. Third graders from Washington
Grade School have written limericks, modern cinquains, definition poems, and color poems to adorn the hallways and create an image through words. In these examples
of their work you can savor a sample of supreme alliterations and enjoy some similes that fit like a button in a buttonhole.
Orange
Red
Orange like the color of the sunset
Rising into the sky
Orange sun shining in the heat
Orangey orange that you like to eat
Orange sun going down.
My Dog Skipper
Red like a burning sunset,
Red smoking, sizzling fire flares on a cool fall night,
Red like juicy apples,
Red hot cinnamon
Red like delectable strawberries.
By Katilyn, age 8
By Pearl, age 9
Black
Now Enrolling
Preschool through
High School Students
Vernonia
Black like the color of tires
Getting ready to speedrace
Black shoes walking all around the school
Black is tasty as blackberries in the summer;
Black wires so high impossible to reach.
By Anesto, age 9
Green, Green, Green
Small and fun
Running, jumping, laughing too
Happy, sad, mad, glad
My home.
By Cheyenne, age 9
Payton’s Ham
Green like the grass in your field
Green like the Journal that keeps your secrets.
Green like the Mountains thereof.
Green trees swaying in the forest.
By Katie, age 9
My dog Skipper is running away.
My dog Skipper is having fun.
My dog Skipper is loving everyone.
My dog Skipper is not obeying.
By McKenzie, age 8
There once was a girl named Payton,
Who just sat around eating bacon,
She was riding a lamb,
She found a ham,
She came home with her tummy achin’.
By Caitlyn, age 8
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