The
MClackamas Print
Sports 9
Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007
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Dec. 1, the Oregon State Beavers and University of Oregon Ducks will compete in the Civil War game at
Injuries will plague
Oregon against Beavers
[Andrea Simpson
f Sports Editor
| After the Ducks lost quarter-
[ack Dennis Dixon to a torn liga
ment injury, Duck fans everywhere
lobbed info tissues as they watched
lie team’s season go down the
IraM
!
|| The Ducks lost the chance at the
Bfational Championship, Dixon lost
Heisman consideration, and when -
T mean, if - they lose to the Oregon
$tate Beavers, they won’t be play-
Bhg in a decent bowl game, either.
Bl have to reach for a scrap of
jlumanity and feel bad for the Ducks
because the loss of Dixon was a
massive shortfall. Dixon was not
just a phenomenal quarterback, but
he always gave the threat of run
ning it if he saw an opening.
¿The combination of Dixon as
I quarterback and Jonathan Stewart
^s running back was a. vital compo
nent of the Ducks’ offense. Brady
..Leaf is simply not the same kind
Jpf player.
| I would have said that the Ducks
were merely in shock over Dixon’s
departure when they lost to Arizona,
-«but last Saturday they, also lost to
»on-ranked UCLA. This was their
.last game before the Civil War, and
unless something changes in prac
tice, the Beavers should feel secure
in their win.
The main thing that the Beavers
have going for them is their strong
defense. They went into the game
against Washington State with the
best run defense in the nation.
According to the Oregon State ath
letics Web site, the defense aver
ages 62.1 yard^per game.
The only hesitation that I would
have about the Beavers.* perform
ing is the fact that running back
Yvenson Bernard sat out the second
half of the game against WaZzou
with a minor knee injury. He had
been struggling with injuries but
still carried the ball 17 times for a
total of 74 yards in the first half.
If Bernard can overcome the
minor setback, he will be a key
player in the Beavers’ offense.
The Beavers haven’t had an
exceptional season by anyone’s
standards, but with the Ducks
drowning in their tears, I think
they should be able to pull off a
victory. I don’t want to make any
predictions on the final score of
the game, but I would think the
Beavers should beat the Ducks by
at least 10 points.
Ducks will overcome
adversity and trìùn^SS
Zak Laster
The Clackamas Print
_
The Oregon Ducks started this season
with one goal in mind: to get to the Rose
Bowl, if not the NationafcSmpionship
game-
;
Without the devastating injury to
Dennis Dixon Nov. 15, that may have
been an achievable--'goal?
loss to UCLA, not only is the National
Championship out of reach, but so is the.
Rose Bowl.
On Dec. 1, when the Oregon State
Beavers come to .Eugene, a trip to the
Holiday Bowl m San Diego will be on the
line. While the Holiday Bowl would be a
great accomplishment for the Ducks, it is
far less than what they had in mind after
defeating USC and Arizona State in con
secutive weeks.
In se garne against the Beaveis, the
Ducks will be without at least seven play
ers at key positions. Unavailable to play
are three quarterbacks, a running back, two
wide receivers and a linebacker. The status
of two other offensive starters will be deter
mined later this week.
Quarterback Dennis Dixon was having
a very impressive year for the Ducks this
season. He was on the top of many of the
predictions for the Heisman Trophy, which
goes to the nation’s most outstanding player.
He stepped up for his team when it counted
and was a team leader for the Ducks.
Dixon and running back Jonathan
Stewart led the two-headed monster who
put up very impressive numbers. The Ducks
scored more than 50 points in four games,
against quality opponents. Replacing Dixon
will be a difficult task
As great at Dixon has been this year, he
was less than spectacular last year; throwing
two touchdowns and nine interceptions in
his final six starts last year. Fans were pull
ing for him to be benched in favor of a quar
terback by tile name of Brady Leaf, brother ,
of former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf.
Brady Leaf was named the starter in the
last Civil War and played well, even giving
his team a late lead, although the Ducks lost
30-28. It was planned that Leaf would start
the remaining games for the Ducks, until <
he was injured against UCLA. That leaves
the Ducks to have to split time with two
freshman quarterbacks who have seen no
playing time this year.
If the Ducks are to beat the Beavers, it
will come down to two factors: the Ducks’
ability to shut down an injury-filled Oregon
State offense and the play of the two fresh
man quarterbacks.
Because of the quarterbacks’ inexperi
ence. and having to match up with a very
difficult defense, don’t look for the offense
to put up many points, but having the game
played at home shouldhelp.
The Ducks will win, but ft won’t be pret
ty, 17-14. Book your tickets to San Diego.
Nelson inspires team to excellence, creativity on the field
Alexandria Vallelunga
I
The Clackamas Print
She is a teacher, coach and victory
leader by day and a wife and mother
by night.
Tracy Nelson, a health and ath
letics instructor at Clackamas and
the head women’s soccer coach, was
named 2004-2005 Northwest Athletic
Association of Community Colleges
championships (NWAACC) Coach of
the Year.
Nelson started the soccer program
here on campus six years ago and
became a full-time teacher in 2005.
As stated on the Cougar athletics
Web site, she “has achieved a phenom
enal .809 winning percentage and har
vested the last two NWAACC league
crowns” in her time at the college.
Nelson has numerous coaching
accomplishments, including Oregon
Olympic Development Program (ODP)
State Team Coach from 2000 to 2004.
Since 2002, she has coached the Lake
Oswego Soccer Club.
In addition, she has served both as
an amateur and professional soccer
player.
Nelson played the sport professional
ly in England and Sweden from 1996 to
.1997, participating in the US Women’s
Amateur Soccer National Champions
in 1999. She was deemed Woman of
the Year in Sports at Washington State
in J 994.
She has an interesting recipe for
success.
JT feel it is very important as a coach
to jpiake your players feel that you care
about them as people and not just as
another player on your team,” she said.
“I try to have a good rapport with my
players and try to instill confidence in
the team.”
Nelson was inspired by her former
soccer coaches to become one herself.
“I feel that I have learned so much
from the coaches I had that it only
made sense to pass on some of their
wisdom and give
back to others what
I was so fortunate
to gain through
soccer,” she said.
She devotes- a
great amount of
time to coaching,
and soccer is a sig
nificant part of her
life and her family
members’ lives.
“From watching
games on TV, to
going to the local
college games, to
watching
games
for recruiting pur
poses, to coach
ing other teams, to
playing myself, we
seem to have some
involvement with
the sport on a daily NELSON
basis,” she said. “I
work with the col
lege team every term with our indoor
class in the winter to our six-week
spring season in the spring.”
Nelson’s husband, who works as
a computer programmer at Integrated
Services Inc., coaches the boys junior
varsity team at Tualatin High School.
Nelson attended the University of
Portland from 1991 to 1995. From
there, she graduated with a bachelor’s
degree in social services and a minor
in psychology.
In 1994, she was voted the most
inspirational player at UP. She par
ticipated in the first UP final four team
that same year.
Nelson continued her education at
Portland State University, where she
completed
her
master’s degree
in education in
2003.
“I played soc
cer in
college
(University
of
Portland) under
Clive Charles,
who I
con
sider my men
tor,” she said.
“We reached the
final four of the
Division 1 play
offs my senior
year. I primar
ily played cen
ter midfield and
some defense.”
“I used to do
substitute teach
ing for special
education when
I graduated from
college in 1995
and 1996,” she added.
Nelson balances much of her time
between family and athletics.
“My life outside of Clackamas con
sists of club coaching, ODP coaching,
taking care of my 15-month-old son
and playing a little soccer myself,” she
said.
But while soccer is her favorite
sport, Nelson used to be a competitive
horseback rider.
“I rode hunter/jumpers back in high
school in Snohomish, Wash., stopped
during college and got back into riding
in early 2000 at a jumper bam up the
road from where I live,” she said. “I
stopped when I went back to school to
get my master’s in 2004.”
Nelson loves the art and the twist
and turns soccer encompasses.
“I love the creativity that is dis
played with good soccer players and
teams,” she said. “There are so many
different elements to the game; you
never know what is going to happen
or what a player is going to do on the
ball.”
She says that the most valuable
thing she has learned from the sport
is “mental toughness” - “how to get
through the toughest and most chal
lenging situations even when you don’t
think you can.”
“There were many training sessions
that I didn’t think I could do one more
sprint or get one more goal,” she said.
“I look back at those situations and
realize I can get through anything.”
Nelson tries to shape her athletes
into quality players and team members,
as well as encourages them to thrive
academically.
“My players work very hard to
improve individually and as a team,”
she states on the Cougar athletics Web
site. “We have very high expectations
for our players and our program ... we
constantly are challenging our players
in training and pushing them to their
fullest potential.”
Nelson feels that coaches must
be great motivators because moti
vation “is a big part of having a
successful program in any sport.”