clackamas print
sports 7
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009
¡ars daw back competition
By Mark Foster
-s kick it in to
look for title
Sports Editor
[Mark Foster
Sports Editor
2008 season did not
L the Cougars wom-
Ler team wanted it to.
jew they were better.
iach knew they were
low they just have to
fougars finished last
with a 12-5-3 record,
the NWAACC South
kt the end of the sea
team was ranked in
tour, along with four
tons from the South
[regions.
I competition to say
|
ing into the playoffs,
gars were awarded a
ind bye, jolting them
to the quarterfinals,
ne would turn out to
[only win of the post-
[defeating Whatcom
hity College 3-2 in
ng off an unfortunate
ttace finish, the team
itly leading the South
Coach Tracy Nelson
of confidence in her
he feels her team is
ng to work out some
re still coming togeth-
lam. We have a lot of
and are working on
ling our talent,” said
from leading the
gion, the Cougars are
ing in third in the
|C.
bmore Sara Landis
but this year’s team,
far we have more tal-
our team has better
y.”
iin Dani Lichty added,
ive more respect for
er.”
10 returning women
yen freshman there is
balance between the
Brad Heineke Clackamas Print
Freshman forward Jennifer Almond clears the ball down the line against Everett
Community College. The Cougars are currently 4-2-2 in league play.
two.-
Landis said, “There is a
good amount of experience to
go with the incoming talent.”
A rough first road trip set
the team back, but Nelson felt
that it was a learning moment
and now the team is more
focused and determined to go
out and get the job done. .
Nelson added, “I definitely
feel we are headed in the right
direction and will be playing
our best soccer by the time the
playoffs come.”
Landis and Lichty both
agreed that Chemeketa will
be the toughest competition of
the year. The way the team has
been playing lately, though,
they should be able to top
Chemeketa and most of the
conference.
“If we can pull it together
we can win it all: We just
need to play as a team,” said
Landis.
Less injuries have also
helped the team stay on track
and keep headed in the right
direction.
With six games remaining
the Cougars are looking to
make a push to win a league
title. They play Clark College
today at 2 p.m. in Vancouver.
ch pushes players to win in the classroom
Carlos Calderon
Clackamas Print
ite the echo of basket-
plently colliding with
kind and the chatter
ptball players as their
was winding down,
|,could be heard ema-
from down the hall. It
werful, enthusiastic;
ng, spirited and most
tai.
Ing in on Kathie
pre-practice instruc-
[one can’t help but
¡the complete and
lention the team paid
It didn’t matter who
I instructions were
I towards, everyone
[• This was the first
I of the week, second
p loss to Concordia
|ity and another opporr
1° regroup, to refocus,
ove.
|e age where coach-
R around from pro-
P program, Woods has
jlackamas Community
October
classic
returns
College her home. In her 25
years as head coach, Woods
has garnered a bevy of awards,
such as the prestigious and
always . elusive NWAACC
“I don’t gQ out
and recruit the
best volleyball
player I can find,
I try to so out and
recruit the best
people I can find
that are athletic
and love volley
ball,..”
Kathie Woods
Head Volleyball Coach
Coach of the Year in 1995,
1996 and 2004.
“We started to get at the
top consistently in the mid
1990’s because we started
to get an understanding of
defining roles and having the
girls accept their roles,” said
Woods. “You can’t execute
your roles without accepting
them. It’s really important to
be very honest and truthful
with the girls. When every
body has a role and every
body knows that there is
value in their roles the team
has an ability to work better
together.”
The philosophy by which
Woods runs her program
is to give 100 percent in
school, volleyball and life.
Notice school is first. Unlike
programs out there that
insist school comes first,
Woods means it. In four of
the past five years, Cougar
Volleyball has been awarded
American Volleyball Coaches
Association Team Academic
Award. Even though Woods
has amassed over 500 career
wins, multiple NWAACC
championships and coach of
the year awards, she is most
proud of the work her teams
do in school and" in the com
munity.
“I don’t go out and recruit
the best volleyball player I
can find, I try to go out and
recruit the best people I can
find that are athletic and love
volleyball...” said Woods.
“We work in the community,
visit rest homes, and decorate
Christmas trees for the elder
ly. That’s what I take pride in
and is why I think we are so
successful.”
Despite a rough start to
the season, due in part to the
strength of schedule, Cougar
volleyball is second in-con
ference with a 3-1 record.
There are only two more
home games remaining. So
instead of watching that show
on TV, show up and support'
your Cougar volleyball team
bn Oct 28, 2009 (sponsor
night) and/or Nov 10, 2009
(sophomore night).
It’s October. It’s here. It’s
playoff time.
It gives me chills up my
spine.
The long- wait is finally
over and not a minute too
soon. It was a season of
races, chases, and, unfortu
nately, the 2003 steroid list.
We’re ready to stop talking
about the list, though. Red
Sox fans especially, who now
realize the ‘04 playoff run
they love to talk about was
fueled by a little extra juice,
not just die Jack Daniels Curt
Schilling and Kevin Millar
were throwin’ back in the
clubhouse before games.
Eight teams began, now
four remain
It was quick and painful
for a couple teams, mainly
the Twins. Going from an
emotional and high inten
sity game against the Detroit
Tigers to having their playoff
hopes and dreams crushed in
a mere three games, simply
put: heartbreaking.
But, that’s what happens
when you play a Yankees
team littered with perennial
All-Stars.
All credit is due to the
Minnesota Twins.
They
became the first team in
MLB history to win then-
division trailing by three
games with four games to
go in the season. They did
what they needed to do to
jolt themselves in to the post
season; it just wasn’t enough
to keep them in it.
The Yankees broke out
the broom; cleaned their
clocks.
Not including this year’s
playoffs, the Twins are 0-7
against this year and 5-25 in
the Bronx since 2002.
The Yankees are hun
gry. It has been seven years
since their last World Series
appearance and eight since
their last title.
They’ve been knocking
teams out like Tyson in the
80s.
Who is going to dodge
the right hook and drop them
with a haymaker in the World
Series?
Could it say it all in the
name, the Dodgers? Or is it
going to be the Fightin’ Phils
making the two hour drive to
take their second title in two
years?
The Yanks and Dodgers
both rank in the top five
offensively for the entire
MLB. Who cares; throw
those stats out the window
It’s October, it doesn’t matter
whether you score one run or
five runs; get the job done.
The Phillies rank 23rd
offensively. They didn’t care
about rankings when they
put up three, runs in the ninth
inning in .Colorado with two
outs to win the National
League Division Series.
They’renotstoppingthere.
They are taking the National
League
Championship
Series. It might take seven
but they’re getting it done,
meeting the Yankees in the
World Series.
It all comes down to who
wants it more.
Who is going to battle?
This is playoff baseball.
This is October. This is what
we have waited for.