orts
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009
the clackamas print 7
esh meat for Clackamas Cougars
Jaycob Izso
bitributed Article
la shoddy roster last sea-
leems the baseball gods
Illy thrown the Cougs a
■49 to be more specific,
lougars’roster has swelled
It season, when the small
[crew marched their way
I the NWAACCs.
le got a lot of newcom-
|d Head Coach Robbie
p, “but we’ve also been
Icky about the guys we
Ison has every right to
I with the Cougs losing
lortion of their roster last
I grades, lack of account
lid various other issues.
In with the knowledge
reason in their minds, the
Is staying positive,
leguys weren’t just hurt- *
■team they were hurting
les,” said veteran pitcher
B9 All-Star Taylor Hill,
le a lot better leadership
■though, and we’re really
I work with these guys
le it fun for them.”
rd Greenstein, another
Il-Star, agreed, “We have
up to our reputation from
John Petty Clackamas Print
Ion. We’re all over the
Is to get them ready,” he Coach Robin Robinson stands by as players pack up after practice. Robinson is currently in
his 20th year at CCC and 30th overall.
was mutual
■the veterans and rook-
ordan Anderson, a new
put of Idaho, pointed out.
[glad to be here, to be part
[team,” he commented.
I pitchers and coaches
bi really helpful so far.”
I would argue there is a
tor both the rookies and
| feeling
veteran guys to be concerned
though simply because of the
sheer amount of competition.
“We’re feeling like we have a
lot of good talent,” said Robinson.
“Our pitching staff is really deep
and we have at least two solid
guys at each position.”
Even with that level of com
petition, sophomore pitcher Cody
Ching was unphased.
“I feel like I’ve earned my
spot,” he mentioned coolly. “I’ve
been working on a lot since last
year so I guess it’s more moti
vation for a lot of the younger
guys.”
Hill concurred, “I’ve been
running a lot 'more than I have
in the. past, focusing more on
aspects I’ve struggled with. You
just have to set yourself apart
from the rest of the guys.”
Some of the players were even
more excited with the prospect of
fresh competition.
“Everyone is lifting, running
staying in shape,” said the 5’8”
200 pound tank that is David
Greenstein. “It’s really exciting
with everyone competing for
starting positions.”
Several of the new guys felt
the same way.
“I’m -working on the right
adjustments and doing everything
else I can do,” confirmed rookie
catcher Beau Day. “It’s nice to
have that level of competition.”
Robinson was characteristi
cally the most calculating on the
topic. “Our goal is simple: teach,
teach, teach,” he said after giv
ing a quick pep talk to several
players running drills. “We put
these guys in situations and we
just have to see who. will learn
the fastest.”
The other players obviously
had picked up on this vibe as
several rookie pitchers could
be seen working with pitching
coach Mike Ellet, while other,
young players could be seen in
the dugout with the veterans of
last year.
“The competition leyel is a
given” said Anderson. “It makes
me want to go out and earn a
spot.”
As always it was Hill who
brought things in to perspective.
“Baseball is mental game”
said Hill with his typical calm
demeanor. “That’s where I get
my advantage and that’s where
these guys are going to have to
look for theirs.”
“The key is though, to go out
and have fun each day,” Hill
continued.
Veteran Rayce Belmont could
be seen joking with a couple of
the new. players,.. as Robinson
yelled at his boys .to run faster
- seem like things just fine in
Cougars Baseball.
cer team looks to kick it up heading into playoffs
»
Brad Heineke Clackamas Print
fore Marissa Santana pushes the ball upfield against
■ Community College Oct, 9.
f-knit team
kly to prove
[selves in post
ín play come
piber
pavierh Montero
F Clackamas Print
■e is no doubt that
|> in general, tend to be
■male dominated than
anything, but in a school that
just so happens to have a 55.1
percent female population,
against 43.2 percent male, and
1.7 undeclared, Clackamas
Community College can’t fall
behind.
For the women’s soccer
program, women get recruited
from high Schools, club tour
naments, state championship
games, and Olympic develop
ment programs; it’s mostly
networking.
“I’ve always played; I
played all four years of high
•school on varsity and was
recruited from my club team,”
says Kristin Krieger.
Being good is not enough.
Aside from loving to play
soccer and having the tal
ent, hard work and effort are
required. Team players not
only train hard for two hours
every weekday but also every
Saturday, as long as there is
no game going on.
With ups, downs, and lots
of enjoyment, the team is cur
rently 6-2-2 overall, and 6-1-1
in the league. The season has
been going fairly well but not
without the occasional bumps
on the road.
With three more games to
be played, women’s soccer
coach Tracy Nelson hopes
for a peak right before the
playoffs towards the begin
ning of November. The goal?
To be playing “the best soc
cer once playoffs hit,” said
Nelson. “We have the poten
tial to win.”
However, winning the play
offs is not their only goal.
The main goal of the soccer
program is to get the women
ready for the next level. By
playing at CCC, the team not
only gets to play in a safe envi
ronment, but also experiences
soccer at a higher level.
“Girls are expected to not
do anything that will embar
rass them or the program ...
thè idea is that they will be
better people not just for now,
but for the future as well,”
said Nelson.
But how does Clackamas
help out in their future?
Scholarships are awarded to
the best of the best, which is
tough in a team full of dedi
cated and committed players.
The philosophy of the team
is one of unity, where no one
woman is the star; every one
of them is important and valu
able to the team.
“They’re very good people
...we have a lot of talent in
our team,” said Nelson.
At home, the. games are
played in the Oregon City
Pioneer stadium. CCC does
not have the required field
to host a soccer team at this
time.
Coach Nelson explains that
according to NCAA regula
tions, “The field needs to be
a minimum of 110 yards long,
and a minimum of 70 yards
wide.”
“All of us have great chem
istry” said Krieger.
In sports, athletes learn
discipline, respect, and values
and as Krieger stated,, you
learn to not “take other teams
[or anything] for granted ...
give 100 percent in every sin
gle game and in class.”
The Cougars play their
final home game today
at 1 p.m. against Clark
College. Their final
regular season game is
Nov. 7 against league
rival Chemeketa
Community College in
Salem.
Brad Heineke Clackamas Print
Freshman defender Rachel Nevell clears the ball against
Chemeketa on Oct. 23.