Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2012)
Sports The Clackamas Print / W ednesday, A pril 25, 2 0 1 2 ' sportsed@clackamas. edu Left: Freshm an M ehgan A n g e l hangs a history fille d poster 811 on th e w a ll o f the g y m chronicling m ost o f Woods’ seasons. I Above: Coach C athy Woods cheers afier p u llin g o f f a fir s t ro u n d upset in the 2 0 1 1 cham pionship tournam ent. Alumni gather to honor beloved coach, mentor, friend volleyball painted on it hung a sign with bold letters on it saying, “ Once a Cougar, always a Cougar.” Looking around at the players here Early on a Saturday morning, Randall Hall usually stands still, and there, the proverbial phrase and silent, devoid o f its typically adorned nearly every neon green, yellow shirt. T he ladies bustling activity from, hoards of passing students. It’s..on such days wearing them were as diverse as that old memories; ghosts o f a their eye catching colors. time long past, begin to echo in The ones in dark blue tie-dye the em pty hallways, across the were familiar. For. the: m ost part, barren floor and up abandoned they played volleyball together in stands. They recall the rich history the fall, wearing the red, ■white and that, the bidding blueClackamascolors. A fewfaces By John William Howard Sports Editor ,. p e r stories o f defeat, heartbreak, were new, bur a t least recoghiraUe. The same couldnt be said tor the drama, learning, victory, success and progress. T he people who have rest of the players on the floor. T he walked its hallways and run its team across the net looked to be in floor have gone on to lead lives o f ' their m id 20s and older, and several their own, occasionally, returning of the members from the team on the far side of the room appeared to pay respects to their past. However, the q u iet. murmurs to have broken well into their 30&, o f the past Were drowned out by y et they were all grouped together the building o f new memories last with the same smile oh their feces, Saturday, when droves o f volley as though they’d returned home ball alumni grouped together to once again . . As. more players began to trick- share in something they all loved, playing volleyball. T he gym was le in and games began to finish, filled with bright shirts o f many ■a few o f the attendees grouped colors, and on the wall with a large together to catch up, telling sto “It means that we’re a fam ily,” said 2011 standout Taylor Richardson. “All these girls have been through w hat I’ve been through. N o one else can-relate to having two years with Kathie Woods. She’s the stickler o f the NW AACC, the old fashioned, hard working coach. W e have to be solid in academics, in our social life, on the court. Everything is school, volleyball and life. All these girls have had to be held up to th at standard that I have, and so it’s an au S S rnau ^en S ^f t a m i l y . ^ ries from their past year arid reminiscing their time playing- at; Clackamas. Perhaps the veteran o f them all,, Chrissie Lewis, was the.oldest alumni to participate, having played in ' 1987-88j just four seasons after current head coach Kathie Woods was hired. According to Lewis, none o f it. would have been possible without- Woods herself. “T he whole root.ofit.js Kathie, Just her dedication, her value that she puts in us, her confidence that NW AACC championship team. “I’m a new mom, so I haven’t had time to play, but it all comes back. Its like you kinda just pick up where you left off, and it’s a great feeling.” Woods’ emotions wavered for a few moments when she heard the loving words from her former play ers and looked out over the court at all the feces that she knew by heart. “They’re a blessing. They’re ray blessing and this is by fer my most important day of the year ^ ^ p u t s in everybody,” said Lewis, w ho has maintained a relationship I. uJdUi, said w o o d s. g I tell m y in a lew years as tim e passes, with Woods ever since graduation. “I think that’s what makes it. That’s what makes you feel good about coming back and supporting her.” Lewis said that there were many alumni members who would have attended but now live too far away or had too many responsibilities to make it. Some, however, went through a lot of trouble to be there to play for Woods once again. “This is m y volleyball fix,” said Samantha Hennessy Schreiner, w ho played on the . 2004 girls, I go, T m gonna be mov ing around talking because, think about it, I’m the only one in the gym that knows everybody, that Jmows ¿Wy and I want to talk to everybody to make sure I say hi and see how they’re doing.”’ . Woods also talked about the importance the alumni tourna m ent had for her current players, saying truthfully that the turnout and the family atmosphere spoke volumes o f the tradition o f Cougar volleyball. Richardson and her teammates, like so m any o f their predecessors will make the trip back home, connecting with their peers and bringing joy to their coach’s heart. “To see m y alumni, to see how they’ve grown, to meet their fami lies, to see what they’re doing and to make sure that they’re happy. This is what it’s all about,” said Woods, “and it means the world to me' Every year I want more and more. I love it. I just love it.” Model student is the picture perfect athlete By Emily Rask Associate Sports Editor There are m any athletes at Clackamas Com m unity College, but Jake Buchanan, pitcher for Cougars baseball stood out with his “posing” background. Buchanan is a model for Abercrombie and Fitch and an aspiring firefighter. H e started his baseball career when he was four years old, his earliest m emory o f baseball being when he hit the ball, but ran to third base instead o f first Despite the early mishaps, he continued playing all the way through high school. A graduate o f Aloha High School, he decided to continue baseball at C C C and plans to move on to a school in Kentucky or Corban University in Salem. T h ro u g h o u t high school Buchanan wrestled and played football, b ut after enrolling in col lege, decided to focus on baseball; although he is redshirting this year to recover from a shoulder injury For many, jobs are hard to find. Others, like Buchanan, walk right in to theirs. , “I gpt recruited,” said Buchanan. “I was walking around looking for a, job arid just got offered a posi tion.” W hat Buchanan landed was his first modeling job for Abercrombie and Fitch, with whom he had his first shoot. 8 “I had to take pictures with m y shirt off,” said Buchanan. “It was interesting. 1 was still nervous but I knew the photographer so that made me more comfortable.” Modeling is something Buchanan mentioned he would like to con tinue doing as a career, and it has influenced the person he is today. “It makes you more comfort able and confident with yourself,” said Buchanan. Baseball and modeling aside, public service seems to ru n in Bucharian’s family, and growing up, he shared a dream job with thousands o f other kids. “It was always between a cop and firefighter,” said Buchanan, “but then in high school I decided that since m y uncle is a firefighter and m y grandpa is a retired fire fighter, it is something to continue doing.” Buchanan is not currently serving as a firefighter and hasn’t done any training.- H e has taken related classes and an E M T class. To him, firefighting is different than what he had imagined it to be. “I don’t really know what I’m getting myself into. N ot all fire- fighters can save everyone’s lives; so I would have to live with that if I couldn’t save a life. It would put a damper on that [jpb],” said Buchanan, who shared that he thinks being , a firefighter is admi rable. ‘Tts good to think about oth ers before yourself because in class they’ve been talking about [how] doing something is better than nothing in emergency situations.”^ Buchanans story suggests that anyone can be anything they want to be, all it takes is a goal and the motivation to reach it. From base ball player, to model, to prospective firefighter, Buchanan has great potential to reaching his dream. Jake Buchanan balances m ore'than most, as he is a college baseball player, a m odelfor Abercrombie a n d Fitch a n d a n aspiring firefighter. BN
