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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2016)
PAGE B4, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 18, 2016 Lady Celts set to defend GVC title days later – 5-0 to Grants Pass High School. Having to travel for both games was the result of losing some contests against top opponents earlier in the season. The takeaway? Early games count just as much as the ones later in the season. “It’s easy for us to explain it this year and we saw when we had to go North Medford and then Grants Pass. Now we can say, ‘This is how it affects you,’” said Kevin Wise, McNary head coach. “They have to be in the By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes The McNary High School girls varsity softball team learned a hard lesson at the end of its 2015 season. The team won the Greater Valley Conference title, scored more runs than any other 6A team in the state, and then had to play two of three playoff games on fi elds at least fi ve hours away. McNary won the fi rst game, against North Medford High School, 12-2, but lost the second one – two Boys tennis returns with fresh faces, new leadership the early going. Trinh plans to partner with Schiefer in dou- bles matches later this season. “He’s just getting back into the sport, but he’s played for fi ve years in Germany. We both have some things to work on, but I’m excited to have the opportunity to play with him,” Trinh said. Courts soaked by recent rains have largely kept the Celtics indoors. While they’ve had brief respites, most of their live action came in a camp before regular practices began two weeks ago. “The big thing right now is just getting everyone com- fortable playing matches and scoring as much as possible,” Reid said. While less than ideal, in- door practice for the Celts provided opportunities to fo- cus on fundamentals. “The things they can do inside are make sure they’re checking their grips and bending knees, all the little things that will help them im- prove faster,” she said. Good habits will give even struggling players something to rely on when the going gets tough, Trinh said. “You can’t give up when it’s nerve-wracking and you’re making mistakes. You have to keep your head up and come back every day to get better,” he said. By ERIC. A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Tennis can be an unfor- giving sport, especially for newcomers. Fortunately, the McNary High School boys varsity team has some experi- enced leadership. “The thing about starting tennis is that it can be really frustrating,” said senior John- ny Trinh. “You lose a lot of points and you lose a lot of matches. It was the most frus- trating thing for me, but you have to take the small steps that will help win matches later.” Trinh is co-captain of the team this season with Alphon- so Pacheco. “Right now everyone is working hard to get better. We have a lot of young kids who are going to be good, you can already see it,” Trinh said. The team returns a dedi- cated core in addition to some new faces. “The strengths are academ- ics and we’ve added four fresh- men who are all top students. I’m hoping it means they pick up the game quickly and un- derstand the mental compo- nents quicker than they might otherwise,” said Lisa Reid, McNary head coach. Another of the new faces is German exchange student Mats Schiefer, who will take over the No. 1 singles spot in game from the start so that doesn’t happen again.” The Lady Celts were actu- ally scheduled for a rematch at North Medford Wednesday, March 16, and senior Kinsey McNaught said the pressure was already building. “We want to set ourselves up well this season. Our fi rst game is North Medford and we know they are gunning for us,” McNaught said. Mc- Naught recently committed to continuing her softball career with Spokane’s Whitworth University after earning a fi rst team all-state selection as a ju- nior. The good news, Wise said, is that the team is picking up right where it left off. “We implemented some changes last year as far as get- ting the program aimed in a new direction and the return- ers have all been a part of that. It’s more about being good teammates and better team- mates and the girls have really bought in, led by our seniors Kinsey and Madisen (Oliver),” he said. Oliver was excited to see where the already-good chemistry would take the team this season. “We seem to have some tal- ent and the hitting is looking good again this year,” Oliver said. Oliver will be sharing du- ties in the circle with fresh- File Celt Haley Ebner eyes fi rst base before making a throw in a game during the 2015 season. Last season, McNary won the GVC and scored more runs than any 6A team in the state. man Faith Danner. Wise and McNaught both said they see a bright future for the talented freshman. Rainy weather has kept the players practicing indoors more than they’d like, but Wise said most of the state’s teams have been in the same boat. “It’s kind of a mess, but we’ve done a lot of hitting and I think we’re still going to score a lot of runs even if it looks a little different this year. We’ve also been able to get in some defensive drills on the new turf and the girls seemed to do well despite the lack of fi eld time,” Wise said. McNaught was more than ready to get in some time with live pitching. “We really want to defend our league title this year. We know it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but we know we can do it,” she said. Oliver said repeating as league champs will mean stay- ing focused, and knowing when to let go. “We’re going to make er- rors, but when we do, I want us to shake them off right away and stay aggressive,” Oli- ver said. Boucher’s is always the answer... 10% OFF DUCTLESS HEATING & COOLING SYSTEMS ENERGY EFFICIENT MITSUBISHI QUIET CONVENIENT ...whatever the occasion A DIAMOND DEALER Engagement | Wedding | Anniversary COME SEE US THIS WEEKEND AT Yard, Garden & Home Show March 18th – 20th, Oregon St Fairgrounds HEARTH & HOME LLC 503.378.1125 3800 River Rd N #180 Keizer, Oregon CCB #200318 OF F ER E X PI RES A P RIL 3 0 , 2 0 1 6. 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