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THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM | WEDNESDAY EDITION | AUGUST 18, 2021 | $1.00
Siuslaw News
Sports &
Lifestyle
SPORTS
CALENDAR
To add your
activity’s summer
sports schedule,
email Sports
Reporter Zeahna
Young at zyoung@
thesiuslawnews.com
Tide Tables
Entrance Siuslaw River
Low Tide
High Tide
August 18
4:27 a.m. / -0.4
11:05 a.m. / 4.7
4:04 p.m. / 2.6
10:01 p.m. / 6.7
August 19
5:27 a.m. / -0.8
12:04 p.m. / 5.0
5:14 p.m. / 2.4
11:03 p.m. / 6.9
Siuslaw Youth Soccer Association (SYSA) Coach Justin Linton with youth referees in training Ray Brito (center), Ethan Jagoe
(right) and Camden Linton (behind coach).
Training to field calls
Siuslaw Youth
Soccer trains
referees to
call games
By Zeahna Young
Siuslaw News
L
ondi Tomaro, Siuslaw
High School’s head soccer
coach, doesn’t only run
the Vikings’ soccer program. Nor
is she merely the Siuslaw Youth
Soccer Association (SYSA) Club
Treasurer and Head Referee/Ref-
eree Assignor.
On top of all of these monu-
mental soccer tasks in town, To-
maro is also in charge of coordi-
nating the youth referee training
program sponsored by SYSA in
Florence for kids interested in be-
coming certified recreational soc-
cer referees. The certified refs then
go on to call games for SYSA in
the U10 (third and fourth grade),
U12 (fifth and sixth grade) and
U14 (seventh and eighth grade)
divisions.
“U10 is the first year the kids
have referees, and before that, the
coaches referee,” explained Toma-
ro. “When the game gets stopped
and what the players get told they
can and can’t do depends on the
coach and how much they know
the rules, so when they get to U10,
it can be sometimes a little bit of
a shock.”
In the U8 division (first and
second graders), one coach from
each team is on the field to watch
their end and coach in conjunc-
tion.
“For the most part, it hasn’t
been an issue,” said Tomaro.
“There have been a few times, but
really, the coaches are out there so
the kids can play, and I don’t know
any instances where they really
have gotten upset at each other’s
calls.”
PHOTOS BY CAMERON JAGOE/SIUSLAW PHOTOS
See REFEREE page 2B
Ethan Jagoe and Derrick Vanduch take the field as youth ref-
erees in training (L to R).
August 20
6:20 a.m. / -1.0
12:52 p.m. / 5.4
6:13 p.m. / 2.1
August 21
12:00 a.m. / 7.0
7:07 a.m. / -1.2
1:33 p.m. / 5.7
7:05 p.m. / 1.7
August 22
12:51 a.m. / 7.0
7:49 a.m. / -1.1
2:11 p.m. / 5.9
7:52 p.m. / 1.4
August 23
1:39 a.m. / 6.9
8:29 a.m. / -0.9
2:47 p.m. / 6.0
8:38 p.m. / 1.1
August 24
2:24 a.m. / 6.6
9:05 a.m. / -0.6
3:20 p.m. / 6.1
9:21 p.m. / 1.0
August 25
3:08 a.m. / 6.2
9:40 a.m. / -0.1
3:53 p.m. / 6.1
10:05 p.m. / 0.9
August 26
3:53 a.m. / 5.7
10:14 a.m. / 0.5
4:26 p.m. / 6.0
10:50 p.m. / 0.9
August 27
4:40 a.m. / 5.2
10:48 a.m. / 1.1
4:59 p.m. / 5.9
11:38 p.m. / 0.9
August 28
5:32 a.m. / 4.8
11:23 a.m. / 1.7
5:34 p.m. / 5.8
Siuslaw’s volleyball team gets a new head coach
By Zeahna Young
Siuslaw News
“Siuslaw High School is happy to announce
that Kari Blake has been hired as the Head
Volleyball Coach,” said Athletic Director Chris
Johnson last week. “Kari knows the current
team very well. She coached them in 12U-14U
club volleyball and also has three years’ expe-
rience helping with the Siuslaw High School
Volleyball program. She will bring some con-
tinuity to the program.”
Blake, who played volleyball herself in high
school, has been Siuslaw School District’s
business manager for nine years, and has been
working with Siuslaw’s club volleyball pro-
gram since 2014.
“My daughter Kya started playing in sixth
grade, and that was actually my first club ex-
perience,” said Blake. “I had only played on the
high school scene, and club wasn’t a big deal
when I was younger. So, the first year that she
played, I was there watching, and her coach,
who was awesome, was planning to have an-
other baby. So, she asked if I would help out.
Once she got pregnant, she kind of stepped
out, and then I took over as the head coach.”
Blake coached 12U and 14U club volley-
ball for two years, then moved on to assistant
coach JV volleyball at Siuslaw High from 2016
to 2018.
At this point, Blake took some time off from
coaching to be able to cheer Kya on as a mom
rather than as a coach while her daughter was
playing in high school. Then, in the 2020-21
school year, as two new coaches came on staff
for the volleyball program, Blake returned in a
volunteer capacity.
As she transitions to head coach this school
year, Blake has the benefit of having worked
Siuslaw High School’s new head volleyball coach, Kari Blake, returns all but one
graduated player (Kya Blake, Class of 2021) to her team this school year.
with the current team since they first be-
gan playing together years ago in club. After
watching last year’s team progress to the point
they are at now, she is eager to see how far they
can go this year.
“For me, it was really personally satisfying,
because a lot of the varsity girls from last year
are the girls that I started with back at the 12U
level,” Blake said. “It was starting to come full
circle. Back when these kids were 10, 11, 12
years old, I predicted this year to be their year
where they really get to shine, knowing that
they were going to continue playing together
from clear back then until now.”
Fortunately for Blake, her entire varsity
team, save her daughter, who graduated in
June, is returning.
“It was really awesome to see their progres-
sion,” she said. “I think if they had had a full
season last year, we would have seen even
more from these kids by the end of it. They’re
hard workers and they’re a great team.”
She said the team not only knows the game,
but knows each other.
See COACH page 2B
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