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Sports & recreation Cottage Grove Sentinel Wednesday, August 29, 2018 South Lane County Sports and Recreation Section B Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail zsilva@cgsentinel.com Finley Jamboree puts Lions back in action readjusts to Alaska Former CGHS basketball coach discusses his move North By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com What started as a fishing trip to Alaska, turned into a new job for former Cottage Grove basketball coach Nick Finley. Finley, who coached the Lions for one season after coaching in Alaska, an- nounced his resignation ear- lier this month and citing a return to Alaska. While fishing, a friend noted a fitness position that was struggling to be filled. Looking for a candidate with a PE and Health degree, Fin- ley fit the mold and agreed to sit down for an interview. “I thought okay, that would be harmless. Why not? And so I come in and by the time I leave the inter- view…they offered me the position,” said Finley. Needing time to talk with his wife, who recently gave birth to their third child, the couple went over their op- tions. While both enjoyed living Oregon, it seemed there was only one way they would make the move. “We talked about it and she goes ‘Well, the only way we are going to move up here is if they pay us a cer- tain amount of money, if you make a certain amount of money it is worth our while to move up here.’ Their offer was what we wanted,” said Finley. Finley was offered the po- sition of fitness supervisor for the Kenaitze Indian Tribe where he receives benefits, works four 10-hour days a week, has time off and an in- creased salary. “I didn’t expect them to do that and so all of a sudden reality hit me and I said, ‘Oh crap, we’re not going to be in Cottage Grove anymore.’ We just went down there and I felt like I built a pret- ty good foundation with not only the basketball team but in the school,” said Finley. “I established myself and my position there at the school as a career and college spe- cialist and we had some re- ally good things going. And the impact that I had and the impact the kids had on me last year was just incredible.” Finley and his family have moved back to Nilchik, Alas- ka where he coached Nili- chik High School from 2011- 2017 including back-to-back state titles at the end of the run. With his job he will be working in Kenai, Alaska but has no plans of coaching in the immediate future. “I think I’m young enough that I think I still have time to make a life for my fami- ly and then come back and coach. I think I have a solid resume that I can hopefully coach again. But at this time, I’m hanging up the whistle and going to take some time off. It’s going to be fun but it’s going to be weird,” said Finley. Staying involved in the community, Finley plans to start giving basketball les- sons and join the state bas- ketball seeding committee. But he also intends to enjoy not waking up early to open the gym, staying late for practices and traveling on FINLEY see B2 PHOTOS BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL Erick Giffen races down the sideline and into the end zone against North Bend on Friday night during Cottage Grove’s jamboree. The Lions begin their season Friday night at home against Cascade. turners from last year’s team playing on it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary said Giffen. “I rallied the team together, Jamboree signals start of the field so we just kind of have that con- and it gives us room to build. We didn’t me and Dylan both, and we had some football season for Cottage nection,” said Graves. look terrible by any means.” conversations about what we need to im- Grove Graves was also impressed with the Now the Lions begin to look forward prove on and how next week we just need Cottage Grove offensive line that brings as they host Cascade on Friday night at to focus on we need to get a lot better de- By Zach Silva back no returning starters from last 7 p.m. in their first game of the season. fensive wise and offensively, we have a lot zsilva@cgsentinel.com year’s team. “[Tonight] was a jamboree, obvious- to do also. We just need to focus on Cas- With new faces up and down the ros- “In the first scrimmage against North ly, so we were just focusing on getting cade and thinking about beating them.” ter and last year’s championship season [Eugene] our line really started out and better we weren’t focused on winning,” in the books, the Cottage Grove football pushed really hard and got a great push. team got to focus on this year’s team at We got a lot of good runs which was real- Friday night’s jamboree as they prepare ly surprising to me because against our- for the upcoming season. selves on the scout time sometimes they “When you have as many new bod- have a little bit of trouble getting that ies as we have you kind of go into not first push but they came out fired up and knowing… that we’re not what we were that’s what I loved about it,” said Graves. last year but we don’t know how far we’re The other scoring play for the Lions off. So it’s good to go out and play against came from David Cox’s one-yard rushing another team tonight and get to hit and touchdown. tackle and block against somebody else,” The offense of North Eugene and said head coach Gary Roberts. North Bend both exposed breakdowns in With nine new starters on offense and the Cottage Grove defense during their eight on defense, the Lions hosted North matchups. The Highlanders scored three Eugene and North Bend for 18 plays on times while the Bulldogs found the end each side of the ball. In the first matchup zone twice. against the Highlanders, it was familiar “Kind of sloppy,” Roberts said of the faces striking on the second play from Lions offense and defense. “I told the kids scrimmage as returning first team all- at the end that if you would have looked state quarterback Dylan Graves found at the jamboree film of last year and said, honorable mention all-state receiver 'Hey, you guys, this team is going to Erick Giffen for a 34-yard touchdown. win a state championship,' you wouldn’t The pair connected throughout the night have sounded very smart. Or maybe you and Giffen also had a touchdown against would have been really smart because I North Bend. would have said no way. We made a lot “Ever since I moved here from Califor- of mistakes last year in the jamboree. We nia, me and Erick just clicked as soon as did not look crisp and polished. And it’s I got here. We’ve been best friends ever the same tonight. We looked sloppy but Logan Nelson breaks out a run during the jamboree against North Eugene. since and me and him are the only re- Hutchison named CGHS basketball coach 2007 CGHS graduate takes over varsity boys’ program By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com Seth Hutchison is coming home. The 2007 graduate from Cot- tage Grove High School is re- turning to the school where he will be the varsity boys’ basket- ball coach. “It’s a dream come true. It’s pretty great to come back to my hometown where I grew up, went to school K-12. Played in the program all four years. It’s a dream come true to come back and kind of give back to the community that raised me and kind of turned me into the man I am now,” said Hutchison. “It’s very cool and not many people get a chance to do that. I take great pride in this so it’s pretty exciting.” Hutchison, 29, was called about the position after Nick Finely, who coached one season Athlete of the Week at CGHS, began a job in Alaska earlier this month. Hutchison applied for the job a season ago. After graduating from CGHS, Hutchison became a manager for the Oregon State basketball team. After graduating from OSU, he was the head coach of the freshman team at Marist High School and then assist- ed his high school head coach, CGHS alumni Bart Pollard, with Marist’s varsity program. Following his time with the Spartans, he was offered a job as the JV coach for Pleasant Hill This week’s athlete of the week is Yoncalla’s Kaleigh Soto. Last Friday, Soto recorded 27 digs over two games against Crow and Elmira. For more on that game, see B2. and was head coach for the past two seasons. Which now leads Hutchison to his first time as head coach at the varsity level. “It’s exciting and I’m a little bit nervous but there’s going to be a lot of learning in this pro- cess but I’m up for the challenge on that. I love to learn, I love to continue to grow professionally. I’m very excited for this oppor- tunity,” he said. In addition to coaching, Hutchison has a teaching li- cense from OSU and will be teaching PE at his former school Bohemia Elementary. With three months until the basketball season begins, Hutchison’s attention now turns to his team. “I don’t know much about them and I view that as a good thing. Every one of these kids comes in with a blank slate,” he said. “Whatever happened their freshman or sophomore or ju- nior year, I don’t care about that. You’re coming in with a blank slate.” Soto, center, during a practice last week.