12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 3, 2015
Polk County Sports
Master: Daughter helped fuel her decision
Continued from Page 10A
She was no stranger to the
weight room, lifting since
she was 13. But it was after
her athletic career was cut
short that she discovered
her passion.
“I played soccer and was a
downhill ski racer at Fort
Lewis College,” Metzgar-
Deacon said. “I ended up
having to end my career
early because I broke my
back. I ended up working for
my strength coach there and
he said, I think you’d be real-
ly good at it. I was like, this is
a field? There are real jobs in
this? That was in the ’90s and
there wasn’t a ton of jobs.”
Metzgar-Deacon became
driven to succeed, serving
as a graduate assistant at
Western Michigan, where
she earned her Master’s de-
gree. She worked at Ohio
State for a year, before
spending five years each at
Colorado State and Wash-
ington State before arriving
in Monmouth.
Metzgar-Deacon was al-
ways looking to help break
down gender barriers.
“I was told by a couple
people in my field that I
would never be a director of
strength and conditioning
over football,” Metzgar-Dea-
con said. “When I left Ohio
State, someone told me that.
At that time, there weren’t
any females in that role. I
just smiled and said we’ll
see.”
Almost 14 years later, she
would get her chance.
Making her mark
Throughout her career,
Metzgar-Deacon was on a
mission — to become a
strength and conditioning
director and overseeing a
football program, becom-
ing one of only a few
women nationwide to hold
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Cori Metzgar-Deacon works to stretch out a student-athlete on Monday morning.
that position.
Western Oregon offered
her the chance to accom-
plish both goals.
Metzgar-Deacon joined
WOU’s staff in October 2011,
but her decision to leave
Washington State wasn’t
easy.
“There was (hesitation)
about going from Division I
to Division II only for the
reason that Western Oregon
did not have a strength and
conditioning department.
Not only being a female di-
rector, but I would be start-
ing a program and building
it from the ground level. It
was appealing, but also very
scary. There was a lot of
trepidation because I knew
that coming here my first
year, I would be the only
s t re n g t h c o a c h f o r 1 3
sports.”
At Washington State, she
worked with, at most, five
teams.
Her visit to Western’s cam-
pus sealed the deal.
“I loved the campus, I
loved the coaches and
everyone that I met,” she
said.
After she arrived, the real
work began.
“The biggest challenge
was, and I say this in a posi-
tive way, the lack of disci-
pline,” Metzgar-Deacon
said. “The athletes never
had to lift. They could if they
wanted to and some coach-
es made their teams lift, but
some didn’t. It was kind of a
free for all.”
Metzgar-Deacon worked
to establish rules and stan-
dards. Often, she arrived at
4:45 a.m. and stayed until 7
p.m. Enforcing schedules,
rules, and organizing the
department by herself led
to a stressful first year.
But her patience paid off,
resulting in a smooth-run-
ning operation, one that
benefitted players in a big
way.
“She played a huge part in
all the players’ individual
success, as well as all of the
team’s success,” former
WOU football player Tyrell
Williams said.
Over time, Metzgar-Dea-
con got to know her athletes,
how best to push them and
establish a routine.
“I love the kids that we get
here,” Metzgar-Deacon said.
“They work just as hard, if
not harder, than those at the
Division I level because they
don’t get full scholarships,
and are just doing what they
love.”
As the first couple years
went by, she received help
via assistants and student
interns. As her athletes got
to know her better, things
smoothed out.
“It runs effortlessly,” she
said. “We always have hic-
cups, and that’s to be ex-
pected. But when I went to
the conference, we had just
our student interns and they
ran the room for four days
while I was gone. Two years
ago, could I have said this
was going to happen? Ab-
solutely not. I would have
shut the room if it was in my
first or second year.”
Then, in 2013, she wel-
comed a daughter, Reba. It
was also the year that she
declined to accept being
named a master coach. Two
years later, her daughter
helped her change her
mind.
A new attitude
Throughout her career,
Metzgar-Deacon has always
tried to become an example
for females to follow in the
strength and conditioning
world.
Welcoming a daughter
into the world only rein-
forced that goal.
“I was going through the
process of, should I accept
this master coach award, —
if you want to call it that, —
or not,” Metzgar-Deacon
said. “Someone said to me
that this is going to be im-
portant for Reba that she
sees her mom getting
recognition. I want her to
grow up with a strong fe-
male as a mom and see her
work and love what she
does. I think that’s really
important and a lot of why I
did it.”
Metzgar-Deacon said she
is one of three women in the
NCAA directly responsible
for football strength and
conditioning.
But no matter what sport
she’s working with, Metzgar-
Deacon said what she does
isn’t just about helping stu-
dents perform athletically.
And that is more important
to her than any title.
“What we do isn’t about
lifting weights,” Metzgar-
Deacon said. “It’s about
helping these athletes devel-
op into good people and
role models.”
PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP
Dallas:
Dragons
no-hit
in
loss
Dallas sees eight
players receive
all-league honors
Hatley named Pitcher of the Year
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Eight Dallas
baseball players earned all-
Mid-Willamette Confer-
ence (MWC) honors.
Junior Logan Hatley was
named
the lea-
g u e ’ s
Pitcher of
t h e Ye a r
for the
second
consecu-
tive sea-
son.
Hatley
Hatley
and soph-
omore se-
cond ba-
seman Za-
ch Wallace
earned
first team
all-confer-
ence hon-
Wallace
ors.
Juniors Tucker Weaver
(pitcher) and Everett Mi-
nahan (outfield/pitcher)
and freshman catcher
Treve Earhart received
second team all-confer-
ence recognition, while
seniors Conner Maclean
(first base) and Jake Shryer
(second base) and sopho-
more shortstop Tanner
Earhart earned honorable
mentions.
The Dragons finished 19-
9 overall and 18-8 in league
play, finishing third in the
MWC. Dallas advanced to
the first round of the state
playoffs before falling to
Hood River Valley 5-0.
FOUR PANTHERS EARN
ALL-LEAGUE HONORS: Four
Central baseball players re-
ceived all-Mid-Willamette Con-
ference (MWC) recognition.
Senior outfielder Kyler Fleming
was named first team all-
league, while senior infielder
Wes Riddell and sophomores
Luis Amador (first base) and
Humberto Alarcon (utility)
earned second team all-MWC
honors.
Central
fi n i s h e d
1 3 - 1 1
overall
and 11-10
in league
play. The
Pa n t h e r s
advanced
Fleming
to the
state play-
in round before losing to
Crater 1-0.
Corvallis’ Zack Zalesky was
named Player of the Year, while
Jason Fariman of Corvallis re-
ceived Coach of the Year hon-
ors.
FIVE PIRATES EARN ALL-
LEAGUE RECOGNITION: The
Perrydale baseball squad saw
five play-
ers earn
all-Special
District 2
honors.
Seniors
Troy Trem-
bly and
Chad Price
received
first team
Price
all-league
honors, while sophomore
Haylen Janesofsky and seniors
David Silver and Hunter John-
son were named second team
all-league.
The Pirates finished 11-10
overall and 5-9 in league play.
Continued from Page 10A
The Dragons finished the
2015 season with a 19-9
record overall and 18-8 in
Mid-Willamette Conference
play. And while the season
came to a close sooner than
hoped,
Dallas fin-
ished the
regular
season
winning 10
of its final
12 games,
including
winning a
Tr. Earhart
t h r e e -
game series against Corvallis
for the first time under Mc-
Donald.
“I think the big thing is we
want to be playing our best
ball at the end of the sea-
son,” McDonald said. “We
had a tough draw in the
playoffs, but we improved
throughout the year.”
The Dragons will see
seven seniors graduate, in-
cluding pitcher/third base-
man Seth Fast, first base-
man/designated hitter Con-
ner Maclean and infielder
Jake Shryer.
But Dallas will see numer-
ous players return, including
BEN MITCHELL/ for the Itemizer-Observer
Dallas first baseman Conner Maclean attempts to tag a Hood River Valley baserunner
out on May 27. The Dragons lost to the Eagles 5-0 in the first round of the state playoffs.
pitchers Logan Hatley, Tuck-
er Weaver and Everett Mina-
han, catcher Treve Earhart
and more.
For many of the Dragons,
American Legion baseball
during the summer is up
next, providing an opportu-
nity for them to build on the
2015 season.
“You sit down and create
some goals,” McDonald
said. “We want to focus on
some things we need to im-
prove on and get better and
we attack it together.”
While Dallas fell in the
first round for the second
year in a row, McDonald
said the Dragons achieved a
lot during the 2015 season,
leaving players with a lot to
be proud of.
“We almost had a 20-win
season,” McDonald said.
“The kids won some big
games and we accomplished
a lot of our goals we set out
to do. It’s tough because
only one team is going to
stand on the podium.”
End of the Line
BEN MITCHELL/for the Itemizer-Observer
Junior pitcher Logan Hatley delivers a throw against Hood River Valley in a first
round playoff contest on May 27. The Eagles defeated Dallas 5-0.
• Dallas finished the
2015 season with a 19-9
record overall and 18-8 in
league play.
• The Dragons placed
third in the Mid-Willamette
Conference standings and
advanced to the first round
of the state playoffs.