Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 29, 2016
Getting the swing of it
L UKAS
E GGEN
Commentary
It was my big moment.
A point where I would feel
like the greatest tennis play-
er who ever lived.
A gentle lob seemed to
hang forever in the air. I
rushed to the net, took aim
and smashed the ball for a
winner. I tried to act calm,
but I couldn’t help but give a
small fist pump of satisfac-
tion.
Yes, I was playing doubles.
And yes, both of my oppo-
nents were high school girls.
No, that didn’t make the
moment any less glorious.
Taking part in open tennis
play at Dallas High School
on June 22 was a lesson in
frustration and triumph.
A vast majority of the peo-
ple there fell mainly into two
camps: older adults or high
school students — many of
whom were on the tennis
team.
Not exactly my dream
scenario.
But Thomas Gniadecki,
the third-place finisher at
the OSAA 5A state tennis
tournament, was there.
I hoped that his skills
would transmit over to me.
That I would be turned into
a good player and would
sneak up on people during
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Open tennis play at Dallas High School on June 22 helped Lukas improve ... slightly.
the Fourth of July Tennis
Tournament, ninja style.
Unfortunately, I have yet
to perfect passing knowl-
edge through psychic links.
As players warmed up,
things seemed to go OK.
Thomas kept compliment-
ing my “skills” at a rate that
seemed suspiciously high …
but I let it pass. Maybe I real-
ly was discovering a hidden
natural talent. Could tennis
have been my true calling all
along? Had I chosen the
wrong path in life?
Then, we started playing
for real.
I assumed Thomas would
essentially be my personal
coach. I soon realized once
organizers assigned each of
us a number that my oppo-
nents — and playing partner
— would be random.
Uh oh.
At first I decided to be
preemptive and apologize
for the atrocity that she was
about to witness.
To my surprise … it wasn’t
a complete disaster. My first
couple hits landed in.
Then I tried to serve. One
serve went into the net. An-
other went long. And, possi-
bly the most embarrassing,
was one that nearly hit my
playing partner in the back.
I’m no expert, but I’m
pretty sure injuring your
partner is a bad thing.
Game two saw me join
forces with one of the older
players against Thomas and
his playing partner.
When it was Thomas’ turn
to serve things didn’t exactly
go well for me. His first serve
rocketed past me. His next
serve to me I decided I was
going to hit a rocket back at
him. I took a giant swing
and … whiffed. His last
serve to me I returned, but
was clearly sailing out.
Thomas played it anyway.
Through it all, the “nice try”
and “good effort” compli-
ments came my way.
I received similar compli-
ments during my brief base-
ball career as a young child
when, I, for some reason,
thought I had to swing at
every pitch thrown to me.
It also didn’t help that,
having seen Thomas play
competitive tennis, I also
knew he was serving at far
less than full effort.
By contrast, my serves
continued to land every-
w h e re b u t i n . Fi n a l l y,
Thomas suggested perhaps I
just try hitting it lightly over
the net instead of going for a
full serve — the equivalent
of someone telling me to
shoot granny style in basket-
ball because my shot
couldn’t reach the hoop.
The next game, things
began to turn. Paired with
another older player, I felt a
burst of energy. I moved
around the court like Rafa
Nadal. My forehands were
on target — or at least more
on target than before. And,
thanks to a tip of where to
make contact with the ball
on my serves, my serves
landed in! They may not be
fast, but at least my playing
partner was no longer in
danger of a sneak attack.
By our final round, I was
more confident than ever.
And it was during this round
that I had the shot heard
round the world.
By the end of our nearly
two hours of playing, I was
spent, physically. But it was
fun. And, most importantly,
I felt confident that I won’t
make a complete joke of
myself this weekend. Get
ready tennis world. A new
star has been born.
Mini: Mini-Marathon a unique event
Continued from Page 11A
“There are already lots of
activities going on. It’s a fair-
ly simple race. The distance
is reasonable, which makes
it nice, too.”
The run, scheduled for
11:30 a.m. on Monday, leads
runners on a 2.6-mile course
from Monmouth City Hall to
downtown Independence
along the Grand Parade
route.
With thousands of specta-
tors lining the streets, taking
part in the mini-marathon is
truly a magical moment,
Cable said, especially for
those new to running.
“In my experience, the
majority of the people are
really kind of novice run-
ners,” Cable said. “That’s
part of the fun. For someone
who maybe is not as confi-
dent in their ability, the little
bit of extra encouragement
goes a long ways, I’m sure. It
makes it more special, helps
motivate people and gives
them confidence to do it and
helps them feel that much
better to achieve something
like this for everybody to
witness.”
The weather in Polk
County can be unpre-
dictable, but in case of hot-
ter temperatures, Cable said
— while the race will also
have plenty of water at the
start and finish — taking
other precautions, like wear-
ing hats, will also help.
For first-time runners,
Cable also suggests having a
plan for post-race.
“It’s a one-way course so
you either have to plan on
ending up in Independence
or have other arrangements
in mind to get back to (Mon-
mouth),” Cable said.
Registration for the mini-
marathon is available online
at www.eclectic0edgerac-
ing.com/Monmouth_Mini_
Marathon.html.
Day of race registration
will be available on Monday
from 8 to 10:30 a.m. near the
start line.
No matter if this is your
first time lacing up your
shoes or you’re a veteran
runner, the Monmouth-In-
dependence Mini-Marathon
remains a pillar of the area’s
Fourth of July celebration,
Cable said.
Cable was there for the
first race.
Now, he’s excited to see
what new memories the run
can bring.
“It’s so unique,” Cable
said. “As opposed to some
other races where you’re
running by yourself and
there isn’t that crowd sup-
port, the cheering from
the crowd makes this so
much more fun. This is
just a good, traditional ac-
tivity that has been part of
the tradition of Western
Days.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer file
The Monmouth-Independence Mini-Marathon attracts a large group of runners.
Olympics: Group hopes to Watson: Touched people’s
lives in a positive manner
draw in new volunteers
Continued from Page 11A
The Polk County section
doesn’t boast the numbers
of other areas in the state,
but smaller groups do have
their advantages.
Jim Ezell moved to Polk
County from Corvallis about
a year ago with his wife,
Anne. Together, they partici-
pated in Special Olympics in
Benton County.
The difference has been
night and day.
“Corvallis is a little more
competitive,” Jim said.
“They have at least 40 com-
ing out for bocce ball. Here,
it’s a handful. Corvallis is a
little more strict. Here, it’s
more family oriented. It’s
like how it was when I first
started in 1991 when it was a
lot of fun.”
Wimer said she hopes to
see an increase in participa-
tion numbers over the next
few years. But with in-
creased numbers comes a
greater need for volunteers.
You don’t need a deep
background in sports to help
out.
“Really the opportunities
are endless,” Kluver said. “If
people want to help out, we’ll
find a way for them to. Some
of it is just coming to prac-
Continued from Page 11A
“While we are grateful for the communi-
ty support and concern, we would appreci-
ate some space to grieve and make neces-
sary arrangements at this time.”
A celebration of life service will be Friday
at 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium.
A gofundme to help pay for funeral costs
has been set up at www.gofundme.-
com/2bk4y2k.
“This is not something any of us plan to
do,” Hedrick said. “It’s more terrible when
you’re a parent burying a child. To think
your son is going to go into his junior year
and all of a sudden you’re planning a funer-
al, nobody talks about this. Any help would
be very much appreciated.”
Central High School had counseling
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Special Olympics gives its athletes a chance to compete
and make friends with people across the state.
tices and being a fan in the
stands — being someone
cheering them on. The ath-
letes appreciate that, and
they love having people
come watch them and follow
them through competitions.”
For those who do volun-
teer, the experience can af-
fect them in ways they never
imagined and be as benefi-
cial to them as to the ath-
letes they are helping.
“It’s a great opportunity
for anybody to get involved,”
Kluver said. “I believe we get
impacted more than we im-
pact other people’s lives. It’s
a life-changing experience
for everybody involved.”
services available Monday morning and at
the vigil on Tuesday. The Central Health
and Wellness center, located at 1601 Mon-
mouth St., Independence, will also have ad-
ditional counseling services available dur-
ing business hours.
The cause of Watson’s drowning was not
known as of press time, but his loss affected
all those whom he touched.
“I’m still kind of numb,” Hedrick said. “I
received a call from the local police on Sun-
day and they asked me to notify the family.
I’ve been coaching for 31 years now. I’ve
never lost a player. I’ve had players lose
dads or moms, but never a player. It was
heartbreaking to knock on someone’s door
and tell them their son died in an accident.
... He was taken way too soon.”
Car wash to raise money for
Cody Watson memorial
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — A fundraiser car
wash will be held Saturday from 8 a.m. to
noon. The car wash will be held at First
Baptist Church, 1505 Monmouth St., Inde-
pendence.
All money raised during the car wash will
go toward Cody Watson’s memorial.
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