A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
FROM PAGE A1 • SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016
‘BEYOND A DREAM’
Hermiston grad
named strength
coach for Los
Angeles Angels
By ERIC SINGER
Staff Writer
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Stanfield’s Justin Keeney picks off a pass in front of
Kennedy’s Skyler Bison in the Tigers’ 32-13 win against
the Trojans on Saturday in Hillsboro.
TIGERS:
continued from Page A1
In 1957, the Stanfield
Tigers went 10-0, as part
of a 26-game winning
streak that wouldn’t end
until the first game of
1958.
To read more about
Stanfield win over Ken-
nedy in the semifinals
and the Heppner-Regis
semifinal, see Sports
page A9.
If you can’t make it to
Saturday’s game at Ken-
nison Field, follow @
HHeraldsports on Twitter
for live updates from the
title game.
When Lee Fiocchi grad-
uated from Hermiston High
in 1997, he wasn’t thinking
much about a possible ca-
reer path.
All Fiocchi wanted to do
was play football. He did not
have a dream job such as be-
coming a doctor or a teacher
or a television broadcaster,
he just wanted to play col-
lege football and then earn
his way into the NFL. But
during the summer before
his senior football season
at Eastern Illinois Universi-
ty, Fiocchi and a teammate
spent some time in Florida
to train at a private facility
and it was during that time
that the proverbial light bulb
went off for him.
“I recognized that I en-
joyed the physical prepa-
rations and that really kind
of opened my eyes to this
sports performance niche,”
Fiocchi said in a phone in-
terview. “When I realized
my degree path would al-
low me to work within the
field that kind of switched
MEAL:
my mindset a little bit, post
football and to what I want-
ed to do.”
Now, 19 years after
moving away from Herm-
iston, Fiocchi has earned
what just may be his dream
job. Starting January 1,
2017, Fiocchi will be the
head strength and condi-
tioning coach for Major
League Baseball’s Los An-
geles Angels of Anaheim.
There he will be in charge
of overseeing all of the de-
velopment of the speed,
strength, and reactional
movement capabilities for
the big league club.
“People work their whole
careers in their field and nev-
er get this type of opportu-
nity, so I guess it’s kind of
beyond a dream, honestly,”
Fiocchi said. “It was just
more of a natural progres-
sion of just trying to learn
and grow and improve my-
self and being the owner of
a private business facilitating
athletes of all ranges has re-
ally been more than anything
I could have hoped for. But
I’m excited to get started.”
Fiocchi grabbed the at-
tention of the Angels organi-
zation, predominately Gen-
eral Manager Billy Eppler,
with not only his successful
overall resume but the work
put in at Dynamic Sports
Training — the sports per-
formance company Fiocchi
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO COURTESY OF LEE FIOCCHI
Hermiston High School graduate Lee Fiocchi has landed his
dream job as the head strength and conditioning coach for
the MLB’s Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
founded and has operated in
Houston since 2008.
“They got my contact
and felt like I could be a
potential fit so they reached
out to me to see if I was in-
terested,” Fiocchi said.
And he was.
After Fiocchi’s football
playing days finished, he
first dabbled in coaching
as a graduate assistant for
two years at Eastern Illinois
where he also assisted with
the team’s strength and
conditioning coach. But
once it was time for Fiocchi
to complete an internship
in order to graduate he fo-
cused on the classwork and
shortly after began his in-
ternship at a private facility
near Chicago.
The internship turned out
to be Fiocchi’s first big ca-
reer break, as just five weeks
into his tenure one of the
strength coaches had to step
COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION
continued from Page A1
when the weather is bad
— likely due to people not
wanting to travel on icy or
snow-covered roads, she
said.
The first of two hol-
iday season Communi-
ty Fellowship Dinners is
Thanksgiving Day from 11
a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Herm-
iston Senior Center. The
free meal features turkey
and all the fixings, includ-
ing a variety of pies. In ad-
dition to the on-site meal,
delivery service and to-go
meals can be packaged for
pick-up for those unable to
attend the dinner.
Due to health issues,
the meal’s longtime coor-
dinator, Laurie Ball-Kiser,
will assume a limited role
during this year’s meal.
Ball-Kiser first volun-
teered at the Thanksgiving
meal in 1990 and coordi-
nated the Christmas dinner
In its eighth year, the Boardman community will host a free Thanksgiving meal.
The event begins with a short praise service at 1:30 p.m. at the Boardman
Senior Center, 100 Tatone St. The free dinner is served from 2-4 p.m.
For more information, call Jane Akers at 541-481-5511, Teresa Parsons at
503-724-8823 or the Boardman Chamber of Commerce at 541-481-3014. On
Thanksgiving, call 541-481-3257.
FILE PHOTO
Families enjoy a free Thanksgiving meal during the 2015
Community Fellowship Dinner at the Hermiston Senior
Center.
that same year.
“She has laid sol-
id groundwork over the
years, so that if something
happens to her volunteers
can step in and do what
we needs to be done to en-
sure the dinner continues,”
Stolz said.
Ball-Kiser will lead
ORDER YOUR HOLIDAY
CENTERPIECES EARLY!
Flowers • Candles • Jewelry
Plants • Balloons & More!
Put a smile on the heart with
the power of flowers.
HWY 395, HERMISTON
541-567-4305
Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am
www.cottagefl owersonline.com
2016 Christmas
Spirit Award
Do you know someone who exemplifies
the spirit of Christmas by giving of
themselves to others all year?
The Good Shepherd Community Health
Foundation invites you to nominate that person
for our twenty-first annual “Christmas Spirit
Award.”
Nominations may be made by calling the
Foundation at 667-3419 to receive a nomination
form, or online at gshealth.org/foundation. Please
send completed nomination forms by December 9,
2016 to Good Shepherd Community Health
Foundation, 610 NW 11 th St, Hermiston, OR
97838. Nominations may also be submitted via
email to ccozad@gshealth.org.
the longtime tradition of
a short devotional and
prayer during the morn-
ing preparation time, Stolz
said. The message is sim-
ple, she said.
“We get together and
make a circle — probably
50 to 100 people strong,”
Stolz said. “We say a little
prayer that lives would be
touched.”
Owner of Chuckwagon
Cafe, Stolz got involved
early on when organizers
inquired about use of heat-
ing equipment to keep the
food warm in the serving
line. She has remained ac-
tive with the effort because
she believes in its mission
— to provide a nice meal
and to ensure people have
an opportunity to spend the
holiday with others. How-
ever, Stolz is quick to point
out that she doesn’t pre-
pare the meal — although
her crew at Chuckwagon
does make a large bucket
of gravy.
Stolz coordinates the
hot line — a job, she said,
that really takes care of
itself. People work their
shift and then pass on a
few tips along with their
apron to their replacement.
Volunteers are the back-
bone of the operation,
down and Fiocchi was hired
on and elevated into a posi-
tion of authority as an intern.
“At that facility I worked
with a professional soccer
player, professional hockey
player, and a professional
football player along with
the primary athletes that
were prep level,” he said.
“So that was some pretty
good exposure.”
Fiocchi completed his
internship and graduated
from Eastern Illinois in
2004 and soon was looking
elsewhere to continue his
career. He was still focused
on working with football
players, and had a special
interest in training college
athletes as they prepared for
the grueling process of the
NFL Combine. He started
looking around at facilities
in the southern states and
soon got a job in Houston
doing just what he wanted.
Stolz said. In addition to
the people that help during
the meal or prep party, she
said the meal wouldn’t be
possible without the gener-
ous support of many area
businesses and churches.
“They are taking the
Thanksgiving spirit to an-
other level in giving back,”
she said.
Everyone is invited to
help with the set-up par-
ty Wednesday from 1-4
p.m. at the senior center.
Also, volunteer shifts —
everything from meal
preparation and serving
to greeting and meal de-
livery — are available
Thursday between 8 a.m.
and 4 p.m.
For a ride or meal de-
livery service, call 541-
567-3013 through Wednes-
day. On Thanksgiving Day,
call the senior center at
541-567-3582.