Sunday, Jun. 07, 2009

The most important time of the year

It wasn't always the case.

(Yes, I'm back on the blogging clock)

There used to be such a thing as an offseason, when student-athletes might get summer jobs, lift weights a couple times a week, and basically veg out for a couple months until the start of fall camp.

Not any more.

With the end of the spring sports state championships, the summer camp season begins, and as any coach will tell you, this is when championships are won or lost.

Just ask Chiawana football coach Steve Graff. He talks about how a couple years ago when he was at Pasco, his team sloughed off (relatively speaking) its summer commitments in the weight room and at team camp. The result -- a 3-6 season that ended out of the playoffs.

Everyone from cross country runners to basketball players can now work with their respective high school coaches through Aug. 1, when the mandatory dead time arrives -- coaches can't work with their players until the start of their respective seasons.

That's what makes the situation at Pasco High so troubling. Because of budgetary issues, AD Le Burns still hasn't been able to post her winter sports coaching vacancies -- or, for that matter, for any fall assistant coaches. She has volunteers in place to run the basketball programs in the summer -- both Chad Herron (boys) and Steve Davis (girls) moved to Chiawana -- but they're not who'll be the head coaches, implementing their system and figuring out the pecking order of players for next winter.

Throw in the fact that a rogue kickball in P.E. took out a sprinkler head in the main gym, flooding it to the point that the floor might have to be replaced (only one year after it was installed, mind you), and now you've got both Pasco and Chiawana's hoops and volleyball programs relegated to the auxiliary gym for the summer -- Chiawana's building has yet to be released to the school district by the contractor, meaning it can't be occupied.

Watch for the release of the All-Area teams this week in the newspaper.

Golf kicks off the lineup Monday, followed (space provided) by tennis Tuesday, then softball, boys soccer, baseball and, finally, track and field.

Finally, I'm hard at work inputing all-league teams to the ballots for the all-state spring sports teams.

I'm still missing a few, though, so anybody who can point me in the right direction to find them, I would be most appreciative.

Baseball: Seamount 3A; Emerald City 1A; Northwest 2B/1A; Northwest 1B; Greater Columbia 1B

Softball: Emerald City 1A; Northwest 2B/1A; Sea-Tac 2B/1B; Mid-Valley 2B; Northwest 1B; Greater Columbia 1B

Boys soccer: KingCo 3A; Metro Sound 3A; Nisqually 1A; Evergreen 1A

Thanks in advance.

Til next time ...