Reaching Their Dreams CV Picks Up Three Youth Sports Awards
Chad Adamson just shook his head.
“Everything they said hit me,” the Central Valley senior quarterback said. “Everything they said relates to sports and education.”
Adamson and a full house of area high school student-athletes at the Spokane Ag Trade Center were bombarded by a host of speakers with heartfelt messages during the Youth Sports Awards Luncheon Wednesday afternoon.
The Bears growled during the luncheon, with CV’s 4A state championship football team, represented by Adamson, voted the Junior Male Team of the Year; junior running back Tyree Clowe the Junior Male Athlete of the Year; and coach Rick Giampietri the Junior Coach of the Year.
The other winners were Ferris’ 4A state champion volleyball team as the Junior Female Team of the Year and Tricia Lamb of St. John-Endicott the Junior Female Athlete of the Year.
Two special awards were given.
Joy Turner of Coeur d’Alene (Lake City HS) was given a Certificate of Excellence for being the youngest person to hike the complete 2,658 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in a single season. Jared Lawrence of Sandpoint received a Certificate of Achievement for entering the final weeks of his high school wrestling career undefeated in 125 matches.
Coaching legend Bill Walsh, who guided the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl championships in the 1980s, was the featured speaker.
Former University High School and University of Nebraska gymnast Shelly Bartlett, basketball player Ryan Floyd of Sprague-Harrington and Gonzaga University, and Eastern Washington volleyball player Kim Exner also delivered messages.
Floyd, a redshirt sophomore at GU, talked about commitment to excellence.
“You don’t have to tell anyone about your commitment,” he said, “it will show by your actions… . Play every minute like it’s your last… . Strive for your best rather than settling for less.”
That hit close to home for Clowe.
“(Teammate) Courtney Brown always yelled at me to play every minute like it’s my last,” he said.
With that motivation, Clowe set a GSL scoring record and ended up rushing for more than 2,200 yards and 30 touchdowns for the 13-1 Bears.
The winners were selected from the usual strong group of finalists. All five coaches and all 11 teams were state champions. The same was true of most of the individual student-athletes.
“To win among that group is exceptional,” said Giampietri, who was an assistant coach for 23 years. “Our year was exceptional. I’ve been here for years and never thought I’d be in this position. There’s a vision, but you don’t envision being in this position.”
Vision was an important theme from the speakers.
“The most important thing is to set goals,” Bartlett said, “just out of reach but not out of sight.”
An All-American as a senior at Nebraska this year, Bartlett only missed one meet but never a practice in her four years.
Exner, who came to EWU from British Columbia, added, “If the dream isn’t there, neither is the hope. Everyone has a gift, how you use it is up to you.”
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