Washington: Club boasts several girls soccer signees
The Spokane Shadow U18 girls soccer team hogged college signing glory last month.
Nearly all of the 17 players, including two from Richland, will play at some level next year, many at Division I schools.
“I think it’s really amazing for this kind of opportunity to present itself within one team, especially a Spokane team,” Bill Jones e-mailed me in early February.
His daughter, Chelsea, who played at Mt. Spokane, is one of the signers, headed to Seattle University.
Among the plums, Jackie Hakes (Mead) signed at Penn State; Marissa Mykines (Mead) at Illinois; Tiara Pittman (Mt. Spokane) and Shadle Park’s Ali Fenter at WSU and Nicole Ervine at North Idaho College.
Liz Boyden (Ferris) and Dani Raczykowski (Cheney) are going to Idaho. Aubrey Bot (Gonzaga Prep) signed at North Dakota State and teammate Sophie Johnson is going to Carroll College. Abbie Goss (University) will play at Puget Sound.
At least three other players are either going to walk on or are undecided.
Jones is an ardent believer of club sports. Not one girl from this group was recruited through high school but because of exposure gained traveling with the Shadow, he said.
“They just had someone promoting them, preparing them and putting them in front of the right people,” he wrote.
But he also believes that high schools don’t do enough to accommodate the needs of those elite athletes. He said his daughter and Pittman left basketball after their sophomore years because an unresolved conflict between club soccer and high school hoops.
Others would argue it’s a two-way street. Until parents, coaches (school and club) and organization heads check their egos at the door and compromise, youth must suffer.
Club soccer programs in the Puget Sound area forbade its players from playing high school sports.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has a rule in place regarding non-school participation that states: “Schools may not give students special treatment or privileges on a regular basis to enable them to participate in non-school athletic activities, such as reduced practice times, special workouts, late arrivals, or early dismissals.”
Colleges and money are driving the showcase tourney trend, so select athletes feel they need club sports.
But that needn’t mean club athletes and high school be mutually exclusive – and generally it isn’t. The two need each other.
Mead schools leave it up to individual coaches to decide what concessions to make, said Mt. Spokane activities coordinator John Miller.
High school value goes beyond college scholarships and state titles. As Miller has often said, “We believe they are good for kids and need more involvement instead of less.”
Winter winners
The Greater Spokane League has announced winners of its winter scholar-athlete awards.
These seasonal awards are sponsored by the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Each GSL school selects a female and male student per season who demonstrates balance in academics, athletics and community service.
Winter winners are:
Central Valley – Justine Bowman, basketball, Jacob Neumann, wrestling; East Valley – Kelsi Jacobson, basketball, Danny Marshall, basketball; Ferris – Amber Quann, basketball, Ryan Kernkamp, wrestling; Gonzaga Prep – Rene Vandermause, basketball, Bryant Judge, basketball; Lewis and Clark – Kelsey Baker, basketball, Doug Talkington, basketball; Mead – Nicole Butz, basketball, Philip Smith, wrestling; Mt. Spokane – Callie Bergstrom basketball, Jordon Poynor, basketball. North Central – Christy Grorud, gymnastics, Frank Lappano, wrestling; Rogers – Carina Mauro, gymnastics, Tony Moua, basketball; Shadle Park – Lexie Pettersen, basketball, Merland Miller, wrestling; University – Taylor Vold, gymnastics, Brian Owen, wrestling.