Teams Build Character
Kari Lenz doesn’t mind the rules. She doesn’t need to wear holey jeans. She doesn’t want to embarrass herself with her behavior or earn herself a bad reputation.
“Even when you’re not playing, he expects you to make the right choices,” the 16-year-old softball player says, referring to her coach, Brian Stranger. “I think it’s good.”
That’s exactly what Brian and his wife and fellow coach, Kathy, want to hear. Character is as important on the field as off to this pair of volunteer coaches. All the athletic talent in the world won’t win a girl with a bad attitude a position on the Strangers’ Crush teams.
“We want a person who plays hard every pitch, but plays as a team,” Brian says.
“It’s OK to make errors. I can fix those. Attitudes are hard to break.”
The Strangers grew up in sports. Kathy played and coached soccer. Brian played baseball until he blew out his elbow in high school. Then he coached Little League, wrestling and football.
As soon as the Strangers arrived in Dalton Gardens from California in 1985, they looked for coaching opportunities. Their two daughters led them into T-ball, then softball.
By 1993, the girls wanted tougher competition than was available locally. Brian and Kathy handpicked 13 preteens from the Girls’ Softball Association of North Idaho. The Strangers were impressed with the girls’ attitude and athletic ability.
They took the team, which the girls named Crush, to Boise and won the state championship in their age group. Brian and Kathy offered the girls their best coaching and expected cooperation and teamwork in return.
Since then, the Crush program has grown to five formidable teams that travel in the summer throughout the Northwest. Positions are coveted and filled by invitation.
Trash talk isn’t tolerated. Good sportsmanship is required. Promptness, diligence and neatness are expected. Teamwork is a must.
“There’s no ‘I’ in team,” Kari says, and it’s clear she’s heard the phrase many times. The Strangers insist the girls support each other off the ballfield so they play well on the field.
A guide for life is the goal, and the Strangers know they need to teach behavior professional athletes often don’t model.
“It’s just an extension of life,” Kari’s dad, Jeff, says of the team. “It builds a lot of character.”
In parents, too. Crush parents typically attend every game. Some, like Jeff, even make the practices.
“We get to spend an awful lot of time with our kids,” he says.
Which sounds like a winning formula.
Each season costs about $400 per player on the nonprofit Crush teams. If you’re interested in sponsoring players, call Brian Stranger at 772-6614.
Prince of a dog
Remember Prince? He’s the shaggy white Grand Pyrenees pup who saved his 2-year-old master, Joshua Workman, from a cold night in the woods last fall. Joshua had wandered away from his Twin Lakes home.
The Great Pyrenees Club of America was so impressed with Prince’s protective instincts that it recently named him the Hero Dog of the Year for 1997. Prince was awarded a plaque and a watercolor by North Idaho artist Carrie Stuart-Parks, but the dog wasn’t really impressed.
After intensive bathing and brushing for the small ceremony, Prince couldn’t wait for his real reward - a roll in the dirt.
Kick up your heels
Don’t miss the Spokane Jazz Orchestra’s free concert in Sandpoint’s Panida Theater at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Jazz bands from Sandpoint’s high school and middle school will play, too.
Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing” is on the playlist, making this program a must for anyone with a heartbeat.