Meet the Stillars
Let’s see, “Eight is Enough” has already been taken, so we’ll have to come up with another title for the athletic saga of the Stillar family at Lakeside High School. The Stillar clan includes mom Cheryl, dad Rick and eight kids ranging in age from 11 to 23. Three have already graduated from Lakeside, three are enrolled and two are at Lakeside Middle School.
Said Annie Stillar, third in line from the top and her siblings’ best publicist: “All seven of my brothers and sisters are excellent athletes. I participated in a lot of theater and dance locally, but I was never an athlete.”
But as any sister should, she revels in the exploits of her siblings, who as often as possible over the years have attended one another’s events, from the earliest days in AAU and club sports to Lakeside basketball games.
“On home game nights, the family gathers at Lakeside to watch them play – the JV followed by both varsity teams,” Annie said. “For the last six years, we’ve made the trip to Yakima for the State 2A tournament. With five current or former players, there’s always a visit to state!”
Cheryl says the kids all grew up with a ball in their hands, although she said, “They don’t get any of it from me. I’m so uncoordinated that I can’t even do aerobics!”
Rick, who at various times played football, basketball, baseball and track at Shadle Park High School in the early 1970s, helped the kids get started when – while he was teaching at Salk Middle School – he and some of his fellow male teachers decided to give their wives Sunday afternoons off while they took the children to the gym.
“Some of them would shoot around, others would play around on the mats, but they’d all shoot for hours on end,” Cheryl said.
“The oldest ones didn’t play any organized sports until junior high, though,” she continued. “We lived in a rented farmhouse and got rid of the TV. To stay in shape, Rick played basketball, and as soon as the youngest one could walk, he started taking all of them to the gym.
“Little by little, the younger kids got involved earlier. Basketball’s their favorite, but Luke played football through his freshman year, Alex also plays baseball and football, some of the kids have been in Y gymnastics, and we’ve always had a trampoline at home.
“We never had a soccer player until Grace, our youngest. It’s been a great thing for her, because it’s the first time she hasn’t been in a Stillar shadow.”
From the oldest down, here’s the Stillar lineup:
Luke (Class of 2000) played basketball for three years at Lakeside after the family moved from the Riverside District following his freshman year. He’s hoping for a career in music.
Molly (2002) was a second-team-all Great Northern League player her senior year and a member of the Eagle 2A state champions in 2001. She also was a varsity volleyball player.
Annie (2004) played the lead in several local Christian Youth Theater productions and is working full time in a graphic design firm.
Currently at Lakeside are Alex, a senior starter in football, basketball and baseball; Kelsey, a junior starter on the girls basketball varsity and a member of the track and JV softball teams; and Kyle, a freshman basketball starter.
The two youngest, Leslie and Grace, are enrolled at Lakeside Middle and among them play basketball, volleyball and soccer.
Cheryl has home-schooled all the kids until at least middle school, and she loves the enthusiasm she sees for kids in the Lakeside community.
“This community is really into its children, and basketball especially. The thing we have enjoyed the most is getting to know all the different parents over the years. Everything here is a cooperative effort, and the parents do lots of things together.
“I figured out the other day that Rick and I will have kids at the high school for 14 consecutive years!”
She’s chairing the senior all-nighter committee this year for the first time, and it sounds like she’d better get used to it.