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Other FWL teams take aim at title
By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 | No comments posted.
North Bend has won the past five Far West League titles without losing a single match.
This could well be the season that streak ends, as the Bulldogs face some veteran clubs while sporting a mostly new lineup of their own. The losses include Kelcy McKenna, the Class 4A player of the year, and Kellie Holmstedt, the league player of the year.
The only returning player from the varsity roster is Jodi Smartt, who came off the bench as a sophomore middle hitter last fall.
She is surrounded by a group that could turn into a playoff club, including Ahndrea Medina, a veteran transfer from Brookings-Harbor.
Coach Les Willett has said this is a fun team for him to coach, and one to improve greatly. How well the Bulldogs do in league depends, at least in part, at how quickly the players develop.
“Right now, we look like a new team as many of the girls have not played together before,” Willett said after the team’s first matches last week.
Several teams would like a shot at handing the Bulldogs their first Far West League loss, and ultimately take the league title for themselves.
The team that has most pushed the Bulldogs the past few seasons is Douglas. But like North Bend, the Trojans were hit hard by graduation, losing six seniors.
Douglas does return one of the league’s top players in outside hitter Katy King.
“I think we can be competitive,” said veteran Douglas coach Carl Bone. “We’re still looking at who is going to be playing what spot. There’s a lot of competition for spots this year.”
Also filling spots is Siuslaw, which finished third in the league standings last year and lost a four-game match in the playoffs to eventual state runner-up Estacada.
Siuslaw made three straight trips to the state tournament out of the Sky-Em League before returning to the Far West League last fall and coming up short.
“It hasn’t been an easy switch from the Sky-Em back to the Far West,” said Siuslaw coach Amy Peterson. “The league is competitive. Every match is a tough one. The kids have to come out with their A game every night if they expect to compete.”
One coach who had expected to be in a position to compete for a playoff spot was Lori Cooper at Brookings-Harbor. That was before Medina transferred to North Bend, Lindsey Freeman moved to Sandy and Kara Miller and Kayla Hamm decided to play soccer.
The new group is improving rapidly and left Cooper excited after the first week.
“If we continue to improve at this rate, I like our chances,” Cooper said.
She does have the benefit of returning senior Stephanie Kerr, one of the better players in the league.
South Umpqua was mentioned by more than one coach as a possible playoff contender — with reason.
Coach Sarah Gray returns seven starters from her lineup last year, including seniors Triana Crane, Amy Rauth, Tessa Falk, Katie Bumgarner, Brittany Bice and Amanda McCarley, who have been with the varsity for several seasons.
“They’re playing well,” Gray said. “I can tell that they’ve grown up a lot. They’re making a lot better decisions than they made last year.”
The league’s other member, Sutherlin, is looking to improve since a winless league season in 2006.
“We’re really coming together well as a team, “ coach Stacey Lefevre said. “We have a pretty tough league every year. We know it’s going to be tough. They have high hopes.”
This could well be the season that streak ends, as the Bulldogs face some veteran clubs while sporting a mostly new lineup of their own. The losses include Kelcy McKenna, the Class 4A player of the year, and Kellie Holmstedt, the league player of the year.
The only returning player from the varsity roster is Jodi Smartt, who came off the bench as a sophomore middle hitter last fall.
She is surrounded by a group that could turn into a playoff club, including Ahndrea Medina, a veteran transfer from Brookings-Harbor.
Coach Les Willett has said this is a fun team for him to coach, and one to improve greatly. How well the Bulldogs do in league depends, at least in part, at how quickly the players develop.
“Right now, we look like a new team as many of the girls have not played together before,” Willett said after the team’s first matches last week.
Several teams would like a shot at handing the Bulldogs their first Far West League loss, and ultimately take the league title for themselves.
The team that has most pushed the Bulldogs the past few seasons is Douglas. But like North Bend, the Trojans were hit hard by graduation, losing six seniors.
Douglas does return one of the league’s top players in outside hitter Katy King.
“I think we can be competitive,” said veteran Douglas coach Carl Bone. “We’re still looking at who is going to be playing what spot. There’s a lot of competition for spots this year.”
Also filling spots is Siuslaw, which finished third in the league standings last year and lost a four-game match in the playoffs to eventual state runner-up Estacada.
Siuslaw made three straight trips to the state tournament out of the Sky-Em League before returning to the Far West League last fall and coming up short.
“It hasn’t been an easy switch from the Sky-Em back to the Far West,” said Siuslaw coach Amy Peterson. “The league is competitive. Every match is a tough one. The kids have to come out with their A game every night if they expect to compete.”
One coach who had expected to be in a position to compete for a playoff spot was Lori Cooper at Brookings-Harbor. That was before Medina transferred to North Bend, Lindsey Freeman moved to Sandy and Kara Miller and Kayla Hamm decided to play soccer.
The new group is improving rapidly and left Cooper excited after the first week.
“If we continue to improve at this rate, I like our chances,” Cooper said.
She does have the benefit of returning senior Stephanie Kerr, one of the better players in the league.
South Umpqua was mentioned by more than one coach as a possible playoff contender — with reason.
Coach Sarah Gray returns seven starters from her lineup last year, including seniors Triana Crane, Amy Rauth, Tessa Falk, Katie Bumgarner, Brittany Bice and Amanda McCarley, who have been with the varsity for several seasons.
“They’re playing well,” Gray said. “I can tell that they’ve grown up a lot. They’re making a lot better decisions than they made last year.”
The league’s other member, Sutherlin, is looking to improve since a winless league season in 2006.
“We’re really coming together well as a team, “ coach Stacey Lefevre said. “We have a pretty tough league every year. We know it’s going to be tough. They have high hopes.”
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