Girls Soccer

The OHHS Girls Soccer team was at Lake Stevens on Thursday, and played a close one with the Vikings. The two teams played to a 0-0 tie on the field, but a penalty kick by Lake Stevens gave them the only goal they needed to win.

I don't have any information on the JV game, so if anyone knows what happened, send an email to the Sports Report so it can get posted.

Freshman football video clips

Are now posted.

You can view them by going to http://www.youtube.com/user/OakHarborSportsRepor

Yes, there is no "T" at the end thanks to YouTube's restrictions on name lengths.

Freshman football edges Cascade 26-20

In what few would describe as a defensive battle, the Wildcats held on for the victory at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.


The game was back and forth, with steady defense, but not drive-stopping defense. In fact, there were only two punts in the entire game, one by each team.


The game started off with Cascade getting the kickoff and running almost 6 minutes off the clock before scoring a TD but missing the PAT kick.


On the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats mishandled the ball, but luckily it rolled out of bounds, giving OH a 1st and 10 on their own 26. Peter Franssen ran the ball for 3 yards, but a holding penalty backed the 'Cats up to their own 18. The next play was stopped for a 2-yard loss for a 2nd adn 21, but Josiah Miller took the ball, started to the left, found his was blocked by Cascade defenders, then reversed direction and ran around the right end, getting tackled out at the 44. Miller got the ball again for another gain, then it was Justin Everett's turn, running the next two plays across midfield to the Cascade 45. Later in the drive, Edward Denmon took the ball from the 42, ran around the right side and all the way to the 26. The next two plays moved the ball down to the 24, and the 1st quarter ended with Cascade in the lead, 6-0.


Starting the 2nd, the OH drive stalled, and the 'Cats turned the ball over on downs on the 26. Cascade wasted no time giving the ball right back to the Wildcats, fumbling on their own 24. QB Matt Burgoyne gave the ball to Franssen on the first play after the fumble recovery and he ran it to the right for the Wildcat touchdown with 8:59 left in the half. OH attempted a 2-pt conversion, but Burgoyne was tackled at the 6.


Cascade took the kickoff and marched downfield, scoring their own TD with 5:30 left, but the run conversion failed. Cascade 12, OH 6.


Oak Harbor started after the kickoff with the ball on their own 25, and after a Cascade offside penalty, Burgoyne found a so far unidentified player for a 16-yard gain to the46. Shortly after, Nick Farrell ran through the right side of the line for a gain all the way to the Cascade 25. 3 plays later Gabe Dye scored with 3:25 left. As there was an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty on OH after the TD, the PAT attempt was from the 18 yard line, and the pass failed, leaving the score 12-12.

The Wildcats fumbled the kickoff, giving Cascade the ball on their own 28 with 3:21 left in the half, but the 'Cats held, forcing the Bruins to an incomplete pass on a 4th & 6 play. OH now had the ball on their own 34 with 32 seconds remaining. A nice pass took the ball out to the 47, and another pass, this one to Miller, resulted in a 1st down on the Cascade 20 with 8 second left. Franssen ran it down to the 5 with 2 seconds left, but the next play was an incomplete pass from Burgoyne to Everett, ending the half with the score tied at 12.

To open the 2nd half, Miller took the kickoff to the 37, then with some good running up the middle, went 63 yards for a touchdown. The 2-point conversion was good, and with 9:34 left in the 3rd, the score was OH 20, Cascade 12.

On the kickoff, Everett kicked the ball right over the head of the Cascade receiver, and the ball was downed on the Bruin 10. Cascade moved the ball all the way to the OH 10 before fumbling on a pitch which Everett recovered.

After 6 plays, the Wildcats were forced to punt from their own 22, but the punt only went to the Wildcat 44. At the end of 3 quarters, it was a Cascade ball on the Wildcat 17, but a 20-12 OH lead.

Cascade's drive also stalled, and their punt went out of bounds at the 'Cat 30. Runs by Miller, Everett and Denmon moved the ball down to the Cascade 12 yard line. On what appeared to be a TD pass, the 'Cats were called for a false start, but moved the ball down to the 1, where an apparent TD by Everett was called back due to an OH holding penalty. Facing a 2nd & goal from the 13, Miller took the ball on a sweep around the left side, and showing some really patient running, waited for an opening and scooted down to the 3, from where Franssen ran in for the TD with 3:23 left in the game. The 2-pt run failed, and it was now OH 28, Cascade 12.

Cascade quickly moved downfield, scoring with 1:41 left in the game and converting the 2-point attempt. Cascade tried an onside kick, but Miller was able to cover the ball, and after some running around in the backfield by Burgoyne before taking a knee, the game ended with a 26-20 Wildcat win.

Speaking with Coach Esvelt after the game, he was pleased with the offensive line, which did not allow any sacks, and although there were some incomplete passes, he thought Burgoyne did a good job passing the ball. He also mentioned Peter Franssen, who was playing in his first-ever football game.

Finally, most people don't know that there is a girl on this year's freshman team. #95, Jennifer Fremd, who wrestled at North Whidbey Middle School saw some quality playing time on defense. She's been impressing a lot of people at practice with her work ethic, and she is making the team stronger with her presence.

Next for the Freshmen is a trip to Monroe next Thursday.

In the next day or two, some video highlight clips will be posted, so keep and eye out for them.

Boys Tennis 2-0 on season

In their home opener against Lake Stevens, the Oak Harbor tennis team won all 4 singles matches to pull out a 4-3 team victory.

All the singles matches were won in straight sets, and with one exception, all the single scores were very lopsided in Oak Harbor favor. Ryan Evans' second set went to 7-5, and all the other singles players wins were either 6-1 or 6-2.


Doubles action, however, was different. Lake Stevens pushed hard on the OH doubles teams, winning all 3 matches in straight sets.


Even though there's not enough players for a separate JV team, many of the youg OH players got matches, including sophomores Geoff Worley and Kevin Gagen, and Freshmen Tyler Dodge, Zack Akker and Benjamin Harrison.

Next up is Arlington at home on Friday.

51 photos have been posted to http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/BTennis910LS

Volleyball sweeps season opener at Cascade

But first, in Freshman action, the Wildcat volleyball team played 3 close games, winning one and losing 2. Coach Bjork noticed that all the girls were getting more comfortable on the court, and impressed her with their teamwork. She made note of the exceptional serving by Abi Cone and Leah Pantoleon. On defense, Kristen Winston had 3 or 4 solid blocks, earning Wildcat points.
Coach Bjork also wanted to compliment her 3 players that played their first volleyball game that night - they didn't play any middle school volleyball, but got in there and made their presence known on the court.

In JV action, the Wildcat girls lost the first game after having the lead, but pulled together and won the next 2 for a 2-1 victory. Coach Reed was impressed by how the girls handled the first game loss and came back to win. Overall it was a great team effort and she is looking forward to more.

The varsity team swept Cascade 3-0 in the best-of 5 series. Although the match was against a league opponent, this match was non-conference. There was some nice play by front line players Jen Jansen and Jessica Muzzall, but coach Molitor was most impressed by the back-row play. The passing skills the girls showed during the match exceeded expectations, but on the other hand, the team needs to work on reducing their unforced errors.

Everyone on the varsity time got playing time, including the two sophomores, 6'1" Middle Blocker Amanda Blau and 5'5" Defensive Specialist Kelsey Cooley.

Next up for Wildcat volleyball is a non-league home match against Burlington-Edison on Thursday, Sep 10th.

Girls Soccer gives great effort against Monroe on Tuesday

First off, I'll be the first to admit that I know next to nothing about soccer. Having said that, here are some impressions from the season opener on Tuesday.



On JV, the ball seemed to spend a lot of time near the center of the field. Monroe did get the ball near our goal on several occasions, but the goalkeeper did an excellent job keeping the ball out of the net. Monroe did score once, but on the score, our goalkeeper had fallen down and was unable to completely guard the net. Coach Thompson continues to say what a great group of girls he has and is looking forward to steady improvement through the season.



In a preseason coaches poll, Oak Harbor was picked to finish last in the WESCO north and Monroe 4th. You couldn't tell that from watching the girls on the field. They played hard and never gave up. Monroe got a lot of shots off on our goal, but the goaltender seemed to have the knack to pick where the ball was going to go. Monroe did score 2 goals, the first on a scramble right at the next and they were able to knock it in during the confusion, the other was a 1-on-1 between our goaltender and the Monroe player.



On offense, Carson McKole was able to break free and score her own unassisted goal late in the game.



62 photos have been posted at http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/GSoccer99monroe

Boys Tennis wins big in Monroe

Behind strong singles and doubles play, the OH Wildcat tennis team blanked the Monroe Bearcats 7-0 in their opening league meet.

Coach Mells said everyone played well, but at the same time there is room for improvment, but overall he was very pleased with the team's performance on Monday.

Leading off was Junior Derek Thomas with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Trevor Armsberry. Other singles scores were Ryan Evans over Hastings 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, Jordan Kingma over Mehus 6-1, 6-2, and Josh Evans over Hooper 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles play was just as dominant, with #1 doubles team Paul Jewell and Max O'Dell winning 6-1, 6-3. Rick Baleros and David Marshall won their match 6-2, 6-2, and finally, in a close match, Chris Holbrook and Matthew Rice scored a 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 victory over Swanson and McGoff of the Bearcats.

Next up for the 'Cats is Lake Stevens at home on Wednesday and Arlington at home on Friday.

JV Football wins opener 12-6

In what was the first-ever JV game and first-ever game for Cascade on the new turf at Everett Memorial Stadium, the Wildcat JV came across with a nice win.

According to Coach Nurvic, it was an outstanding game, especially on the ground, as long as the ball was between the 20 yard lines. Our boys had some trouble getting the ball from the 20 into the end zone, but did it enough to win.

Pat Higbee scored the first TD for the 'Cats, going in from the 4 yard line on a dive behind some really good blocking. In the 2nd half, Oak Harbor only threw 2 passes, but one was a fake screen to Andy Haag for a 65-yard touchdown.

Ryan Burne was the starting QB and played for the first 3 quarters, then Gabe Dye came in to get some valuable game experience.

On defense, Coach Nurvic was impressed, especially with the linemen. Dillon Peterson was instrumental in shutting down the Cascade sweep while Alec Castillo got in some licks from his linebacker position.

The Wildcats got two turnovers from the Bruins - 1 INT and 1 fumble, but gave up 2 fumbles and an interception.

Overall, Coach was pleased with the performance of his players and is looking forward to even more success from the JV squad.

Football video clips posted to YouTube

12 clips of Friday's game against Cascade have been posted to http://www.youtube.com/user/OakHarborSportsRepor

YouTube doesn't allow enough characters, so the "T" is missing from the end of Report. It's not a mistake.

The videos posted are of Stephen Lewis' runs and TD catch, a Derrick Clarit run, Encinas, Rouser, & Goebel tackles for loss, a clip of Josh Higbee losing his helmet, Rashaad Smith with a fumble recovery and Sam Wolfe with an INT.

Enjoy.

Boys Tennis

The Oak Harbor Boys Tennis team starts off their 10th season under head coach Horace Mells, Jr on Sep 10th at home against Lake Stevens.

The team is very short in numbers this year, so short, in fact, that there may not be any JV matches all season. The JV and varsity teams require 10 players each, but there are only 18 players available right now.

At the top of that list is junor Derek Thomas, the Wildcats #1 singles. While an outstanding player, there are some concerns with a recurring injury. Right behind Thomas is senior Ron Evans, moving up from #3 last year.

Coach Mells attended high school in Arkansas and graduated college from Hawaii Pacific University during his career in the US Army. He's been playing tennis for 32 years and coaching for 12. He is assisted by Garry Brown of the Safe Harbor Insurance Agency, who is also in his 10th year at Oak Harbor.

Last years' team finished in 5th place, which is the best finish OH has had in many years. Due to the low numbers, Coach Mells expects a similar finish this year in team standings, so will be concentrating his efforts in two main areas. First, we wants to introduce the game to the underclassmen. Of all the freshmen who turned out for the team, none have any competitive playing experience. Coach Mells also wants to make sure each individual on the team improves every facet of their game, while at the same time instilling strong sportsmanship and citizenship attitudes in the players.

39 photos from Friday's practice have been posted at http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/BTennis95practice

Volleyball schedule changes

There have been some changes to the non-leage portion of the OHHS volleyball schedule.

9/9 @ Cascade
9/11 v Burlington
9/16 @ Shorewood
9/18 v Kamiak
9/25 v Jackson
10/2 @ Meadowdale

Stephen Lewis shines in 2nd half of game that goes to the final play

Unofficially, Lewis rushed for 76 yards and caught another 62 yards in passes, most in the 2nd half, in Oak Harbor's first loss in Wildcat Memorial Stadium. It's only the Wildcat's 3rd loss in 3 years and 1st loss at home in that same period.

The game started out slowly, with OH forcing Cascade to punt on their first possession. Quarterback James Jordan overthrew his first two attempts before finding Derrick Clarit on a short pass.

Cascade was first to find the scoreboard on an absolutely incredible catch with 1:24 left in the first quarter, then went for 2, making the score 8-0 for the Bruins.

On the ensuing kickoff, a short, high kick bounced around and the Wildcats were unable to grab it before a Cascade player fell on it, giving the Bruins a first down at the Wildcat 30. A few plays later Cascade fumbled the ball at the Oak Harbor 9, and with 2.4 seconds left in the 1st, Donovan Hunt ran the ball out to the OH 46 yard line, then got another 15 tacked on for a facemask penalty. At the end of the first quarter, it was Cascade 8, Oak Harbor 0.

To start the 2nd quarter, OH moved the ball down inside the 20, but the drive stalled, and Kevin Flavin's field goal attempt was partially blocked. Cascade got the ball on their own 20, and the first two plays were stuffed at the line of scrimmage by combinations of Greg Goebel and Bennett Richter. Cascade ran the ball out to their own 37 before fumbling the ball. Rashaad Smith came up with the ball, but again, an Oak Harbor drive stalled, with a 4th down pass incomplete at the Cascade 5. Cascade got the ball on their own 18, and again, two plays in a row were tackles for losses. The first, by Lewis, resulted in a 4-yard loss, and the second was a team effort. Cascade's punt from their own 15 went out of bounds at midfield, but the first Oak Harbor snap was mishandled and resulted in a Cascade ball on the Wildcat 40 with 1:53 left in the half. The first Cascade play was stuffed by Lewis at the line. The second Bruin play was a sweep that was stopped by the Wildcats on the 32, short of the first down. Cascade, facing a 3rd and 2 and 28 seconds left, called a time out. It didn't help, as on the very next play, Nick Rouser got through the Bruin line for a QB sack back at the 39. Cascade called another timeout with 10 seconds remaining, but the pass was intercepted by Samual Wolfe and returned to midfield where time ran out. At the half, it was still Oak Harbor 0, Cascade 8.

The 'Cats got the kickoff to open the 3rd quarter. The opening drive seemed like it was all Stephen Lewis. He had 9 carries and racked up most of his rushing yardage on that drive. Several plays seemed to be stopped, but Lewis forced his way between defenders, and his 2nd and even 3rd efforts allowed him to reach the first down mark rather than settling for a short gain. Lewis got the ball down to the Cascade 5-yard line for a first and goal, but again the drive stalled, but this time Flavin's 22-yard kick was good with 2:13 in the 3rd. OH-3, Cascade-8.

Cascade opened their next drive on their own 36, then Josh Higbee made a touchdown-saving tackle at the Oak Harbor 24 after the Bruin quarterback got around the right side of his line. That play ended the 3rd quarter with the score still 8-3 for Cascade.

Starting the 4th, Cascade converted a 4th and 1 with a QB sneak down to the Oak Harbor 13. On the next play the Cascade QB ran around his right side again and this time found the end zone. After a made PAT, the score with 10:41 left in the game was Cascade 15, oak Harbor 3.

Wolfe grabbed the short Cascade kick and returned it to the Cascade 47. Clarit got the ball down to the 33 and Lewis down to the 30. After getting nothing on the next 3 plays, Cascade took over on their own 33 with 8:17 left. The Cascade QB broke free again, running all the way to the OH 35, but a holding call brought the ball back to the Bruin 45, but with a 1st down. Rouser made a nice head tackle for a 2-yard loss, but the Cascade QB again broke free, reaching the end zone from his own 47. Another flag on the Bruins brought it back to the 40 for a 3rd & 5 with 4:38 left. The Wildcats were able to stop the Bruins from getting the first down, and got the ball on their own 31. Higbee caught a nice screen pass out to the 48, but the next two plays were incomplete passes. Facing a 4th & 10 from his own 48, Jordan found Lewis down at the Bruin 39 for another Oak Harbor first down. After 2 more overthrown balls and a short scramble by Jordan, the Wildcats again faced a 4th down play on the 37. On the 4th down play, Jordan again connected with Lewis, who broke through a tackle at the 20 and ran in for the Oak Harbor score. Flavin's kick was good, and with 2:18 left it was now Oak Harbor 10, Cascade 15.

The 'Cats attempted an onside kick, but the ball touched one of our players on the shoulder before it traveled 10 yards, so it was Cascade ball on the OH 47. It looked like it was over, as Cascade's QB continued to move the ball, until it reached the 37. At that point, the ball was fumbled. I didn't see who recovered, but it didn't matter, as it was Oak Harbor football on the 40 with 45 seconds left.

The first play was an incomplete pass, and Cascade called a timeout with 40 seconds left. 2nd & 10, Lewis catches the ball at the Cascade 48. Oak Harbor first down with 35 seconds left. The next play was a screen pass to Lewis, but the referee ruled that it was trapped and incomplete. 3rd & 10 - Jordan scrambles a bit in the backfield, gets a pass away to the end zone, but it's knocked away at the last second by Cascade. 16 second are now on the clock and it's 4th & 10. Jordan throws a nice pass, but the Cascade defender stepped in front of the OH receiver at the 5 yard line and ran the interception back to the 48, running the clock out. Final score Cascade 15, Oak Harbor 10.

Looking at unofficial stats, both teams were dead even in total yards, but one stat stuck out and that was Oak Harbor's completion rate of just 25%. The Wildcats actually passed for more total yards than Cascade, but was 6 for 24 while Cascade was 5 of 7.

Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Monroe, where the Bearcats beat Shorewood on the road for their first win in over a year.

In other WESCO action:
Jackson 32, Stanwood 8
Mountlake Terrace 29, Lynnwood 6
Monroe 20, Shorewood 6
M-P 46, Shorecrest 14
Arlington 37, Glacier Peak 7
Lake Stevens 36, mariner 34
Snohomish 24, Kamiak 7
Meadowdale 28, #3 Edmonds-Woodway 27
Blanchet @ Everett - No report

Other games of interest.
Archbishop Murphy 26, Lynden 15
Port Townsend 37, Coupeville 14

OHHS Girls Swimming

The OHHS Girls swim team is small in numbers but big in heart, and is expecting to have a great season.

The girls are coached by Erika Miller, who has been coaching in Oak Harbor for 7 years. Originally a soccer player, she started swimming after an injury and stuck with it. She currently swims with a Masters program in Anacortes, where she specializes in the backstroke, butterfly, and Individual Medley. She attended high school in Oregon and college in England, and works for OHSD at Home Connection.

When asked about last year's highlights, the first words of of Coach Miller's mouth were "we had fun!". She wants to see more of the same this year as well.

She's counting on great performances by returning seniors Keri-Anne Wright and Carolyn Vasquez, and wants to see them lead the team to the state meet.

To make sure that happens, the team needs to see some great swimming from incoming freshmen Ciara Hu (her brother, John Hu, was state champ in the 200 IM) and Karina Concepcion and from sophomores Tori Nickerson and Amanda Streubel .

Coach Miller thinks the girls have a good chance to send swimmers to the state meet, but her main goal is to make sure all the swimmers achieve their personal goals and continue to improve, while having fun.

I took some photos during the dry portion of the practice on Wednesday, and are posted at http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/GSwim93practice

More Youth Soccer

Oak Harbor also has an under-10 girls soccer team. As of now, the team is unnamed, as they're waiting for new uniforms to arrive and are going to make a name based off the color scheme of the uniforms.

I watched practice for a bit on the afternoon of September 2nd. Coach Ric Dutton was showing the girls some ladder and hurdle work, putting emphasis on being quick and nimble.

This group of girls is coached by Troy Cowan, who has been coaching soccer for 13 years, 7 of them in Oak Harbor. He retired from the Navy and works as a contractor on base. This is Coach Cowan's first year with this group of girls.

Last year the girls had a good season, and coach expects the same again this years. With this age group, his priorities are to make sure the girls have fun and grow as a team, so they will continue to play soccer up to and through the high school level. Personally, Coach Cowan wants to increase his knowledge level of soccer in order to share it with his team, while having fun at the same time. Coach Cowan played 2 years of soccer in High School and played on various Navy teams throughout his career.

47 photos from the U-10 ladder and hurdle work can be found at http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/YouthSports/GSoccer92U10

Girls Youth Soccer

Islander Blast is Oak Harbor's under-14 girls soccer team. They travel anywhere from Blaine to Seattle in search of quality tournaments and are just starting their league season. The Blast is coached by Ric Dutton, assisted by Danielle Moore. Rick has been coaching soccer for 11 years, 5 of them in Oak Harbor while Danielle has been coaching for 5 years, and played at the collegiate level at Norwich University. The team is sponsored by Jet City Equipment in Oak Harbor.

Islander Blast lost 5 starters off last years' team that finished in 4th place with a .500 record so is in a bit of a rebuilding mode. However, Coach Dutton has several quality returners on the team, among them Amanda d'Almeida, MacKenzie Schneider, Megan Peterson and Chelsea Atkinson. The coach also expects big things out of Alex Laiblin - a 12-year-old who showed enough potential to move from the U-12 team to the U-14 team.

Even with the loss of the starters, Coach Dutton expects the girls to have a successful season, finishing in at least the top 4. His primary goals are to push the girls' confidence level through team building and working on individual skills.

The first game is this Saturday, September 5th in Snohomish. The team has a complete website, http://www.hometeammanager.com/teams/NWSCIslanderBlast/frontPage.aspx

There are 53 photos of the practice posted at http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/YouthSports/GSoccer92U14

OHHS Football

I was up at practice Friday morning to shoot a few photos, and posted the decent ones at http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/FB829practice

Don't forget the first game is at home against former league rival and always tought Cascade Bruins.

Come on out and lee how many times we are able to shout out "And it's another....Oak Harbor First Down!"

More Cross Country

A bunch of photos from the Cross Country time trials at Wildcat Memorial Stadium are now posted.

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/XC829timetrials

Cross Country

The cross country team is the only coed team in the fall season. The teams are co-coached by Andy Wesley and Eric Peterson.

Coach Peterson is the business and marketing teacher at OHHS. He attended Mt. Vernon high school Skagit Valley College, and got his Bachelor's Degree from Central. He's been teaching at OHHS for 6 years and has been Cross Country Coach for 5 years.

Coach Wesley is an OHHS graduate, where he ran XC for 3 years. He has a degree from Florida Atlantic University, and has been teaching math and coaching at OHHS since 2000.

Last year's team was strong, sending 3 boys and 1 girl to state, but there were a lot of losses, especially on the boys side.

Key returners for the girls are team Captain Michelle Sandstrom, Alison Duvenez, Jessican Denmon, Kathryn Fisken and Adrianna Royal. Sophomore Abby Leete is a key part of the team, but may not see much competition due to a recurring injury. For the boys, the coaches expect a lot from Tyler King, Michael Reith, and Cody Klauer. A welcome addition to the boys team is freshman Matt Reith.

Although expectations are high, overuse injuries are common and can affect the makeup of the team as the season progresses. Both coaches say they are pleased with the chemistry the team has this year, and credits much of it to a team retreat to the mountains back in late July. When asked for a quote, Coach Peterson said his safest comment would be "No Comment".

Videos of OHXC runners can be found at flotrack
http://www.flotrack.org/teams/5177-oak-harbor-xc
and race results are posted at http://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/School.aspx?SchoolID=485

OHHS Volleyball

I was at volleyball practice today to get some photos and talk to the coaches.

The Wildcats are coached by Kerri Molitor, in her 8th year of coaching volleyball at OHHS. Previously she served as assistant and head coach at Skagit Valley College for 10 years. Coach Molitor graduated from OHHS where she played middle, and attended both UPS and Western, where she played a variety of positions, including some defensive work in the back row as well as front row.

Among the key returners are senior 6'2" middle blocker Jennifer Jansen and 6" middle blocker Jessica Muzzall. Setting for them will be Junior Melany Cone, in her second year as starting setter. Seniors Alexis Marquis and Kim Mowbray are also expected to be a force on the court.

The JV coach this year is Amanda Reed, formerly Amanda Flowers. She's originally from Moses Lake where she played volleyball for 4 years. After high school she attended Skagit Valley College (playing for coach Molitor), and completed her Bachelor's at Eastern. She has 4 years coaching experience at both the high school and club level in Burlington. Last year at OHHS she was a volunteer assistant. This is her first year as the JV coach.

Since the team is still in tryout phase, the team is not set, but Coach Reed is pleased with what she's seen so far. She's especially happy with the large number of girls that are returning from last year's Freshman team. Her main goals for the JV squad are to continue both player and team development, and to increase the team's comfort level on the court.

Returning at the Freshman coach is Kerri Bjork. She played high school volleyball in California as a defensive specialist and setter, and attended college at Baylor University in Texas. She has a total of 5 years coaching experience. Again, the freshman team is not set, but she is already seeing some team building between the girls and she is impressed by the quality of the serving she's seen so far from her freshmen.

35 photos are posted at the below link. Photos that have names on them only have them because I knew the girls name.

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/Volleyball827

Girls Soccer

I spent some time with the OHHS girls soccer team and coaches today, and have this to report:

The soccer team is coached by Steve Barker, an English teacher at OHHS for 27 years. Originally from the Tacoma area, Coach Barker graduated from Bellarmine Prep and later the University of Washington. At that time, there was no interscholastic soccer competition, so Coach played when and where he could, totalling over 30 years of soccer experience.

As well as teaching at OHHS for all those years, he's also been involved with the OHHS soccer program. At various times he's been either the boys or girls head coach, head coach for both (as he is now), or an assistant. Coach Barker is truly in love with the game, and speaks of it with a passion. He likes to point out that soccer is a very fluid game, and is a sport not for really large or really fast people, but a game for athletic people.

Coach Barker is assisted by JV coach Brian Thompson, an OHHS PE teacher. Originally from Minnesota, where he attended both high school and college, Coach Thompson has been teaching for 20 years and has 17 years coaching experience, all in Oak Harbor.

Last year was a tough one for the team, with little showing on the scoreboard for their efforts. However, Coach Barker said there was more to playing soccer than just a win-loss record, and while winning is important to him, one of his highest goals as a coach is to have the players learn and enjoy the game while at the same time learning more about themselves.

Although losing 6 key seniors, Coach Barker is looking forward to outstanding play from key returners Carson McKole, Hope Thompson, Roni Tomlin, Kirsten Roof, Kathy Silveira and Claire Trepanier.

Barker expects this years team to be competitive, and is planning for the team to participate in post-season play. Win or lose, Barker was to make sure that the other teams work hard when they play us, and hopes that our opponents go home unhappy they tangled with the Wildcats.

The JV team is not yet formed. It's only the 3rd day of tryouts and Coach Thompson hasn't really been able to see all the girls together. While he says that all the younger players he's been working with so far are a great bunch of girls, he is concerned about being able to field a complete team. A full soccer team has 11 players, but of 3 days practice, Coach Thompson has yet had 11 players at any one practice.

I took a few photos, but some of the upperclassmen and freshman were not at practice due to Freshman orientation and Link Crew participation. Some of the photos have names, some only numbers. The only reason some have names is those are the girls I know. I'll be posting photos again as the season progresses.

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/GSoccer827tryouts