BELLEVUE
SPORTS
[12] January 6, 2012
BELLEVUE
This week’s…
RECREATION
Recreation Report Applications are now being accepted for the Bellevue Parks & Community Services Master Naturalist Training Program. The training program is open to interested students, community members and volunteers ages 18 and up. Participants will meet 11 Fridays beginning Feb. 3 for a series of in-class lectures, field trips, workshops and restoration projects in and around Bellevue City parks. The program will provide volunteers with training on our area’s ecology, hydrology, geology, natural resource management, native plants, wildlife, cultural history and restoration efforts. Volunteers who complete the program will be trained to assist Bellevue Park Rangers with a variety of efforts, such as environmental education and interpretation, habitat restoration and more. Individuals interested in the Master Naturalist Training Program must complete and return an application packet on or before today, January 6. For more information call Alexandra DySard at 425-452-4195.
www.bellevuereporter.com
Tennis brings new life at Robinswood Anthony Anderson wasn’t sure what life in a wheelchair held until he found the game he can’t live without
BY JOSH SUMAN jsuman@bellevuereporter.com
On a tennis court inside Robinswood Tennis Center, Anthony Anderson is seething. His last volley sailed long and wide and a sore mood is etched across his sturdy, earnest face as he returns to fire his next serve. Anderson and his partner eventually drop their friendly doubles match and when it ends, the other three head to the water fountain and restroom. Anderson stays on the court, obviously still displeased with the result. The 42-year old Anderson is as fiercely competitive a person as one will find on any level of athletics; even despite the fact he sits in a wheelchair while his opponents do not. As a youngster, Anderson couldn’t have imagined playing tennis, opting instead for baseball, basketball and football, which he starred in through his prep days. He would drive to school in a custom hot-rod, sporting a decorated letterman’s jacket, holding the world firmly by the tail. He was as popular off the field as he was dynamic on it, being named homecoming king in addition to his exploits as an all-league athlete. Then it all vanished. Anderson and some friends were on an otherwise routine car ride that ended in a horrific accident, altering his life forever. At age 17, he was told he would never walk again. “It was devastating,” Anderson said. “There was not a lot of positive energy.” Despite the influx of conflicting emotions, Anderson quickly came to the realization that while life in a wheelchair would not even resemble the life he knew before the accident, it was now the only life he had. “I pretty much said, ‘I have to deal with this
Anthony Anderson has competed in tournaments around the world since taking up tennis. COURTESY PHOTO and move on,’” Anderson said. “I accepted it pretty well.” More than the confinement of the chair, or the painful and trying rehabilitation process, Ander-
son worried about the often patronizing (though well intentioned) way people would treat him as a paraplegic. “When people treat you different or think you’re not capable, that’s a big hitter,” Anderson said. “A lot of my friends didn’t know how to act around me, I’d sit in the cafeteria by myself.” With the help of family and friends, Anderson eventually adapted to life in a wheelchair. The first few months back at school were the roughest. Teachers came to the hospital to ensure he would be able to eventually graduate on time with the rest of his class. When he did return to campus, he did so in a full body cast. “The moment I got home, I had to lay down the rest of the night,” Anderson said. “I did all my homework laying in bed.” After a senior year full of frustration and solitude, Anderson was accepted into the University of Washington, which he hoped would offer a reprieve from his increasingly lonely existence. The change of scenery turned out to be just what he needed. “Once I got out of high school and got into UW, I knew I was going to be living on my own,” Anderson said. “It was a big shift because I had to make new friends.” A major part of that process was getting involved in wheelchair athletics. He started with wheelchair road races and 10Ks, eventually finding his way to a wheelchair tennis clinic he read about in the newspaper. He went to the clinic with an open mind, planning on observing and possibly making some new connections. But Brian Larson, the man running the clinic, had other ideas. “He (Larson) gave me a racket and said,
Sports Roundup
What’s happening in sports and recreation
Boys basketball
Newport’s Sebastian Bury and Conor O’Shea (in pool) were part of a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay. CHAD COLEMAN, Bellevue Reporter
why the
business of making kids smarter
is smart
business
Cedar Park Christian 48 Bellevue Christian 50
Bellevue 54 Mount Si 37
Sammamish 61 Juanita 52
Bothell 61 Newport 52
The Vikings trailed by six points at the end of the first quarter before exploding for 31 points in the middle two periods behind a team-high 16 from Rajan Hanstad. Bryce Oldham scored 13 and Ethan Mitchell and Jake Vandenbrink each put in seven for Bellevue Christian. The Totems remained unbeaten in league play and atop the conference with the nine point win over the Rebels. John Steinberg had 19 for
Math • Reading • WRiting
www.enopi.com “Go from conference calls with clients to finding your calling with kids.”
Zach LaVine poured in a game-high 24 and Perrion Callandret added 13 more as the Cougars built an 11 point lead at the half and never looked back. Isaac Dotson paced the
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Bellevue is the only other unbeaten in 2A/3A KingCo play (as of the Reporter’s press time) this season and picked up another win on Tuesday, 54-37 over Mount Si. Tyler Hasty led the way with a game-high 21 and Cole Walton put in 10 more for the Wolverines.
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Sammamish and George Valle added 12 more.
th Nov.for 26all for all levels levels
(registration 26th –Jan. Jan.26th) 26th) (Registerdates nowNov. through
[ more TENNIS page 13 ]
Knights with 15 while Miles Fowler added 11 and Will Ferris finished with 10.
Wrestling
Bellevue earned a pair of titles at the Pac Coast Invitational as Jimmy Trull (220 pounds) and Christian Villani (106 pounds) fought through five matches each to capture the championships at their respective weight classes. The title was the third in December for Trull, who also won at the Hammerhead and Spud Walley Invitationals.
Boys swim & dive
Perennial state powers faced off when Newport and Shorewood made the trip to Mary Wayte Pool on Mercer Island earlier in the week for a non-league meet with the Islanders. Ben Allen won the 200 free in a time of 1 minute 48.10 seconds and the 500 free in 4:57.25. Dehlan Gwo earned a victory in the 100 fly in 55.31 and another in the 100 back with a mark of 56.91 and Allen Yuan finished in front in the 100 free in 1:07.30.