SPORTS
22
Sports Editor
lindsaymartinez
This spring, I tackled a new activity that has given me a new perspective on sports. Alongside good friend and soccer/tennis teammate Lindsy Pyette, I became “Coach Lindsay” to a group of nine 8-year-old girls who play “Minibolts,” the youth soccer portion of the Electric City Soccer Club. AP U.S. History teacher Burke Allen and business teacher Jessica Goosen approached Lindsy and I to coach their daughters’ team, made up of third grade girls who attend Riverview and Sacajawea Elementary Schools. Within just a few weeks, we two rookie coaches took the field to see what we could teach these little girls about soccer and life. I was pleasantly surprised at the skills most of the girls have already accumulated, and was even happier that the girls were excited about soccer, socializing, and getting to know their high school girls turned soccer coaches-- virtual celebrities in their eyes. So far I’ve had a great time getting to know these athletic and rather (unintentionally) hilarious little girls. I have seen lots of improvement and a love of competition that is very promising. It feels like I am watching the future of Lady Rustler soccer develop before my eyes, and having a fun, if busy, spring doing so. One day, we proposed a competition to showcase the girls’ creativity. The challenge was which girl could create the best goal celebration to be judged by the coaches, with the winner to earning an unspecified prize. The next practice we were met with an array of comic performances. Almost every girl did a cartwheel after scoring her goal, some adding in a dance move or two to persuade her coaches that she had the best celebration. I especially enjoyed a robot performance and felt embarrassed that I have never been able to perform a cartwheel. However, one celebration stuck out. This colorful girl, we discovered soon into the season, is a real character and reminds Lindsy and I of a certain soccer teammate we had ourselves when we were younger. During first practice, she kept shouting out “Tango!” and after one practice she had me in a death grip hug while vowing to “never let go.” Naturally, we were anticipating her celebration quite a bit, even hoping for maybe a bit of tangoing. Turns out her celebration went like this: she scored her goal, dropped to the ground on all fours, gave two yips, and howled like a wolf. She was the unanimous winner of the goal celebration contest. Although goal celebration day happened in one single practice, one thing has remained constant from week to week: girls pining for some new game, an abandonment of drills, and, of course, the opportunity to scrimmage the boys team that simultaneously practices at Riverview Park two nights a week. I never realized how tough this bombardment of suggestions from players must be for a coach. As a player, I admit to making complaints directed at activities chosen by the coach. It never is fun to spend a whole practice working on passing nor is using precious minutes on warm-up that could evolve into scrimmaging. However, being a coach has shown me that the coaches actually know what they are doing! Coaches have a plan and they aren’t likely to change it after the players, who may not necessarily know the difference between games that are fun and those that improve skills, beg for their favorite game. After coming to this realization with the help of these girls, I hope to be more supportive of coaches while I’m playing a sport, try to never complain, and, above all, take awe in every sports moment like my little team of “Pink Panthers” does.
SETTING RECORDS
Photo by Peyton Fulbright.
CMR students lift past the limits at state competition by drew brennan, staff writer Holding first in the state for shot-put and javelin isn’t the only news in junior Ashleigh Lehotsky’s life. Lehotsky recently participated in the power lifting state meet, where she blew away the competition with ease. Of the girls at the meet, Lehotsky finished first place in bench press, squat, and dead lift. Lehotsky set records in bench press at 235 lbs and dead lift at 370 lbs, and her plans include setting the record for squat next year. “I lift a lot,” she said. Lehotksy participates in weight lifting during school, and on the weekends she lifts with her father. Dedication to the sport is a characteristic shared by senior Jacob Beirwagen. Beirwagen was one of two CMR lifters in the 275lb weight class. Senior Casey Cleveland also competed. Beirwagen finished in first place for the second year in a row, and it was the third year of his being in the top three. Not only did Beirwagen finish in first place, but he finished his weekend by setting a state record with a 375-lb bench press. Beirwagen began lifting his first year at CMR when he needed another class to satisfy a seven-class schedule. “I wasn’t real excited about it until I really got into it,” he said. Not long after beginning his weight training class, Coach Crawford asked Beirwagen to play football. He accepted.
Weight training isn’t the only time once can find him lifting. He worked out with Crawford regularly two to three times a week. His training last year included the overspeed training program, designed mostly for speed and quickness. On top of that, Beirwagen lifted all summer with the football program in order to prepare for the 2012 season. Beirwagen spent his first two seasons of lifting in the 242-lb weight class, and this year he was in an elite 275-lb class. “The only real competition was a kid from Helena High,” he said. There was a real difference in this year’s competition, though. Beirwagen said in years past he lifted with hard working lifting partners such as Tony Lewison and Hunter Thompson. This year Beirwagen lifted by himself for the most part. The state weight lifting competition was a struggle for Beirwagen. “I wasn’t feeling real good; I just wanted to go home,” he said. Getting a little bit lighter and healthier is Beirwagen’s next goal. While he may quit lifting, he will still get his workout in at his father’s farm just outside of Loma. Beirwagen didn’t take many words to sum up what he accomplished when it comes to lifting. “Honestly, I just showed up and kicked butt.”