sports
The Current
A tale of two coaches
Bartlett, Mahoney both paved paths to success this fall Mike Vlahovich Current Contributor
Two different coaches in two different sports. Two different schools and two remarkable performances. Two interesting stories. Kieran Mahoney coached Central Valley to its first state cross country championship in the Class 4A boys race the first weekend in November.
Mahoney’s tale is that of a former distance runner and coach who had to remake himself before he could take a team all the way to a state title. A Saturday later, first-year coach Rob Bartlett had surprising University in the State 3A football quarterfinals, a first for the Titans. Bartlett’s tale is one of an athlete 15 years removed from his playing days at U-Hi who installed an offense that evolved week-byweek and was led by an athlete who was thrust into the quarterback position by circumstance.
Coaching for success Central Valley’s four-year cross country coach admits he originally was too hardwired to succeed. An introspective look in the mirror led to the realization he’d need to change for a program to truly have meaning. Success didn’t necessarily mean you crossed the finish line first. “I’ve got to admit when I was coaching at Port Angeles in the late 1990s, as a young-
er coach I was too intense and focused on state,” Mahoney said. “By the time my teams got there they were so tight they were stressed out and didn’t race very well. State was not fun. I have no good memories from that.” He left coaching but watched a meet on occasion. There, he noticed the runners on Spokane’s best teams were loose, relaxed and joking at the starting line. “When I got back into this game,” Mahoney said, “I wanted to make sure I enjoyed it. I looked at the true reason why you coach is to make an (positive) impact on a kid’s life.” That meant nurturing each kid. If you do that, he said, they are more able to run loose and relaxed. They are about team building — making sacrifices, running for each other instead of individually and having fun. “Now I want kids to step to the line with a relaxed confidence,” he said. “You’ll either have a good day or a great day. I didn’t have that when I was racing.” Central Valley took baby steps begin-
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ning four seasons ago. “Honestly, we had kids who didn’t want to run on varsity,” Mahoney said. “They were more comfortable on JV.” Each year was about celebrating little team successes rather than comparing the Bears to other Greater Spokane League teams. Improvement was palpable. The numbers in his program grew, leading to a State 4A fifth place finish by 2011 and culminating with this year’s state title. “The other revelation I had is that you can win without a stud front runner,” Mahoney said. He projected where each of his seven runners would need to finish at state if they were to win a state title. To a man, they beat those projections. “I told them they wouldn’t be able to hear the coaches; they needed to coach themselves,” Mahoney said. “They talked with and encouraged one another. That really, really helped them in the race.” A revelation, a family, a state championship.
See COACHES, page 25
What I am thankful for, sports edition By Chad Kimberley Current Column
Thanksgiving in many ways is the black sheep of the annual holidays as it seems to struggle to stack up against its fellow festive days. Consider how great the other holidays are: • Christmas is about giving and receiving gifts, playing in the snow and enjoying the company of family and friends. • Valentine’s Day is about cherishing and recognizing the loved ones in your life with romantic nights out or cozy times inside. • Easter is about spring time arriving with outdoor hunts for the elusive Easter bunny along with indoor celebrations of faith and new beginnings. • The Fourth of July is all about explosions, patriotism and parades and brings together small and large communities and ushers in the summer season. And then we have Thanksgiving. Originally it was a day to reflect and remember the very first Thanksgiving between the Plymouth settlers and the Wampanoag Indians and was celebrated by various colonies and states at different times. While in the midst of the Civil War in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed a National Thanksgiving Day on the final
Thursday of November in hopes of fostering a spirit of unity between the North and the South. Finally in 1941 President Roosevelt officially moved the holiday up to the fourth Thursday of the month to stimulate economic growth (i.e. more shopping days before Christmas). Thanksgiving has gone from being thankful that we have food to sustain us to now getting up at unnatural hours to buy, buy and buy some more. This is why Thanksgiving has gotten a bad rap and why we may just have to look at sports to redeem this holiday season. My suggestion is to ignore the capitalism of this holiday and focus on the sports (and, of course, the food). Wall-to-wall sports for four straight days kicking off with Thanksgiving Day NFL, Friday and Saturday college football, another round of NFL on Sunday and college and NBA basketball sprinkled throughout the holiday break. And while we watch, we can’t forget the food; turkey and ham, potatoes of various styles, delectable breads and pastries, and of course pies, pies and a few more pies. So as I prepare to put on my most comfortable (i.e. loose fitting) pants and settle onto my couch with remote in one hand and fork in the other, I would like to give thanks for sports in all its splendor and atrociousness. I am thankful for Mike Leach. Mike Leach’s first season as Cougar coach has given me — a lowly, high school coach — hope that one day I can earn $1.1 million per win (as of this writing). I know, I know Cougar fans: This is year one and blah,
blah, blah. But wasn’t everyone hopeful for more than 2-8 with no conference wins? I am thankful for the Cougar flag. OK, now let me get back in good graces with the Cougar community. I am thankful for the current 128 consecutive week (as of this writing) ESPN College Gameday flagflying streak. You gotta love the commitment to flying your team’s flag faithfully week after week. I am thankful for WIAA championships. I love that our local teams have had deep runs into the postseason while also bringing home a first place trophy from the CV boys cross country along with championship game appearances by the CV boys basketball, Valley Christian boys basketball, Freeman girls basketball and CV girls basketball teams. I am thankful for guys getting busted for PEDs. I am thankful that Lance Armstrong was stripped of his multiple Tour de France titles and that All Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera was suspended by MLB. I love the fact even more that when his suspension was lifted his team, the San Francisco Giants, told him to stay home and went out and won the World Series without him. Remember kids, keep it clean. I am thankful that I am not Mike Brown. Ouch. Five games into the season after his Lakers are cover boys for Sports Illustrated he gets axed after starting 1-4. C’mon Lakers, did you not know a defensive minded coach wanting to run the Princeton offense wasn’t going to work with Nash, Howard and Kobe? I am thankful for outdoor sports. The Spokane Valley and surrounding areas
have it all: trails to ride, walk and run; lakes to play in; rivers to raft down; mountains to climb up and ski down; golf courses to whack the ball around; and plenty of green space to enjoy. I am thankful for Gonzaga basketball. I am enthralled that a small college in Spokane regularly competes and beats the big boys of college basketball. Mark Few has done a great job of sustaining excellence (which in and of itself is a near impossible task in this era of one-and-done in college hoops) while giving Spokanites reason to fill out brackets each March. I am thankful for the Chicago Cubs. With 101 losses this year and now 104 years without a World Series win, I am still thankful. All the lessons I need to learn about perseverance, hope, faith, trust and belief I have learned from being a Cubs fan. I am thankful for The Current and all its faithful readers. Once a month, I get to rant or praise (depending on the mood) about all things sports, and for that I am thankful. And of course I am thankful for everyone who takes a few moments to read this paper and, in turn, uses my column to line their bird cages (I hear I am very popular with parakeets and cockatoos). As you celebrate this holiday season, take a moment to remember why you are thankful for sports and then make sure you take many more moments to remember how thankful you are for your family, your friends and your freedoms. Happy Thanksgiving. Current sports columnist Chad Kimberley is a local teacher, coach and sports fan/critic (again, depending on the mood).