News from the Athletic Director
Team News
Spring Beaver Gear Sales
From the ABC Presidents
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Feb 14: Last Day to turn in Spring Sports Packet
Feb 19-23 Mid-Winter Break
Feb 26: Spring Sports Begin
March 6: Spring Sports Parent Meeting
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Note from the Athletic Director
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Beaver Fans,
This is one of my favorite times of the year. We are currently wrapping up a very successful winter sports season while also feeling the excitement that spring sports brings.
The past month, especially this weekend, has seen a lot of success by our winter programs, most with very young teams!
- Our Cheer squad took 2 teams to State in January, a tumbling squad (which is very impressive to see) and a non-tumbling team. Both squads impressed the judges in their divisions, earning a third place finish as well as SECOND CONSECUTIVE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP! But the ladies weren’t done there as they surpassed their goal of making the semis at Nationals by earning a trip to the NATIONAL FINALS today in Orlando, FL!
- A great combination of veteran leadership and young talent have propelled our Gymnasts to a great season. The most impressive thing to me about this group is the composure and camaraderie they show at each meet. Hard work pays off as the team earned their trip with a 3rd place finish in the toughest district meet in WA! Good luck in Tacoma this weekend ladies!
- I had the privilege of watching our wrestlers over the past 2 weekends while running the head table at Districts and then Regionals. Yesterday’s regional meets produced 4 state qualifiers, including Regional Champion Isaiah Larkin at 106 pounds! These 4 wrestlers will look for state hardware this weekend in Tacoma at the Mat Classic.
- Men’s Swim wrapped up their season at the District Meet at Mercer Island this weekend. Coach Gleit and Coach Brayman have another young team primed and ready for success next season!
- The Women’s Basketball team also has a lot of youth and earned a trip to the SeaKing tournament by virtue of a 5th place finish in Metros. Having just 1 senior on the team, who will be missed, shows that the sky is the limit next season!
- Our Men’s Basketball team suffered an early defeat in the Metro Tournament, but make no mistake - the boys have created a workman culture that will help us down the road. Any trip into the weight-room in the off-season, or watching the boys compete hard to the final whistle can get you excited for hoops season.
Spring Sports are fast approaching -- starting the day after mid-winter break, Spring Season will be here before you know it! In addition to a great group of very committed coaches, we’ve added 2 new ones that fit the same mold. Coach Dale Griffith was announced recently as our new Head Softball Coach, and if the pre-season meet & greet with the girls is any indication, we will have a lot of excitement surrounding softball this year! Coach Mark Mcalexander has hit the ground sprinting after having been chosen to lead our Men’s Soccer program. He brings a great deal of organization and has a good background working with various programs both on the women’s and men’s side. I’m excited to work with both of these men!
I wanted to take one last minute and encourage you to join the
Athletic Booster Club
. We have a great group of folks that are committed to helping all programs succeed at Ballard, but we need to branch out to more than what I call the “Usual Suspects." Lauren and Jen have spent 3 years as Co-Presidents and are looking to pass the reins over. Daria has done a phenomenal job of helping us get information out, always with a mindful eye on not overwhelming your inboxes. Stephen is working on streamlining our website to be more concise and functional. Laura is handing over our Beaver Gear operations as she is graduating. Kendall, Frances, and Sarah have jumped aboard providing great insight to helping us run the type of athletic program we all want to be a part of. Many hands make light work and our main focus right now is streamlining the experience for everyone. From our parent/fan experience, to coaches, to athletes -- we want everyone to benefit from their time with us. Please consider volunteering with the ABC, even if it's just for one event. I promise -- it will be an enriching experience!
Enjoy the upcoming break and remember -- It’s Always Great to be a Beaver!!
Always Grateful,
Jason Thurston
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The Boys Basketball team wrapped up their season in the Metro League playoffs on February 5th, with four seniors playing their final game for the Beavers. Center Will Beaudoin, Forward Matthew Paulsen, Sharp-Shooter Kole Knutsen & Team Captain Asher Simpson put in countless hours of work on and off the court and will be missed. The future looks bright for the Beavers with junior guards Billie Sheik and Lucas Waters improving all year and sophomores Bryce Wressell, Max Shriver, Tycho Striegel and Oscar Olson seeing significant impactful minutes on the floor this season.
Another season highlight was the live broadcasting of numerous games on 107.3FM KBFG, a new local radio station. Production was led by BHS teacher Eric Muhs and his students Gary Dunn and Jon Marstall, while the broadcast team of former Ballard coaches Billy Rodgers, Jon Adams & Sue Verduin kept listeners engaged on the FM dial and streaming on the web (Archived game broadcasts are
available on YouTube
). We'll look to continue offering these broadcasts to our fans and community next season.
While the regular season has concluded, the boys will continue to put in work in the weight room and in the gym over the offseason, the program will host the 3rd annual Battle in Ballard summer tournament in June and players of all ages in the program will attend team camps across the PNW this coming summer. A big thanks from the coaches and players to all the parents, the Beaver Brigade, Ballard Cheer, Photographer Ed Tanaka and other community members who supported the boys teams this season. #BallardPride was felt all year long!
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Despite being months away from our season it is a great time to be part of the Ballard Football program!
We had four student-athletes named 2nd Quarter Student of the Quarter for their efforts in the classroom; that gave us six total for the first semester!
On National Signing Day we celebrated Senior Shiloh Ta’ase as he committed to Portland State University! We also have a couple other Seniors that we expect to sign with programs over the next couple months!
On average we have 42 players working in the off-season strength and conditioning program! The camaraderie, strength, and confidence that we are building is so fun to be apart of; the season can’t come soon enough!
As a coaching staff we are committed to giving our families the greatest experience we can. To do so we take advantage of many professional development opportunities. Over the next three months we will be attending four coaching clinics and spend time with college and high school programs in the region.
If you haven’t already, follow us on Facebook (Ballard Beaver Football), Twitter (
@BallardHSPride
), and Instagram (
ballardbeaverfootball
).
Ballard Pride!
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Gymnastics
This year's gymnastics team has been working hard since day one, and has been consistently scoring higher and higher as the season has progressed. Despite being a fairly young team, they are some of the hardest workers and have formed one of the tightest knit communities the gymnastics program has ever seen. Their efforts paid off at the Metro Championship meet this past weekend where they placed third and qualified for the District 2/8 Championship meet as a team.
Throughout the course of the season the gymnasts have shown an immense amount of support, both for each other and for the other teams in their league. Therefore it was no surprise when the Metro League awarded the team with the Sportsmanship Award. After such a successful regular season, the team is excited to head to the State Championships and compete with the best in Washington.
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Girls Lacrosse
The Girls Lacrosse team is gearing up for the start of the season, with the first in-season practices on February 26! Until that time, captains will be holding twice-weekly practices after school on Mondays and Thursdays. The program (led by captains Rachel Howell, Lily Rehfeldt, and Amika Smalley) is looking to build on a successful 2017 season that saw the team narrowly miss making the state playoffs. The 2018 season will kick off with a Varsity game against conference opponent, Ingraham HS, at 6pm on Tuesday, March 13 at Ballard HS.
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Winter Coed Update
We are at the tail end of our Winter Coed season with our last regular season games on February 10
th
and playoffs February 7
th
and 24
th
. Both Varsity and JV have had an up and down season but we’re hoping for a chance to make a good run in the playoffs. We had record numbers of girls trying out this year and ended up with two full teams of 21 players. A Ballard Ultimate first. Additionally, as a BHS Ultimate first, we submitted two bids for the Spring Reign tournament in April which is the largest Youth Coed Ultimate tournament in the world, held in our own Burlington, WA and organized by
DiscNW.org
which is our local Seattle based Ultimate organization. More info about that tournament here -
https://www.discnw.org/events/SpringReign/
Girls Season
Things are really looking up for our BUF Girls program. The BUF Girls season will begin in Spring with practices starting on February 26
th
at 4:00 at Interbay Field. We have had good interest so far with 24 committed players so we plan on having both a Varsity and JV team for our girls season as well. Having two girls teams will be another Ballard High School first. If you have any interest in playing for our girls team, we take all experience levels (including none) and you just need to contact John Nobis -
jgnobis@gmail.com
if you'd like to come out and play or fill out the following interest form:
https://goo.gl/forms/MWoP3F6N8Xrq9OIj2
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Other Ultimate Updates
Boys Club
– for any boys that want to continue to play in the Spring, there is Boys Club. We will not be organizing a BUF specific team but rather you can sign up Individually to play as a free agent. All sign ups can be done here -
https://www.discnw.org/events/1158/
World Team Tryouts
- Our own Gabriel Nobis (Junior) has been invited to try out for the USA Ultimate U20 team which will represent the United States at the WFDF Junior World Ultimate Championships later this year. There were around 20 Seattle area players invited and a total of 100 nationwide. Tryouts are February 10
th
and 11
th
in Livermore, California. Good luck Gabe!
Youth Club Championships Team
– For those players interested, stay tuned for updates on the YCC tryouts which should be happening in May. YCC teams represent Seattle and Washington State at the Youth Championships in Minnesota in August. Seattle YCC teams have historically performed extremely well winning multiple national championships. Ballard HS has had multiple players over the years representing Ballard and Seattle on these teams.
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Spring Beaver Gear Sale March 6!
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Our next Beaver Gear sale is on March 6 at Spring Sports, and we are celebrating with some spring sale prices!
Soccer style supporter scarves and Strideline socks are now just $15 each!
Both products are from Seattle companies, so not only do you get great products while supporting BHS, but your purchase also helps out local businesses.
- Another great pick for spring: reversible spectator blankets. These are nylon on one side and fleece on the other. Great wind and rain protection for those outdoor matches! $40
- Keep your head toasty with our hat selection. We have caps, toques and fleece lined beanies in Beaver colors. $15-20
- Check out the latest ladies v-neck T in a super soft grey cotton with 3/4 sleeves and a slightly longer body length to keep all of you covered in the bleachers. $25
- Baseball style tees are perfect for spring and we have a variety of sizes. $20
We have EXTENDED sizes in many items - just ask! PJ Pants to run XS to 2X and hoodies up to 3X. We want Beavers of all sizes to cheer on the teams so we offer all sizes at the same price!
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END OF THE YEAR?!!!
Believe it or not, the BHS Athletic Booster Club is already planning for the 2018-19 school year. Winter sports are currently wrapping up, Mid-Winter Break is only a week away, and Spring sports and the final third of the 2017-18 athletic calendar will be underway in just a few weeks.
At our last ABC Board meeting, we spent the majority of the time discussing how we can put systems in place to guarantee a successful future for our club. Since the start of this school year, the Board has been working with Jason to define our role in the Ballard Athletics community, as well as clarifying our board positions and brainstorming ways to build deeper connections and volunteer relationships between the ABC and individual teams.
Our discussions always end at the same bottom line: as we move forward as a club, the most important component is YOU! As we’ve mentioned a few times already, at the end of this school year we will both be stepping down from our roles as co-presidents. We have shared this position for three years and we are ready for some fresh faces and ideas sitting around the table.
As a result, we are in need of one or two people to take over the position of President at the end of this year. The Board is also hoping to find someone to take on the position of Vice-President. This position has been vacant for three years, and although it does not carry too much responsibility, it does take a little of the load off the President. The remainder of the board will be staying on in their current positions for the 2018-19 year. If we do not find people to fill the position of President and Vice President the remaining members of the Board will need to determine what will become of The ABC and to what extent it can serve our teams.
We would like to invite anyone interested in learning more about the ABC – and especially anyone interested in taking on one of these roles – to please join us at our next meeting on March 6th in the Staff Lounge, or contact either Lauren at
ajandlmj@gmail.com
or Jennifer at
jenniferrdoherty@comcast.net
.
We hope to step away knowing that we have done everything we could to create a more unified athletic community at Ballard, as well as a mission-focused and financially stable Athletic Booster Club.
We look forward to hearing from some of you.
Lauren and Jennifer
P.S. If you haven't already, please
don’t forget to join the ABC!
Your membership fees make it possible for us to support BHS coaches and athletes.
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Visit the ABC website for specific team info, sports calendars, and more!
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Join the BHS Athletic Booster Club and help us support Ballard athletes!
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