HEAT VS PINNACLES: BATTLE OF THE UNBEATEN May 29, 2009
Posted by lread in Women's Soccer.add a comment
Shannen Meyer is used to playing out with the TRU WolfPack. This weekend, she will be in nets for the Heat
Two of the three unbeaten teams in the Pacific Coast Soccer League Womens Reserve division tangle this weekend. The Kamloops Heat (which features a number of players from the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack women’s program) visit the Pinnacles in Penticton on Saturday (May 30).
Both teams enter the weekend with identical 3 and 0 records.
“Two teams with identical records. I don’t know much about them but I’m sure that it’ll be a great match.” Said Heat and WolfPack head coach Tom McManus.
Both sides came away with victories last weekend against Chilliwack FC and Richmond SC. The Heat won 4-0 and 4-1. The Pinnacles beat Richmond 2-1 and Chilliwack 5-1.
Sunday’s match will feature the top four scorers in the PCSL. Nicole Fraser of Penticton has six goals with Jana Yates scoring four times thus far. Kamloops has seen Danielle Fauteux (forward, TRU,Kamloops, BC)find the back of the net five times thus far. Kelli Chamberlain (forward, Queens University) is tied with a number of players with three markers.
“I believe our defenders are quick and strong enough to mark them up,” says McManus in reference to containing Fraser and Yates.
Mcmanus has been more than pleased with how Fauteux and Chamberlain have played thus far. “Danielle is a gifted goal scorer and has unfortunately had a rash of injuries,” says McManus about the former Junior National team player who missed most of the 2008 BCCAA season due to injury. “I need her healthy, not injured and tired. That happens a great deal in professional soccer when you have a mature player. You give them a day or two off when necessary.” McManus is quick to point out that when he calls the 25 year old Fauteux mature, he means in quality not age.
As for Chamberlain: “ Kelli has played very well for us and I’m happy with her goal scoring,” he says. “But we have a number of players who can and will score for us. Its nice not to have to rely on jut one or two players.”
With Shannon Kelly (TRU, Kamloops, BC) still away, All-Canadian Shannen Meyer will play her third straight match in the nets. “Shannen is showing she is a team player by doing this. We all know she would rather be out on the field but we don’t have a goalkeeper in just yet. She is stepping up and doing the job.” Meyer is traditionally a defender or midfielder.
Some might read into the fact the two teams are unbeaten could be headlined as a “Clash of the Titans”. McManus says its way too early to read anything into the match. “It’s way too early. But our next three matches are huge. We have Penticton this weekend and then the following weekend we are away to Coquitlam and Richmond. We played Richmond before but I know they will be a stronger squad at home. Coquitlam is traditionally a strong team and will surely be tough.”
PENALTY KICKS: The next home matches for the Heat will be the weekend of June 13 and 14 th when they entertgain the Fraser Valley Action and the CMFSC Xtreme. The Xtreme enter this weekend’s play at 3-1. Fraser Valley is 2-0-1..
KAMLOOPS TO HOST U-15 NATIONAL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR 2ND STRAIGHT YEAR May 29, 2009
Posted by lread in Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball.add a comment
WolfPack Head Coach Scott Reeves will direct one of the two bc girls squads
For the second year in a row, Canada’s top Under 15 boys and girls basketball players will be making their way to Kamloops. The Tournament Capital Center and Thompson Rivers University will be the site of the 2009 Canada Basketball U-15 Nationals. The tournament will be held August 2-9 th.
“It was such a big success last year, we are hoping for a repeat performance this time around.” Says TRU Athletic Director Ken Olynyk, who is doubling up as the Tournament Chair. The Tournament will have eight boys and eight girls squads from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Alberta and Ontario. “To round things out, BC will be entering two teams—the Red and Blue “ says Olynyk.
WolfPack Women’s head coach Scott Reeves is taking time out of his busy schedule to handle the duties as head man of the BC U-15 Girls Blue team. He will be assisted by Lisa Nevoral of Kelowna (Kelowna Secondary). The U-15 Girls Red squad is being handled by Carrie and Bob Watson. Carrie is an Assistant Coach with the UBC Thunderbirds Women’s team. Bob lives in Chilliwack and teaches at nearby Agassiz Secondary
On the boys side:Douglas College’s Gil Cheung is back for his second year with the U-15 Blue team. He is assisted by Tony Scott (Gleneagle Secondary-Coquitlam) and Aaron Mitchell (St Thomas More Collegiate-Coquitlam). Jeff Gourley of Sir Charles Tupper Secondary in Vancouver is the head coach of the Red squad assited by Anthony Pezzante (Holy Cross Secondary-Surrey. BC).
The Volunteer committee has had its initial meeting and will be looking for some community sponsors to come on board. It is also looking for volunteers. If you would like to volunteer please contact Tara Reeves at tarareeves@telus.net and if you want to help sponsor the event, please contact Larry Read at lread@tru.ca for sponsorships.
Tickets for the Nationals will go on sale in July.
Ontario won both the boys and girls gold medals last year. Team BC came away with the silver medals. The boys game was 102-48 while Ontario took the girls 74-51. Taisya Worsfold and David Wagner of Kamloops were members of Team BC last season.
Walkoff Walker Lives ChildHood Dream (Gregg Drinnan KDN column) May 28, 2009
Posted by lread in Baseball.add a comment
Matt Walker at the Plate
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
May 28, 2009
Kamloops – For as long as youngsters have gathered in fields and on outdoor rinks, there have been dreams.
It’s Game 7 of the World Series . . . or a Stanley Cup final . . . and, yes-s-s-s-s, you get the hit or score the goal that wins the championship. The crowd goes wild.
For most of us, it is just that . . . a dream. Forever.
Matt Walker used to dream like that, too.
“Winning a championship with one hit has always been a dream of mine” is the way Walker puts it.
The difference is that Walker, a pitcher/outfielder with the TRU WolfPack baseball team, got to live his dream. That feeling about which you and I have dreamt? Walker has lived it. Really. And now, when he sees replays of the likes of Bobby Thompson and Joe Carter with their championship-winning home runs, you bet that he can relate.
Two out. Bottom of the ninth inning. Score tied at eight. Count 1-1. Slider sits there. Solo home run. TRU wins the championship.
That’s what happened May 16 when Walker’s dinger gave the WolfPack a 9-8 victory over the host Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs in Lethbridge. It was the final game of the Canadian College Baseball Conference championship tournament.
“I think I’ve come back to reality now,” Walker, 21, wrote in an email earlier this week from Vancouver, a day before he left to spend some time touring Germany, Italy and the Greek Islands. “It definitely took me about a week, though.
“On the bus ride back to Kamloops, every time I thought about what had just happened, I couldn’t help but smile or laugh. It was surreal.”
First, let’s set the stage. Then we’ll let Walker tell the story.
Walker, from Bowen Island, joined the WolfPack as an outfielder. Prior to this season, however, he took one for the team and moved into the bullpen, never mind that he hadn’t pitched “for six or seven years.” In fact, he ended up as TRU’s closer. That meant he was limited to only 68 at-bats in the entire season.
In the championship final, the WolfPack, the home team because it was the top qualifier, trailed 5-0 after two innings, got back to 5-5 but then gave up a two-run swat in the fourth to trail 7-5. TRU got its first lead, 8-7, in the bottom of the fourth, but the Dawgs tied it in the fifth.
Which is how the teams were 8-8 with two out in the bottom of the ninth.
As the Dawgs hit in the top of the inning, Walker, a 6-foot-2, 180-pounder who bats right, stood in left field and began to prepare for his at-bat, which would come against Katlin Nunweiler, a 6-foot-0, 165-pound right-hander.
“I realized that I was going to be the third one up and was very excited,” Walker wrote. “When the two hitters ahead of me made outs I was disappointed that they didn’t get on base. However, I was excited at the same time for the opportunity to be a leader and really give it my all.”
In other words, he recognized the opportunity and wasn’t about to walk away without taking his best shot.
“When I stepped into the batter’s box,” he recalled, “I mentally prepared myself by just relaxing and not thinking too much.”
The first pitch was a slider. Walker took it for a strike.
Nunweiler’s second pitch was high and tight. Really tight.
“It almost hit me in the head,” Walker stated. “But I pulled back. . . . I wasn’t bothered by the pitch and stayed relaxed.”
The third pitch . . . well, it landed on the other side of the left-field fence at Lloyd Nolan Yard for Walker’s fourth home run of the season. The left-field corner is 328 feet from home plate, with the centre-field fence 405 feet away.
“I believe it was a slider . . . however, Nunweiler left it up in the strike zone and I quickly saw the pitch I knew I wanted,” Walker remembered. “I’ll be honest . . . I was thinking home run during the at-bat. I wanted the opportunity to win the game for my team.
“When it comes down to it, I was lucky with the timing, and I took advantage of the opportunity.”
And, yes, the moment bat met ball, he knew . . . he just knew.
“As soon as I made contact I knew it was gone,” Walker stated. “I saw it right off the bat and didn’t expect anything but for the ball to go over the fence.”
If you have seen any of the celebrations that follow walk-off hits these days, you know that Walker’s day wasn’t over just yet. There was still the matter of surviving the welcoming committee at home plate.
“The celebration was amazing,” Walker wrote. “As I was rounding third base I saw my team waiting for me at home plate. It was unbelievable. I ran into home plate and was instantly covered by teammates.”
So . . . what was Walker thinking at this point?
“As hard as it was to move around, I tried to find (winning pitcher) Jordan Broatch as fast as I could to congratulate him. And I tried to find the graduating players, Ben Bradford and Bryan Mahon, who have been major contributing factors to the program and will be greatly missed . . . also my buddy Kyle Dhanani, who is moving on to the next level of baseball, which is well deserved.”
(Broatch, in a rather gritty effort, went the distance for the victory; a right-hander from White Rock, he is believed to be on the verge of joining a summer-league team in Regina. Dhanani, a shortstop from Blaine, Wash., is expected to sign with the Milwaukee Brewers or to leave TRU to attend an American college.)
“The rest,” Walker admitted, “is a blur.”
A fan got the ball and brought it to Walker, who has had TRU’s players and coaches sign it. It is destined for a trophy case.
Walker was born in North Vancouver but was raised on Bowen Island. He got his start in baseball with the Cypress Park Little League. That is where “I fell in love with the game.” He points to three coaches — Jack Brick, Rick Sinke and Bob Wilshire — as having been his major baseball influences on Bowen Island. He also credits the well-respected John Haar, for whom he played with the Premier League’s North Shore Twins.
Walker’s father, Brent, is a captain in the West Vancouver fire department, while Mom (Caroline) owns a couple of flower shops. He has two younger sisters — Devon is graduating from high school this spring, while Chanelle is in the musical theatre program at Capilano University. He is close with his sisters.
“They have sat on the bleachers and stood on the sideline even when they probably didn’t want to,” Walker wrote. “When I called to tell them about the win, my sisters actually answered and were almost as excited as I was!”
That excitement has begun to subside now — it’s doubtful that anyone will recognize him in the Greek Islands — but the memory of that one moment is frozen in time.
When Walker returns in a couple of weeks, it’ll be back to the routine.
“I will be working all summer landscaping and trying to make enough money to pay for school and baseball after the trip,” he wrote, “And . . . I will be training harder than ever.
Men’s Soccer Pays Visit To 1 st Valleyview Cubs May 28, 2009
Posted by lread in Men's Soccer.add a comment
WolfPack Men
Conor Doherty and Justin Wallace play
The WolfPack Men’s Soccer team spent some time at the 1st Valleyview Cubs meeting on May 25, 2009 teaching them the ‘finer’ points of the beautiful games. Photos are courtesy of Head Coach Sean Wallace.
4 WOLFPACK PLAYERS NAMED TO TEAM BC VOLLEYBALL (REED/RICHTER/KRUEGER/CARSON) May 28, 2009
Posted by lread in Men's Volleyball.add a comment
Matt Krueger is one of the WolfPack Players on Team BC
The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Men’s Volleyball team is well represented following the selection of Team BC’s Under 19 squad. No less than four members of the WolfPack will be playing for the team this summer including the National Team Challenge Cup which goes in late July (23-26) in Kelowna.
Spencer Reed (libero, Prince George, BC), Colin Carson (setter, Prince George, BC), Matt Krueger (outside hitter, Abbotsford, BC) and Stephen Richter (outside hitter, White Rock, BC) were all named to the roster by coaches Brad Hudson (Douglas College) and Ben Josephson (Trinity Western).
“I played five years for Team BC,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly “I think it’s great these guys will spend their summer and representing their province. I am very proud of them. I think this shows the calibre of player we are getting for our team. I’ve always encouraged guys to represent their province or their country whenever they can.”
“Everytime you get the chance to play at a competitive level with guys your age, and to represent your province at the same time is always exciting,” said Reed. He spent last season as a ‘red shirt’ with the TRU program after graduating from high school a year early.
That experience, felt Hennelly gave Reed the upper hand in competing for one of the 12 spots on Team BC. “It’s far better than what other players who just participated in club would have received.”
Richter has spent the last couple of years switching between beach and indoor volleyball in the Volleyball BC program. He believes that even though some players (including fellow WolfPack prospect Alex Davis of White Rock, BC) declined to play due to other commitments, the U-19 squad should be a good one. “I know Volleyball BC has been working hard to make the Team BC program more involved and organized and I’m looking forward to the training period and Nationals.”
Aside from Richter, the other three WolfPack players have been in the Team BC Indoor program for three years. Krueger believes one of the main strengths of the club will be team commitment and chemistry. “ Most of us know each others strong and weak points so using that to our advantage will definitely help us.”
All four are looking forward to getting some extra training and game experience as a group. “It’s great having four of us together,” says Krueger. “It getsus excited to play together next year and in the future.”
“The chance to work together will make it easier for us come training camp,” added Reed “With other guys potentially playing on the national team and the older version of Team BC, a lot of the TRU guys will be playing together this summer which will hopefully translate into big success for our team come the next CIS season.”
“The more you play together, the better you get,” says Hennelly. “We have other players playing for their country or their province. That’ll help them gain valuable experience that they can use to their advantage during the gruelling part of the season. For the young guys, it might translate into them getting more floor time.”
SIDEOUTS: Other WolfPack players involved in summer volleyball programs: Gord Perrin (outside hitter, 3rd year, Creston, BC) is with the BC Canada Games team and is trying out for the Junior National Team program. Kyle Donen (libero, 4th year, White Rock, BC) is with the BC Canada Games team and will represent Canada at the Macabbi Games in Israel . Josh Boruck (outside hitter, 2nd year, Revelstoke, BC) is trying for the Junior Nats and will play at the Maccabi Games. Conor Eatch (middle, 2nd year, Aurora Ontario) is at the Junior National team camp.