B6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 19, 1997

DAVE TAYLOR

LISA HAMER, one of our nominees for Coach of the

Year, guides her horse over ajump at this year's Fall
Fair. A total of eight people have bean nominated for
the award this year, but just to make sure there aren't
any stragglers out there we've extended the deadline,

You now have until Friday to nominate

round of the finals.

CEP coaching Level One

TERRACE STANDARD: —

SPOR

Coach of the year

Contest deadline extended

A FLURRY of last-minute
nominations has increased
our Coach of the Year con-
testanis to cight. But we're
still going lo give everyone
one last chance to pat a few
more of our coaches on the

back.
The deadline for the
Coach of Year award,

sponsored by Keenleyside
Insurance and Cinaway Im-
pressions has heen extended
by one week. That means
you have until this Friday,
Nov, 21 to get those last-
minute nominations in to
our office.

Ten it’s up to the judges
to decide who among this
greal group of coaches
deserves the biggest nod.

Last week, four more
very-worthy nominees came
forward. They join fellow
nominees Nick  Kollias,
Steve Scott, Steve Smyth
and Dick Springer,

Horseback riding coach
Lisa Hamer was nominated
by student Pam Gavronsky.
She says Hamer has
coached her for more than
five years and has been a
huge inspiration.

_ “*Your problem is always
her problem,’’ Gavronsky
says, ‘‘Not only is she a
coach to me, she is also a

Mentor, a sister and a
friend,’’ :
Hamer is the official

coach of the Terrace Pony
Club, She has passed her

Junior boys square
off at Caledonia

SKEENA AND Centennial
Christian’s boys volleyball
teams squared off for the
last time this ycar at the
Zone Championships held at
Caledonia over the
weekend.

Both Junior clubs heave
bad their ups and downs this
year, but as Skeena coach
Gary Fuller says, none of

that matters at the Zone -

Finals. -

*'f told the guys it doesn’t
matter how you played all
year,” he says. ‘It matters
how you play today.”

Both Centennial and
Skeena came out strong at

the beginning of the seven-
team tournament.

Centennial handily won
thelr fist two games.
Skeena kicked butt in their
first game against Prince
Rupert, winaing 15-2, But
they struggled a bit in the
second before mounting an
amazing comeback.

The boys were dawn 11-5
and on their heels when Ful-
ler called a timeout to get
them focussed. They went
on to win that game, 16-14
to take the best-of-three in
two straight.

‘We haven't played that
well this year,’’ Fuller says.

“But we made some
changes and they seem to be
working, We played
Centennial last week and we
beat them for the first time
this year.”

Centennial also looked
strong in their first game,
especially team Captain
Kevin Braam.

The Zone Finals are the
end of the line for Junior
players since there is no
Junior Provincials.

Final scores at the Zone
Finals weren't available at
press time, so look for
results in an upcoming Stan-
dard. |

and is working on Level
Two. She has even travelled
all the way to Europe to im-
prove her coaching skills.

“‘She’s always there to
loan equipment, give sug-
gestions or -listen to your
riding problems,’ Gav-
ronsky says, .

Terrace Minor Softball
coach Brian Smith was
nominated by fellow coach
Nolan Beaudry. Beaudry
says Smith is extremely
popular with the younger
players.

“The kids reaily, really,
like hhim,’’ he says, ‘Last
year we had three or four re-
quests from kids who
wanted to be on his team.’’

Smith has been coaching
since 1992 and has his
NCCP Level. One certifi-
cate, This past season, his
teams were first in the Ter-
race Minor Sofiball teague
and he was heralded as the
league's best coach.

“His teams always do
well because he spends so
much time with them,’

. Beaudry says, ‘‘He’s a ver

rT fall

patient guy for little kids.”’
Teriace Minor. Basebail
coach Randy “Latimer” has
also. -been nominated for
Coach of the Year; Latimer
bas been coaching in the
northwest for 26 years,
since he was-14-years-old. -
Latimer was nominated by
Walker arid Daniel Main,
who say Latimer is '‘an ex-
cellent puy and a very good
coach.””
Latimer is well-known in
the community, having
coached basebail, basketball

and hockey for both chil--

dren and adult
women.
In 1986 he coached ihe
women's basketball coach
that ‘placed first at the
Northern BC Winter Games.
More recently, he’s been

men. and

Be
Gary. Fuller be

vat ae

coaching minor baseball in
the spring and minor hockey
in the winter. He has also at-
tended sevezal clinics to im-
prove his coaching,

The Main family says
Latimer’s enthusiasm is
really appreciated by both
players and parents.

The final new nominee
last week was Skeena Jr.
boys volleyball coach Gary
Fuller, Fuller was
nominated by about half his
volleyball team, who all in-
sist he’s one great coach.

Fuller has been coaching
for 13 years, improving the

skills of many young
players in Terrace. '
“Last year, Mr Fuller

took the Grade Eight boys’
team from nothing in the
regular season to first place

in the Zones,” says Bradley |

Gunolaugson. *He’s a great
coach.’’ ,

Those sentiments were
echoed by teammates
Timothy Nordin, Jason
Klein, Steven Gough and
Steven Biagioni.

"Bach year Mr. Fuller has
coached his best and im-
proved the team,’’ Biagioni
says.

So remember, the deadline
has been extended and
there’s still three days left to
get in any more nomination
forms. That form can be
found on page A3. Fill it out

with the details and drop it |
off to our office al 3210 ;
Clinton St. Or you can fax it~

to us at 638-8432,
This is your last chance,

Sens

Randy. Latimer

Brian Smith

Two-on-two league starts

Courts
and hoops
now open

THERE’S A new game in
town.

Those looking for some
hot hoop action can now
head to the Northwest Com-
munity College for a litile
two-on-two competition,

The athletic facility at the
college has reopened after
tenovations and the new
owner is looking to start a
two-on-two basketball
league here.

Pete Weeber says he’s

pretty excited about starting
the new activity.

“You always hear
about how Terrace has
no recreation facilities
and that to get some
will cost millions of
dollars, But why not
try to do something
with what we've got???

—Pete Weeber

“You always hear about
how Terrace has no ‘recrea-

tion facilities and that to get”

some will cost millions of
dollars,” he says. “But why

not try to do something with -

what we've got?’’

So Weeber picked up a
movable basketball: hoop
and set it up in the racquet-—
ball court at the college.

“Tt works great,’’ he says.
“There's plenty of room in
the court but there’s no. out-
of-bounds, so it makes for.a
very fast-paced game.”

Weeber says he hopes to
get some
tournaments poing to show-
case local talent.

“T think that would be
really fun,’ he says. ‘“We
have low of talented basket-
ball players in Terrace and
the Native communities.’

The re-opening of the
athletic centré, now. call. the
Oasis Sports Club, was

two-on-two |

TWO-ON-TWO ball is the newest game in town now that the college athletic facil-
ity is open again. The courts are open too, and new organizer Pete Weeber is

looking for anyone Interested in getting involved in a two-on-two league or

squash, racquetball and wallyball leagues,

greeted with great relief by
Terrace’s squash, racquet-
ball and wallyball players
who had to go without their
favourite sports for months.

Bul those courts are once

‘again: alive with players

struggling to
fom.
And Weeber says he’s

regain their

seeing more families come
through the doors since he
replaced the aging exercise
equipment with pool tables,
foosball tables and air hock-
ey gamies.

“We wanted to get more
variety in here,’ he says,
“Now we'll have a doctor
and his wife come and play.

squash while the kids play -

basketball or other games.
Sundays are especially
busy.”

Weeber says anyone inter

ested in playing two-on-two
basketball, or any of the.
other sports can call the club_
for more information at 638-
5457. a

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