From the first football practice of August to the final softball out of May, the high school sports seasons blend together to form one nine-month long blur.
The time between Mat Classic, district and state basketball, followed by spring tryouts, can go by particularly quick.
It’s not until the end of spring — when the final shot put has been thrown, the final whistle blown, the final sprint has been run — that I am able to sit back and take stock of it all.
If you’ve been following along the last two weeks (or, in the world of journalism, the last four editions including this one), it’s clear that a number of worthy accomplishments have occurred this year. The game plan from my end of things was to spotlight as many of the kids and coaches as possible who made these highlights possible.
Today marks the Kent Reporter’s final chapter of “Year End” awards and it falls squarely on the shoulders of Kentwood girls basketball coach Keith Hennig, who was named our Coach of the Year for Female Sports. Hennig guided the Conquerors on a remarkable run this past winter, though it’s worth noting his success has gone on for several years now.
On Wednesday, Kentridge boys basketball coach Dave Jamison got the nod as the Kent Reporter’s Coach of the Year for Male Sports. Jamison wasn’t the runaway winner by any means, but was a strong choice considering what he and the Chargers accomplished, especially in contrast to where many believed they were going to finish.
In Hennig’s case, the choice was a relatively easy one. To put it in perspective, I’ve been in this business since 1995 and I don’t recall ever seeing a run of dominance like the one Hennig and the Conquerors put together this past winter. That run included another league title (KW’s fourth straight) and a state championship (the school’s first in girls basketball).
But Hennig wasn’t alone among coaches who really hit the mark this past year.
Below is a list of four others who were considered for the Reporter’s Coach of the Year for Female Sports. All four truly stepped up this past school year and deserve credit for jobs well done.
MARLA BOYD, KENTLAKE GYMNASTICS
Talk about a banner year. Boyd knew the Falcons were talented before the winter season, especially with the return of state veterans Brianne Gould, Lynnsey Thielman and Becca Peterson. The addition of Level 10 gymnast Kayla Shira made this bunch even better. Boyd essentially helped this group come together as one of the area’s top gymnastics teams in recent memory. And the Falcons wasted little time showing that they were for real, establishing a school record in points (170.8) during the first week of the season. It was a mark Kentlake would break again and again as the season progressed, culminating in a 173.025-point outburst at the Class 4A state meet, which helped the Falcons take second and bring home a team trophy for the first time in school history. When it was all said and done, Boyd’s bunch not only grabbed state hardware, but also their first SPSL North title and a perfect 19-0 overall record.
MICHAEL CHRISTIANSEN, KENT-MERIDIAN VOLLEYBALL
K-M’s third-year coach spent much of the season drinking orange soda, his beverage of choice after victories. The fall season proved to be a banner one for the Christiansen-coached Royals, a team that truly turned a corner after several years of losing. The Royals clinched a South Puget Sound League North Division postseason berth — a tournament they hadn’t been a part of since 2001 — just five league matches into the season. K-M came into the 2008 schedule having won just 11 league matches in its previous six years combined. But last fall, the Royals took third in the North with a 6-2 league record and finished 8-7 overall. Much of that turnaround is a credit to Christiansen, whose positive nature has carried over to the girls on the court. “It’s easy to focus on the losing and to talk about the losing,” he said. “My mentality always has been you’ve got to move forward. If you want to get better, you have to put the effort in.” The Royals and their coach certainly accomplished that.
BIL CAILLIER, KENTWOOD VOLLEYBALL
Caillier quietly has turned a good program into one of the state’s truly elite — regardless of sport. This past fall, the Conquerors earned their fifth consecutive trip to state. Once there, Kentwood won three of four matches, culminating in a thrilling 19-25, 25-19, 25-19, 21-25, 25-11 against Mead, which had won the previous four state titles. That win helped the Conquerors seal the fourth-place trophy and was the third straight year Kentwood has finished among the top four at state. In addition, the Caillier-guided Conks won their fourth consecutive South Puget Sound League North Division title and will head into next fall on a 51-match league winning streak. Few have been better than Caillier since he took over the KW program in 2002, which is illustrated in both his overall (187-56) and league (65-5) records
JENNIFER MCINTOSH, KENTRIDGE TENNIS
The Chargers’ even-handed, steady-as-they-come tennis coach has been one of the area’s most successful the last several years. And things were no different this past spring. Kentridge won eight straight matches to open the season, finished with an 11-4 South Puget Sound League North Division record and challenged for the division title all season. The Chargers finished in third place, just two wins behind frontrunner Auburn. What’s impressive about McIntosh’s program is that it has finished with fewer than 10 league wins just once in her six years, that coming in 2004, when the Chargers went 9-5. Since then, Kentridge has posted a staggering North Division record of 59-11.
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