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Show I V V w V Thursday. March 2. 2006 Page 6 AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN 15P mm? COMMUNITY SPORTS, PEOPLE AND ROBB COSTELLO'North County American Fork's Brady Mason (5) dribbles around Taylorsville's Tulr Summer (12) at the Clans ?A tournament Monday. Unexpected, bit An offer to help with softball turns into head coach duties for Dietz Brian Hassler ll w;isn't llic kind of Christmas Christ-mas present tic was cxM'ding. hut Amern an fork soft hall com h Mall Diet, will take it. Wtii'ii hf volunteered to help with Mi' A I-, solihull learn. Diet w.is iisl looking to coach alongside a good friend But a week alter Christmas, he received .1 call wilh an offer to he nun' I he head coach. "I volunteeieil to help out w ith ptiigiam before Christmas and the previous varsity coa h had an opportunity opportu-nity ome up elsew her e So. a week after Christinas, the pl UK Ipal asked me to take over," said I )n-t "1 wasn't expecting that for Christmas but I'm very happv to take my involvement with the team to another level " lor Diet., the move to coaching began four years ago when he let I the corporate world to enter a different universe uni-verse that involved teaching special education students " I was u purchasing manager, man-ager, so basically I used to spend my company's money," he said. "I'd buy things " However, he thought that the way things were going in the world of the tech industry, teaching would be good and was more solid and more fun. "It was something I've always al-ways wanted to do and it just kind of fell into my lap," he New goals, new expectations for Caveman softball team Brian Hassler With a new coach comes new goals, and for the American Fork girls softball team, some big changes. Entering the new season, first-year coach Matt Dietz has already introduced new ideas and methods to the program and is looking to get American Fork back into the state tournament tour-nament after a decade-plus of failing to qualify. "My Understanding is that we haven't made it to state in a while. It's been a long time and we're going to step it up," said Dietz. "There's going to be some changes. This year is going go-ing to be a learning experience for coaches and players alike." One immediate difference is that batting practice will now be thrown by a pitcher instead of a machine, something that Dietz feels will improve his hitters' hit-ters' ability to succeed in game situations and will improve the quality of pitching on the team added. "I'd known the head coach for a couple of years. It was this freak of nature when I interviewed here and I didn't know she was a teacher. I went and asked if she needed help and the ball started to roll. "It takes huge patience," said Dietz. "As a special ed teacher, I've been blessed with patience. The baby steps as far as progress goes, those are the big 'wows' for me, those are the rewards. Most of the kids are on a learning disability and you get a great appreciation for life." But the greatest patience builder for American Fork's new coach comes on the golf course while playing with his son, a ritual that brought an-ot an-ot her job offer to Dietz in the form of head coach of the golf team at the high school. "Every opportunity I get, I go golfing with my son," he said. "My son and I are on a roll, we want to play all the courses in Utah before I kick the bucket. There are 127 courses in the state and so far we've played somewhere in the 50s." Even while on the course, Dietz continues to coach. That habit has led him to shoot in the 90s on occasion, including a bad game on a course in Hawaii. All golfing stories aside, Dietz has remained involved in softball for the past 14 years, mostly as an umpire. It's that forward as well. "A lot of changes will be made but for the most part, the big ones will be next year," said Dietz. "The only pressure I see as a coach is to improve, and we don't have a lot to improve im-prove on. We don't have real big pressure on us this season." Dietz added that some players play-ers from last year might not be on the team this year, while players that have been considered consid-ered special projects will also be taken into consideration as the team begins to take shape. Included in his plans for the new -look American Fork soft-ball soft-ball team will be a change in attitude for the players on the team and a greater demand for hard work. "My girls will work hard and their attitudes will bump up," Dietz said. "And once they OUTDOOR FUN Cold-shooting Cavemen hustle pastTaylorsville in 5A tourney Neil K. Warner NORTH COUNTY How in the world do you win a state tournament game when your team shoots 29 percent from the field and turns the ball over 23 times? Allow American Fork's Mason Ma-son Porter to explain how it's possible. "We weren't shooting very good. Our shots weren't falling, fall-ing, so we knew we had to rebound," Porter said. "It took a lot of sweat and guts to make sure we didn't go out in the first round." Porter scored 10 points and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds with no turnovers to help American Fork hold off Taylorsville 4945 in the first round of the state 5A tournament tourna-ment Monday afternoon at the E Center. "That's been the M.O. of this team. They really do lay it out on the line," said American Fork coach Doug Meacham. "I know at the end of the day welcome, Christmas gift New American Fork head softball experience of viewing the game in a completely different per- spective that should allow him to help the players improve. "There's some differences," start winning a few games, they'll get that taste for winning win-ning and want more. "In the past I've heard that it's been more of a social kind of deal, but it's going to change. We'll have fun but we're going to find out that winning is fun, instead of just having fun." Preseason action kicks off for American Fork on Tuesday against Highland and will also include a trip to St. George before Region 4 play begins on March 30 against Spanish Fork "I have goals for the girls and one is that someday they flip open the paper and see their names," said Dietz. "If we have a successful season, it will be because they've taught themselves to be better ballplayers. ball-players. "There are girls that need the emotional high of seeing their names in the paper or on the Web site. I have no personal goals to be a successful coach other than to have my girls succeed," suc-ceed," he said. they're going to give me everything every-thing they've got." Porter provided a perfect example. "Mason Porter kind of struggled last game and this game he goes out and gets a double-double, 10 points and 15 rebounds, and they were big rebounds." American Fork players may have shaken their heads in disgust dis-gust with the way they shot the ball, but there was no disputing their effort. Every rebound was contested, and if floor burns were kept as a statistic, the Cavemen would have had a triple-double. As a team, American Fork outrebound Taylorsville 47-21, an incredible discrepancy that helped the Cavemen hold off a late Warrior charge. "Our bigs played with a lot of heart and we were able to win with rebounds and free throws," said guard Austin Haws. "Two years ago, we thought we had a team that could take it and last year, we thought we had a chance. Now MARIO RUIZNorth County coach Matt Dietz pauses beore softball tryouts on Tuesday. he said. "I've learned to re- not one to tolerate much as an sped umpires but I know their umpire and I don't eject many positioning. It helps as far as people. But I expect a lot out of coaching my girls because it's the umpires, and I expect a lot a different perspective. I'm of hustle from the girls." Striper fishing is 'red hot' at Lake Powell NORTH COUNTY Striper fishing in the southern south-ern portion of Lake Powell is "red hot" right now. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is receiving reports from anglers who are catching dozens of fat fish. Among those anglers is Drew Cushing, community commu-nity fisheries biologist for the DWR. Cushing spent the weekend of Feb. 18 fishing the southern portion of Lake Powell Pow-ell with two of his friends. "We really did well at Halls Creek Bay, all the way back among the trees," Cushing said in an e-mail sent to several sev-eral co-workers. "We tried to stay in the old river channel because it was just loaded up with nice stripers. We caught about 40 fish between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. We weighed a few, and most of them weighed between four and five pounds, with several that were between be-tween six and eight pounds." Cushing said he and his friends caught most of the stripers by trolling with Down we're hoping this will be our year." In addition to American Fork's dominance on the boards, the Cavemen picked a perfect time to have their best night of the season from the free throw line. Led by Haws' 10-for-ll performance, per-formance, American Fork made 24-of-29 free throws (83 percent), per-cent), an effort that helped the Cavemen survive a Taylorsville comeback attempt. They also got the job done offensively in the paint, with a 22-12 scoring edge there as well as a 12-2 advantage in second-chance second-chance points. Nevertheless, the Warriors were the early aggressors, and with the help of the American Fork shooting woes, they held the lead through much of the first half. The Cavemen were getting the looks they wanted, but even though the shots weren't falling, they didn't panic. They See TOURNAMENT, Page 7 Deep Husky Jerks and deep-running deep-running Bombers. "It seemed that if you got one fish to bite in a school, the rest would become active, and you could keep fishing that school and keep catching fish," he said. "There were countless count-less times that one of us would hook up, and we would have several other bites of fish on other rods at the same time." Whether you find success similar to Cushing's depends on where you fish. Wayne Gustaveson, DWR fisheries biologist at Lake Powell, said right now, the southern portion por-tion of the reservoir is the place to go. He reported: Lake Powell is fishing like two separate lakes. The northern north-ern lake is typical for late winter, win-ter, with challenging fishing for most species. Forage was abundant last fall. Fish are fat and have gone dormant for the winter. Walleye, stripers and bass are caught sporadically on deep-diving lures trolled near brushy cover where the See FISHING, Page 7 McKay Frandsen American Fork High School i - t- 1 Parents: Dan and Dana Frandsen Year Senior Age: 18 Birthplace: American Fork Sports: Football and basketball Position: Football linebacker and basketball forward Favorite sports team: Seattle Seahawks Favorite food: Prime rib Favorite restaurant: Ruby River Hero: Brian Urlacher Favorite class: Physiology Favorite movie: King Arthur Favorite book: D-Day. June 6, 1944 Future plans: "To work for my dad and to attend college." Most memorable career moment: Fouling out in five minutes min-utes during a game. American Fork boys basketball coach Doug Meacham said: "He's been exceptional on defense and rebounds. He's become be-come better on rebounds, and he knows what his limitations are. He's exceeded our expectations." iwyVl BASEBALL Signups open for youth baseball Beky Beaton NORTH COUNTY Baseball registration is now being conducted for players ages 7-12 who live in the American Fork High School boundaries. Please note that the new age cutoff is May 1, so players play-ers who have turned seven by then or who are not yet 13 may register. The former American Fork National and Beehive Little Leagues have merged to become the American Fork Youth Baseball League, which will serve all players in the AFHS boundaries. The registration deadline is March 17, and all players need to register, even if they 'played last year. The preferred registration method is online at bttpJI www.afbaseball.com. The fee for this season is $75 except in the Rookie League, which will cost $40. Walk-in registration is also available at the American Ameri-can Fork Recreation Office, located at the FireRescue Station, 96 North Center Street in American Fork. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., or forms can be mailed to 96 North Center, Cen-ter, AF, UT 84003. There is a $5 convenience fee for using walk-in registration, regis-tration, so the fees are $80 and $45, respectively. The registration fee includes a full uniform, consisting of a team shirt, hat, pants, belt and socks. If you're not sure what size your child will need, go to the American Fork Recreation office to try on shirts and pants. All uniform sizing must be done before March 24. It's important that a parent par-ent is present to sign the consent form if registering at the Rec. office. Late registration reg-istration will be accepted until last batter at tryouts, although on-time registration registra-tion is encouraged and appreciated. ap-preciated. Late registration will increase your fee by $5. For families with multiple mul-tiple children playing, there will be a $5 discount per child. Players don't need to try out if returning to the same team as last year. Otherwise, tryouts are as follows. Ages 10-12 (Major League) March 21- 4:30 p.m. at Art Dye Park, 550 E 1000 North, See TOWN EYE, Page 7 |