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Show Tuesday, August 1, 2000 THE SIGNPOST Page 7 PORTS Koffoedl GranDis soccer pDajjeirs aS Sltooifjoffff Classic s By Dave Loper sports editor-The Signpost The Showoff Classic Girl's High School Tournament and Team Sport Camp, which gathers local soccer players and gives them an opportunity to polish their skills, came to a conclusion on Saturday at Weber State University."It's a great opportunity for us to get to see some of the local players," said WSU women's soccer coach Lynn Kofoed. Kofoed, who claimed there were some players at the camp who caught her attention, was in charge of the organization for the sixth year in a row. Although the program is set up like a normal summer sports camp, there are strict rules that Kofoed and the high school coaches must acknowledge. The Utah High School Activities Association prohibits a high school coach from getting involved in any way other than watching. "They can come and watch, but they can't have anything to do with the team," Kofoed said. The reason for this is that the high school teams have yet to be assembled. The high schools have not had their soccer try-outs, and until then, the players are not officially on the team. Thus parents usually assume the role of coaching the teams at the clinic. Ten teams attended the clinic. For the most part, each team consisted of players from a particular region, players who must be enrolled in the schools they represent. Kofoed, who said that everything is approved through the WSU athletic department, is also held to certain guidelines. "It's in no way a recruiting tool. It's more of an evaluation," she said. She can observe the player, maybe even take some mental notes, but she can't actually talk to the players about coming to WSU. She did, however, send an invitation to every high school in the state. One team from Nevada was going to come to the camp, but problems with the coach kept them from being the only out-of-state team to participate. Each team was guaranteed three games in the tournament. Students from the Weber High and Fremont High areas dominated the field, forming two teams each. Individual instruction, which was divided into positions, was also available to the participants. Clinic fees were $350 per team, with 15 to 16 players per team. Members of the WSU women's soccer team helped Kofoed in officiate and coach. Vernon , ,f:rweTTr Lynn Kofoed - ' 1 , . c.y m ir J - v iHT-v , " M it J M70 iv7 pay wtf? the Jazz? Today NBA free agents can start signing new contracts for the 2000-2001 season. The Utah Jazz have been looking at NBA veterans Danny Manning (25) and John Starks (above). Manning (far left) scores a layup while Charles Oakley tries to block his shot. Many players have yet to decide on the future of their careers. Manning and Starks have been mentioned frequently in trade rumors, and they have expressed interest in playing for a championship contender like the Jazz. When was the last time you went skinny dipping? Clark White outdoor columnist Good to see I got your attention. Not to say that I am condoning such immoral activities as swimming around in the dark "nekkid as a jaybird," it's probably against university policy to support such things (just between you, me, and anyone else who wants to read this, I just got back from it, and I must confess I'm a bit tired, so If I ramble, I'm sorry). Anyway, point is, while floating around staring up at the night sky, I got to thinking. This is the last column I'll be writing for the summer semester. Where did the time go? We're going to blink our eyes and be 98 years old, and wonder just what the heck we did with it all. I'm not happy with that at all. so I'm going to give you an assignment to combat the idea of wasted youth. First off. you have the next couple of weeks free from school, so I want you to take advantage of it. Go outside, and do something that you have always wanted to do but never had the time, guts or ambition to pull it off. Go for that trip to the Grand Canyon so you can say that you've seen the biggest hole the planet has to offer. Go bungee jumping and see if you can take that last step off the edge of the tower into thin air, or if you have the cash, skydive. Learn to fly fish, scuba dive or wake board. Do anything you can. that when you look back you will actually remember, because with the exception of a few choice dates, you probably aren't going to remember any of the time you spent on the couch. Second, take pictures. Do anything you can to preserve the memories of your youth. You will be glad you did. Actually, so will I, because starting fall semester, I'd like to start printing your photos (the appropriate ones anyway). The most interesting, inspiring or otherwise eye-catching picture sent in each 0 week will probably find it's way onto my column to motivate the rest of the readers to get out there and stop reading about the fun they could be having and actually start doing it. I'll give you the details on where and how to send them, as well as any possible rewards. The address is youroutdoorshotmail.com We'll see you back here entirely too soon. Tolman keeps on runnin' f ) Us - ft ?' Marty Carpenter asst. sports editor Jeremy Tolman runs the steeplechase. As a matter of fact, he runs it pretty well, pretty darn well. He's actually one of the best in the United States. Simply put, the kid can run ... and run ... and keep on running. While on his LDS mission in the Dominican Republic, he could out run his companion who was on a bike! Tolman recently participated in the United States Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif., and while things didn't turn out exactly as he had planned, he didn't come home empty handed. "It was a wonderful experience just to be in that situation," Tolman said, "to see what kind of competition I'm up against was truly an eye-opening experience, but I loved every minute of it." But Tolman didn't just show up at the trials without an impressive resume in hand. In 1996 he was the US Jr. National Champion, an honor that allowed him to participate in the Jr. World Championships in Sydney, Australia, where he finished 16th while running with the Kenyans (who seem to whoop-up on everyone when it comes to running). This spring, while representing Weber Stale University, Tolman ran his personal best, 3:49.7, in the 1500-meter-run at BYU. Running at the elevation in Provo converts that time, officially, to 3:45.4. That time was almost good enough to qualify for the NCAA Championships. "I'll have to work on that a little bit more," Tolman said. WSU became Tolman's school of choice when he was offered a scholarship. Makes sense. Money talks, other stuff walks and Tolman runs. But serendipity has a way of rearing its beautiful head. "As it turns out, Weber has one of the best programs in the nation due to my coach, Chick Hislop," Tolman said. "He also turns out to be one of the best steeplechase coaches in the world, so naturally he would try and teach me, and it turns out that I caught on and loved it." But the trials didn't treat him quite like he was hoping. "The race was brutal," Tolman said. "I went out a little too fast in the opening laps of the race, I think, and It hurt me a bit towards the end. I felt really good though, and I thought things were going to turn out differently, but there's always next time." Next time would be the two years of college competitions left and an NCAA championship chance and hopefully another trip to the Olympic Trials in 2004. His Olympic dream isn't over, if anything he's more determined than ever. Athens in 2004 is set in his sights. For now, he'll just keep running. |