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Show Phone: 626-798 Sports Editor: )arrod Hiatt GUCl WS IS siooirSs a'cins era dure lonely week By Jamie Peterson asst sports editor The Signpost If you showed up at Stewart Stadium on Saturday night looking for a football skirmish, you probably had to deal with bitter disappointment. If you flipped through the channels on your TV looking for a good baseball game on Sunday, all you found were replacement programs. Yes, it's true, ESPN may have had one of its slowest weekends ever. Although the postponing of all major sporting events across the nation forced many Weber State University students to resort to other . pastimes last weekend, most agreed that the cancellations were necessary to show respect for the victims of last week's disaster in New York City and Washington, D.C. "I think it's the respectful thing to do," said Kendra George, a WSU student. "It shows that we have respect and pride for our country." Zak Davis, a freshman, agreed. "I really like football, but I think it's good to shut down for a week." Davis feels that shutting down the sporting events gives Americans time to unite as a nation."It's something that brings us together," he said. Doug Maughan, a WSU student, has mixed emotions about the decision. "I think it goes both ways," he said. "It's good to remember what happened, but sports would help to take our minds off of it." Maughan said that overall, though, he believes that it was a good thing to cancel the events. George said she could see how an argument could be made for those who think athletics would help keep people from dwelling on the tragedy, but she thinks it's more important to show sympathy for the victims. "I guess some people could argue that sports would take their mind off of what happened, but it's a lot different for most of us out here because many of us were not directly affected by what happened," she said. Although many WSU students did not have relatives or friends die, George feels the students should still support the decision to postpone the games because it shows compassion for those who did lose loved ones. "It shows that we have respect for the people who lost their lives and those who are missing, and that we were affected even though we are 3,000 miles away," she said. "If it was someone in our family who died, we'd want other people to do the same thing for us." Many students agree with George's feelings, but there are some who do not think it is a good idea to cancel everything. "It's bad," said Greg Larsen, a WSU stu dent. "It's exactly doing what the terrorists want." Larsen said the best thing for Americans to do if they want to send the message to terrorists that they cannot over-.take the United States is to continue living a normal lifestyle. "The best thing is just to go on and to show them what we are made of," he said. Whether you do or don't agree with the decision to put all sports on hold for the weekend, Davis feels it is important for the United State's to focus on moving ahead and returning to normalcy as soon as possible. "What we need to do is focus on rebuilding what we've lost instead of dwelling on what happened," he said. "We need to try to get back to life, put things in perspective and go from there." You can reach Jamie Peterson by calling 626-7983. -Jarrod M. Hiatt contributed to this story. Taking care of business WSU head womens soccer coach builds program from scratch By Steve Laing correspondent The Signpost You may not be a big fan of soccer. Let's face it, there is too much strategy and not enough scoring for the average American. But chances are you do remember a goal scored by a woman named Brandy Chastain that won the U.S. women's soccer team a world championship over China, not too long ago. Perhaps, you even recall with more clarity the brief strip-tease that America received, courtesy of Chastain, shortly after she scored the winning goal. Although America has always had a fascination with the removal of clothes, this event did kindle the interest in soccer in the United States namely in women's soccer.Women's, soccer has been part of the Weber State University sports curriculum for nine years, thanks largely in part to the efforts of Lynn Kofoed and Tom Vudhivadhana, who built WSU's women's soccer team from the ground up. Kofoed came to WSU around 1991 with her husband and three kids. . She was actively involved with the physical education program at Layton High School before coming to WSU. She actually worked both jobs until the women's soccer team made the transition from a club team to an officially sanctioned NCAA team. While at Layton High, she taught as a swimming coach, and later as one of the few female coaches for Layton's boys' soccer team. WSU's women's soccer team started as a club team in 1991. Kofoed's 'Cats won a national club title after only three years of competition in 1994. Coincidentally, that same year the men's soccer club also won a national title. This set the tone for dominance in the college soccer club scene. Shortly after the club title sweep, the women's team was relocated to NCAA Big Sky . division 1 play. When the program started, Kofoed and Vudhivadhana shared the duty of head coach. It wasn't until this year that Kofoed has taken on the. role of the head coach, while Vudhivadhana has made the decision to focus It.. YXr--' .1 . ;i . t . mi v -' r it . ' f See Coach page 1 1 Women's soccer coach, Lynn Kofoed, kicks the ball during practice on Saturday. Alumni Association charity race was not so charitable for sports editor jt By Jarrod Hiatt Sports Editor Six weeks ago. I was talking to my friend Tyler Holt, who just happens to be the Weber State University alumni programs director. ( She and I were yukking it up as usual, and she said to me, "Jarrod. you're going to run in our 5K race, and then you're going to write a story about it." ,. ': I said to her.: "'Sure. 1 guess I should start training, eh'.'" I decided then and there that I would begin an intense and grueling training reginieii. I had it all planned out. 1 w as going to get up early every my treadmill while watching Sports Center. By doing so, 1 would be primed and poised for the race. I also decided to implement a nutritious diet to complement my vigorous routine. The plan was perfect. My mind was made. 1 was ready to squash all the competition at the upcoming race. And then I got home, and there was Papa John's pizza on the table. 1 was weak. I succumbed to the papa. But I rationalized my actions -by saying I would begin training "tomorrow." .. Well, "tomorrow" came and I . failed to start training.. The next day came, and again I did nothing. And then the day after that, nothing. After six weeks of doing nothing. 1 was ready to run the big race. The training had paid off. I had some skeptics. My dad told me this morning that I was going to gM-4 i4HH4"VWkotl-.-'"M n I e brother laughed and said, "You're going to die, dude." I talked to a girl who is a dietitian on Sunday, and I asked her what 1 could do to improve my diet to optimize my performance for the upcoming race. She told me that 1 was pretty much out of luck. My mind was set. Not only was 1 going to dominate in this race, but I was going to prove all my doubters wrong. 1 was going to rock the house at the alumni race. . I arrived at the race in my trusty New Balance 606s, my basketball shorts and an old concert T-shirt.. 1 v was ready for victory.. . , : 1 scoped out my competition. The ; runners looked pretty tough. Many of the participants were serious runners. Many of them w ere clad in the short shorts and the little tank tops. One nmm'fevgir wvre 'ti rt-d. rrhife-nrrd1 blue USA warm-up suit. I could tell these people were all about pounding the pavement. But I was unfazed because I am a washed-up ex-high school athlete. I knew then that the key would be for me to mentally dominate. It was time for the race to start. 1 was ready to run to victory. I started out like an animal, and I ran like crazy until the first hill. The hill gassed hie, but I was still pretty close to the front of the pack. ! was pushing like ' no tomorrow, arid I piade it to the top of the hill, r . I was feeling the paim The shins were hurting; the back was aching; my lungs were on fire. So. 1 decided to do w hat any' runner w ho needs a break would do. I stopped to tie my shoe. ' My laces never actually cameun-'dTme:tw-rnr7lrfewrad:?lectTrocr' wounded to let anyone know that I had to stop to take a break. I started running again. This time at a slower speed. 1 figured it was time to pace myself. The majority of the pack began to pass me. But I kept enduring. ' . Well. 1 finally reached my breaking point about halfway into the race. I had to stop and walk for a minute. While 1 was walkingj L began conversing with an elderly lady. She said i she was walking for a little while because she had recently had a knee surgery, and she was trying to gel things back to the way they were before. We walked for a little while, and . then she took off and left me in the dust. This lady was one of many older people who passed me in the race. 1 5eeRa-pa8'eil |