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Show Reflex Journal Bulletin Leader JULY 22, 1982 Coif Nine Promises Bright Entiipe Kolth Duncan Bulletin Sport lt been a couple of year since a Clearfield High School baseball team has been able to bast about it's domination, but that may be coming to an end, A group of incoming juniors have the unmistakable eye of the tiger. THIS BUNCH of 16 year olds combined in the summer of 1982 for one of the most impressive seasons any first year squad has enjoyed in Utahs Colt League. After gliding through regular season play undefeated in games, they traveled to last week to make a run for the Northern District Championship. Though they fell in the championship duel against Bear River, the opposing Bear River coach had nothing but praise. "What a bunch of gutty kids. The Clearfield bunch made us earn it every step of the way, he said. 1 1 Clearfield's John Gardiner, Page Higgins, Randy Nicholas, Greg Folk, Phil jX I CLEARFIELD blasted Provo in the first then lost to game of the tournament Tooele 1 for their first defeat of the season. Clearfield then came back to deal both Logan and the same Tooele team solid defeats, 2 and 1 respectively. RivThat set the stage for a Clcarficld-Bea- r er confrontation. The host team. Bear River, hadnt lost yet in the double elimination tourney. Clearfield, however, beat Bear River in the first game but lost a disheartening 0 in the second and deciding contest. 10-- 3 Hal 12-- Kelley. 4 jW.fe 6--5 0-- , I I v.- ' p , , A .. ;. , I - wont be there long with this group of kids coming up. They are winners. They remind me a lot of th team of 1976 who blended so well together and took third in state. The 1982 summer group had no individual star. They work well together as a team, better than any team Ive seen or coached in a while," said Gardiner who had a boy on the 1976 team as well as the Colt 2. Gardiner has long been an advocate of Clearfield sports, especially since his sons have played leading roles in various sports there. HE COMMENTED about the past few years at Clearfield by saying, I dont know exactly how you would describe the problem Clearfield High has had in baseball the past few years maybe its been some seniori- league team. DURING THE course of the season, Clearfield obtained impressive wins over teams from Woods Cross, Bountiful, West Valley, Grantsville and Tooele. ties but whatever its been it probably. Keith Duncan I BELIEVE weve found a solution to a improvement of summer baseball in the two cities, said Hicks in an interview conducted last week. "I dont mean to imply that the programs the two cities have arent doing the job because they are well organized. But there are a few areas that could use some improvement. Hicks feels one area that could use some is the division for kids who are 15 13,14 and years old. He feels it is too wide a span for all to be playing in the same age long-ter- m division. THATS A very good reason why Hicks presented a proposal a few months ago to urge Sunset and Clearfield to support a team in the Colt League. They did support it and Hicks claims that without them, the successteam had would ful season the first-yehave never been. The Colt organization is also very organized and the thing I like is that they run their segments such as the divisions in that our kids played division old 6 year in this summer. ar two-ye- ar 15-1- ANOTHER THING I appreciate about the Colt League is that the kids can compete against teams all over the state and ultimately can graduate to competition on district, state and regional levels. Bountiful organizes most of its system through the Colt League and it seems to serve them well. However I dont see it being so advantageous for our cities to change everything at this point. Perhaps it ms good to start with the senior league age kids and expand from there. while turning in some excellant pitching. He player. may have been the best all-rou- ANOTHER IS Dave Gardiner who turned in many innings of valuable relief pitching. Dave also played first base. Mike Henrie played either second or third and though his batting average wasnt consistent all season he did bat over .500 in the final two games. RANDY NICHOLAS stole plenty of bases and made a super catch in the first game of the tournament. Damion Gutierez played the regular season but did not make the tournament because of conditioning for football. John Grotsky had to bow out early because of an iqjury. "The biggest reason we won often is that on one thought they were a one-ma- n show, said Gardiner. it comes to pleasing your own , 4s Bulletin Sports Ken Hicks, the veterCLEARFIELD at Clearfield High mentor baseball an School, knows the summer baseball situation in Clearfield and Sunset better than anyone. Thats why a few of his latest proposals and suggestions have paid some dividends. game-winni- kids, . especially in soccer, money wasnt an issue this time. In City Programs Bulletin Sports Members of the team include players like Jeff Parry who pitched and who also played second and shortstop. He collected two hits in the northern torunament PAGE HIGGINS played the entire regular season for the team but had to sit out in the tournament because he wasnt old enough. Higgins, who is 14, is described as an excellent ball player who will be seeing plenty of action next summer. Ray Dixon was another with top speed who played the outfield positions. Naylor was usually a starter. The Cost Bidtft Matter When Keith Duncan HALMOORE played the outfield and made some difficult catches when they counted most. John Kelley w as another outfielder but turned catcher in the final game of the tournament w hen Peterson w ent out because of injuries. At catcher he performed very well. Troy Van Buren, though small, was an excellent second baseman. He was a key link in several double plays, including a game where two double plays occured. Soccer Camp Summer Baseball Needs Unity row. 1 V. ss 15-- , ' - h as the coach, the team went on to post a very record memorable season and a final win-io- of V ty THE SPIRIT" of the team was Greg Folk who always was fighting. He too was an excellent pitcher and along with Parry and Phil Peterson made up the starting pitching Jared Martin was the "wheels of the team and Darwin Henrie, If he ever got on base he could always stretch coach. Middle row, Troy a couple of stolen bases. In the outfield he was dangerous, mainly because of his speed. As a i Van Buren, Ed Naylor, sophomore he was a very big part of ClearMike Henrie, Ray Dixon fields region championship track and field team. and Dave Gardiner. Jared Martin, '.1 Peterson, Moore and John 11-- SO WITH Hicks as the business manager, John Gardiner as manager and Darwin Henrie Peterson, Jeff Parry Bottom row, Dave 2-- THIS IS Clearfields first year in the Colt League, a very organized league that consists of teams from Bear River all the way south to St. George and is designed for high school kids who were sophomores last spring in high school. It was Ken Hicks, the head baseball coach of Clearfield High, that spearheaded the drive to get the Clearfield kids into the league. He worked with tremendous cooperation from Sunset citys recreation department, Clearfields Rec. Dept, and R.C. Willeys to help fund their position in the league. The team received a very solid shot in the arm from all three of these sponsors and without them Hick says there would have been no Colt League team. r Colt League team, top row, (I to r) Manager Tre-mont- 1 first-yea- HURTING HIS back before the tournament was catcher Dave Peterson. Despite that he played anyway and he played all the games. He wasnt able to bat because of the bad back but when it became necessary in one game he did bat. He stepped up and got a double. Another talented pitcher was Phil Peterson who also turned out to be an excellent hitter. In the first game against Bear River. Phil home run that probpounded out a three-ru- n 400 feet. estimated an carried ably CLEARFIELD Syracuses Bob Perez admits that his kids are the only thing in life to him, and if they happen to like the sport of soccer then why not give them the best? AND BESIEGED with that kind of determination, Bob enrolled three of his children in last weeks Eagle Soccer School conducted in Clearfield where more than 30 local children received some of the most qualified soccer instruction given in the U.S. For the past two years Ive coached my three children to play soccer. My eight year old daughter, Angelic, has probably been the most resistent. In fact after last season she said she didnt want to play anymore. But I talked her into coming to the school and Im completely amazed at the turnabout she has taken. We had company at home last week during the camp and Angelic put on a demonstration of what she had learned, said Perez. She hardly takes the ball out of her sight. MR. AND Mrs. Perez also have two sons enrolled in the Camp, Edward and Tony. They claim their enthusiasm nearly tripled from what it was before. The Eagles Soccer School came to Clearfield for the first time this year via the recreation department. The school has been specifically designed to teach and help improve individual skills, team tactics and knowledge of the game. It is instructed by qualified soccer coaches who appear not only to have a good knowledge of the game but have a special knack of teaching and relating to kids. THE EAGLES program conducts similar camps in more than ten states, in Britain, ' Mexico and France. The Eagles program was established in the U.S. in 1973. The Eagles School came to Kaysville three years ago; was in Ogden last year, and finally in Clearfield this summer. Sometime in September, the noted school plans to make a return to either Clearfield or Salt Lake City to put on indoor soccer camps. Other indoor sites include Grand Junction, Colorado and Fairbanks, Alaska. JT Thirty-tw- o kids turned out for the Eagles Soccer School in Clearfield last week. ia, Jonathan White juggles soccer ball. THE 32 Clearfield participants in last weeks THE ONLY people who know the real even for those who do. camp were directed by two quality coaches value of a program like this are the parents. The sport of soccer is growing tremenThe parents know what their kids can and dously, including the Eagles Soccer School, execuespecially in southern California tive director, P.J. Peters. Also assisting was cannot do. After a week in our school Ive where most of the Eagle soccer teachers are Lucien Niang who is a former semi-prplayer seen some parents who are surprised what from. Soccer is very economical to play in and coach in San Diego. P.J. was bom and their child is capable of doing with a soccer comparison to other sports, said P.J. raised in England while Lucien came from ball. Northwest Africa. Another group of people who see a differPETERS, WHO believes sincerely that the The school went for a week and started ence are the teams and the coaches that these Eagles program will continue to mushroom each day at 8:30 a.m. and went to noon. From kids go back to when soccer season starts, into popularity over the next few years, the beginning, P.J. and Lucien taught the said Lucien. The kids just have a ball of coaches high school soccer in California and basics of passing, hitting, dribbling, shooting, fun. has been a college coach in the past. He THE ONLY money that is generated from started as a regular instructor in England bebutting, ball control, goalkeeping and receivthe Eagles Soccer School program is the $40 fore moving to the U.S. four ing air balls. As the week progressed the kids years ago. He tuition fee. This helps to pay for the coaches quickly was promoted to the director of got more into technical aspects of the game with positional play, learning offside rules and plane fare, accommodations and salary. No Eagles operations in southern California then tactics. game important money is put up by the recreation depart- later put over governorship of west coast actiTHE PARTICIPANTS, between the ages of ments. vities. Today he serves the entire country as received Eagle School The two soccer teachers who were headed the executive director. and spefor schools in Reno, Carson City, Sparks and cial trophy awards on the final day of the Incline Village, will spend the rest of the sumschool. Its. pleasing to see the progress the kids P.J. who began playing soccer when he was mer coaching and teaching children just as make, fake for instance the juggling exercise. but three years old in England, commented, they did in Clearfield this past week. Every Monday morning we test the kids abilI really believe the kids enjoy the learning Altogether, they, along with 12 other Eagle ity to juggle the ball. By the following Friday aspect and the fact they are getting in shape. instructors, will visit over 24 cities in the U.S. at least 95 percent of the kids in our school can Even though these children arent ours, we and put on soccer schools. juggle the ball as much or more than they did see a tremendous improvement in just one THESE SCHOOLS are excellent for the on opening day. Its a lot of kids having a lot of week. kids who dont play baseball or football and fun learning, he said. o 5, , |