Soon to be a memory

In a month from now school will be out and the Lind Combine Derby weekend will bring a bunch of crash test dummies to town. We still have some spring sports to follow before the final state contests take place on Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately the LRS baseball team was eliminated this past Thursday. The team had a so-so season but this group of seniors have had a pretty good year with a successful football season and a berth at state for the basketball team with a 5th place trophy added to the trophy case.

There are a few schools like LRS that depend on two or three sport athletes. But several other schools have athletes that focus on one sport whether it’s football, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, track, baseball, softball, golf or tennis most of those athletes make a choice and work on the one sport. When I was in college I knew a guy from Colton who joked about the baseball athletes setting up the nets in January to prepare for that season. It didn’t matter that basketball was still in season baseball was a priority. It had to be a bit intimidating trying to play basketball with the sound of an aluminum bat crushing a hardball inside the gym. That has changed over the years since the boy’s team made great improvements and the girls’ team had a lot of success at the state level winning several state titles in the last 10 years.

Winter around here is basketball and wrestling with the hope of a successful run and competing at state. In both sports we’ve seen a lot of varying types of success. The one thing that every basketball athlete commented on was the great experience that each one had. You can play 25 games but until you play in the state tournament you will never quite understand how great state competition is and the venue as well. The wrestlers love the Tacoma Dome for competing at a high level.

Next year will be different for a lot of league teams as several will be rebuilding for all sports while several will be looking at taking the talent that is returning and doing their best to be an elite team.

As far as LRS is concerned they will need to find several replacements to fill in some key positions that were heavy with experience especially football and basketball. But there are several underclassmen that have been waiting their turn to get a chance to prove themselves. The weight room is calling and nothing says I’m ready more than bigger, stronger and faster workouts.

The transition last year to a new head coach went fairly smooth and the team should know what coach Bermea is asking and what he expects. Be ready and keep the football tradition going.

It seems that for some athletes they can’t wait until their senior year and then all things will somehow come together. For anyone that thinks that there is a good chance that they will waste a year or two until their ‘time’ to shine happens. Some kids are afraid to turn out as freshmen. Anytime that is missed is valuable and you can’t make up a year by going to camps in the summer. Strength and understanding of the game are really important and can only be utilized with actual experience on the field of play. I’ve tried my best to let kids know that starting out playing any sport in middle school is valuable and that is where technique is taught. Once the athletes get their feet wet so to speak that usually is the time that they realize their love of the game. If they don’t enjoy playing then make a decision at that time to hang it up.

I’ve said this before at a small school you are afforded the opportunity to play sports so take advantage and work as hard as you can. The worst thing a student athlete can do is not play any sports thinking they won’t miss much. I say that you don’t want to wake up in a dorm room wondering why you didn’t play high school sports.

This school year is soon going to be a memory and before we know it August will be here and the first practices of the season will begin. It is time to be ready for 2023-24 school year and I’m hoping for some great success.

— Dale Anderson is a sports columnist from Ritzville. To contact him, email [email protected].