Latest / Wenatchee Panther Podcast / Episode 2

Transcript

Episode 2 · Wenatchee Panther Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Welcome back once again to our Winanchee Panther podcast.
0:03
SPEAKER_01: I'm Eric Grandstrom.
0:04
SPEAKER_01: BJ Koontz is here, and we're going to talk more about the efforts that are afoot here at Winanchee High School.
0:09
SPEAKER_01: Coming up in a moment.
0:10
SPEAKER_01: First of all, I wanted to thank the folks at Les Schwab.
0:13
SPEAKER_01: Les Schwab, thank you so much.
0:16
SPEAKER_01: They uh in fact, right after we recorded the podcast last week, we met with Kirk over in East Winanchee, and he said, Yeah, uh, not only do we want to sponsor football broadcasts, but we want to sponsor that podcast that you're doing.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: So thank you to Les Schwab.
0:28
SPEAKER_01: Les Schwab Tire Stories in Winanchee and East Wenanchee on North Wenatchee Avenue, uh Grant Road in East Wenanchee.
0:34
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
0:34
SPEAKER_01: They do such a great job of supporting kids.
0:37
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, it's fair time, and uh they're out there buying up uh the beef and and some of the animals uh from the kids that they've worked so hard to do.
0:44
SPEAKER_01: And and BJ, that's something too.
0:47
SPEAKER_01: We talked about extracurricular activities and things like that.
0:50
SPEAKER_01: Something like FFA and 4-H that's huge, isn't it?
0:53
SPEAKER_04: Oh my gosh, it's so huge.
0:54
SPEAKER_04: In fact, there's a handful of athletes this weekend we have our big you know sports kickoff that are gonna be at the fair, so they're gonna miss it.
1:01
SPEAKER_04: So it's really neat to see how many of our athletes are actually doing both.
1:05
SPEAKER_04: But yeah, very successful uh and busy programs here in our school.
1:09
SPEAKER_01: Some uh important dates uh as we record this week.
1:12
SPEAKER_01: Um at school starting, that's number one, right?
1:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, Wednesday.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: So um, as you have worked with your office and your staff and the entire school system here and teachers and everybody else, specifically for you, what's that being like to get ready for the first day of school?
1:28
SPEAKER_04: You know, the biggest things that we're working on is helping our student athletes number one get cleared, get eligible, get ready to roll, and then coordinating schedules uh between all the back to school things.
1:40
SPEAKER_04: So yesterday was a big day at the high school.
1:42
SPEAKER_04: Every student came in and picked up their Chromebook and picked up, got their school pictures taken and ASB cards and all those things.
1:49
SPEAKER_04: So we're also trying to do tryouts and trying to get kids cleared for sports.
1:52
SPEAKER_04: So uh there's just a lot that happens really early uh to get things prepared.
1:57
SPEAKER_04: But at the same time, uh it's a system that's been in place for a long time.
2:01
SPEAKER_04: So we just kind of get to getting.
2:03
SPEAKER_04: Uh, I think that the issue becomes you have incoming freshmen or new kids and they're just not really sure how to navigate it.
2:08
SPEAKER_04: So trying our best to help that be as stress-free as possible.
2:11
SPEAKER_01: Is there something that happens in the spring before they're out of school for the incoming freshmen that are eighth graders that uh you guys kind of do a little, you know, run through, so to speak?
2:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, typically anywhere from February to March, depending on when we schedule it, there's uh uh evening for incoming freshmen to come up to the high school.
2:29
SPEAKER_04: We have all these clubs have booths, and it's an opportunity.
2:32
SPEAKER_04: I speak to families, talk about sports, but different groups of people speak to families to help them get uh acquainted to the high school experience.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: I I jumped into talking of BJ.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: I I wanted to thank everybody for watching the first episode of the Panther Podcast.
2:47
SPEAKER_01: Um as of yesterday morning, we were at 400 and some odd views and a bunch of downloads on the audio.
2:53
SPEAKER_01: So thank you so much for that.
2:54
SPEAKER_01: That's that's pretty awesome, and and we hope to grow this.
2:57
SPEAKER_01: Coming up on the show today, aside from BJ, we're gonna talk with the uh head coaches for girls soccer and for volleyball.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: Uh coming up uh after we talk to BJ, we're gonna talk with Jordan McGregor, who's the head coach for the Panther volleyball program, and Journey Gelsing, who is a senior setter, if I'm not mistaken.
3:15
SPEAKER_01: Uh so we'll talk to Journey about her journey, if you will.
3:18
SPEAKER_01: And then uh a little bit later on, we're going to talk to Ashton Kirkpatrick.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: Don't say that name too quickly because you'll stumble on it, let me tell you.
3:26
SPEAKER_01: Uh Ashton will uh also be uh joining us with one of her senior players, Berkeley Bulls.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: So that's coming up on the program here today.
3:34
SPEAKER_01: Uh there's something that maybe folks that that are outside the schools or even parents of of student athletes might not realize is that it's different per school you go to as far as your duties with the athletic department.
3:48
SPEAKER_01: Now there's some high schools where you're the athletic director for just the high school.
3:53
SPEAKER_01: There's some, in your case, you're the athletic direct director for the whole district.
3:57
SPEAKER_01: So not only do you have the start of high school this week, you've got the start of middle school sports too, right?
4:02
SPEAKER_04: Right.
4:02
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so our middle schools get started up next week.
4:05
SPEAKER_04: Uh football will start this week for them, but the rest will start the following week.
4:09
SPEAKER_04: Give them a couple days to get accustomed to the school schedule and then the practices will get started.
4:14
SPEAKER_04: Uh yeah, and they get going in games, you know, middle of uh September.
4:18
SPEAKER_04: So we're definitely trying to get all three middle schools up and running, trying to support all the families that want to participate as well as uh get our high school sports up and running.
4:27
SPEAKER_01: Now you guys have a big event coming up on Saturday.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: Tell us more about that.
4:30
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so on Saturday is our fall sports kickoff.
4:33
SPEAKER_04: We decided to pivot a little bit and have this be kind of a Saturday morning.
4:38
SPEAKER_04: Come get a donut, come get a cup of coffee, uh, visit the booster club, you know, join booster club, pick up some swag, all of those things.
4:46
SPEAKER_04: Uh, but Saturday is typically when we do all of our sports pictures.
4:49
SPEAKER_04: We are going to do that.
4:51
SPEAKER_04: We are also going to do our parent meetings for all of our sports.
4:54
SPEAKER_04: Uh, and it's a really important day for a variety of reasons.
4:58
SPEAKER_04: One is it gives me an opportunity to talk to the parents.
5:01
SPEAKER_04: It also gives our coaches opportunities to talk to the families in their sport.
5:06
SPEAKER_04: And uh it really helps people get to know one another.
5:10
SPEAKER_04: It also helps our coaches provide sort of what their expectations are, things to expect, which helps parents and kids navigate the system a little bit easier.
5:19
SPEAKER_04: So we're doing that on Saturday.
5:21
SPEAKER_04: I'm also offering an incoming freshman parent meeting, talk a little bit about the high school experience and how maybe that might be different than either the club experience or like a middle school experience, talk about that a little bit, and then I'm also going to meet with senior parents to just talk about what to expect the senior year.
5:37
SPEAKER_01: So a lot going on.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: There is uh we mentioned this last week, they've uh freshened up a new website, athletics.whinache schools.org, if I'm not mistaken.
5:47
SPEAKER_01: Um, you have you know thematic through that as we are Wenatchee.
5:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
5:52
SPEAKER_01: Is that part of your presentation to parents and and such on Saturday?
5:56
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
5:56
SPEAKER_04: And it's really that message of um what does it mean to have a healthy culture in a high school athletic program?
6:02
SPEAKER_04: It's parents showing up to these meetings, it's joining Booster Club, it's buying some swag, it's creating a culture of uh community.
6:10
SPEAKER_04: And so that's a big piece of what we'll talk about.
6:12
SPEAKER_04: We'll talk about uh great things that they can expect to happen this fall and some of the challenges that uh any good athletic program is gonna have good parts and you know struggle parts of their season.
6:23
SPEAKER_04: And we're gonna talk about how to navigate that together, how to do that in a healthy way, how to continue to support our kids in becoming young adults.
6:30
SPEAKER_04: So um, and at the end of all of it is how we are creating a culture in Wenanchee of uh unity and togetherness.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: So you've got you know dates on the calendar that exist for the first game of the season, for example, for the fall sports and and things like that.
6:46
SPEAKER_01: And you have to have, I think per WIAA, so many practices in, right, before you can actually participate.
6:52
SPEAKER_01: Is it 14 for football?
6:54
SPEAKER_04: It's 12 for football and it's seven for everything else.
6:56
SPEAKER_04: Sort of post-COVID, they brought some of those numbers down.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: Uh in that, the there's an eligibility factor too, which I wanted you to talk to touch on real quick because it might surprise some of the students who come walking in.
7:10
SPEAKER_01: I'm ready to go for my sophomore year.
7:12
SPEAKER_01: Oh, by the way, you didn't have a great spring your freshman year, and that impacts you in the fall, right?
7:17
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
7:18
SPEAKER_04: One of the things I think that does sub surprise people sometimes is um there's clearance, which is you know, you jump all the hoops, sign all the forms, get a sports physical, and that gets you to practice.
7:28
SPEAKER_04: And then in my office, we have to do the diligent work of eligibility.
7:32
SPEAKER_04: And for every single student athlete, we're up to about 480 now for the fall.
7:37
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
7:37
SPEAKER_04: We do a seven-point check on every single student athlete.
7:40
SPEAKER_04: So some of the easy things is we have to check their age, we have to check their residence, we have to check um previous semester, and that what we're looking at is did you take enough classes?
7:51
SPEAKER_04: And then we also look at previous semester, did you pass enough classes?
7:55
SPEAKER_04: We also have to look at your current schedule to see if you're currently scheduled to take enough classes.
8:01
SPEAKER_04: So it's a multi-point check that we do on every kid, and it sounds easy, but uh trying to find all of that information in a really succinct way.
8:11
SPEAKER_04: It's a lot of clicks, it's a lot of looking, it's downloading, looking at every kid's transcript, which just takes a minute.
8:17
SPEAKER_04: So uh Floor in my office has been working on that, but it no kids.
8:22
SPEAKER_04: It it took her a good week to a week and a half of working on that.
8:26
SPEAKER_04: And then becomes the work of contacting every family that maybe I need to collect some information from also does that impact incoming freshmen?
8:35
SPEAKER_01: So their eighth grade grades spring affect fall for coming into the high school?
8:41
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
8:42
SPEAKER_04: The WAA has softened that rule a little bit that we can be a little more generous to incoming uh ninth graders.
8:47
SPEAKER_04: Uh but I will still meet at minimum with every kid who I have any concerns coming out of middle school, whether it was a behavior issue, a grade issue, an attendance issue, uh I will meet with those kids to establish some eligibility here for the high school.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: Now, I didn't realize this.
9:03
SPEAKER_01: Uh I think there was something with Eastwont last year.
9:06
SPEAKER_01: There's there's some of the the schools in the state that if you have issues with ejections, that type of thing, there is a ramification for that for schools, right?
9:17
SPEAKER_01: Or for athletic departments?
9:19
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
9:19
SPEAKER_01: Um so with that, how is Winanchee and and and what do you do to kind of clear your name, so to speak?
9:26
SPEAKER_04: Well, Eric, this is part of my not good news from last year.
9:29
SPEAKER_04: So if you have five ejections by WISP, across any sports.
9:35
SPEAKER_04: Across all sports.
9:36
SPEAKER_04: I combine them all.
9:37
SPEAKER_04: Every time a Wenanchee high school student or coach is ejected, uh, it counts towards our total.
9:42
SPEAKER_04: Uh you can have up to five, you cannot have more than five.
9:46
SPEAKER_04: So Winanchee went over five last year, and so the result of that is that I had to put together a sportsmanship plan, present it to the WIAA, it goes to the executive board and uh it has to get approved.
9:59
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
10:00
SPEAKER_04: So I did that over the summer.
10:01
SPEAKER_04: I wrote a sportsmanship plan.
10:03
SPEAKER_04: Uh, and then our plan, what that kind of consists of just as an FYI, is by WIA rule, if a student or a coach is ejected, it's a one-game suspension.
10:12
SPEAKER_04: Uh, but part of our plan is it's now a two-game suspension.
10:15
SPEAKER_04: So one by the WI and one by us.
10:17
SPEAKER_04: So the stakes are a little higher for kids, right?
10:20
SPEAKER_04: Uh secondly, is we also established having these official coaches meetings at the prior to each season.
10:26
SPEAKER_04: So kind of an opportunity for coaches and officials to come together, build relations relationships and whatnot.
10:32
SPEAKER_04: And then anybody who does get ejected, they will be taking a sportsmanship class uh online and uh meeting with me to kind of just talk through it.
10:40
SPEAKER_07: Sure.
10:41
SPEAKER_04: So um we are a little bit on the naughty list, but I trust that we will turn the corner this year.
10:46
SPEAKER_01: Well, and with that, I mean, that goes back to this communication and and community, really.
10:52
SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh with the parents, with teachers, with coaches, with everybody working together to make sure we're doing the right things.
10:58
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
10:59
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
10:59
SPEAKER_04: And and to be honest with you, like uh a few of our ejections were uh kind of rules of the game ejections, not necessarily really a bad behavior situation.
11:09
SPEAKER_04: I was just gonna ask about that.
11:10
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry to interrupt you, but you know, football, it's obvious it's you know, the the flag comes out and the official does this, and you know, it's like, oh wow, you know, it's usually fighting or something like that.
11:20
SPEAKER_01: But in soccer, for example, you get a red card, well, that's an ejection, and that could be just because of play.
11:26
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
11:27
SPEAKER_01: You know, where it's uh always up to the official on how they deem that.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: But a red card is an ejection, right?
11:33
SPEAKER_04: In in fact, in my sportsmanship plan that I put together, the the extra penalties that I have uh suggested for our school is really around when kids are ejected for things that really are a behavior issue.
11:44
SPEAKER_04: Maybe getting into a fight, shoving a kid, right?
11:47
SPEAKER_04: Some of those things that are more on the violent conduct or language, either of those things could create an ejection.
11:53
SPEAKER_04: Uh really a rule of the game, as those are not necessarily ones that we will put the extra penalty on.
11:59
SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
12:00
SPEAKER_01: And I know th this has really been an well, it's been an emphasis for a long time, but it really started coming, I think, from the WIA, and maybe that was when you were in the office over there, that you know, the the reads that happen before the games down and the sportsmanship reads and all of that kind of stuff seems to be a thing that is rather recent.
12:18
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I think there's definitely the emphasis on trying to do these sort of pre-event meetings, having uh some schools have students read sportsmanship statements, some of the extra efforts that we do, sportsmanship statements prior to games, whatnot, they're all just opportunities to remind everybody about, you know, just the spirit of the game.
12:37
SPEAKER_01: Right?
12:37
SPEAKER_01: And and going back to the the conversation you're going to have with parents and fan expectations, that that goes with that.
12:44
SPEAKER_04: Yes, of course.
12:45
SPEAKER_04: And I don't I don't know if parents always recognize that if parents are chirping on officials constantly, that actually negatively impacts our own coaches' relationships with officials.
12:55
SPEAKER_07: Right.
12:56
SPEAKER_04: Uh and our coaches, we work really hard to build positive relationships with officials.
13:00
SPEAKER_04: And I think that's a really important relationship that we need parents to recognize and honor.
13:05
SPEAKER_04: So by you chipping on them, you're not gonna get better calls.
13:08
SPEAKER_04: Right.
13:09
SPEAKER_04: But if anything's gonna happen, they're gonna get um You're gonna get a more negative result.
13:13
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, they're gonna be a little more frustrated that we don't have control of our parents or that our parents are not respecting the game, and that ends up going against our own kids.
13:20
SPEAKER_04: So what we think is helpful uh sometimes is not helpful.
13:24
SPEAKER_04: And so we're gonna we're gonna talk about that.
13:25
SPEAKER_04: We're gonna talk about how important it is to let the coaches have those conversations with officials.
13:30
SPEAKER_01: I want to turn those more positive than than where we just went.
13:32
SPEAKER_01: Let's do it.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: Um I appreciate the swag.
13:34
SPEAKER_01: Speaking of, you were talking about the booster club.
13:36
SPEAKER_01: How much is it to be a member of the booster club?
13:39
SPEAKER_04: Uh so you know what's kind of neat about our booster club, what I really appreciate is you can donate at any amount you want.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
13:44
SPEAKER_04: So they're good with that.
13:46
SPEAKER_04: Uh any donation that's over, they'll have to correct me, but over fifty dollars, I believe, you get to choose the sport you want to give the extra money to.
13:55
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
13:55
SPEAKER_04: And so they kind of take the first 50 and anything beyond, uh, you can choose a sport.
14:00
SPEAKER_01: Uh football team's gonna be heading to California here in a week.
14:03
SPEAKER_01: Uh we've got uh what, three weeks before the first home game, but you do have some home events that are gonna come up for some of the other sports before football takes place.
14:11
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so soccer will end up with a couple of home games prior to that.
14:14
SPEAKER_04: Uh, they're the first ones with a home game next week.
14:16
SPEAKER_04: Uh volleyball will have uh game or two in there before uh we have our first football game.
14:21
SPEAKER_04: So we're really excited.
14:23
SPEAKER_04: Uh Slow Pitch has a fun game.
14:25
SPEAKER_04: September 12th is actually gonna be kind of fun around here.
14:28
SPEAKER_04: Uh it's Fiestas Mexicanas in the Triangle Park.
14:31
SPEAKER_04: Right.
14:31
SPEAKER_04: And then we're gonna have a softball game and soccer and football all happening at Triangle Park.
14:36
SPEAKER_04: And so um there's just gonna be a lot of fun that day.
14:39
SPEAKER_04: But we have plenty of events leading up to that.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: I'm excited too because in my past existence in the world of sports, you know, it was all pretty centric on I I don't know if you call it the popular sports, football and basketball and things like that.
14:51
SPEAKER_01: Um get a chance to delve into swimming next week, uh get a chance to talk about slow pitch softball, which I haven't done before personally, and and the like.
15:00
SPEAKER_01: So that's uh coming up on future episodes of the podcast.
15:03
SPEAKER_01: Anything else I need to hit on with you before I let you go?
15:05
SPEAKER_04: No, I think we're good.
15:06
SPEAKER_04: I I just really appreciate it.
15:07
SPEAKER_04: I appreciate people leaning in on this.
15:09
SPEAKER_04: And um, I know for me last week my favorite part was listening to the kids.
15:13
SPEAKER_04: So thanks for taking the time to do that, and I'm really excited to see where we go with this.
15:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and speaking of which, uh we're going to be joined by Jernie Gelsing, uh senior volleyball player, as well as Berkeley Bowls, a senior soccer player, and their coaches still to come here on the Winanchee Panther Podcast, uh, available on all the apps.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: You've got all those audio downloads you can do uh the Odyssey and I'm I'm not into podcasts.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm hosting a podcast, but I'm not into it.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: But you know where you go.
15:40
SPEAKER_01: You can find it there, and then of course on our YouTube channel as well.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: And and I want to thank KKRV for giving us this uh format and this opportunity to be able to do the Wenanchee Panther Podcast.
15:50
SPEAKER_01: We will take a break, and hopefully we're gonna hear from Les Schwab coming up, and then right after the break, uh we'll be talking with the head coach for the uh former state champions, and I know they have high aspirations again.
16:03
SPEAKER_01: Uh Jordan McGregor joining us next from Wenanchee Volleyball here on the Wenanchee Panther Podcast.
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16:37
SPEAKER_01: When At Your Panther Podcast continues here on KKRV 1047 on our YouTube channel and across the stratosphere as far as the audio version.
16:47
SPEAKER_01: Jordan McGregor's here, head coach for volleyball.
16:50
SPEAKER_01: You were just telling me that you listened to the podcast.
16:52
SPEAKER_01: See, I'm not much of a podcast guy.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to try to get used to it.
16:55
SPEAKER_01: So how did you listen to it?
16:56
SPEAKER_06: Spotify.
16:57
SPEAKER_06: Oh, you did?
16:58
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
16:58
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
16:58
SPEAKER_06: All right.
16:58
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
16:59
SPEAKER_06: So it was there.
17:00
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it's there.
17:00
SPEAKER_06: It's working great.
17:01
SPEAKER_01: All right, awesome.
17:02
SPEAKER_01: Uh Jordan, first of all, how are you?
17:04
SPEAKER_01: How's how's it going?
17:06
SPEAKER_01: Good.
17:06
SPEAKER_01: I mean, welcome to another year.
17:07
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, no, this is it's been a good week.
17:10
SPEAKER_06: We had our first day yesterday and we had about 65 girls try out, and the gym's got a lot of great energy.
17:17
SPEAKER_06: Sixty-five?
17:18
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
17:18
SPEAKER_01: Is that like that seems like an extraordinary amount?
17:22
SPEAKER_06: Uh it's a little more than normal, but around that.
17:26
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: Uh do you do you know that until they actually see you see the whites of their eyes?
17:32
SPEAKER_06: Or well, I mean, we have a sign-up, so we know kind of how many girls we might have, but obviously who signs up and who actually shows up differs a lot of the time.
17:42
SPEAKER_06: But yeah, we had a packed gym and energy was great.
17:45
SPEAKER_06: We have over 30 freshmen, which is fantastic.
17:48
SPEAKER_06: Wonderful.
17:49
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: So the year starts long before the year starts, right?
17:52
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it there's summer, there was the spring.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: I do you guys I know football has practices in the spring.
17:57
SPEAKER_01: Do you guys do anything?
17:58
SPEAKER_06: No, we can't actually do any practicing until June 1st.
18:02
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
18:02
SPEAKER_06: We do weights, so we did like out of s out of season weights after school for the months of like March, April, and May.
18:09
SPEAKER_01: I hear that was a great turnout.
18:11
SPEAKER_06: Oh.
18:12
SPEAKER_01: The football guys were telling me last week that volleyball girls everywhere.
18:17
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
18:17
SPEAKER_06: No, it has been so great to see how many athletes have embraced uh lifting and getting stronger.
18:22
SPEAKER_06: And even this summer when we were able to get our freshmen in with us on June 1st, and we had a great turnout every single day, Monday through Thursday.
18:30
SPEAKER_06: We had at least, you know, 20 girls come in and working out and working hard, and yeah, it's been great.
18:35
SPEAKER_01: I was uh telling BJ, I don't know if it was because of the uniforms or because of the workouts that were happening, but I think it was maybe senior year for Ava Joe that you know you guys kind of went to the the cut top and just everybody seemed jacked.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: I was like, man, these girls have been working out.
18:52
SPEAKER_06: The jerseys help, but I will say I have been uh pretty grateful and I get got a pretty fit program pretty often, but the jerseys help a little bit.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: Which what does uh what if volleyball, I mean, there might be a lot of folks like me that would think what do you need to work out for volleyball for?
19:08
SPEAKER_01: Is that I mean, number one, I guess legs would be huge to be able to get up.
19:12
SPEAKER_06: I mean, volleyball's a game of jumping.
19:14
SPEAKER_06: That's number one, especially if you play the front row.
19:17
SPEAKER_06: So you gotta put on some muscles to be able to jump higher.
19:19
SPEAKER_06: That's just a reality.
19:20
SPEAKER_06: And then speed, it's a game of all of just your first step and side to side.
19:24
SPEAKER_06: And so, you know, being able to put on that muscle so that you're able to fire faster and jump higher and serve harder and set like setters gotta be able to throw the ball from one court to the other and swinging for volleyball, the you know, the more muscles you got and the faster arm you have, the harder your ball's gonna go down.
19:40
SPEAKER_06: And so I think weightlifting is a really underrated, especially in female sports.
19:46
SPEAKER_06: And so I'm I'm all about it.
19:48
SPEAKER_06: I'm totally bought into that, and I think it has really helped a lot of our athletes.
19:52
SPEAKER_01: Now, for those that didn't follow us when I talked to to Jordan in the past on on television back in the day when I was back on TV, um we talked about uh summer programs and can you be around summer programs?
20:06
SPEAKER_01: I mean no there's rules and all that kind of stuff.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: Um and then the huge program that's up in Shillan and and beach volleyball that's going on and and this whole volleyball world that's going on where you got state champions in Shillan, you got state champions of Mansa, you got state champion here at Wenatchee High School.
20:22
SPEAKER_06: Our boys' club team just won a national championship.
20:24
SPEAKER_01: There you go.
20:25
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
20:26
SPEAKER_01: So where does that start?
20:29
SPEAKER_01: Where do I mean do you tell girls, okay, do this, do that, or they're doing it themselves?
20:34
SPEAKER_01: How does that work?
20:35
SPEAKER_06: We have a huge club presence in the Valley.
20:37
SPEAKER_06: I mean, the North Central Washington volleyball club that Jeff Riley runs has been around since I was in high school and it has just grown tremendously.
20:45
SPEAKER_06: There's so many teams and so many girls that play club, starting at age 8, 9, 10.
20:49
SPEAKER_06: Wow.
20:50
SPEAKER_06: And I I think that is the main contributor.
20:52
SPEAKER_06: You get to start.
20:53
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
20:53
SPEAKER_01: I gotta stop you right there.
20:55
SPEAKER_01: 8, 9, 10.
20:56
SPEAKER_01: Is the net the same height?
20:58
SPEAKER_06: Uh no.
20:58
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
20:59
SPEAKER_06: For 12s, the net comes down and their balls are lighter.
21:01
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
21:02
SPEAKER_06: But as soon as they hit the 14 U is when the net goes up to regular height, then the balls go back to regular.
21:07
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
21:07
SPEAKER_06: But the 12-year-olds get lighter balls in a shorter net.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: Okay, gotcha.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: So I mean, starting young.
21:12
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
21:13
SPEAKER_06: And I think that truly is what helps so much.
21:15
SPEAKER_06: I mean, you get volleyball is such a technical sport that if you start it late, it's really difficult to like reteach your body all these hard things.
21:23
SPEAKER_06: And so um being able to start the kids at such a young age is so helpful that they learn that so young that by the time they come to us, they're just then refining a bunch of those techniques and just getting better.
21:35
SPEAKER_06: And so I do think our and Shillane has a big club program too.
21:38
SPEAKER_06: They have the beach program.
21:39
SPEAKER_06: Obviously, playing beach is gonna have a big just making you a multi sport athlete.
21:43
SPEAKER_06: It like helps you with the different muscles and you know, just athleticism in general.
21:48
SPEAKER_06: And so all of that and kids being able to start those so young is a huge part of why I think this whole valley's been successful.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: Is there a driving person or a driving force?
22:00
SPEAKER_01: That's that's helping to do that, or is it just the community?
22:02
SPEAKER_06: I think volleyball is just growing and just the sport in general.
22:05
SPEAKER_06: I mean, you even look at the college level, I feel like college volleyball has become way more popular, the beach volleyball world's getting more popular.
22:12
SPEAKER_06: I think it's just the sport itself is growing.
22:15
SPEAKER_06: Whereas, you know, when I was growing up, AU basketball, everyone played AU basketball, every school had an AU team.
22:20
SPEAKER_06: You know, everyone played basketball since second grade.
22:22
SPEAKER_06: Like that was a normal thing.
22:24
SPEAKER_06: I think volleyball just took a little bit to get there.
22:26
SPEAKER_06: It was a little bit of a late bloomer, and now we're there, and it's just showing the same effects that AU or even soccer.
22:33
SPEAKER_06: Kids start soccer when they're three years old, right?
22:35
SPEAKER_06: Like I think volleyball just wasn't as popular of a sport.
22:38
SPEAKER_06: And so now that it's growing and kids are starting it younger, it's starting to it's it looks different, but in reality it's just the same as all these other sports.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: Success helps that though, right?
22:48
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you get young girls in the district that are watching when Angie win a state championship, that can do nothing but help, I would imagine.
22:56
SPEAKER_06: Oh yeah.
22:56
SPEAKER_06: I mean, love the sport.
22:57
SPEAKER_06: Every you know, you got little girls who want to be a future Panther and play and be on that stage, and uh that it definitely helps for sure.
23:06
SPEAKER_06: But I do think volleyball is what's makes volleyball such a fun sport is you get a point every play, right?
23:11
SPEAKER_06: Like someone's scoring a point every single play, and it it's so much energy and excitement because you as soon as you score your point, you get a little bit of time to enjoy the point.
23:20
SPEAKER_07: Right.
23:20
SPEAKER_06: Whereas in some sports, even if you score basket and basketball, you gotta run back on defense, right?
23:24
SPEAKER_06: Like there's not a whole lot of time to enjoy it.
23:26
SPEAKER_06: And so I think girls love volleyball because it's so fun.
23:30
SPEAKER_06: Like you get to really enjoy your points, and you get it's just the energy and all of that.
23:34
SPEAKER_01: The choreography involved, does that start about now?
23:37
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we're the last week of August, is is that when that starts?
23:41
SPEAKER_01: Not just celebrating a point, but also the whole pregame.
23:45
SPEAKER_01: I mean, the gyrations, the high fives, the bliffs, the the bumps, and all this stuff.
23:49
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's it's fun to watch.
23:51
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, they I mean the girls love that.
23:53
SPEAKER_06: I think that's just part of our culture too, is that they work on those in their off time with each other and all summer when we're playing in tournaments, and that's just the fun stuff of it.
24:01
SPEAKER_06: And I think a lot of our girls love being on the court with each other, and that's they love their little rituals, I guess.
24:07
SPEAKER_01: You you talk about culture.
24:08
SPEAKER_01: I know that that one that BJ with whom we just spoke uh is all about culture, all about kind of creating this We Are Wannachee thing, and and she's she said that she met with all the coaches and things like that.
24:20
SPEAKER_01: Talk about that from your perspective and what that means to you.
24:24
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, as far as Wenatchee's athletics as a whole, I came from a small school, and so I think growing up Cascade in the North.
24:32
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
24:33
SPEAKER_06: And so growing up, you start when you're four years old that you are a Cascade Kodiak, and there was like a almost like a loyalty to always be there and have like be so proud about the jersey that you're wearing and the name across your chest, and um, you know, the rivalries were huge because you were just so proud of like the school that you were playing for.
24:52
SPEAKER_06: And I think I don't know if it's just you know, it could be like post-COVID, and we we kind of lost some of that.
24:57
SPEAKER_06: Sure.
24:58
SPEAKER_06: And I think bringing back like what it's like to be proud to be a Wenatchee Panther and want to be a Wenatchee Panther and getting all of us coaches on board with the same culture expectations, I think will just help the school as a whole.
25:10
SPEAKER_06: Um, I'm not saying that we don't have it, I just think if we can get all the sports collectively, you know, when I a lot of us head coaches aren't teachers in the building, and I think that is a big difference.
25:22
SPEAKER_06: And again, when I was growing up, all of your coaches are teachers, they see the kids every day, they see each other every day.
25:27
SPEAKER_01: And so And that helps when you get to practice after school is that you might have an inkling of what happened during school that might impact the girl as she's strapping on the shoes.
25:37
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, exactly.
25:37
SPEAKER_06: And I just think too, as like cool like even coaches' relationships with each other.
25:41
SPEAKER_06: And so it's just been so great to that BJ's come in and um just being able to get to know a bunch of the other coaches and just talk coaching and talk like things out with each other, even though there might be different sports, at the end of the day, logistically we're dealing all with pretty similar things.
25:56
SPEAKER_07: Sure.
25:56
SPEAKER_06: And so yeah, it's just been great.
25:58
SPEAKER_06: I think she's doing a fantastic job, and we're all bought in and we're all excited about it.
26:02
SPEAKER_06: And I I do think it's starting to show the difference.
26:06
SPEAKER_01: So this you're 65 girls, that's just that's awesome.
26:09
SPEAKER_01: Uh so this is your chance to meet them too and get to know them, right?
26:13
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's obviously girls that have been in your program for a few years that that you know.
26:17
SPEAKER_01: Um, but also this is kind of fun, it's almost like Christmas, right?
26:21
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I was just crabbing this past weekend and we're pulling up a crab pot.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: It's like Christmas every time.
26:25
SPEAKER_01: You don't know what's gonna be in there.
26:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
26:27
SPEAKER_01: So this is a chance too to be surprised by maybe somebody grew a bunch over the summertime or something like that.
26:33
SPEAKER_01: You walk in, whoa my gosh, who are you?
26:36
SPEAKER_06: Well, I think that's what this season's been pretty exciting, and I've been looking forward to so much, is we have so many new freshmen that this is kind of my first year since I've been the head coach that I don't really know what it's gonna look like.
26:47
SPEAKER_06: I don't know what teams are gonna look like.
26:49
SPEAKER_06: We don't really know, like we have so many new kids.
26:51
SPEAKER_06: And I have a you know, I have a squad who not a lot of them have played together or have even been on a varsity court together.
26:59
SPEAKER_06: And so it's so exciting because you just get to see these kids who have put in all this work and you get to see what they can do.
27:04
SPEAKER_06: And it's just right now, it's just so unpredictable.
27:06
SPEAKER_06: But the energy and the work ethic and everything in our gym right now, I'm very excited to see what the girls can do.
27:11
SPEAKER_06: But that's I think that's why there's a little bit more excitement into this year because there's so many unknowns and so many new faces.
27:17
SPEAKER_01: And I was looking at your schedule here.
27:19
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're biting off a big chunk right off the bat.
27:22
SPEAKER_01: Bellevue, right?
27:23
SPEAKER_01: That's first.
27:23
SPEAKER_06: Yep, Bellevue the Nessaqua, right back to back.
27:25
SPEAKER_01: Holy cow, and then Camas is in there somewhere too.
27:28
SPEAKER_06: Camis and Lake Stevens come the same week.
27:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh so you're playing state right away.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: I know Was that you that told BJ, okay, we here's who we need, we need tough.
27:38
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I am a firm believer.
27:40
SPEAKER_06: I rather be tested and play the best of the best and figure out what we need to work on before postseason and you know, take the chance that, yeah, we might not go undefeated, but we might.
27:50
SPEAKER_06: Like, I I'm a firm believer in playing the best of the best if you want to be the best.
27:54
SPEAKER_06: You gotta play the best teams, you gotta play teams that are might expose some of your weaknesses.
27:58
SPEAKER_06: And I rather do that early in the season and get that out so that you know, come postseason, we're way more prepared mentally and physically.
28:05
SPEAKER_06: And as a coach, I'm more prepared.
28:07
SPEAKER_06: And what are the little things that we need to work on as a team?
28:09
SPEAKER_06: What do we like?
28:11
SPEAKER_06: Could we change anything?
28:12
SPEAKER_06: And so I'm I'm all about stacking my non-league and taking those chances.
28:16
SPEAKER_06: And honestly, those are those are my favorite games.
28:19
SPEAKER_06: I love a good, tough five-step match.
28:22
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
28:22
SPEAKER_06: Um, they're the most rewarding that you learn the most from them.
28:25
SPEAKER_06: And so I, yeah, I love stacking my non-league.
28:28
SPEAKER_06: So I'm I'm really excited about our non-league is brand new this year.
28:31
SPEAKER_06: It's all new teams, and I'm very excited about it.
28:33
SPEAKER_01: Uh, what's been the biggest thing since you've taken over the program?
28:36
SPEAKER_01: This is year four, you're coming up, yeah.
28:38
SPEAKER_01: That has surprised you?
28:40
SPEAKER_01: Maybe about you or just about the task of coaching these girls?
28:45
SPEAKER_06: I will say there was a lot about head coaching that you don't realize.
28:50
SPEAKER_06: You know, I just have always loved the game of volleyball and always thought it was more about X's and O's and strategy.
28:56
SPEAKER_06: There's a lot to head coaching that is actually not the X's and O's and not about the game of volleyball that it took me a little bit to figure out because I, you know, when you're an assistant, you're not responsible for a lot of that stuff.
29:06
SPEAKER_07: Sure.
29:07
SPEAKER_06: But it's also the most rewarding part of it all, too.
29:09
SPEAKER_06: Like I love, I'm a problem solver, so I love trying to figure out what works best for our c word for our whole program, what doesn't, what works best strategy-wise, what doesn't, what works best, you know, with our offensive schemes, our defensive schemes, and that's been the most rewarding part.
29:23
SPEAKER_06: But I think just the logistics side of being a head coach was probably the biggest shock.
29:28
SPEAKER_01: Um now when you're talking about that, what do you mean?
29:30
SPEAKER_01: Like grades and that kind of thing.
29:31
SPEAKER_06: Well, yeah, just like scheduling and like you know, you're responsible.
29:35
SPEAKER_06: We we're only gonna take 48 kids, so you're responsible for 48 kids and you know, coming up with a schedule all the time just for practices, practice plans.
29:44
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, like like all the logistics that have nothing to do with the X's and O's.
29:47
SPEAKER_06: Um that was probably just the biggest shock because I don't really learn I didn't learn really that being an assistant coach.
29:53
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
29:54
SPEAKER_01: And so um as an assistant when you're going through that, because you you assisted your aunt, right?
29:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
30:00
SPEAKER_01: So did did you know that was your trajectory to be a head coach?
30:04
SPEAKER_01: So I mean, did you go, hey aunt, uh, can you tell me how this works?
30:09
SPEAKER_06: That was kind of the plan.
30:10
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
30:11
SPEAKER_06: Um that was the plan, you know.
30:13
SPEAKER_06: Ashin, my cousin, she was gonna be graduating, and you know, Marnie had been coaching for 22 years at that point, and that was the whole purpose of me becoming her varsity assistant because I was the D team coach for a while.
30:25
SPEAKER_06: Right.
30:25
SPEAKER_06: Um, that was kind of the purpose, is that she really wanted me to be with her all the time to just see what that would look like.
30:30
SPEAKER_06: Sure.
30:31
SPEAKER_06: But there was still a lot of stuff behind closed doors or like on a computer and stuff that she dealt with that I wouldn't have known about.
30:36
SPEAKER_06: Right.
30:36
SPEAKER_06: Um, but she I've I felt like doing that and being her varsity assistant for two seasons was the best thing I could have done just to be more prepared.
30:45
SPEAKER_06: And what's actually you know funny now, full circle, I have recently hired Ashton.
30:50
SPEAKER_06: She is now my assistant coach, so it's pretty cool that I got to play under Marnie and coach with Marnie, and then Ashton played under me and now is coaching with me.
30:56
SPEAKER_06: And so yeah.
30:57
SPEAKER_06: I thought I recognized her afterwards.
30:59
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah.
31:00
SPEAKER_01: Well, thanks for taking the time to do this.
31:02
SPEAKER_01: Before I let you go, I need you to tell me a little bit about who we're gonna talk to, Journey Gelsing.
31:07
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
31:07
SPEAKER_01: So tell me a little bit about this young lady.
31:09
SPEAKER_06: Man, what a career she's had.
31:11
SPEAKER_06: You know, she for freshman year on varsity, she was part of our state championship team.
31:15
SPEAKER_06: Um, you know, her sophomore year, she was a backup to Ava Joe Barry, who was a fantastic athlete too.
31:23
SPEAKER_06: And this kid, you know, never complained, came to practice every day, worked hard.
31:28
SPEAKER_06: And then last year she got her chance to run her offense in a 5'1 for her first time in her career, did fantastic, brought home third place, you know, just a great leader, so nice to the kids.
31:39
SPEAKER_06: All the, you know, it doesn't matter what grade they're in, she's you know, the freshman, you even feel the love from her.
31:44
SPEAKER_06: And now she's coming into her senior year, you know, running our offense again, and you could just tell her confidence is there, and she's become such a great setter.
31:52
SPEAKER_06: You know, she's gonna go play college ball, and I'm just really excited to see what she can do her senior year just based on the career that she's had so far and just what an impact she has made in building what like where we are now.
32:04
SPEAKER_01: So that's how she is as a player.
32:06
SPEAKER_01: How about as a person?
32:07
SPEAKER_06: Great kid, so sweet, so nice.
32:10
SPEAKER_06: Um, you know, we went we did a leadership thing, and we're talking about part of the leadership thing is you you have your green kids, and the guy who is running it asked the girls, like, who when you think of someone who's green, who is it?
32:23
SPEAKER_06: And they all said journey.
32:24
SPEAKER_06: And I think that just shows you know how sweet she is to everybody, and you know, you would never know that she's the senior or the starting setter.
32:33
SPEAKER_06: She treats everyone the same, she's super humble.
32:36
SPEAKER_06: So, yeah, she's a great kid.
32:37
SPEAKER_01: That's huge.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: That's huge.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: Well, best of luck this season.
32:39
SPEAKER_01: What happened?
32:40
SPEAKER_01: Is this volleyball related?
32:42
SPEAKER_01: Uh what'd you do?
32:43
SPEAKER_01: No, it's not.
32:43
SPEAKER_01: She's got a finger all wrapped up here.
32:46
SPEAKER_01: Did you were you cooking?
32:47
SPEAKER_06: I have stitches.
32:48
SPEAKER_06: No.
32:48
SPEAKER_06: Oh.
32:48
SPEAKER_06: Oh, it's no great story.
32:50
SPEAKER_06: Oh.
32:50
SPEAKER_06: It's not anything exciting.
32:52
SPEAKER_06: It's just been a pain, to be honest.
32:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's lovely to go whack a ball around.
32:56
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, my my my poor assistant coaches have been taking the front of that for a while.
33:01
SPEAKER_01: You'll be healed up by the time the season starts.
33:03
SPEAKER_01: I hope so.
33:03
SPEAKER_01: All right.
33:04
SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, thank you very much, Jordan, and best of luck.
33:06
SPEAKER_01: Jordan McGregor joining us here on the Wananche Panther Podcast.
33:09
SPEAKER_01: We'll take a break and come back, and we will meet uh the green light, Journey Gelsing.
33:14
SPEAKER_01: Is it lights?
33:15
SPEAKER_01: Was it that?
33:16
SPEAKER_01: It's a long story.
33:17
SPEAKER_01: It's okay.
33:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's a long story.
33:19
SPEAKER_01: We'll find out from Journey coming up next here on the Winanchee Panther Podcast.
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33:51
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34:00
SPEAKER_01: And we've got Journey Gelsing here, who is a senior, I guess.
34:04
SPEAKER_01: School starts, so you're now a senior, right?
34:06
SPEAKER_05: Yes, I'm a senior.
34:07
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
34:07
SPEAKER_01: Hi, Journey.
34:08
SPEAKER_05: Hi.
34:09
SPEAKER_01: Um Are you I I uh you know, years ago we were doing football on the TV station.
34:15
SPEAKER_01: JJ, is that your brother?
34:16
SPEAKER_05: Yep, he is.
34:17
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
34:18
SPEAKER_01: JJ Gelsing.
34:19
SPEAKER_01: Okay, all right.
34:19
SPEAKER_01: I want it your family's big into J's, apparently.
34:23
SPEAKER_01: Very random.
34:24
SPEAKER_01: Uh and your name, the spelling your name, which you see on the bottom of the screen.
34:28
SPEAKER_01: So, Journey, where did that come from from your parents?
34:32
SPEAKER_05: Well, so actually there's a Disney, like Journey to Disney store that's down like down on the way to the East Wanashi Bridge.
34:41
SPEAKER_05: You're going over.
34:42
SPEAKER_05: Oh, yes, okay.
34:43
SPEAKER_01: And yeah, yeah, yeah.
34:44
SPEAKER_05: My mom said that she was driving past it and this got inspiration randomly.
34:49
SPEAKER_01: So while she was pregnant with you or Oh, okay.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
34:53
SPEAKER_05: So it's I don't really have a fun, cool story.
34:54
SPEAKER_01: No, that's good.
34:55
SPEAKER_01: But that's good.
34:56
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's and I'm sure you get this all the time.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: It was a journey to find your name.
35:01
SPEAKER_05: Or I get the um Oh, the band journey all the time.
35:05
SPEAKER_01: Oh, sure.
35:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
35:06
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
35:06
SPEAKER_01: All the time.
35:07
SPEAKER_01: Are you a singer?
35:08
SPEAKER_05: Oh.
35:09
SPEAKER_05: My mom would say, I don't consider myself a singer.
35:12
SPEAKER_05: She flatters me.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: Oh, she d well, yeah, in your mom's eyes, you're perfect no matter what, right?
35:18
SPEAKER_01: Um as you get ready for your senior year playing volleyball, um, how's the summer been?
35:23
SPEAKER_01: What have have you had any fun?
35:25
SPEAKER_01: Have you has it all been work?
35:26
SPEAKER_01: What have you done?
35:27
SPEAKER_05: Um, it's been really good.
35:28
SPEAKER_05: We've done a lot of working out, we've had some open gyms.
35:32
SPEAKER_05: Um it's been good.
35:34
SPEAKER_05: I feel like from uh freshmen to s like to seniors, we've all just been really dedicated and hardworking this summer, and we all kind of inspire each other and push each other all the way around.
35:44
SPEAKER_05: So it's been really fun.
35:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
35:46
SPEAKER_01: Is are you part of that pushing?
35:48
SPEAKER_01: Are you part of that how how how are you?
35:52
SPEAKER_01: Are you a leader in that regard?
35:54
SPEAKER_05: I would say so.
35:55
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
35:56
SPEAKER_05: I mean, um, I I feel like I want to be the best I can be, and I want to like be a role model for the girls.
36:03
SPEAKER_05: So I would say I encourage and I push as much as I can.
36:08
SPEAKER_01: Are you verbal?
36:09
SPEAKER_01: Are you just lead by example?
36:12
SPEAKER_05: I try to be both.
36:13
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
36:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
36:14
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
36:14
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
36:15
SPEAKER_01: So that that push that you feel, where does that come from for you?
36:19
SPEAKER_01: Is that like a family thing?
36:20
SPEAKER_01: Is that uh just something you feel inside that, hey, I gotta I gotta be the best I can be?
36:25
SPEAKER_01: Because not everybody does that.
36:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
36:28
SPEAKER_05: Um I would say it's definitely I think a combo like for both.
36:33
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I feel like from a young age, my parents and my family have established like being a hard worker and like pushing yourself and like just being the best you can and like I mean you're putting in the time you're showing up, so you might as well just give a hundred a hundred percent for everything.
36:48
SPEAKER_05: Um but then also I feel like I've held back in the past and uh maybe I didn't show up or mistakes or whatever, so I feel like now it's just I kinda just want to put my head down and be the best I can be.
37:01
SPEAKER_01: Is that because you're it's your last year too?
37:03
SPEAKER_01: I mean, is that part of it?
37:04
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
37:05
SPEAKER_05: And I think um going off into college, I don't want to take anything for granted.
37:11
SPEAKER_05: I want to just go into my freshman year and yeah, ball out.
37:15
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna play in college.
37:17
SPEAKER_05: I am, yeah.
37:18
SPEAKER_01: Where?
37:18
SPEAKER_05: Uh Northwest Nazarene University.
37:20
SPEAKER_01: Okay, that's where?
37:21
SPEAKER_01: Or uh Idaho?
37:22
SPEAKER_05: Nampa Nampa, Idaho.
37:23
SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
37:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
37:24
SPEAKER_01: Um when did you make that decision?
37:26
SPEAKER_01: And are you just totally happy to have that done and you don't have to think about it your senior year?
37:31
SPEAKER_05: Oh my gosh, yeah.
37:32
SPEAKER_05: I the recruiting process was so crazy.
37:38
SPEAKER_05: I um my parents honestly were saving graces throughout it all.
37:42
SPEAKER_05: Like they did so much for me.
37:44
SPEAKER_05: Um I committed back in I'd like to say May.
37:50
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
37:50
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
37:51
SPEAKER_05: I haven't been very vocal about it.
37:53
SPEAKER_05: I kinda just I didn't mean to keep it to myself, but it's just kind of like, yeah, I'm going.
38:00
SPEAKER_05: Um but no.
38:02
SPEAKER_01: Having my senior year and like you don't strike me as being a person that would say, you know, I'm kind of a big deal.
38:08
SPEAKER_05: Not at all.
38:09
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I don't really feel that way.
38:11
SPEAKER_05: So but um yeah.
38:14
SPEAKER_01: So that you say the recruiting process.
38:17
SPEAKER_01: So obviously teams and and schools were reaching out to you, coaches were reaching out to you, you get mail.
38:23
SPEAKER_01: How how does it work these days?
38:24
SPEAKER_01: I mean, when I was in college, I was lucky enough to get recruited, but it was all mail.
38:28
SPEAKER_01: It was never a phone call.
38:30
SPEAKER_01: But this is a long time ago, so we don't have to go down that road.
38:36
SPEAKER_01: We don't take that journey right now.
38:38
SPEAKER_01: Um so what does that look like for for somebody today?
38:41
SPEAKER_05: Um I would say it's a lot of like you're making video, like you're getting highlights, like you're it's not male.
38:49
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I guess a different way, Gmail, but um it's you're reaching out to colleges, you're trying to get seen, and they're reaching out to you.
38:58
SPEAKER_01: Like if you I I just did this yesterday.
39:00
SPEAKER_01: If you do a search on Google for Journey Gelsing, your recruiting stuff comes up.
39:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
39:06
SPEAKER_05: I mean, that's the number one thing that comes up is your and I don't know if that was you that put that together or your family that put that together or or how I we will I know there's a lot of like Instagram, there's a lot of like Huddle and like all these websites that we signed up for just to try and try and get as much visibility as possible.
39:25
SPEAKER_05: Right across the state.
39:26
SPEAKER_01: I mean, right away the first video I saw was from state last year.
39:29
SPEAKER_05: Oh really?
39:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
39:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
39:31
SPEAKER_01: So I'm not sure who that was through, but yeah, you know, you didn't know you're out there.
39:36
SPEAKER_01: But I mean, to go into your senior year, have that decision done, it's gotta be like a weight off your shoulders.
39:41
SPEAKER_05: Oh, I'm so happy to just know where I'm going.
39:44
SPEAKER_05: I don't have to go through any of it.
39:47
SPEAKER_01: So, how was the campus visit for you?
39:48
SPEAKER_01: Did you know anybody that was going down there or had been there or well Abby Black, actually, a um past volleyball player, she's been playing there for the past I think she's going into her fifth year.
40:02
SPEAKER_07: Okay.
40:02
SPEAKER_05: So I knew um NNU from her, but I didn't really do any research on it.
40:09
SPEAKER_05: And then Doug, the head coach, reached out.
40:12
SPEAKER_05: I went down and went on my visit, and I just I loved it.
40:16
SPEAKER_05: Just like the atmosphere, and like the girls are so kind, and um I'm going in for nursing, and that's the only school that I can do nursing and play volleyball, and just like how willing they were to like let me mesh and just like be my own person there was just like fantastic.
40:33
SPEAKER_05: So it'll be great.
40:34
SPEAKER_05: I'm really excited.
40:35
SPEAKER_01: How is that in the program you're in right now, and having Jordan as your head coach to to be, does she allow you guys?
40:42
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I assume that that's gotta be a similar feel that you would want to extend that at college.
40:48
SPEAKER_05: Um, no, I honestly one of like my favorite things about our program is just like I would say all our personalities mixed, and uh just how lovely like everybody is, like everybody is truly so kind, and we all get along like there's really no drama.
41:07
SPEAKER_05: It's just like you're having fun, you're with people you love, and like I have such a good relationship with Jordan, our coach, and it's not only like coach and player, it's just like people, like it's just like a relationship outside of that.
41:21
SPEAKER_05: So I think that's one thing that I really do love is just like having a family in this program.
41:26
SPEAKER_05: It's not only just volleyball and players and coaches, it's just like people we're equals.
41:31
SPEAKER_01: And I imagine because you feel that way, that you'll do anything for her and for your team.
41:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
41:39
SPEAKER_01: How weird is it to walk out there?
41:40
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you've been in this program now for four years, to walk out there and see si you're see one of sixty-five girls out there on the first day of practice and stuff.
41:48
SPEAKER_01: That's gonna be kind of crazy.
41:50
SPEAKER_05: It is.
41:52
SPEAKER_05: It is so yeah, it's crazy.
41:54
SPEAKER_05: And even being a senior, like I feel like I'm here now, I'm a senior, and I like I don't feel like I should have all the accountability, I guess, that I do.
42:03
SPEAKER_05: Like I'm just like, uh-huh.
42:04
SPEAKER_05: Hey guys, I don't know.
42:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
42:07
SPEAKER_01: Do you look maybe at the mirror a little bit and go, hey, you know, there was a senior when I was a freshman that really kind of helped me and took me under their wing.
42:16
SPEAKER_01: Is that something you want to contri continue as a senior now?
42:20
SPEAKER_05: A million percent.
42:21
SPEAKER_05: Um I feel like going in when I was a freshman, there were so many seniors that I like gravitated toward, and they just like made me feel so at home.
42:31
SPEAKER_05: And um even watching like this past year, like Riley Jones, like she is so kind and gentle to like all the younger girls, and it's like, okay, well, I want to be that person for them.
42:42
SPEAKER_05: Like I want to make people feel at home and at peace and not so freaked out because it's nerve-wracking going in when you're younger.
42:48
SPEAKER_05: Like, oh yeah, you don't know what's going on.
42:50
SPEAKER_01: Well, and I think does it help to have volleyball practice and then have school start?
42:56
SPEAKER_01: Because to have all of that at the same time, I would imagine would just be mind-blowing.
43:00
SPEAKER_05: It well, I I truly do love like the summer.
43:04
SPEAKER_05: Um I got to really get to know so many like different girls like all ages and just like really connect with them, and I think that is so special, like going into your tryouts, like practicing, like you kind of already established this family, like of everybody, all ages, not just your one team of varsity, whatever or seniors, not being clicky.
43:26
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, not being clicky.
43:27
SPEAKER_05: It's just everybody loves each other.
43:29
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
43:30
SPEAKER_01: What do you do in your spare time if you have any spare time?
43:33
SPEAKER_01: What do you like to do?
43:34
SPEAKER_05: Spare time.
43:35
SPEAKER_05: Um I love hanging out with my family.
43:38
SPEAKER_05: Me and my mom love going on walks.
43:40
SPEAKER_05: Um, I love to craft.
43:42
SPEAKER_05: I'm a big crafter.
43:43
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
43:43
SPEAKER_01: What kind of crafting?
43:45
SPEAKER_01: Oh I I just learned about this thing here a l a year ago called junk journaling.
43:51
SPEAKER_01: Do you do any of that stuff?
43:53
SPEAKER_05: I've never heard of junk journaling.
43:54
SPEAKER_05: Oh, okay.
43:54
SPEAKER_05: No.
43:55
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
43:55
SPEAKER_01: Well, it's uh where you keep a journal, but then you keep little pieces of junk.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: Basically from your experiences for your day.
44:02
SPEAKER_01: Huh?
44:02
SPEAKER_01: Like uh you have a bottle of water and you keep the cap off the water and then you actually stick that inside the journal as you go that it's a keepsake and and a memory and and everything else.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: So I don't I don't know.
44:15
SPEAKER_01: That sounds fun.
44:16
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
44:16
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
44:17
SPEAKER_05: Maybe I'll try it.
44:17
SPEAKER_01: So what I mean, what other kind of crafting?
44:19
SPEAKER_05: Like you do needlepoint or or I have actually tried needle pointing or embroider.
44:25
SPEAKER_05: I tried embroider.
44:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
44:27
SPEAKER_05: I'm very my problem is is I like kind of get hyper-fixated on one thing.
44:32
SPEAKER_05: I do it for maybe like two days and then I'm on to the next.
44:36
SPEAKER_05: Like I'm like I'm bored.
44:37
SPEAKER_05: Let's go.
44:38
SPEAKER_05: But um I love making things for other people.
44:41
SPEAKER_05: I like I like to gift give.
44:43
SPEAKER_07: Okay.
44:43
SPEAKER_05: So um with like my friends and stuff, like usually if I'm crafting, it's always with the intent to give to somebody else or like make something for somebody.
44:54
SPEAKER_05: I gotcha.
44:54
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
44:54
SPEAKER_01: I gotcha.
44:55
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
44:56
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
44:56
SPEAKER_01: Um I was talking with Jordan, your coach, about this.
44:59
SPEAKER_01: Um the choreography that goes into your high-five jumping handshake, welcome to the court type of thing.
45:07
SPEAKER_01: Does that start now, or you already got it all figured out?
45:10
SPEAKER_01: Or I mean And if you don't know what I'm talking about, go to a game and as they get on the court for the first time or they're introduced, there's a whole choreographed deal that happens, and it's different for each girl, right?
45:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
45:26
SPEAKER_01: You get the starting six out there, and you've got one thing with one girl, you got another thing with another girl.
45:31
SPEAKER_05: It um it started a couple years ago, and it was very small, like it was like one person kind of, and then just spread, and now it's like a whole thing where every year we kind of sit down and establish different handshakes with each girl.
45:44
SPEAKER_07: Okay.
45:45
SPEAKER_05: And it is it's tiring to remember.
45:48
SPEAKER_05: Like I I really struggle, but um we're already we're already starting to make some some new ones.
45:54
SPEAKER_05: So we can look for that.
45:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, all right.
45:57
SPEAKER_01: You'll see.
45:57
SPEAKER_01: Uh I was looking at your schedule.
45:59
SPEAKER_01: Geez, you guys are playing some tough teams right away.
46:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
46:01
SPEAKER_01: Have you guys even talked about that?
46:03
SPEAKER_01: Or is it just let's get practice going, let's get the season going.
46:06
SPEAKER_05: Let's get practice going, let's get the season going.
46:08
SPEAKER_05: Like, I don't think I don't even know what our schedule is.
46:11
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna be honest.
46:12
SPEAKER_01: I just you're out of the gate against Bellevue on the road on September 4th, by the way.
46:18
SPEAKER_05: Oh, it's coming up.
46:19
SPEAKER_01: It's a week away.
46:20
SPEAKER_01: A little more than a week.
46:22
SPEAKER_01: So if I I have a question.
46:24
SPEAKER_01: My my daughter played volleyball too.
46:26
SPEAKER_01: So if there's one thing you could change about the volleyball uniform, what would it be?
46:32
SPEAKER_01: Are you happy with it?
46:34
SPEAKER_01: You guys went to those cut shirts that are pretty cool because you're able to show your guns.
46:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
46:40
SPEAKER_05: Um I'm trying to think.
46:43
SPEAKER_01: See, I, you know, of course, this comes from a dad perspective.
46:47
SPEAKER_01: The spanks, the the shorts.
46:48
SPEAKER_01: I just don't get the shorts because it seems that it'd be uncomfortable or that when I watch volleyball, you guys are pulling on them all the time.
46:57
SPEAKER_05: Oh, yeah.
47:00
SPEAKER_01: I mean, just being honest.
47:01
SPEAKER_05: I don't really understand the shorts either.
47:03
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
47:04
SPEAKER_05: But I mean, I wear them.
47:05
SPEAKER_01: Right, because it's part of the uniform.
47:07
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I feel like I haven't really known known any different.
47:09
SPEAKER_01: But uh Journey, you and your friends, if you're shopping and you have a choice of different shorts to buy, would you ever buy Spanx yourself?
47:21
SPEAKER_01: Uh I mean In a non-volleyball sense.
47:27
SPEAKER_05: Non-vol like non-athletic sense?
47:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
47:31
SPEAKER_05: Probably not.
47:32
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
47:32
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I I I just I just just wonder.
47:35
SPEAKER_05: I mean, like, I feel like I'm comfortable with it now because I've been playing volleyball since forever.
47:41
SPEAKER_01: Literally as long as I played it.
47:44
SPEAKER_05: So I mean it it's weird to think of a world without spanks.
47:47
SPEAKER_05: Well, I'll say that.
47:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's true.
47:50
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
47:51
unknown: All right.
47:53
SPEAKER_05: But I get what you're saying.
47:54
SPEAKER_05: Because now that I think about it, I'm like, I don't really know why we wear these.
47:57
SPEAKER_01: So personal, I know the the goal is state championship, the goal is district championship, all that kind of good stuff for the team.
48:03
SPEAKER_01: What's your personal goal?
48:04
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you already have your college set, so I mean, what's there left to prove?
48:10
SPEAKER_07: Hmm.
48:11
SPEAKER_01: Are there are there records you're going after, individual records like high school records?
48:16
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that'd be pretty tough because I mean Ava Joe probably holds most of the right.
48:22
SPEAKER_05: Um, I mean, I think it would be cool to um break the amount of assists in the game.
48:29
SPEAKER_05: That's a fun record.
48:30
SPEAKER_07: Okay.
48:31
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that'd be a good record.
48:32
SPEAKER_05: I mean, who knows?
48:34
SPEAKER_05: Ava Joe set a pretty high standard on that one, so we'll see.
48:38
SPEAKER_05: But that'd be a fun one.
48:39
SPEAKER_05: I mean, for personal goals.
48:43
SPEAKER_05: I mean it's kind of broad, but just being the best leader I can be and becoming the best I can.
48:51
SPEAKER_05: I mean Okay.
48:52
SPEAKER_01: That's a that's a good goal to have.
48:54
SPEAKER_05: I should have thought.
48:55
SPEAKER_05: No, no, it's okay.
48:56
SPEAKER_01: No, see, this is just a conversation.
48:58
SPEAKER_01: So well, thank you for taking the time to do this.
49:00
SPEAKER_01: I know it's kind of an awkward deal, but it's fun.
49:03
SPEAKER_01: You did great.
49:04
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate your time.
49:05
SPEAKER_01: It's good to meet you like long form.
49:07
SPEAKER_01: Instead of when we did the TV stuff, I'd talk to you for like 30 seconds and that was it.
49:12
SPEAKER_01: What'd you think about the game, Journey?
49:14
SPEAKER_05: I was shaking in my butt.
49:15
SPEAKER_05: That was my first ever interview.
49:17
SPEAKER_01: Well, you did great.
49:18
SPEAKER_01: Best luck at Bellevue in a week.
49:21
SPEAKER_05: In a week.
49:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
49:22
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
49:23
SPEAKER_01: No pressure.
49:24
SPEAKER_05: No pressure at all.
49:26
SPEAKER_01: Journey Gelsing joining us here on the Wannachie Panther Podcast.
49:29
SPEAKER_01: We will take a break, come back, we're gonna talk.
49:30
SPEAKER_01: Girls soccer coming up.
49:32
SPEAKER_01: Ashton Kirkpatrick, the head coach, as well as Berkeley Bowls.
49:36
SPEAKER_01: Do you know Berkeley?
49:37
SPEAKER_05: I do know Berkeley.
49:38
SPEAKER_05: Yes, amazing person.
49:39
SPEAKER_01: Okay, awesome.
49:40
SPEAKER_01: All right, we get the inside scoop there.
49:42
SPEAKER_01: Here we'll take a break, come back, more of the Winanchie Panther Podcast coming up next.
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50:15
SPEAKER_01: Well, the Winanch Panther Podcast continues here on KKRV1047, our YouTube channel.
50:21
SPEAKER_01: And joining us now, we've got Ashton Kirkpatrick, who is the head coach for the uh girls' soccer team.
50:27
SPEAKER_01: Ashton, first of all, how are you?
50:29
SPEAKER_03: I'm doing good.
50:30
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
50:30
SPEAKER_03: How have you been?
50:31
SPEAKER_01: Great.
50:32
SPEAKER_03: Good.
50:32
SPEAKER_03: Great.
50:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm happy to be doing this.
50:34
SPEAKER_01: And I've never done a podcast before, and you said you watched last week.
50:37
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure it probably showed that I haven't done a podcast before.
50:40
SPEAKER_03: It was flawless.
50:41
SPEAKER_01: Oh well, you could depend on me to screw it up.
50:45
SPEAKER_01: That's stuck.
50:46
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
50:47
SPEAKER_01: Um so summer.
50:48
SPEAKER_01: Do you get a summer?
50:49
SPEAKER_01: Do you do you I mean, what what is that like for you?
50:52
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I get a summer.
50:53
SPEAKER_03: Um for high school sports wise, um, we we just go a couple days a week.
50:59
SPEAKER_03: It's really not anything too intense.
51:01
SPEAKER_03: Um the girls, all of them are playing club soccer, so it's really a battle, and all of them, of course, are on a different team.
51:07
SPEAKER_03: And so trying to find a schedule that fits both my work schedule and um the girls' club schedules is impossible.
51:15
SPEAKER_03: So we just said a couple days and whoever can come comes and have a good time.
51:19
SPEAKER_01: And I think one of the coaches earlier, I think when I was talking to Jordan, she said June first is kind of the day when you can start kind of doing stuff.
51:27
SPEAKER_03: Yep, yep.
51:28
SPEAKER_01: Um how hard is that to establish kind of teamwork and chemistry when they are all scrap scattered to the moon?
51:36
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it it is difficult, thankfully.
51:40
SPEAKER_03: Um I think we've built kind of a a culture where they enjoy coming to it and uh and I think they know the importance of it, and so um we as m if they're in town, they are at our practice.
51:52
SPEAKER_03: It's not like you're seeing them going and getting an ice cream cone, you know, down the street.
51:56
SPEAKER_03: They're they're here.
51:57
SPEAKER_03: So um and you can generally assume you got you're missing kids by classes usually.
52:03
SPEAKER_03: So if you know the freshman class has a tournament, you know, that weekend, they might not be at practice.
52:07
SPEAKER_03: So you're still able to work in in groups um based on you know who's available bait with their club schedule.
52:14
SPEAKER_03: That's really our only hiccup.
52:15
SPEAKER_03: Um BJ actually did a a really good job this year of kind of organizing like there wasn't a conflict between girls' basketball and girls' soccer schedules.
52:23
SPEAKER_03: We all sat down and worked together, so there's no inner school conflict as far as our schedules.
52:29
SPEAKER_03: You're just competing.
52:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that was especially when you're battling so much just to get a few together at the same time.
52:34
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we don't need to be grabbing athletes from each other, we can share the love.
52:37
SPEAKER_03: So I think that was really important.
52:39
SPEAKER_03: Um, and then we've even kind of merged like some of our training sessions were with other sports, and so that makes it easier for parents, you know, multiple kid athletes.
52:49
SPEAKER_03: Um, so it's makes it a little smoother, I think, for everybody to have that organization.
52:54
SPEAKER_01: So as you step into that time frame, and you know, I uh I wanted to ask you about working out in the waker weight room because I've heard so much about the off-season conditioning that has happened in the other sports.
53:08
SPEAKER_01: Did that happen with your girls as well?
53:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
53:10
SPEAKER_03: So we um had the opportunity.
53:12
SPEAKER_03: Coach Hap um was kind of our weight room supervisor, and it's something we've seen show up on the field where we're we're small and you know, maybe a little weaker than these other teams, and I feel like that's a controllable, and it's not really something um we had a huge push for when I was growing up, so I didn't really know it existed to be honest.
53:33
SPEAKER_03: But um working with BJ, seeing volleyball kind of doing their thing, and we jumped on board.
53:38
SPEAKER_03: I think we averaged about 45 kids just from soccer um in the weight room daily.
53:44
SPEAKER_03: That's great.
53:44
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so and we averaged about 45 to 50 at our practices daily through the summer too.
53:49
SPEAKER_03: So huge turnout.
53:51
SPEAKER_03: There's I mean, when I first started this, there was maybe 12 that came to a soccer practice.
53:57
SPEAKER_03: So um Yeah, and it became difficult to plan practice.
54:00
SPEAKER_03: You didn't know if you had the 12 or if you had the 40, and it was like, we'll see what happens.
54:04
SPEAKER_03: But I could count on about 45 kids every day.
54:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because you map out your practice, you know, drills and all this.
54:09
SPEAKER_01: And oh yeah, if you only have 10 that shows up, it kind of makes it a little difficult.
54:13
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we do some bonding.
54:14
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
54:16
SPEAKER_01: Everybody in a circle.
54:17
SPEAKER_01: Here we are.
54:18
SPEAKER_03: But yeah, so as far as the turnout for the weight room, I'm it's our first time really doing it.
54:23
SPEAKER_03: I think he did a really good job.
54:24
SPEAKER_03: We sat down and he showed me, you know, the progression of of their training, and uh, I thought it fit the soccer programming really well.
54:32
SPEAKER_03: Um he's worked with athletes before, I think he's even worked at the collegiate level.
54:36
SPEAKER_03: So super knowledgeable guy.
54:38
SPEAKER_03: Um, and the girls responded well to him.
54:40
SPEAKER_03: They're kind of used to my style is pretty um disciplined, pretty str straightforward, and I think that's his style too, kinda go, go, go, we're gonna work hard when we're here.
54:50
SPEAKER_03: And so they there was no problem with that transition having him um run that part of the program.
54:56
SPEAKER_03: Because I was completely hands-off with that.
54:57
SPEAKER_01: I wanted to ask you about, you know, because we're so myopic and we just think, okay, all right, all we're thinking about is soccer here, but you have another life, right?
55:05
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you have something outside.
55:06
SPEAKER_01: How how hyper focused are you on soccer and and how does that fit into the rest of your life?
55:13
SPEAKER_03: Um, I definitely have like it's like how I have a dessert stomach, you know.
55:17
SPEAKER_03: I have I always have one there.
55:21
SPEAKER_03: I have a soccer stomach as well.
55:23
SPEAKER_03: So I I mean my husband and I are both chiropractors.
55:25
SPEAKER_03: We own two two clinics, um, so I am very busy outside of the soccer world, and um adding on that second location this year has been tough to balance.
55:36
SPEAKER_03: But um there's as soon as I zoom in on soccer, my my husband's very supportive.
55:41
SPEAKER_03: I think you've met him.
55:42
SPEAKER_03: He's at every game, he runs our um music, pregame music.
55:46
SPEAKER_03: Um he's watched more game film than I think anybody.
55:49
SPEAKER_03: He's never played soccer before, but he's watched more game film than I think anybody.
55:53
SPEAKER_03: So having that support allows me to in soccer season hone in on soccer.
55:58
SPEAKER_03: And and he's helping me manage the businesses, and we got two dogs, no kids yet, but two dogs.
56:04
SPEAKER_03: Um, so that that balance really helps me focus when when the season is here.
56:09
SPEAKER_01: So as you get into it now, this is your third season coaching, right?
56:14
SPEAKER_01: As head coach, um, you know, you do you have a feel yet for I mean, the numbers over the summer are fantastic, the ability now school's starting, and uh here we go, we gotta balance that time of day for okay, the kids don't get out of school until this time, and yeah, of course, this our fifth season now with smoke and everything else that you're having to deal with.
56:34
SPEAKER_01: Um what's your sense as you go into your third season?
56:38
SPEAKER_03: Um I I on paper we are returning almost everybody.
56:42
SPEAKER_03: We lost only two seniors last year, um two, I mean, solid now collegiate soccer players.
56:48
SPEAKER_03: So um replacing those holes in our back line is something we've prioritized, just trying to find the right fit for that.
56:55
SPEAKER_03: Uh we have a really good, and I've said this to you, I think before, like our our club soccer in town is developing more of a true soccer player.
57:03
SPEAKER_03: So the incoming classes are you're seeing kids that whose IQs are higher in the soccer soccer realm.
57:11
SPEAKER_03: Um when I was growing up, you maybe would have a good solid three-sport athlete, but it didn't it didn't look the same on on a field.
57:18
SPEAKER_03: It's just they're doing things in anticipating movement that you wouldn't normally see unless you've played a lot of soccer.
57:24
SPEAKER_03: So that is refreshing, um, because our kind of our bottom line is is higher now.
57:29
SPEAKER_03: Our our C team, I think, is gonna just be night and day above what it was 15 years ago.
57:35
SPEAKER_03: Just it's because they've been educated and have played a lot of a lot together.
57:40
SPEAKER_03: And um so I think as far as developing at a younger age, we're starting to see that show up now with our with our club soccer in town.
57:50
SPEAKER_01: So I heard that conversation going on a lot.
57:53
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure you watched the World Cup and and all of that fervor.
57:57
SPEAKER_01: Um but there was a lot of c talk about the US program and and of course this was talking about men's soccer, but soccer in general.
58:04
SPEAKER_01: And about youth soccer and about development and things like that.
58:07
SPEAKER_01: You sounds like you're seeing that kind of evolution take place.
58:12
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think I mean I'm specific.
58:14
SPEAKER_03: I grew up here so specific to this valley, it's just um it's grown tremendously on the boys' side.
58:20
SPEAKER_03: I think the girl side has a little catching up to do, but it's on the right path.
58:24
SPEAKER_03: Um still I mean, pretty obviously apparent that the the best soccer in this state and some of the best soccer in the nation is on the west side of Washington.
58:34
SPEAKER_03: Um, so it's gonna be a tough gap to close.
58:37
SPEAKER_03: There's just more people, more resources, um, deeper pockets, you know.
58:41
SPEAKER_03: So that is okay.
58:43
SPEAKER_01: So what does that mean when you say deeper pockets?
58:45
SPEAKER_01: So that's training, that's that's what is that?
58:49
SPEAKER_03: Unfortunately, and I I guess I'll speak to the women's side because I don't know as much on the men's side, but it's it's kind of become a pay-to-play sport.
58:57
SPEAKER_03: Um so I mean to get recruited as as a a female, most of the the girls I know from this part of the state are traveling, you know, parents are traveling, they're I mean, investing into their child's future, um, and it's a financial, you know, commitment.
59:14
SPEAKER_03: Even in town to play club soccer, it costs money to go travel to play these tournaments and gear.
59:20
SPEAKER_03: I mean, look at the cost of a Nike t-shirt now.
59:22
SPEAKER_03: Like everything just it's expensive.
59:24
SPEAKER_03: And so I think we're like football or and again, I was telling you this too.
59:30
SPEAKER_03: I don't know how it works really with football, but historically, football you're you're looking at high school athletes, and that's not necessarily true.
59:36
SPEAKER_03: College coaches aren't looking at high school soccer games, they're looking at club soccer.
59:40
SPEAKER_03: So if you want to play at the next level, you have to commit to you know, going three days a week to pew allop.
59:47
SPEAKER_03: That's what we grew up doing, is my dad drove us for eight years, my sister and I to Pew Allop for soccer practice, and so and we're not unique.
59:55
SPEAKER_03: That's happened.
59:55
SPEAKER_03: Piper Davidson did the same thing over um to Crossfire.
59:59
SPEAKER_03: So there's just if if you're at that level, that's a commitment you and your family have to decide.
1:00:04
SPEAKER_03: But there is a a monetary value on that, unfortunately.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_01: And I think that says a lot about the girls who do that and play for their high school, they don't have to.
1:00:14
SPEAKER_03: Right.
1:00:15
SPEAKER_01: But they choose to.
1:00:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:00:16
SPEAKER_01: So that's huge for your program.
1:00:18
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I think that big time soccer um has tried over time to push those girls to not play club soccer or to play high school soccer.
1:00:27
SPEAKER_03: Um, but ultimately kids that play sports love playing sports, and so if they can they want to hang out with the the kids they grew up with and and ride the bus and do all of that, then you know it's kind of almost a a a break from the stress of being recruited and just able to have fun and another opportunity to play.
1:00:44
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I'll I'll see kids from local teams, you know, we're in an adult night league co-ed and you got high schoolers out there because they just love playing.
1:00:52
SPEAKER_03: They want to play any day they can, as many ways as they can.
1:00:55
SPEAKER_03: And so I think that is more of a reflection of that kind of growth in the valley of the game.
1:01:02
SPEAKER_03: It's our valley really supports the sport, and um that's unique because you don't have that.
1:01:07
SPEAKER_03: It's you know the most popular sport in the world, but not in this country necessarily.
1:01:11
SPEAKER_03: Um, but our valley, I think it's one of the top for sure.
1:01:14
SPEAKER_01: So now you've got you mentioned, I mean, we're week away, Sila here, right?
1:01:19
SPEAKER_01: For your opener.
1:01:20
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
1:01:20
SPEAKER_01: Um what needs to happen between now and then to be ready for that?
1:01:24
SPEAKER_01: Or is it just we're gonna be ready whether we're ready or not?
1:01:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, uh that for sure.
1:01:31
SPEAKER_03: Um yeah, we'll make them ready.
1:01:33
SPEAKER_03: But I think um our biggest thing we face this year is our is ourselves.
1:01:40
SPEAKER_03: I think we've had two pretty successful seasons, at least in in the big nine.
1:01:44
SPEAKER_01: Having the big head.
1:01:45
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I think in in my opinion, we haven't done anything special.
1:01:49
SPEAKER_03: We haven't made it past the first round.
1:01:51
SPEAKER_03: Like to me, we've done what we should do, and we've done nothing more than that.
1:01:55
SPEAKER_03: So uh getting them to understand that this should be standard and and we have not accomplished really much um as far as our long-term goals.
1:02:04
SPEAKER_03: And so um kind of toning them, toning them back and bringing them back to reality a little bit and just saying, you know, we got bigger goals than than where we're at right now.
1:02:14
SPEAKER_03: And it's a huge accomplishment to do what you're supposed to do.
1:02:16
SPEAKER_03: That takes something too, just to stay healthy and sure and get the job done that you're supposed to do.
1:02:20
SPEAKER_03: But we gotta do more than that to meet my um kind of goals and expectations for the program.
1:02:26
SPEAKER_01: As you talk about that, I know you get s 65 and you're getting those whittled down and you get your varsity and all of that kind of stuff, and trying to figure that out here in the next week or so.
1:02:35
SPEAKER_01: Um have you set team goals or have you you probably set your goals of where you want final four at least, right?
1:02:42
SPEAKER_03: State championship.
1:02:43
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:02:44
SPEAKER_03: That's a goal every year.
1:02:45
SPEAKER_03: We're that's that's not our goal then.
1:02:46
SPEAKER_03: Um why are we doing it?
1:02:49
SPEAKER_03: So um that's always the goal.
1:02:51
SPEAKER_03: Ultimately, uh our curse of this program is that first round of playoffs.
1:02:55
SPEAKER_03: So we gotta get over that to get to a state championship.
1:02:58
SPEAKER_03: Last year we you know, we played some difficult teams, um, performed well.
1:03:03
SPEAKER_03: I think um, you know, we ultimately in a shootout ended up beating Mead early in the season.
1:03:08
SPEAKER_03: I think that was good for us because we hadn't done anything outside of the big nine really.
1:03:14
SPEAKER_03: Right.
1:03:14
SPEAKER_03: Um this year we uh have a tough, a tough schedule ahead of us.
1:03:19
SPEAKER_03: It's right, yeah.
1:03:20
SPEAKER_03: It's gonna be yes, it's gonna be a challenge.
1:03:23
SPEAKER_03: And but I think it's a good reminder of you know, we can go play these smaller schools and have a lot of success, and it's great to sharpen our tools and get people, our younger players, more confident, but it's a good reminder, um, and we sprinkled these kind of tougher games throughout the season just to show, okay, remember this is where this is what we're shooting for, because if we um are training and competing to do what we've been doing, which is you know performing well in in the big nine, um, we're not preparing ourselves for what's outside of here.
1:03:55
SPEAKER_01: So as a coach, how difficult is that balance between not sugarcoating things and giving them the straight truth and then also but you know trying to lift them up at the same time?
1:04:06
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think that it's easy to fall into like a negative spiral sometimes.
1:04:12
SPEAKER_01: Um but I think my dad talked about that with trying to train a lab.
1:04:15
SPEAKER_01: He says, you know, you have a treat in one hand and a two by four in the other.
1:04:18
SPEAKER_01: I mean jokingly that's that's my dad.
1:04:22
SPEAKER_01: He's an old school guy.
1:04:23
SPEAKER_01: But I mean your dad and I would get along.
1:04:28
SPEAKER_03: The um yes, I think that truthfully, today's youth are is treated with treats and not two by fours.
1:04:35
SPEAKER_03: And I don't literally mean that you need a two by four, but I think it's important to bring the other side of things.
1:04:42
SPEAKER_03: And I that's how I was coached, that's how my siblings were coached, my parents were coached, and it proves it's proven to be successful.
1:04:49
SPEAKER_03: I mean, you watch these top-tier Nick Saban, my husband's an Alabama fan, so excuse me, but I mean you listen to him and it's it's ruthless, and that he's getting, I mean, the most players in in the NFL because doing these tasks.
1:05:03
SPEAKER_01: So it's not about asking for excellence, it's demanding it.
1:05:07
SPEAKER_03: It's demanding it, it's expecting it, yes.
1:05:09
SPEAKER_03: And so if I have to be that, you know, on the more negative side to get that out of these, I'm their biggest fan, their biggest supporter, absolutely.
1:05:18
SPEAKER_03: Um, and I think they know that.
1:05:19
SPEAKER_03: I think more than anyone, our coaching staff is probably more excited than any any of the kids, honestly.
1:05:27
SPEAKER_03: So I think because we show that side so much that when they hear, you know, the the riding or the you know nagging, it's like, okay, yes, but she know you know she wants the consistency from you could, you know, benefit s consistency from your players.
1:05:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
1:05:43
SPEAKER_03: And so I and I and I think that it ha it has worked for us so far, you know, to an extent.
1:05:48
SPEAKER_03: And so I think they're bought in as far as our our tactics and our style.
1:05:53
SPEAKER_03: Um you uh of course have different types of kids that respond to different types of things, and that might not be the best thing for everybody.
1:05:59
SPEAKER_01: And that's about Right now, right?
1:06:00
SPEAKER_01: Reading those especially any newcomers you have coming in.
1:06:03
SPEAKER_01: It's like, okay, what am I gonna have to do to motivate this person?
1:06:06
SPEAKER_03: And that's come over the past few years, just being in the program for, you know, a couple of years now, it's like, okay, I'm starting to understand how these kids work.
1:06:15
SPEAKER_03: It's different than ten years ago.
1:06:16
SPEAKER_03: And I've coached boys in the past, it's different than the boys' side of things.
1:06:20
SPEAKER_03: It's um it's a variety, uh, but I I don't think we necessarily have to recalibrate everything because kids are more emotional or you know not pushed as hard.
1:06:33
SPEAKER_03: I think we need to continue to push kids harder.
1:06:36
SPEAKER_03: And I've talked to other coaches in the pro or in the school, and we've kind of all had that same understanding.
1:06:42
SPEAKER_03: Like our expectations need to remain high, or we're gonna produce mediocre kids and mediocre employees and mediocre athletes.
1:06:48
SPEAKER_03: And I I'm an employer and I've seen that side of things too.
1:06:52
SPEAKER_03: And it it does translate if you if you're babied and you're you know treated softly, then you don't become a great, you know, member of society in the future.
1:07:01
SPEAKER_03: So I think more than just athletes, we're we're forming good humans.
1:07:04
SPEAKER_01: So there's from my perspective, and this is opinion, but there's no better preparatory tool for life and work and your future than sports.
1:07:16
SPEAKER_03: I agree.
1:07:16
SPEAKER_03: To me.
1:07:17
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
1:07:18
SPEAKER_01: Before we bring Berkeley in here, I I want you to tell me a little bit about her.
1:07:22
SPEAKER_01: Not not as a player, but as a person and and what does she mean to you and to your program?
1:07:27
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, she was in that kind of first class when I was helping John.
1:07:31
SPEAKER_03: Um, and so I've seen her you know be the little sister um and seen her develop into what she is now.
1:07:39
SPEAKER_03: Um she just recently, you know, committed to Western Oregon.
1:07:44
SPEAKER_03: So we've we've worked me and my assistant coach, we've worked with her through that process and kind of shared our side of things.
1:07:50
SPEAKER_03: Um kind of helped answer questions and guide her.
1:07:54
SPEAKER_03: She's uh I mean a 4.0 student, she's incredibly involved in the school.
1:07:59
SPEAKER_03: Um she leads the team, I think, uh both through her leadership and her performance, earns the respect of her teammates.
1:08:08
SPEAKER_03: Um always I mean, one of those kids that's driving to Pew Allop, you know, twice a week, and between all of that is still at weights every morning and is I mean, she's doing everything soccer related.
1:08:20
SPEAKER_03: I you know, you talk to her parents, she's where's Berkeley?
1:08:23
SPEAKER_03: Oh, she's out of the soccer field, just juggling.
1:08:25
SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's her free time, is just soccer, soccer, soccer.
1:08:28
SPEAKER_03: So um I think she's done really a good job, especially this summer, of having that outside, you know, noise from going through the recruiting process and being kind of a top prospect um from you know from our team to um still showing up and letting the other girls know that she cares about this this program as well.
1:08:50
SPEAKER_03: And that's hard to do sometimes.
1:08:52
SPEAKER_03: So um yeah, I think she's done a really good job of of balancing that and still still being involved in the school.
1:08:59
SPEAKER_03: You know, some of these kids they start doing running start and things like that, and you see them less and less in the school, but she's you know making posters for the swim meet, and she's still she's a a good um representation of kind of a true senior leader on our team.
1:09:15
SPEAKER_03: So fantastic.
1:09:16
SPEAKER_01: Well, I look forward to getting a chance to talk at length.
1:09:19
SPEAKER_01: Usually, you know, when we did the TV stuff, it was always like 30 seconds on the postgame, and that was it.
1:09:24
SPEAKER_01: And so getting a chance to spend more time with coaches and with players here on the Winanchee Panther Podcast.
1:09:29
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for doing this.
1:09:31
SPEAKER_01: And uh best of luck this season.
1:09:33
SPEAKER_01: Keep everybody healthy.
1:09:34
SPEAKER_03: Yes, of course.
1:09:35
SPEAKER_01: Always the parting ways here.
1:09:37
SPEAKER_01: We'll take a break, come back, and we will talk with Berkeley Bowles, a senior on the Panther program, coming up next here on the Wenanchee Panther Podcast.
1:09:47
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1:10:14
SPEAKER_01: Okay, welcome back once again here to the Panther Podcast here on KKRV 1047.
1:10:20
SPEAKER_01: I probably just ruined the microphone by doing that.
1:10:22
SPEAKER_01: I want to thank Les Schwab uh for being such a great supporter of kids, not just here with what we're doing with the podcast and with our high school football broadcasts and things like that, but they're helping to support the kids that are taking animals to the fair, all that kind of fun stuff.
1:10:38
SPEAKER_01: So thanks to Les Schwab for their support here in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee.
1:10:41
SPEAKER_01: Berkeley Bowles joins us now.
1:10:42
SPEAKER_01: Berkeley, uh have you ever raised an animal before or know anybody that's raised an animal for the fair?
1:10:48
SPEAKER_02: I have not.
1:10:49
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:10:50
SPEAKER_01: All right.
1:10:50
SPEAKER_01: Um first of all, welcome.
1:10:52
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for taking the time to be here.
1:10:54
SPEAKER_01: How do you have time for everything that you're trying to do between summer and it's over, and now your senior year's starting, and how are you balancing all that?
1:11:04
SPEAKER_02: Um I definitely think it's a little challenging, but I think just I've made my schedule pretty chill this year compared to last year, and just making sure I stay um kept up with everything definitely.
1:11:20
SPEAKER_02: Um I try to keep it pretty simple though, make sure my schedule is all laid out, but I'm feeling pretty good about it.
1:11:26
SPEAKER_01: So I was just talking with your coach about um being a leader, being a part of not just your high school program, but of course doing club sports and being torn all over the place with that.
1:11:39
SPEAKER_01: I would think that there might be a little bit of a tendency on your senior year to kind of put your foot off the gas a little bit and go, all right, it doesn't matter so much.
1:11:48
SPEAKER_01: I've already got my college figured out, I got all that stuff figured out.
1:11:52
SPEAKER_01: How do you avoid that?
1:11:53
SPEAKER_02: Um, I definitely think like college is such like a driving factor for me, and I feel like as like a senior, I feel like it's just starting for me, honestly, and I definitely can't just stop now.
1:12:05
SPEAKER_02: It's definitely like I need to keep pushing forward, keep going, because there's so much more I still have left.
1:12:11
SPEAKER_02: It seems like, you know, it's kind of done senior year, but I still have all of college and way more soccer that I still need to play and that I want to play.
1:12:20
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, definitely just knowing that it's not over yet has been really helpful.
1:12:26
SPEAKER_01: What was that process like for you to figure out next step and Monmouth, right?
1:12:31
SPEAKER_01: Western Oregon.
1:12:32
SPEAKER_01: So that's used to be called the teacher's school.
1:12:34
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it still is or not.
1:12:36
SPEAKER_02: Um I definitely it's always been like a dream for me to play in college ever since I was younger.
1:12:42
SPEAKER_02: And I had an older sister that played here.
1:12:45
SPEAKER_02: She was a senior when I was a freshman, and I think watching her like seeing how her steps were like, what she was doing to prepare to play in college has definitely helped me because I probably would have been a little bit clueless.
1:12:58
SPEAKER_02: But I also think um playing at a higher level for um club soccer has helped a lot.
1:13:04
SPEAKER_02: I've been playing on a new team with new players where you have to like keep pushing yourself every day, or else it's someone could easily be playing over you.
1:13:13
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's helped a lot, and that's helped me get the exposure that I needed as well.
1:13:18
SPEAKER_01: Why Western Oregon?
1:13:21
SPEAKER_02: Um, I really like the coach.
1:13:23
SPEAKER_02: He definitely had like all like the boxes checked for me.
1:13:27
SPEAKER_02: I love how the play style, it's definitely more my midfield possession base, kind of how I'm used to playing.
1:13:36
SPEAKER_02: And I also just like the I love Oregon, it's so pretty, and they also have the major I want to do, so it like kind of all just worked out, which was nice.
1:13:46
SPEAKER_01: And what's that?
1:13:47
SPEAKER_02: Um, either exercise science or like just a pre-PT track because I want to go into physical therapy.
1:13:52
SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
1:13:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, congratulations on making that choice.
1:13:56
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure that that kind of puts some weight off, and you're like, Yeah, okay, now I can concentrate on what I need to concentrate on.
1:14:04
SPEAKER_02: Definitely, yeah.
1:14:05
SPEAKER_02: I think it's like been less stressful, and now I can just focus on high school soccer for the meantime and then get back to it and get ready for a club.
1:14:13
SPEAKER_01: So as you that was my next question.
1:14:15
SPEAKER_01: So as you're balancing club and now you got high school stuff, and we were just talking about that too, with Ashton about how you know the colleges are looking more at club athletes than they are necessarily high school athletes.
1:14:28
SPEAKER_01: So really, you don't have to play for your high school, so why do you?
1:14:33
SPEAKER_02: Um, I love the girls.
1:14:35
SPEAKER_02: Um, I love my coaches, Ashton, Maddie, and all our new coaches we're getting this year have been amazing.
1:14:41
SPEAKER_02: They've been super helpful.
1:14:42
SPEAKER_02: And I also think high school soccer helps me build up my confidence a lot and like practice being like a good leader.
1:14:49
SPEAKER_02: I've had to take on a leadership role at like a pretty young sophomore age.
1:14:55
SPEAKER_02: So um, but I think that's definitely helped like build my confidence and I still love it.
1:15:00
SPEAKER_02: I love playing with all the girls, they're great.
1:15:03
SPEAKER_01: And it's I say that I love you know being involved in in sports broadcasting, especially for high school uh uh level sports, because it's about the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back of the jersey.
1:15:17
SPEAKER_02: Is that I mean Yeah, I definitely think like it's such like a like it is a team sport, but it's such like a bonding environment.
1:15:25
SPEAKER_02: We're together so much that like we all just get so close and we all enjoy being together.
1:15:31
SPEAKER_02: So it's like it's a really good time between playing and also building like a community.
1:15:36
SPEAKER_01: And I I don't know this, but I assume that club sports uh when you play club soccer, it's a bunch of individuals coming together to play and not necessarily the team.
1:15:47
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:15:47
SPEAKER_01: Is that is that accurate or not?
1:15:49
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, uh my club team specifically, I feel like we're all like super close, but it is definitely like people are coming from different areas.
1:15:57
SPEAKER_02: We're not all playing on the same high school team, but um so it is definitely different in that aspect, I would say.
1:16:04
SPEAKER_01: So your coach told me you're a 4.0 student.
1:16:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:16:08
SPEAKER_01: How in the world have you been able to do that?
1:16:10
SPEAKER_02: It was really hard, I think, um, just like pushing through definitely, especially once you get to spring, you kind of just want to like give up.
1:16:19
SPEAKER_02: But I definitely the weather's getting better.
1:16:22
SPEAKER_02: Yes, and you just like are thinking about summer, but I definitely just made sure like because you are like an a student before you're an athlete, and so I think that was like super important to me.
1:16:33
SPEAKER_01: How close have you been to not maintaining that 4.0?
1:16:37
SPEAKER_02: Last year was pretty tough.
1:16:38
SPEAKER_02: I thought I I was like on the cusp of an A.
1:16:41
SPEAKER_02: I was at like a 94 for my finals, and I did it.
1:16:45
SPEAKER_02: I don't really know how, but I did it.
1:16:46
SPEAKER_02: It was it was pretty good.
1:16:47
SPEAKER_01: Where does that come from, Berkeley?
1:16:49
SPEAKER_01: Where where is that push to not only be excellent on the on the in the world of sports, but also to be excellent in the classroom?
1:16:56
SPEAKER_02: Um, I definitely think I have a bit of like a perfectionist mindset, and that's probably it.
1:17:02
SPEAKER_02: But I also think I just like pushing myself to my abilities and like but also being okay, like, okay, if this doesn't work out, like that's okay.
1:17:10
SPEAKER_02: If I don't get an A in the class, it's okay.
1:17:12
SPEAKER_02: But I definitely think I just always push myself to the best I can.
1:17:16
SPEAKER_01: Is that a family thing?
1:17:17
SPEAKER_01: Is that mom and dad that are, you know, help helping to guide you there?
1:17:20
SPEAKER_01: Is that you wanna you're comparing yourself to your older sister or anything like that?
1:17:24
SPEAKER_02: It's honestly such like a me mindset.
1:17:27
SPEAKER_02: My parents last year were always like, you know, you don't need to push yourself this hard.
1:17:31
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, I kind of just feel like I have to as an individual.
1:17:35
SPEAKER_02: Um my sister is also like a pretty like high GPA student too, so I think that's also part of it.
1:17:40
SPEAKER_02: We both kind of have the same mindset.
1:17:42
SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
1:17:44
SPEAKER_01: Running start?
1:17:45
SPEAKER_01: No.
1:17:46
SPEAKER_02: Y this year, yes.
1:17:47
SPEAKER_02: Last year, no.
1:17:48
SPEAKER_02: This year I decided I would do it just because I wanted some more time for soccer, and I'll get to prioritize that more with my um online classes through WVC.
1:17:58
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:17:59
SPEAKER_01: All right.
1:17:59
SPEAKER_01: Uh you're gonna push to have the the degree by the time you go to college or and what's Western saying about that?
1:18:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, all my credits should be transferring.
1:18:09
SPEAKER_02: I don't know about Wenatchee Valley College, but it was mainly just like I'm kind of getting all my credits done for um high school, and then I'll probably just like look into things I might find interesting.
1:18:21
SPEAKER_02: It's kind of just like a discovering point of thing, like seeing what college classes I might like, which ones I might not like.
1:18:28
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:18:29
SPEAKER_02: But definitely trying to get like my general education requirements kind of out of the way so that I'm ready to like get started as soon as I can.
1:18:37
SPEAKER_01: I, you know, I'm a dad, so I kind of you know can commiserate with your parents because I'm I'm looking at you, I'm like 4.0 students gonna be doing run to start, senior in high school, playing all these club sports, so now getting ready for your high school soccer season.
1:18:51
SPEAKER_01: Do you have any free time?
1:18:53
SPEAKER_01: And if so, what do you like to do?
1:18:55
SPEAKER_02: Free time?
1:18:56
SPEAKER_02: Um during high school season, I honestly just like hanging out with my friends.
1:19:01
SPEAKER_02: A lot of my like best friends are on the team too, so it's kind of perfect.
1:19:05
SPEAKER_02: We're always together.
1:19:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, and like we'll go and do like homework if we're not doing that.
1:19:10
SPEAKER_02: We'll like just hang out, um going to football games, doing all that stuff, finding some time outside of soccer because I know a lot of people get like sucked into doing one thing, but it's good to give yourself a break if once or twice.
1:19:24
SPEAKER_01: So I was gonna say, so what non-soccer related thing was the funnest thing you did this summer?
1:19:31
SPEAKER_02: Ooh, let's see.
1:19:32
SPEAKER_01: Non-soccer.
1:19:34
SPEAKER_02: Um does running count?
1:19:40
SPEAKER_01: Well, you must really like to run.
1:19:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because I was gonna say, like, running like makes me feel like productive, so I'd probably say running.
1:19:49
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:19:49
SPEAKER_01: But just do you have your earbuds while you're running?
1:19:53
SPEAKER_01: What are you listening?
1:19:53
SPEAKER_01: What are you listening to?
1:19:55
SPEAKER_01: Um please tell me it's music and not like something.
1:19:59
SPEAKER_01: I was worried that uh you were doing some sort of self-help podcast or something like that.
1:20:05
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:20:06
SPEAKER_01: All right.
1:20:06
SPEAKER_01: So if I listen to your mix now, what what's what's driving you?
1:20:10
SPEAKER_01: What's getting Berkeley going?
1:20:12
SPEAKER_02: Um Malcolm Todd right now.
1:20:14
SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay.
1:20:15
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:20:15
SPEAKER_01: Very cool.
1:20:16
SPEAKER_01: So um Ashton just talked about your guys' goals for the season coming up, obviously, you know, state championship.
1:20:24
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
1:20:25
SPEAKER_01: I mean, number one thing is getting past that first round, right?
1:20:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:20:28
SPEAKER_01: That's been a very sticky point.
1:20:30
SPEAKER_01: So from your perspective, what is going to be the difference for you guys for the Panthers to get past that first round in the state?
1:20:37
SPEAKER_01: I, you know, there's a lot of soccer to be played between now and then.
1:20:40
SPEAKER_02: But I think definitely mentality.
1:20:43
SPEAKER_02: I think we've had like a pretty passive mentality over the years, and I think we need to go in like we can do this.
1:20:51
SPEAKER_02: These are teams we can beat.
1:20:53
SPEAKER_02: I also think probably just like I think it's always been important for us, but like our fitness level being higher, um, has always helped us getting through the big nine, and I think if we can keep that up throughout the rest of the season and keep that mentality, like we can do this, it is possible.
1:21:12
SPEAKER_02: And we've gotten very close every time, and I definitely think like this is a year we could do that again.
1:21:19
SPEAKER_02: So, yeah.
1:21:20
SPEAKER_01: Where do you see yourself?
1:21:22
SPEAKER_01: Um at the end when June comes around, you're putting on your cap and gown.
1:21:27
SPEAKER_01: What what how do you foresee your future six months from now, seven months from now?
1:21:32
SPEAKER_02: Um, soccer.
1:21:34
SPEAKER_02: I think just like playing obviously a school, but definitely just continuing to play soccer at like the highest level that I can.
1:21:44
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:21:44
SPEAKER_01: I was trying to remember because I played football at Pacific University, and we played Monmo in Western Oregon was in our conference.
1:21:51
SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to remember their mascot.
1:21:52
SPEAKER_01: I can't remember that right now.
1:21:54
SPEAKER_01: Wolf.
1:21:54
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's right.
1:21:55
SPEAKER_01: The wolves.
1:21:56
SPEAKER_01: All right, all right.
1:21:57
SPEAKER_01: So you're gonna go from a panther to a wolf.
1:21:59
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I am.
1:22:00
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:22:01
SPEAKER_01: Wolves are pack animals.
1:22:03
SPEAKER_01: I we I was just talking to one of the parents about doing this podcast, a panther parent, and uh we're trying to come up with what do you call a pack of panthers?
1:22:13
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, is that a pride?
1:22:15
SPEAKER_01: And I looked it up, did the Google thing.
1:22:17
SPEAKER_01: No, that's reserved for lions only.
1:22:19
SPEAKER_01: So do you do you know?
1:22:23
SPEAKER_02: I do not know.
1:22:24
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:22:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:22:25
SPEAKER_01: We we need to come up with an answer for that, right?
1:22:28
SPEAKER_02: I think it could be Panther Pride, even if it's like Oh, okay.
1:22:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:22:32
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:22:33
SPEAKER_01: Because that means so much more.
1:22:34
SPEAKER_01: Because now the you know, the push is we are Winanchee and you know, creating a new culture and things.
1:22:39
SPEAKER_01: It have has anybody as your coach, has BJ Coots come to you and said, Okay, Berkeley, you're one of our leaders.
1:22:45
SPEAKER_01: We need you to help with this momentum of creating this new culture as you leave Winanchee High School, leave it behind in good shape.
1:22:53
SPEAKER_01: Have have they talked to you about that at all?
1:22:55
SPEAKER_02: Not really, but I do know like with soccer, like it's so important to have like good leadership.
1:23:02
SPEAKER_02: And we've definitely had like girls that like are juniors and like sophomores that have put in great leadership where like I know like when I leave and when like our other captains leave, like it's not gonna be a big shift.
1:23:17
SPEAKER_02: It's gonna we have a bunch of leaders here that are really great at what they do.
1:23:21
SPEAKER_01: How many goals are you gonna score this year?
1:23:24
SPEAKER_02: Um, hopefully a lot.
1:23:26
SPEAKER_01: I'm putting you to the test here.
1:23:28
SPEAKER_01: Um Have you I mean, have you quietly set a benchmark for yourself and put that on the wall somewhere, your your imagery board or anything like that?
1:23:36
SPEAKER_02: Definitely double digits because that's how I did it last year.
1:23:41
SPEAKER_02: I want to do it again this year.
1:23:42
SPEAKER_01: That first team.
1:23:44
SPEAKER_01: Does that mean anything to you to to be recognized like that?
1:23:47
SPEAKER_02: Um I think definitely it's like a drive factor, like my freshman year, like getting honorable mention.
1:23:54
SPEAKER_02: I don't even think I knew that that stuff was even a thing.
1:23:57
SPEAKER_02: I was like, okay, like I was a freshman, you're not supposed to.
1:24:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I was just like kind of having fun, and then I think sophomore year is like, okay, I gotta like lock it in, gotta make sure I can be like looked at again.
1:24:10
SPEAKER_01: So double digit.
1:24:11
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:24:11
SPEAKER_01: All right, gotcha.
1:24:12
SPEAKER_01: What do you call four goals in a game?
1:24:15
SPEAKER_02: Hat trick plus one?
1:24:17
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
1:24:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:24:18
SPEAKER_01: Somebody told me that in hockey.
1:24:19
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if hockey translates over to Yeah, I don't think it does, maybe.
1:24:23
SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
1:24:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, final question for you.
1:24:26
SPEAKER_01: Do you have a nickname?
1:24:28
SPEAKER_02: Um Everyone just calls me Burke.
1:24:31
SPEAKER_02: I don't really have like a crazy nickname.
1:24:33
SPEAKER_01: See, I was thinking it was gonna be BB.
1:24:35
SPEAKER_02: That'd be a pretty good one.
1:24:36
SPEAKER_01: Especially the way you bounce around on the field and stuff.
1:24:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:24:39
SPEAKER_02: Honestly, that might be a good one.
1:24:41
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:24:42
SPEAKER_01: Maybe we just gave Berkeley Bowls her new nickname, BB.
1:24:46
SPEAKER_01: That'll be up to her teammates, though, on that whole thing.
1:24:48
SPEAKER_01: You can't give yourself a nickname, can you?
1:24:50
SPEAKER_02: I can't.
1:24:51
SPEAKER_02: No.
1:24:51
SPEAKER_01: No, I mean it just is lame if you do that.
1:24:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:24:54
SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much for taking the time.
1:24:55
SPEAKER_01: It's very good to get to know you a little bit and stay healthy this season.
1:24:59
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
1:25:00
SPEAKER_01: And go Panthers.
1:25:01
SPEAKER_07: Yep.
1:25:01
SPEAKER_01: All right.
1:25:01
SPEAKER_01: Their first game, by the way, don't forget it's coming up on September the 3rd.
1:25:05
SPEAKER_01: It'll be against Sila here in the Apple Bowl.
1:25:08
SPEAKER_01: Starts at 6 30 Berkeley Bowls, along with the rest of our crew joining us here on the Winanche Panther podcast.
1:25:14
SPEAKER_01: BJ Coots led things off as our uh leadoff hitter, if you will.
1:25:18
SPEAKER_01: Uh thanks to Jordan McGregor, head coach for volleyball, and thanks to her senior setter, Jeremy Gelsing, and of course, Ashton Kirkpatrick for joining us.
1:25:26
SPEAKER_01: Don't forget, uh, coming up we'll have our third installment of the podcast next week.
1:25:30
SPEAKER_01: We'll be joined by Taylor Mitchell, of course, as the Panthers get ready for their big trip to California.
1:25:35
SPEAKER_01: Girl swim coach uh Janice Sutton and uh swimmers Madeline Moore and Camry Palmer.
1:25:41
SPEAKER_01: Do you know either of those girls very well or anything?
1:25:44
SPEAKER_01: No.
1:25:44
SPEAKER_07: Not too much.
1:25:45
SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, we'll get to know them here on the podcast.
1:25:47
SPEAKER_01: We'll also talk to Ursula with the Wenanchee Panther Booster Club.
1:25:51
SPEAKER_01: It's all right here on the Winatchie Panther Podcast, and it's brought to you by Les Schwab.
1:25:57
SPEAKER_01: Thanks to Les Schwab and thank you for watching.