Photo for The Star-News by Matt Moehr PhotographyMcCall-Donnelly boys soccer coach Mike Maini looks on while Cody Mack hits a header during practice earlier this week.
Vandal boys reload, plan to bounce back from state heartbreak
Despite losing 16 players from last year’s team, expectations are high for the McCall-Donnelly High School boys’ soccer team.
Head Coach Mike Maini is confident there is plenty of returning talent. “The whole junior squad, top to bottom, is awesome,” Maini said
“As far as this year’s seniors, we’ve got Curtis Brey and Brendan McConnor, our team captains; both will do a great job on the field,” he said.
Chris Howes and Norm Zimmerman are other senior stand-outs.
This year’s turnout also produced some surprises, such as newcomers Luke Liston, a junior, and his brother, Micah, a sophomore, both of whom recently moved to the McCall area from Texas.
“You know, here I am hoping we can figure out how we’re to get a goalie and son of a gun, if a Luke isn’t a goalie and he’s a junior – so right now he’s looking pretty good,” Maini said. Sophomore goalies Neil MacNichol and Brice Roper will be ready in reserve, he said.
“Our strength is ball control, and we’ve always been known for our explosive offensive efforts,” Maini said “Our defense is very strong; this year I would say it (defense) may be the thing that carries us.”
This will be Maini’s 11th year leading the Vandals, who ended their 2008 season 13-5-1.
Last season, M-D was undefeated in Snake River Conference play and entered the state tournament the top seed. The Vandals lost to Payette Pirates, their conference rivals who went on to become state champions.
“They got tournament shock; I don’t know how else to say it,” Maini recalled of his team. “But this team, the cool part is we don’t have any of that luggage; it’s all behind us.”
The team co-captains agree. “It looked like the team had never seen the game of soccer before,” McConnor said. “We just couldn’t put it together.”
Brey says the team is already looking to write their own future. “They’re all our hardest teams right now; we’re going to treat them all the same,” he said of the upcoming schedule.
The Vandals have a chance to render last year’s state tournament a distant memory starting with division 5A Lewiston this Saturday at Rich Sabala Athletic Complex. Junior varsity action starts at 1 p.m. followed by varsity at 3 p.m.
“It’s pretty interesting when you jump up to a school that has probably as many kids in the school as we do as people in our town, and I always like that,” Maini said.
M-D’s non-league schedule includes a game against 3A Orofino, along with Ketchum’s 4A Community School and Twin Falls’ 4A Canyon Ridge – a new team could provide some tough challenges.
2009 McCALL-DONNELLY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ SOCCER SCHEDULE
- Saturday: Lewiston at McCall
- Tuesday: At Orofino
- Aug. 28: At Community School
- Aug. 29: Canyon Ridge at Community School
- Sept. 8: At Homedale
- Sept. 10: Payette at McCall
- Sept. 11: Orofino at McCall
- Sept. 14: Fruitland at McCall
- Sept. 17: At Weiser
- Sept. 24: Homedale at McCall
- Sept. 26: At Lewiston
- Sept. 29: At Payette
- Oct. 1: At Fruitland
- Oct. 6: Weiser at McCall
- Oct. 10-15: A3 District III Tournament at Fruitland
- Oct. 22-24: A3 State Tournament at Vallivue and Caldwell
Vandal girls’ coach Pittenger ready to fill big shoes left by Bernstein
The McCall-Donnelly High School girls’ soccer program will have a new tone this season after the departure of nine-year coach Lex Bernstein.
The good news, however, is that Bernstein’s longtime assistant, Greg Pittenger, has picked up the head coach’s whistle for Bernstein, who led the Vandal girls to three state championships.
Pittenger said he expects the transition to be smooth as the girls work to recover from last year’s disappointing season that saw them go 2-11-1 overall and 1-6-1 in the Snake River Valley Conference.
Pittenger says he took a year off from coaching last season because he wanted to spend time with his family. However, when the opportunity to lead the girls’ soccer team arose, it was too good to pass up.
Even with all his experience, Pittenger is reluctant to make comparisons between himself and Bernstein.
“Coaching style, you know it’s hard to know,” he said. “Lex has a National A license (the highest level available from the United States Soccer Federation) and has more coaching experience both tactically and technically than I did.”
Pittenger says some may see him as being more easy-going than taskmaster Bernstein, but he disagrees.
“I was always the fitness guy, and I don’t think they (the team) thought I was too easy as far as that goes,” he said. “ In all honesty, I don’t know what my style is going to be. I hope it will be as successful as Lex’s was.”
Right now, Pittenger says he’s focused on determining player positions and formations. One thing he is certain about is that this year’s team is ready to get its season started.
He started a summer fitness program with the help of fitness trainer Yvette Hubbard and marathon runner Nancy Hatfield to produce a core group of players in game shape.
The Vandals open their season this Saturday in McCall against 5A Lewiston. Game time is 11 a.m. at Rich Sabala Athletic Complex.
“Playing teams that are much bigger programs than us, it makes us stronger,” Pittenger said.
This season, M-D will also get a chance to play against two division 4A teams, Community School in Ketchum, as well as the newest addition to the Great Basin West conference, Canyon Ridge High School from Twin Falls.
Of the all the SRV teams, Pittenger says he’s looking forward to facing Fruitland and Payette.
“Traditionally they’re strong,” he said. “If either of those teams are as strong as they were last year, those would appear to be not only our competition, but the competition for the entire state.”
- 2009 McCALL-DONNELLY HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER SCHEDULE
- Saturday: Lewiston at McCall
- Tuesday: At Orofino
- Aug. 28: At Community School
- Aug. 29: Canyon Ridge at Community School
- Sept. 8: At Homedale
- Sept. 10: Payette at McCall
- Sept. 11: Orofino at McCall
- Sept. 14: At Fruitland
- Sept. 24: Homedale at McCall
- Sept. 26: At Lewiston
- Sept. 28: At Weiser
- Sept. 29: At Payette
- Oct. 1: Fruitland at McCall
- Oct. 5: Weiser at McCall
- Oct. 10-15: A3 District III Tournament at Weiser
- Oct. 22-24: A3 State Tournament at Vallivue and Caldwell
Pep rally next Thursday to kick off M-D sports
A pep rally to mark the start of the fall sports season at McCall-Donnelly High School has been scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, at Rich Sabala Athletic Complex at Payette Lakes Middle School.
A barbecue dinner will be available for $3 for students, $5 for adults and $15 for a family. There will also be free games for children and a chance to meet the players and coaches in football, soccer, volleyball and cross-country.
Registration at M-D High School to be held Aug. 28
Registration for all students at McCall-Donnelly High School is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 28, at the new high school commons.
Seniors will register at 8 a.m., juniors at 9 a.m., sophomores at 10 a.m., and freshmen at 11 a.m.
During registration, students will have their photos taken, pick up their student body cards, get their class schedule and locker assignment, pay their fees, and register their cars with the Associated Student Body Senate.
The first day of school is Monday, Aug. 31, and school officials said it is an “A” day with school starting at 8 a.m.
Senior pictures will be taken Wednesday and next Thursday, Aug. 27, at the high school commons starting at 8 a.m.
The school is still under construction, so those arriving at the school are advised to use the bus lane entrance off Idaho Street between Heartland High School and Harshman Skate Park and park on the east side of the building, where temporary parking has been established.
For more information, call the school at 634-2218.
Valley Academy accepts applications for grades 5-8
Applications are now being accepted for Valley Academy, a private, nonsectarian middle school now opening in McCall for children in grades five through eight.
Valley Academy offers a broad, full-time program in a four-day week with an emphasis on academic excellence and lifetime fitness, according to Bill Borg, the head of the school.
Direct instruction covers such core areas as English, social studies, math and science, along with electives that include art, music, cooking and computer science.
Physical education is an integral part of the program and incorporates activities including running, biking, skiing, cardio exercise and others.
Borg is Idaho-certified in math and most recently taught at Tamarack Academy. The school also has a staff dedicated to providing a rich, safe and fun learning environment, he said.
School begins Tuesday, Sept. 8. For more information, call 315-4920 or see the Web site at www.valleyacademy.us.
Head Start schools taking applications
Applications are now being taken for the Western Idaho Community Action Partnership’s Head Start schools in Valley and Adams counties.
The program is intended for preschool children aged 3 to 4 from low-income families.
For an appointment or information, call 325-8512.
Drake graduates from Seattle Pacific
Travis Frederick Drake of McCall has graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and English, public policy and law emphasis from Seattle Pacific University.
Drake, a 2005 graduate of McCall-Donnelly High School, is the son of Warren and Kim Drake of Lake Fork.
Founded in 1891, Seattle Pacific University is a premier Christian university that equips people to engage the culture and change the world.
Its comprehensive academic program serves more than 3,800 undergraduate and graduate students.
WICAP seeks gym shoes or donations for needy
The Western Idaho Community Action Partnership is seeking donations of new, nonmarking-soled gym shoes or cash donations to purchase such shoes to help area families get their children ready for school.
WICAP has helped provide school supplies to low-income families in Valley County for many years, but help is needed to support the program. With the current economic difficulties, officials expect the demand for help to be greater than ever.
For more information or to make a donation, call WICAP at 382-4577.
School supplies for needy to be distributed
School supplies for low-income students will be distributed over the next two weeks by Western Idaho Community Action Partnership.
Supplies will be distributed to students in the McCall-Donnelly School District from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Department of Labor/Job Service office at 299 S. Third St., McCall.
Cascade students may pick up the supplies any other day between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the WICAP Center at 110 W. Pine St.
Special arrangements can be made for families who are unable to attend the distributions. For more information, call WICAP at 382-4577.
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