The fall season is revving up this week because teams in all of the other sports are finally getting a chance to compete. As I worked on several preview stories (look for girls soccer in Friday’s paper and cross country next week) and other articles, a few random thoughts popped into my head.
*I always remain objective as a writer/reporter but I’m definitely happy to see Lynnwood’s football and girls soccer teams enjoy some long-awaited success. Both squads ended lengthy losing streaks in the past seven days. Winning certainly isn’t everything, but for the determined Lynnwood student-athletes who became accustomed to losing so often it must have been an incredibly rewarding experience. It will be interesting to see what both Royals teams accomplish the rest of the season.
*I wrote a story for Wednesday’s paper about former Everett High School boys basketball coach Norm Lowery, who passed away late last month. It was a great experience, mainly because I was able to spend time with Lowery’s widow, Nancy, and the three sons she had with Norm. They’re all very special people. I’m sure the turnout this afternoon at Norm’s funeral services will be huge, and emotions will be intense.
One man who won’t be there is Dennis Erickson, the famous football coach who grew up in Everett. Erickson, now head coach of the Arizona State University football team, played hoops for Lowery in high school. He spoke very fondly of Lowery in a phone interview Tuesday and credits the longtime Everett High coach with teaching him a great deal about how to guide a team. Erickson said he was sad he couldn’t get back to Everett for the funeral; he’s preparing for Arizona State’s Saturday home game against Colorado. But he took the time to return my voice message Tuesday to share his thoughts on Lowery, a man he considers a gigantic influence on his coaching career. Classy guy.
*Many of the so-called “minor” fall high school sports (aka anything other than football) often get overlooked, but at The Herald we try to spread out our coverage. Look for several season previews of the lesser-known but equally entertaining sports in the next week or so. And soon I’ll post the preseason state cross country coaches’ rankings.
As always, if you have comments or suggestions, please e-mail us at doubleteam@heraldnet.com.
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