Graphic by Emily Hsu

With summer ending shortly and fall sports starting up soon, men and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball will start up this coming September.

Coach Tao Shen is about to get real busy, but excitement is in the air for him and his coaching staff.

“This time is always exciting for us as coaches as we are looking forward for the new season. New season means a new group of players and new challenges ahead of us,” said Shen.

With a lot of sophomores leaving on both the men and women’s teams new players are coming to the soccer program at Bellevue College.

Comparing to last year’s teams to this upcoming year’s teams, Shen said, “With 11 players [having] signed [the] Letter of Intent for each program we’ll have talented players step in and fill the shoes from the graduated players.”

The women’s team made the first round of playoffs last year and Shen is looking to improve that.  “The women’s program should be stronger than our last year’s team,” said Shen.

But he says that it all matters on how they come together in every stage of the season. In order to play well they have to be able to work together. “I am looking forward for positive results with them and should be playing some attractive soccer. The group so far looks very promising,” said Shen. The men’s team has always been very good and is always filled with some very talented players.

“The goal with them [is to] have them play one – touch soccer or tiki taka style of soccer and allow them enjoy the game and each other.”

With such good players in the men’s program at Bellevue the tryouts will only produce one or two players and have a roster of 23 people.

Being able to work with the players every day is the most exciting part of the upcoming season.

“Great part of this is preseason starts one month before school which allows us plan two-a-day practices from August 13 until [the] first day of school.

“This prepares the players physically and mentally in order to endure the ups and downs of a collegiate soccer season,” said Shen. Getting the players focused is hard, but they know what Coach Shen wants from them.

He said that he has been working with them during the winter and that he is sure that they are just as excited to get out and work hard. Plus he has sophomores that are going to lead the freshman.

“The coaching staff is first class,” said Shen. “[I] expect us to work cohesively with [a] single goal, which is to prepare these athletes to become winners.”

The goal for Coach Shen is to “let go” and trust the athletes to do what they are there to do…play soccer. “With this said I feel this group will care about this program and represent [Bellevue] college to our fullest abilities,” said Shen.

Watch Shen lead both the men’s and women’s soccer team to successfully seasons.

Women’s Volleyball Coach Kim Culliton did not return all requests for an interview.

With temperatures reaching upper 80s, music blaring from Relay for Life, crowds of people coming and going and fans sitting on the ridge behind the Bellevue College outfield fence, the 2012 NW Baden Invitational baseball tournament began. The tournament started Thursday and went all weekend until Sunday.

For those who don’t know what the NW Baden Invitational tournament is, it’s a baseball tournament that showcases the top 30 18U Elite summer ball teams from Washington, Oregon and California. The invitational is a wooden bat tournament, which for some is hard to get use to.

“Wooden bats are just different, it’s hard get use to them. I don’t like them that much, they don’t go as far, but also they just changed the rules again.

“It’s even harder to hit them far with the new BB cores,” O’Brien’s player, Ryan Atkinson, said.

Some of the players that play on these select teams are college ball players, high school players, but most of the players are in the transitional stage, between high school and collegiate ball.

With three states feeding into a very elite tournament, the players are facing teams that they have never seen before but also may have a higher level of play than them.

This tournament is important for the players because there are a lot of eyes on them. Players get to showcase their skills to future coaches, teammates and scouts from Division 1 schools, like Portland University and San Diego University.

With scouts walking around the field and the fence line watching certain players intensely, the audience could tell the stakes were a little higher to win and do well.

“The tournament is important to all the players here. It gives us the opportunity to show the coaches how we play under pressure.

“Bellevue College is a great place to play baseball; it has a really nice field and overall is a good venue. I am looking forward to playing here a lot next year,” Trevor Taylor said.

Todd Atkinson, father of Ryan Atkinson and longtime youth baseball coach and former Bellevue College player, said “Bellevue College has a lot to offer [referring to how the tournament was ran and the field] I used to play here, and yeah, the stands are a little old but the diamond is great. They take nice care of it.”

With the field being prepped before every game and new lines being placed, the conditions were perfect. Parents and players both agreed that Bellevue College had a very nice field and seemed to be very happy about the way the tournament was run.

“Usually when you go to big tournaments like this you run into parking problems or it gets over crowded, but not here. The parking was easy, it was simple to find and it was just overall a good, pleasant time. I’m very impressed the way the tournament was ran,” a parent said.

Bellevue College has been and continues to be a popular venue for local athletics.

Illustration by Emily Hsu

With summer here, favorite summer sports are starting again by Bellevue College students. There are a wide variety of summer sports to play.

Ultimate frisbee, swimming, whiffle ball and rugby are just some of the many sports played outside in the sun.

“Ultimate frisbee is a game that was made to be played during the summer,” upcoming freshman Carson Wilson said. For those who don’t exactly know what ultimate Frisbee is “…you play it almost like a soccer game and a football game combined,” Wilson said.

A player can only take two steps with the Frisbee before they have to throw it to another teammate. If the other team hits it down then it’s their frisbee and they are on offense.

The way to score is by throwing it to a teammate who catches it in the end zone.

“It’s such a high-paced game if played right, and it’s a good workout, especially playing in the sun,” Wilson said. Swimming is another sport that many people enjoy during the hot days of summer at the beach, at the lake, in a pool, etc.

“I like it because it’s refreshing when it’s hot out while also providing good exercise,” said sophomore Tasha Hartwig. Mat Luebbers, an About.com guide, even said that if you do a bunch of different strokes, swimming practically works every muscle in your body.

Sophomore Katrina Cranford also agreed, saying that it is really refreshing because swimming cools you off when it’s hot.

Another sport that is “…perfect for summer is whiffle ball,” incoming freshman Matt Eichler said. Whiffle ball is a hybrid game of baseball; players use a lighter ball that has holes in it and a longer, skinner bat that is also very light.

“The reason why I love playing whiffle ball in the summer is because when the summer breeze starts to pick up the pitcher can throw some nasty stuff,” Eichler said.

Eichler explained that he and his friends will go as far as setting up a fence so that they could have legitimate home runs; heal so said that they would have bases and actual base paths. “We sometimes will even play late into thenight; I’m talking like one or two in the morning.

We setup three flood lights to light up the field and it works really well and it’s a lot of fun,” Eichler said.

Another sport that people enjoy outside in the summer weather is golf. Incoming freshman Sean Ballsmith said, “the best summer sport to play is golf. The weather is great and it’s something to do with friends on a boring afternoon.”

While Western Washington is filled with courses that are high quality and demanding, Western Washington also has a lot to offer.

“It’s great to kick back and just relax and enjoy yourself and the people around you,” Ballsmith said.

Tino Paophavihanh, a sophomore at Bellevue, said he likes to play rugby sevens. “It’s a different form of rugby. Instead of 15 players on a team, there are seven,” Paophavihanh said.

With only seven players it becomes a lot faster and the field gets a lot bigger. “I play it with my best friends who come back from college. It’s my favorite sport to play in the summer because it’s nice out; it’s a very fun game.” Paophavihanh added that if someone doesn’t want to play an intense game of rugby then they can always just toss the football around.

With only a few short months left in the summer, get outside and enjoy these and other great outdoor sports.

Photo Courtesy of Jason Chapman

Recently, Jason Chapman was awarded Coach of the Year in the NWAACC conference.

It’s not hard to see that Chapman is passionate about the game. He said that’s what people notice about him when he is coaching.

Chapman has been coaching at Bellevue for the past nine years and has led the Bulldogs to eight NWAACC Championships wins in a row.

Chapman became a coach because he liked being able to work on things in practices and apply them to matches. He also wanted to be someone who could make a difference in players’ careers.

Chapman has played a lot of tennis over the course of his life and he definitely isn’t an unfamiliar face in Washington state tennis.

He is a tennis professional at Robinswood Tennis Center, and has been since 1999. He was also in a United States Tennis Association tournament where his team took fifth in the nation in 2001.

Getting an award like this is a very big deal, but Chapman seemed to be very soft-spoken and humble.

When asked if he deserved this award he said, “I don’t know if I deserve this award, I know that I work hard to make sure the team is ready for all matches and especially the NWAACC Tournament.

“It’s a team award.” It’s obvious he has a lot of respect for his players and loves coaching them. He said that his relationship with the players is really good. “They know when they finish playing two years of tennis for me that they can count on me to help them with anything,” said Chapman. But the downside to coaching for Chapman is that he is coaching at a community college.

“The hardest thing for me is only having the girls for two years instead of four years. Just when I feel like they are at the level I am hoping for they have to transfer to a four-year school,” he said.

Chapman’s experience on the court, which came from playing four years of varsity tennis at Eastern, helps him be a better coach and understand what he has to do to making a winning team.

“Experience comes into play at almost every practice and match. I feel like I can do a very good job of making adjustments with my team to win matches,” said Chapman.

A winning team and great drills is what Chapman believes he brings to the Bellevue College Tennis program.

But with that being said, Chapman demands a lot from his players.

For example they need to be on time to practice, give 10o percent effort during practice, listen and make eye contact with him during match play, and never give up on a shot.

Anissa Bryant-Swift, one of Chapman’s former players who received a full ride scholarship to play tennis at Boise State University says, “

He definitely deserves the award, hands down. He puts so much time and effort into every team he coaches, not just us, and the results show. He is a great coach who makes sure that everyone feels as if they are part of a caring team.”

Chapman is looking forward to another year with the women’s tennis team. He has been here for nine years and has won eight NWAACC championships.

The women’s tennis team is looking to start out strong next year in February. But with only three freshmen returning next year, the team needs to fill in some gaps.

But with Coach of the Year Chapman in charge, the girls are looking to be at the top of the NWAACC conference next year.

Photo Courtesy of Sophie Rockow

When getting recruited by a school to play sports there is not a lot of people realize the behind the scenes work a player has to do in order to get on the team and stay on the team. Two girls from Mount Si High School got recruited by Bellevue College to play soccer. Sophie Rockow is going to play goalie while Laura Barnes will be playing forward and or midfield. The girls went into detail about the behind the scenes work they had to do in order to get recruited.

In order to get recruited some people make highlight reels of them playing to send off to schools to show them their talent and others have people come to games and watch them play for scouting.

Laura Barnes is one of the players who made a highlight reel but she said she never used it. She said that once she got an offer from Bellevue College and decided that Bellevue would be the best choice for her. She did say that Coach Tao came to a couple games of hers that made her stress out a little more.

The people getting recruited have to maintain a certain standard level GPA in order to keep playing at the colligate level. Recruiter’s don’t want someone that will perform badly in their classes so that it’s a waste of money to even pay for their college tuition.

They don’t want a bust, so they want to the players to be smart. Barnes also agrees ans says “we must keep our grades [up.]” Players that sign to play for Bellevue College have to meet a certain GPA requirement without failing any classes.

Signing a letter of intent is the biggest thing or step you can make in order to get recruited. Athletes that sign letters of intent are saying that they are very interested in the offer they have made for them and most likely be going to go there. It doesn’t happen to often but sometimes players will go against their letter of intents to go somewhere else, especially if they get an offer from a better school.

“The letter of intent is a letter that you have to sign in order to play. I think it’s basically just saying that you only intend on playing with the one team that you sign for¬¬, ”Rockow said.

One thing that happens to athletes that are going to be, or are getting looked at by schools to be recruited for sports is they get nervous. Being recruited is very stressful because you never really know where you going to end up until the end, you realize how big of a commitment it is.

Never the less it’s a lot of decision making happening in a relatively short amount of time. “The amount of time I need to commit to the team is pretty scary said Barnes. “Not only do we have practices everyday but we have two practices a day for a while, starting at 6:00 in the morning,” said Barnes. With two practices a day, balancing her teenage life is hard she said. “It’s just a huge commitment,” said Rockow.

But at the same time players get really excited and happy for the accomplishment they have reached. Playing collegiate sports is a big deal sports and not a lot of people can reach that level. “Yeah it definitely does feel good. Especially since I’d only played one year at the varsity level in high school due to an illness my freshman and sophomore year,”

Rockow said.  “I thought it would be pretty much impossible to get recruited, so this really was a great surprise,” Rockow said.

With Rockow only playing one year of soccer in high school, getting recruited by Bellevue came to a great surprise to her.

“I wasn’t even stressed, because I didn’t think I was going to get recruited anyway so when I started talking to the coaches I wasn’t stressed at all,” Rockow said.

The process, in which an athlete goes through, is extensive and sometimes the players won’t decide until last minute where they end up. Watch the lady bulldogs start their season, with scrimmages this summer and going through fall quarter!

Illustration by Brandy Pickering

The Bellevue College men’s baseball team took the journey to Longview, Washington to compete for the NWAACC championship. Bellevue was ranked first in the final NWAACC Alaska Airlines Coaches’ Poll and ranked number 33 in the national poll heading into the tournament.

“We made sure that despite the polls and rankings throughout the year to try and keep grounded as best we could. We knew we were in the company of some excellent ball clubs at the tournament and it in no way would be a walk through the park to win it,” said sophomore infielder John Wall.

In the first round of the tournament, Bellevue was beaten by Pierce 10-9 in what turned out to be a wild contest. The game started at 7:35 p.m. but continued well past midnight, in large part due to a 40-minute rain delay and a spur of hits and walks.

“At the NWAACC’S the ball just didn’t want to go where we wanted it to,” freshman Max Brown explained. The team was hitting it hard but the ball just wasn’t dropping. “Our approach at the plate I thought was pretty solid but once again that’s baseball; anything can happen,” said Brown.

In the next game, Bellevue faced off against Chemeketa in a loser-out game at 4:35 p.m. on Friday. Bellevue ended up beating Chemeketa 6-3. “We fought hard throughout the whole thing and left it all out on the field,” said Wall.

In a rematch of last year’s NWAACC championship game, the Bulldogs faced Lower Columbia College and were beaten 5-2, eliminating them from the tournament.

“We all were pretty down and disappointed with the loss. It was a quiet ride back to our hotel,” said Brown. With the loss to Lower Columbia the tournament was over for the team and it was time to head home.

“It was a somber moment for all of us,” said Wall. “From the very beginning of the year we were determined to win NWAACC’S and knew it was possible if we just played to our ability, but at that moment that climb to the top was over.”

With a team so decimated by injuries the “climb to the top” ended up being too high, but Brown decided to look at the defeat in a positive light. “We were going there with a goal and unfortunately that goal did not pan out how we would have liked. At least we can say we tried our hardest and gave it all we had!” said Brown.

With five players being recognized at the annual team award voting held last week, a lot was said about the players on Bellevue College’s team. Dustin Breshears won the gold glove award and most improved, Tyler Baumgartner won the Silver Bat award for his batting average, which was .400 for the whole season. Adrian Sampson was named most valued pitcher and Colin Hering took the MVP Award back home with him.

“It shows that we have a lot of talent on this Bellevue team and that we worked extremely hard to earn those awards. It also shows how great of a coaching staff we have here at Bellevue,” said Brown.

The players need to realize that these awards are huge accomplishments and are something to be proud of.

With high hopes for next year, the team looks to start off where they ended this year. “The freshmen were studs this year and very likely to lead the team to success in the future. Much of the team’s success this year was a result of great freshmen talent,” said Wall, whose playing days for Bellevue ended with the loss to Lower Columbia. With the combination of talent and chemistry, BC baseball is confident that they will be fighting for an NWAACC championship again next season.

Photograph by Amy Leong

The Bulldogs softball team traveled down to Delta Park, Oregon where they ended their season placing fourth in NWAACC championships. It is the second year in a row that the Bulldogs have brought home the fourth place trophy and they are only one of two teams to place in the top four the past two seasons.

With high expectations, anything short of a championship would be a disappointment for coach Leah Francis and her Bulldogs team.  “The seeding really did not matter to us as every year we have a goal of winning an NWAACC title,” said Francis. But when reflecting on the season Francis said, “We had an amazing season and accomplished quite a bit.” Ending the season with a record of 44-5 and taking home a North Region title, the team should be proud of what they have been able to accomplish.

While watching her team play, Francis realized and learned one thing: “Our team has a lot of heart.” The team battled back through the loser’s bracket on Saturday and fought to earn a fourth place trophy. “I was so proud to watch the way they played as a team and how they represented Bellevue College both on and off the field.”

Overall the team had a very good tournament and played some very good softball, but just came up a little short to the expectations they were held to. “It is always hard for a season to come to an end, but we had an outstanding run!”

Coach Francis had to say goodbye to the sophomore players as they move onto new things, whether that will be softball at a future college or not. “I thanked the sophomores for all the work and effort they put into the program and let them all know they should hold their heads high for what they did over the two years they were here.” The sophomore’s get a well-deserved thank you from the coach because of what they’ve been able to accomplish in their two years. They have a record of 48-0 in league, 82-8 overall, winning two North Region titles and two fourth place NWAACC trophies.

With a fourth place tourney finish still fresh in her memory, Francis has to shake off the results of last season and look forward to the next. “This was an amazing season and I want our players and fans to be proud of everything they accomplished as a group this year.  It was fun to be a part of it and while I am sad to see this season end, I am excited to see what next year has in store!” With a lot of players returning Francis told them “we need to build on what we accomplished this year and continue to work hard towards the goal of a NWAACC title.” With a strong core of returning players and a good incoming recruiting class, Francis believes that next year’s team will be in the race for a NWAACC championship title, and that will continue to be their goal throughout the season.

So what’s in store for the Bulldogs next year? They have high expectations again striving for a NWAACC title, and with several returning players and a good group of incoming freshman, a championship is hopefully in their future.

Photograph courtesy of BC Athletics

Playing on both University of Washington’s and Bellevue College golf teams, Kirk Johanson isn’t new to the sport of golf. “I’ve coached the Men’s and Women’s golf team at BC since 2006 when we restarted the program,” Johanson said.

“My coach is super passionate about the game, and he is passionate about teaching the players how to get better,” sophomore golf team member Zach Buchanan said.

When reflecting on old memories about golf, Coach Johanson said, “I have been lucky enough to have played at some very nice and prestigious courses. St. Andrews in Scotland is at the top of the list. I played there with my dad and two brothers.  It was an amazing experience, especially being able to do it with my dad.” Johanson also reflected on his hole in one experience, “[hole] #11 at West Seattle Golf Club.  I didn’t see it go in but the other players in my group did.  My heart was racing as I walked up to the hole and didn’t believe it until I saw the ball in the hole,” said Johanson.

Johanson took me through the guidelines of recruitment he and his staff use to find players to join their team; education and maintaining a high G.P.A. seem to come before anything. “In recruits we are looking for quality student athletes.  First off, all the players are here for an education, and attention to their classes and grades are a must to be able to play.” The next step is looking for experience, how many games they have played, whether they played in high school. “We recruit players that have tournament experience.  Most of our players played and excelled in high school and junior golf.  We do have walk ons that have made the squad.” Johanson is more then just a coach; he is willing to give up the extra time he has to make sure his athletes are students first.  “He has offered me help on school work before. He is always making sure that the players are doing well in school,” said Buchanan.

Comparing the boys’ season to the girls’ season, Buchanan said that the guy’s team made some mistakes during the tournaments. “It wasn’t just one person; it was all of them. But for the girls’ side, with seven straight tournament wins in a row, their season went really well.”

With the ability to recruit topnotch players to the program success hopefully will continue for both the girls and the guy’s teams. We are very excited about the future of BC golf,” said Johanson.  “With the success we’ve had, Men’s NWAACC Champion two years ago, and the Women’s team winning their first NWAACC season championship this season, the women have won seven straight tournaments.”

The women winning their first NWAACC championship is a big deal and shouldn’t go unrecognized. The sixth straight tournament win of the season sealed the first NWACC championship. The final league match was hosted by Bellevue at Redmond Ridge and Glendale CC the last weekend in April. Sophomore Katya Case won the tournament by ten shots with a two-day total of 155.  Freshman Kayce Ogishima finished with a score of 176 which placed her in the top ten, followed by a two way tie for seventh between the Bulldogs Corey Rois and Jamie Kirsila both with 177.

With a young team of mainly freshmen, and the positive recruitment they were able to pull off this year, the Bulldogs are hoping for more success and NWAACC championships in the future.

Illustration by Kevin Chinn

All a student can ask from a teacher is that they truly care about the subject in which they teach. Students can tell when a teacher is going through the motions for a paycheck or truly engaged, excited about passing their knowledge of the subject on to students.

In partnership with the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, the Health Sciences Education and Wellness Institute is offering an “Urban Biking” course: HLTH 296 Special Topics in Health. The class, which was first offered this spring quarter, will be led by both Josh Miller, an employee for bicycle alliance and Peter Prescott, a health instructor at Bellevue College.

Miller works for a company called Bicycle Alliance of Washington, a company that informs the public about bicycle safety, laws, and routes to take, in addition to any other bike-related topics you may think of.

“People can expect to spend about half of the class time on bikes. Peter Prescott and I will co-teach and we are both really excited about the course,” Miller said. “The class is so new and we are super excited to run the class! Safety, learning and fun are respectively our three top priorities.”

Safety seems to be the highest propriety on Miller’s list.

“We will learn about and practice bicycle handling techniques, evasive maneuvering and hazard avoidance, rules of the road and Washington State law as it applies to bikes. Students will learn about being predictable, visible, respectful of other road users and proper lane positioning,” Miller said.

But bicycling in urban places or cities isn’t as dangerous as one thinks. “I have been an avid bike rider for three decades and I still find challenging road conditions and scary drivers, but there are ways to mitigate nearly all of them. Being savvy, sensible and trusting your judgments go a long way.”

“No, I haven’t had anything horrible happen to any of my students,” Miller said reasurringly. “We take special care to minimize risks and to be as safe as possible.”

Urban biking sounds like it would just be a lot of road riding and not a lot of tricks, but to my surprise Miller said, “Oh, I do a few tricks, but mostly not in class! I jump my bikes all the time and wheelies are fun.” He jokingly added, “I find myself hopping over road hazards semi-routinely, but mostly feel too much like an old guy to want to risk wrecking much anymore except when mountain biking.”

Miller seems very passionate about what he is teaching. He really wants people to learn all the precautions and safety rules you have to do and know before riding a bike and simply wishes to talk  about biking with students.

“I want students to come out of the course knowing more about how to safely bike to and from campus and in other bicycling adventures that students want to take.” This isn’t such a bad thing to learn about because there are a lot of people around the campus who ride bikes to school.

“I want to teach and learn from my students as well as have fun talking about and riding bikes. I want people to use bikes as much as they are comfortable for commuting, errands and fun. I have seen the positive impacts of this class on the bike riding experiences of my students and I want to spread that around,” said Miller

The “Urban Biking” course can be a fun way to knock off a required health credit. Miller is sincerely passionate about his class and he is excited to pass his knowledge of biking on to others. What more could a student ask for in a teacher?