© Sports the other press e fFlashGordon e dcsportseditor@yahoo.ca February 18, 2004 Blues Tie the Clan! Future stars on the big court. Dave Pearcey dougie69fiu @ dccnet.com Douglas staged a late rally to tie first- place SFU in a fast-paced and exciting match at Queens Park on February 7. Although this was the fourth game in a row in which Douglas failed to come up with a win, it was the second straight game that the team played with great intensi- ty and desire. The tie was also the first blemish on the record of an SFU team thatetarted the day at 11-0. SFU struck first with a penalty kick, taking advantage of a turnover of pos- session on the opening kick-off. Douglas struck back quickly, as Amber Cummings was good on a penalty kick of her own to knot the score at 3-3. Some hard work by the forwards and strong running by centres Tanya, Leigh, and Stacey Webber brought Douglas within metres of the SFU line. Scrumhalf Jennifer Fletcher (playing the position for the first time in almost two years) fed a reverse pass to Corrine Jacobsen for the go-ahead try. SFU countered and after a big pile- up under the goalposts they were awarded a try despite protests from the Douglas defenders that the ball was never touched down. The conversion was missed and the game was tied again. Just before the half, Douglas lost possession near midfield and three quick passes out wide found SFU winger Jenny Harvey in the clear for an uncontested run down the sideline. The conversion by fullback Tina Carey gave the Clan a 15-8 halftime lead. Douglas came out on the attack in SFU Premier Division: Douglas 20 the second half and made several pene- trating runs through the SFU defense. Unfortunately, the lack of support at the resulting rucks often led to more turnovers, enabling SFU scrumhalf Tara Kay to kick her team out of danger. Finally the pressure result- ed in points, as winger Carly Albiston made an outstanding effort to scoop up an errant pass and fight through a tackle to score near the cor- ner. The conversion attempt by Cummings from a sharp angle just grazed by the outside of the upright to leave Douglas down by two. With only ten minutes to go, Douglas won a ruck on their side of midfield, but allowed Kay to steal the ball and feed centre Jeanette Garries. With the defending backs misaligned for defense, she raced 30 metres untouched to increase the Clan’s lead to seven points. The usually reliable Carey was wide on the conver- sion. Despite some errors which had proved costly, the Douglas side contin- ued to battle. Strong efforts from Jennifer Bailey and Laura Harmse helped them to move into scoring range again. Jacobsen found space to score her second try of the day. Cummings kick was true and the score was even at 20-20. The remaining few minutes of the game failed to settle the issue. Douglas will now occupy either sec- ond or third position in the standings, depending on a game _ between 20 Brian McLennon OP Contributor The boys and girls of the New West Youth Basketball League (NWYBL) were front and centre on the hardwood court of Douglas College. The NWYBL is a developmental basketball pro- gram for girls and boys aged 10-14. A joint venture between Douglas College and the New Westminster Parks and Recreation board, the program teaches the fundamentals of bas- ketball while addressing individ- ual skills development within a team environment. With a group of 50 kids enrolled, the popular community program had an opportunity to showcase their talent against each other during the half time of the women’s basketball game. “It’s a perfect situation,” stated Head Instructor Steve Anderson who also is the Assistant Coach for the Kwantlen Women’s basketball program. “Myself and the Douglas women’s team have been working with these kids every Sunday morning for the last four weeks, it’s great for the kids to see them in action.” What was even better was the excitement that the kids created when their game began. Family, friends, and fans alike, “oood” and “awwd” with every attempt and erupted into cheers when the ball went through the basketball. “This was really fun!” stated one NWYBL player who indicated that he wasn’t nervous, “Naw, I’m not nervous, I’m excited to play...when can we do this again?” Douglas Volleyball Rocked at Home The Malasapina Mariners walked into the Lion’s Den Friday as the undefeated leaders of the BCCAA Women’s Volleyball league. All Douglas had to defend with was a modest 8-6 record; good enough for the middle of the pack and not much more. There must have been something the Mariners. They missed easy kills and gave up on digs that could have been made. It was almost like watching the players take turns at being bad. The girls have played much better than this before and should have put together something better than losing three straight games in the Capilano and Meralomas. wrong with my eyes since the girls’ efforts looked futile against home gym. At the opposite end of the spectrum, last place Camosun folded like a lawn chair to the Royals who recorded a sweep of their own. There's one more weekend to go of league play before the provincial champi- onships to be held at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford on the last weekend of February. Flash Gordon Sports Editor Being a part of college athletics can be the most influential and memo- rable moments in the life of a stu- dent athlete. Often the time goes by fast enough that it becomes the good ol’ days before you know it. Offthe-Court attempts to offer insight of the life of Douglas College athletes, past and present. Subject: Ian Hogan Height: 6’9” His height makes him one of the most noticeable people on campus and his personality is probably his prominent trait once you get past how tall he is. Undoubtedly laid back, friendly, and full of small- town charm. He graduated from Duchess High School in Prince George, BC and went on to play basketball for the University of Northern British Columbia for one season where he was among the top five players in rebounds for the league. Then he moved to Vancouver and arrived at Douglas College to play for Dave Munro, whom Ian had met a few years earli- er. I caught up with Ian in the Lion’s Den, watching the men’s basketball team play Kwantlen Eagles. Between mouthfuls of Chinese food he says, “T love balls.” And I can only hope he means ball—as in playing basket- ball. What brought you to Douglas College? I knew Dave Munro. I met him a couple years before and I had to get out of Prince George. I didn’t think I'd progress in basketball if I was still there. What are some of your fondest mem- ories playing for the Royals? First year (2001-2002 season) some of the practices were pretty compet- itive but damn funny. Sam Payne was always threatening to dunk on me and I was always talking smack about blocking him. We had a tight team. Also in my first season after Christmas we lost a bunch of guys and only had eight players to warm- up before games. We started playing four-on-four because we didn’t have enough to do other drills. We did it once and kept doing it after. What about travelling with the team? Road trips were a blast. We started off the season (2002—2003) at 3-0 going up to Kamloops where we http://www.otherpress.ca made it 4—0. Win or lose, we always found a way to have fun. Who were the best guys to play with? Nick Hope (a member of the cur- rent Royals roster) and Neil Morrison (2001-2003). We played really well together. He (Morrison) moved on to UBC though. Who were some of your greatest opponents? Fraser Valley games. Both years everybody got up for those games. When they (UCFV) were blowing out teams, we were only losing by five. Any career highlights worth men- tioning? I can’t remember anything in partic- ular. A couple of dunks maybe. Were you a superstitious player? Extremely, but I won't tell you what I do. If you want to know more, you'll have to talk to the other play- ers. Is representing your school a big deal to you? Of course. It’s not as big as the states obviously but it’s still being part of an elite group. You get to know those fourteen guys really well. Page 21 You're sitting out this year for per- sonal reasons—do you miss playing? Oh yeah—the guys are always giv- ing me a hard time about not show- ing up to games. But it’s always hard for a basketball player to sit and watch. Got any future plans? Unknown but I will hopefully con- tinue playing basketball for a really long time. Is Europe in your future? Oh jeezus. Well we're working on that. I’m still trying to get my dual citizenship and I’m trying to get some try-outs so I assume it’s a go. If you weren't playing basketball then what? My first love is soccer but obviously I’m too tall to play. If you can’t play it, teach it. Last question—you're an NBA fan so maybe you can tell me how come the Lakers suck? {Ian becomes very quiet] Interview over.