The Highline ‘Titan’ Lacrosse Club would like our Readers to know that they’ve opened registration for the upcoming season.

The non-profit club is based in the Highline area.

They play high school games at Moshier Field, and elementary and middle school ones at Manhattan playfield.

Here’s more info about the Titans from their website:

Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing team sports in the United States. Youth participation in the sport has grown over 138% since 2001 to nearly 300,000. No sport has grown faster at the high school level over the last 10 years and there are now an estimated 228,000 high school players.

The sport of lacrosse is a combination of basketball, soccer and hockey. Anyone can play lacrosse — the big or the small. The game requires and rewards coordination and agility, not brawn. Quickness and speed are two highly prized qualities in lacrosse.

Highline Lacrosse Club covers the Highline School District, South Central School District, Federal Way School District, Renton, Lindbergh and Kennedy.

Our Mission Statement:
The Highline Titans Lacrosse Club is dedicated to the promotion, organization and development of lacrosse in the south end. Our mission is to teach lacrosse fundamentals and good sportsmanship, while emphasizing the importance of discipline, teamwork, and physical fitness. Players of all skill levels have the opportunity to develop their game, and we will prepare each athlete for the next level of play from grade school through high school.

The Highline Lacrosse Club offers a 5/6th grade team, a 7/8th grade team, and a high school program with both a Junior Varsity and a Varsity team. We will also be adding a 3/4th grade team next spring!

Here’s a video review of their 2010 season:

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more information, check out their website here: http://highlinelax.com.

The 3rd annual ‘Lakewood Fall Fling to Fight MS,’ a benefit Disc Golf Tournament, will be held starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16th at the Lakewood Disc Golf Course in White Center.

This event is open to players of all levels, and there’s a $30 registration fee (includes lunch & tournament disc).

For more info, please contact Coordinator Kevin Hood at (541) 990-5557 or email hoodkevin@gmail.com.

100% of the proceeds will be donated directly to the Greater Washington Chapter of the National MS Society.

The Lakewood Disc Golf Course is located at SW 108th Street & 10th Ave SW at Lakewood Park in White Center (more info & directions here).

If you’ve never thrown discs like you were golfing, here are some videos of the sport from Lakewood course:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

UPDATE: The John F. Kennedy Catholic High School Girl’s Varsity Volleyball team won their Friday night match against Prairie 3-0, then played on Saturday and beat Capital 3-2 (#7 in state), but lost to Camus (#4 in state) 1-3.

They are off to State tournament finals in Tri-cities as a #2 seed, with the first game scheduled for Friday, Nov. 12th (time TBA).

The loss to Camus was first loss this season, and their record is now 28-1.

They are considered one of the favorites to take it all (Go Lancers!).

PREVIOUSLY:

Yesterday we reported how the Burien Bearcats Junior Football team is slated to play in a championship game at Husky Stadium this Sunday; now comes word that another local team, the John F. Kennedy Catholic High School Girl’s Varsity Volleyball team, is also scheduled to play Friday in state district finals.

JFK’s team is undefeated with a 26-0 record, and is the number #2 ranked team in the 3A League.

Their playoff game in the West Central District Tournament is set for Friday, Nov. 5th at 6pm at Auburn-Mountainview High School, which is located at 28900 124th Ave. SE in Auburn (phone: 253-804-5197).

According to an email we received:

They have a deep senior dominated team and a marvelous new head coach named name is Joanne Uhl. She won state championships at Blanchet in the past.  She knows her volleyball.

The games are open to the public and there is usually a nominal entrance fee.

Claire Kramer

Here’s the team roster:

• Alina Aleaga
• Brita Brongil
• Agnes Eneliko
• Riley Fawcett
• Erin Gooseen
• Katie Key
• Claire Kramer
• Vivienne McClean
• Jennica McPherson
• Jordan Nakatani
• Jenny Neudorfer
• Colie Post
• Lauren Zilke

DIRECTIONS TO AUBURN-MOUNTAINVIEW HIGH SCHOOL (Link to Map):

From the South, North, or West of Auburn:

Take Highway 167 to Auburn, then take Highway 18 Eastbound. Exit at the 304th Street exit, (Pacific Raceways exit) turn right on 304th and proceed to the light at 132nd Ave SE. Turn right on 132nd Ave SE. and proceed 1 mile. The east entrance to Auburn Mountainview High School will be on your left. The entrance to all gymnasium events is through the west courtyard at the west end of the building. Parking for gym events will also be at the west end of the building. Proceed past the front entrance to the school to get to the west parking lots and west entrance.

Westbound on Highway #18 use the 304th Street exit and follow the same directions as above.

Everyone here at The B-Town Blog wishes these gals much, spiking sports success – Go Lancers!

by Rachel M. Lusby

Burien resident Tamara Mackey is not only a strong and active member of the business community, she is also an avid marathon and half marathon “fanatic” who ran 52 half-marathons in 52 weeks.

That’s right – she ran one every single week for an entire year.

Mackey belongs to groups called the “Half Fanatics” and “Marathon Maniacs,” however she has not always been such a participant in any athletics.

In high school, Mackey says, she did not participate in any sports and even had physical education waived.

“I hated running,” she says.

After college, though, Mackey joined a gym and later started going to the YMCA. There, she says, they were looking for someone to be a cycling instructor and she told them she thought she could do that.

She has been a cycling instructor at the YMCA for 9 years now.

"I hated running," Tamara once said. Now look at her.

Mackey claims she has no idea what really inspired her to begin running races – in 2002, she decided she wanted to do a triathlon. She had never run before, and was about to run three miles, plus swim and bike.

The other hurdle was she could not swim, and was also so afraid of water, she didn’t even want to put her face in it.

She says she figured she could just doggy-paddle through that part of the race. By mistake, however, she grabbed the “elite skincap” which put her in place with the more advanced swimmers. She was bolted where she stood on shore, completely afraid.

The “swim angel” asked her what was wrong, and she said she was terrified. This “swim angel” got in the water with her and they swam along to the other side.

Since then, Mackey has participated in other triathlons, such as the SeaFair Triathlon, and can now swim; she even puts her head under the water.

“It completely overwhelmed my fear,” Mackey said about her first triathlon.

In 2002, Mackey then got into half marathons, joining a club called “Half Fanatics.” Half marathons are 13.1 miles long. Half Fanatics is an online club, found at www.halffanatics.com, and includes goals for runners to reach.

Mackey was the first half fanatic to reach the highest goal, which is 52 half marathons in 52 weeks; her photograph can be found on the website.

Since completing this goal, she has also begun running full marathons, which are 26.5 miles; she has ran 23 of these thus far.

It isn’t as easy as it may sound, according to Mackey, to complete or even get out of bed to participate in these events.

After her first marathon, Mackey was thinking she never wanted to do one again.

Tamara's next goal is to be named "Half Fanatic of the Year." Some think she may be a "full" one.

“It was a miserable experience,” she says. “I thought, ‘I am never going to do this again!’”

Now, she has intentions of doing one in every state.

Another difficult part of being a marathon runner is finding half marathons or full marathons which meet the required logistics of her clubs. This is why she does a lot of travelling to other states and Canada to meet her marathon goals.

The hardest part of all, however, is not the will to run but the means to do so. Each race costs money; money to participate, money to travel, money to have the appropriate attire.

“I try to stay with friends and family,” says Mackey. She also adds that she has stayed with those who her friends and family have connections to; strangers to her.

Mackey says if anyone has connections throughout the country, to please shoot her an email at Tamara.Mackey@e-hps.com. She would also like to talk to anyone looking for a running partner.

Her next goal is to be named “Half Fanatic of the Year” in which she will have to participate in three half marathons a month by the end of the year to achieve.

Mackey says she has people tell her all the time that she is “insane” and many who are not into athletics believe she is “excessive,” however she does not believe so. She runs Tuesdays and weekends, while the more “hardcore” marathoners run about 40 miles a week.

Mackey is local to Burien and is on the membership committee for Discover Burien and is also an ambassador for the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce. In addition to her duties there, she works full time for Heartland Payment Systems.

Here’s a Photo Slideshow that captures some of Tamara’s experiences over the last year:

Click to Play Tamara Mackey’s Photo Slideshow

Did you know that the Seattle Somali community is hosting a Somali-American Youth Cup Soccer Tournament this week at Burien’s Highline Memorial Field?

Soccer clubs from around Somalia will play all week, and the tournament runs through this Sunday, Aug. 8th.

More info on the event can be found at http://somtv.org.

Here are some video clips from early games:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Story & Photos by Mark Neuman

Normandy Park City Manager Doug Schulze said the winner of the First Annual Normandy Park Hoop Fest are the “206 Ballers,” who beat Preston 18-13 Saturday, July 31st in a game where each hoop garners one point.

“We look forward to even greater participation next year,” Schulze said.

The event took place at Normandy Park Towne Center, and was sponsored by the City of Normandy Park Police Department with generous support from Normandy Park Athletic, Desert Sun, Wayne’s Service Center, Archery Bistro (BTB Advertiser), QFC, Allied Waste and Puget Sound Energy.

Here are some pics taken at the event:

Another bucket slides in nicely over the left shoulder of Normandy Park Mayor George Hadley.

Breed and Preston go at it in an effort to make it to the finals. Preston advanced, losing to the "206 Ballers" 18 to 13.

Shiny trophies await the winners.

by Ralph Nichols

[NOTE: Interviews for this and a companion story that follows were conducted just before the 2010 youth lacrosse season ended in May. With the growing popularity of this sport locally, many players – returning and new – already look forward to a new season next spring. – RN]

Not long ago, a Burien junior high school student, who already plays baseball, basketball and soccer, told me he plans to play lacrosse next spring.

That he is not alone in this new sporting interest is one of many promising signs for the future of a game that remains largely unheralded in the Highline area.

Every spring, the “traditional” high school sports – baseball, soccer, track and field, tennis – grab all the headlines.

Yet lacrosse – first played by Native Americans in the Northeast – is the fastest-growing sport among young athletes throughout western Washington.

Increasing numbers of Highline-area boys from 5th grade through high school are marking their calendars, like the Burien teen, for the second week in March when a new lacrosse season begins.

And it will build on what, looking back, was the best year yet for teams of the Highline Lacrosse Club.

Highline Medical Center CEO Mark Benedum also coaches lacrosse.

“Just this year we turned the corner” in developing players, said Mark Benedum, who coaches the 5th-6th grade team. He was also the founder of the local club, which is now an ascending youth sports program.

Benedum fielded in the 2010 season an increasing – and increasingly skilled – number of players, who will move from the 5th-6th grade team up to the 7th-8th grade roster, and then to high school-level teams.

The Highline Lacrosse Club even had enough players this year to field a high school junior varsity team for the first time.

Lacrosse isn’t a sport sanctioned by the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association, so competition at both the high school and youth levels is sponsored by leagues with organized clubs that are, for the most part, coached and managed by parent volunteers.

Loy Kalapo coaches both the high school varsity and junior varsity teams of the Highline Lacrosse Club. Charlie Simpson coaches the 7th-8th grade team.

They are assisted by fathers of some players, many of whom are good athletes who participated in other high school or college sports.

“A big difference here is getting dads involved who have never played lacrosse but are teaching [the kids] the game,” Benedum said. “It’s important to have the parents involved.”

All local teams play under the umbrella of the Washington State High School Boys Lacrosse Association, which is working to win sanctioned by the WIAA.

Anthony Gardner, president of the Highline Lacrosse Club board of directors, predicts that “it’s just a matter of time before lacrosse becomes a sanctioned high school sport in this state.”

Highline lacrosse program
Many residents of Burien and neighboring communities already know Benedum as the CEO of Highline Medical Center. But beyond the campus of this growing medical facility, he shares with the young athletes an enthusiasm for lacrosse.

“Lacrosse is one of my passions,” said Benedum, who played collegiate lacrosse at Cornell University. “I’ve been playing it since I was nine.”

After moving to the Seattle area he discovered there were only a handful of lacrosse clubs here. He started playing at the adult club level where most of the players, like him, were transplants from the east coast.

About seven years ago, he got a call from the president of what, at the time, was the local high school lacrosse league. The team at Mt. Rainier High School, which included some players from other Highline high schools, had lost its coach.

Since the team couldn’t finish the season without a coach, Benedum was asked if he would consider taking over, and he volunteered to fill the void.

“The high school kids were good athletes, but they had no experience” playing lacrosse before they got to high school,” Benendum recalled. This impressed on him the need for local junior lacrosse teams to feed players to the high school team, just as youth teams do in other sports.

Three years ago, the team at Mt. Rainier was renamed the Highline Lacrosse Club to eliminate identity with just one local high schools “to make all players feel welcome,” Gardner said. “Any kid in the Highline area can be on the club,” no matter what high school they attend.

The Highline Lacrosse Club also expanded, adding youth teams for younger players to increase participation and skill development.

An estimated 5,000 boys and girls played on lacrosse teams in western and central Washington this spring. The only girls’ team in the Highline area is at Kennedy High School.

There are some 40 lacrosse teams at the high school level from Port Angeles to the Tri-Cities, with about 25 of them in the Seattle metro area, Gardner said. There are around 60 teams at the 5th-6th grade level.

“I see a time when every high school will have a team,” Benedum said. For now, “the kids [from different schools] try to set aside their high school rivalries” as they play at the top level for the Highline club.

As he gazed across the Manhattan playfield in Burien during the final practice of the 2010 season, Benendum observed, “It’s good to see this group out here, to give more kids a chance to play.”

Lacrosse is “a physical game that includes a lot of running,” he added. “It offers opportunities for kids who are not necessarily big. Kids that really do well in soccer and basketball tend to have a lot of fun.

“There is a lot of team strategy. They can use the stick. And, Benedum said with a grin, “you get to hit people.”

Goal: increase players
Gardner said the Washington Stealth professional indoor lacrosse team, which won the league’s national championship at the end of its first year in Everett earlier this year, has “helped a lot in increasing interest in lacrosse” in western Washington.

Looking closer to home, he said “We’re the fastest growing lacrosse club in the country. We’re definitely the fastest growing sport in the Highline area.”

It takes 18 players to field a lacrosse team. And, Gardner noted, the 5th-6th grade team fielded 24 kids this year, the 7th-8th grade team had about the same number, and the high school team, including junior varsity, had 36 players.

“We doubled this year the number of kids playing. Once the kids turn out and get involved, their interest seems very strong. Next year we’ll be more aggressive – reaching out to the elementary schools with a grass-roots marketing campaign.”

The Highline Lacrosse Club is “looking to add a second 5th-6th grade team and a second 7th-8th grade team,” Gardner added. “Our goal is to increase interest and to build a feeder pipeline” for the high school team.

Players from Mt. Rainier in Des Moines, Tyee in SeaTac, Highline, Evergreen and Kennedy in Burien, Foster in Tukwila, and Aviation High support the high school team.

Beyond the playing field, interest has grown to the point where “we’re looking to having an official mascot next year,” he said.

Not only is the number of players improving, so is the level of play, Gardner said. While the 5th-6th grade team “struggled,” they were “building for the future.” And the 7th-8th grade team, which went 11-2, “had an awesome season.

“The high school team had an improved year, and this was the first year that we actually had 9th graders with experience.” In addition, the junior varsity “had a lot of new kids.

“A lot of new kids only means good things for the future of this program,” Gardner concluded. “I’m very excited.”

Rogers Hornsby, the great second baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1920s and 30s, once was asked what he did during the off-season. “I look out the window all winter waiting for spring,” he replied.

In the Highline area, there’s a growing group of boys who are counting the days until next spring for a different reason – it will be time to start playing lacrosse again.

We’d like to welcome our latest Advertiser to The B-Town Blog: Matt Griffin YMCA, which is inviting Kids and Families to participate in “YMCA Healthy Kids Day” this Saturday, April 17th.

This will be a free Health Fair, open to the public with games, activities and health resources, along with a live performance by local TV/dance stars Massive Monkees!

Here are the details:

WHAT: Matt Griffin YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day.

WHEN: Saturday, April 17th from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

WHERE: Matt Griffin YMCA, located at 3595 S. 188th St. in SeaTac, WA 98188

ACTIVITIES: Lots of fun, free activities, including:

• Massive Monkees from “America’s Best Dance Crew” TV Show
• Health Screenings
• Pacific Science Center
• Inflatable Obstacle Course
• Balloon Artist
• SeaTac Fire Truck
• Carnival Games
• Free Henna Tattoos

WHY: Healthy Kids Day is more important than ever this year. The amount of time American children and teens spend watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Internet has increased dramatically – to nearly eight hours a day. Experts say that school-age kids need at least one hour of physical activity every day to be healthy – an amount which nearly two-thirds of our nation’s youth are not getting.

INFO: Every spring, YMCAs around the country invite children and families to participate in Healthy Kids Day, a free event to promote health and wellness for kids and families. Come to the Matt Griffin YMCA this Saturday and participate in its first annual Healthy Kids Day event.

VIDEO: Wondering why some folks think the Massive Monkees are cool and possibly worth showing up to see? Check out this video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Did you know that there’s a Highline Lacrosse Club in the area?

Well, there is.

And they’re now looking for boys between 5th and 12th grade to signup and play.

Here are the details, courtesy Staci McLaughlin:

WHAT: Highline Lacrosse Club signups for 5th-12th-grade boys.

WHEN: Signups are going on now; Season runs from March through May.

WHERE: Early pre-season practices are going on now at the Normandy Park City Hall Gym.

INFO: Please visit the website for more information regarding Highline Lacrosse Club and this exciting sport: www.highlinelax.shutterfly.com.

No experience with Lacrosse is necessary, as most players are beginners.

If you have any questions, please call Staci McLaughlin at 206-999-7094.

The second annual “Cove To Clover” fundraiser 5K race will be Sunday, March 14th, winding its way from the Normandy Park Community Club up the dreaded “snake hill” to the finish line in front of Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub.

We’re proud to be a Sponsor of this great event, which serves as a fundraiser for the Highline Food Bank. Last year over $12,000 was raised, and this year’s goal is $20,000!

If you’re interested in registering, please click here.

If you thought last year’s race was fun and challenging, just wait until you get a whiff of some o’the new elements for 2010. It’s as if the dial on the family-friendly funometer has been cranked up to 11 – check out some of the new features:

• The race begins at 1pm on Sunday, March 14th at Normandy Park Community Club. The course winds up “snake hill” all the way to the Gregory Heights neighborhood, past St. Francis of Assisi, crosses 152nd street with the finish line in Burien Town Square, where there will be a traditional Irish Festival.
• This challenging course takes its toll on even the most seasoned runners! Two water stops are provided, and racers will be rewarded with music from an Irish Piper when the reach the top of the ominous “snake” hill.
• Again there is a 1-mile Family Race which begins at St. Francis and follows the last of the 5K course.
• NEW: “While You Run” childcare, check your kids in at the Family Race start. Run the first 2 miles of the 5K, check your kids back out to run the Family Race together. Your 5K time will suffer of course.
• NEW: Pub Crawl – Friday March 12th!
• NEW: School Registration Contest! $5 from each registration fee can be donated to the local school of your choice! Just—type in your school’s name at registration–the school with the most registrations will be awarded an additional $1,500! Registrations can track their school’s progress at www.covetoclover.com/schools.
• NEW: School Limerick Contest — A $500 prize will be awarded to the school (or non-profit for non- student entries) who present the winning Limerick! Limerick contest details at www.covetoclover.com/limerick. BTW, we’re working on our own Limerick that starts “There once was a man from B-Town…”
• NEW: Start Line Party – Live Band inside the Normandy Park Cove Building prior to the race so you can warm up dancing to old school rock and roll.
• NEW: Expanded Pre-Race shuttle service from the finish line to the start line.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER:

5k at 1:00pm:

• $30.00 early registration (before Mar. 2nd; $35 after)

Family Race (1 mile) at 1:30 PM:

• $25.00 early registration (before Mar. 2nd; $30 after)

Here’s a map of the race course:

<a href=”http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/wa/normandy-park/131126275593197103″ mce_href=”http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/wa/normandy-park/131126275593197103″>Official Cove to Clover 5K Route</a><br/><a href=”http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/wa/normandy-park” mce_href=”http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/wa/normandy-park”>Find more Runs in Normandy Park, Washington</a>

Some other highlights include:

• On-course Irish Pipes
• Irish Entertainment
• 2 Live Bands
• Bigger Beer Garden
• 1-mile Family Race
• Free Hot Dogs for Kids
• Free Root Beer Garden
• Irish Grub

RACE DAY SCHEDULE:

• 10:15am+: Take the Free Pre-Race Shuttle – loads at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub starting at 10:15 am (WARNING: Start Line Parking is EXTREMELY LIMITED!). Please park near Burien Town Square and take the free shuttle from Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub. Final shuttle departs promptly at 12:40 pm. Shuttle will drop you at the family race start-line (St. Francis Parish) of the 5K start-line (The Cove).
• 1pm: 5K Race (race starts at 1 pm sharp) Start Line @ Normandy Park Swim Club “The Cove”
• Registration/Packet Pickup from 10:45 am – 12:45 pm @ The Cove
• LIVE ROCK BAND starts at 10:45 am: “The Throbs” will be cranking out old school rock and roll at the start line until race time. Warm your bones rocking out to covers of Nirvana, AC/DC, Scorpions and other eye-popping ROCK!!! Come early and avoid the last minute shuttle rush.

FAMILY RACE:

• Race starts at 1:40pm sharp
• Start Line @ St. Francis Church
• Registration/Packet Pickup from 10:45 am – 1:20 pm @ St. Francis Church
• 1 mile-ish. This can be walked or run and will include people of all generations. Hopefully we’ll have Irish Step Dance lessons prior to the start. – Pick up bib
• NEW: “While You Race” Childcare (11:00 am – 1:35 pm) at St. Francis Church
• If you want to run the 5K but your kids aren’t ready for that level of suffering, consider checking your kids into “While You Race” Childcare at the family race start line. You can then run the first 2 miles of the 5K to the Family Race Start, grab your kids and run then run the Family Race together. Child care provided by St. Francis Parish, extra fee may be involved.
• YOU MUST CHECK OUT YOUR CHILD BEFORE FINISHING THE 5K. It is not intended that runners finish the run and then return to claim their children. Due to the tight schedule, this service is for families with children who plan to run the Family Race.
• If you do the math, you’ll need to be able to run the first 2 miles in 30 minutes to pickup your child in time for the Family Race. Shuttle from the finish line, will stop drop you at St. Francis to check in your kids. Then you can re-board the shuttle to be taken to the 5K start line (the Cove).

FINISH LINE FESTIVAL AT BURIEN TOWN SQUARE:

• Finish Line Irish Festival runs from 2pm – 5pm at Burien Town Square
• “The Haggis Bros” are a lively Irish Band. You can enjoy the show from the beer garden (or free root beer garden for the kiddies). Be entertained by traditional step dancers while you gnash some Irish grub.

Not a runner? Get involved as a race day volunteer: Please contact John Nelson at jonelson@adobe.com.

And there are still some great Sponsorship Opportunities available – please email Ashley Fosberg at fosberg5@comcast.net for a sponsorship packet!

As the official web Sponsor of the Cove To Clover race, we’ll be posting more updates soon (including details on the Pub Crawl March 12th!), so be sure to come back often.