Special to the Reporter
Redmond Lacrosse Club’s high school team, which consisted of players from Redmond and Cedarcrest, concluded a challenging season last month. The team got off to a slow start with a new coach and recruited six new players to fill the roster of 11 players.
Coach Kirk Bachison from the Tri-Cities area, who has taken past teams to state championship playoff games, had a vision to improve the team by encouraging the players to step up to varsity this year (last year they played junior varsity) so the players could be tracked with statistics.
Most teams have at least 18-24 players and are able to use substitutes to maintain the high energy through four 20-minute quarters. The Redmond team had to play everyone the entire game without any substitutes. The first-year teammates learned skills quickly, and they all stepped up to work together. Despite a losing season, every coach from the league was complimentary of the team’s efforts. Bachison had to strategically keep the boys from injuries and help them “survive” in each game without subs.
Bachison also maintained the synergy and high spirits of the team by encouraging them to focus on statistics for individual players throughout the season:
Craig Decker (sophomore), long stick middie and face off, was No. 1 in state with a total of 180 ground balls (turnovers) and averaged 15 balls a game.
Kellen Baker (junior), attack, was ranked No. 3 in Division II Kingco with 22 goals.
Hunter Grein (junior), goalie, was ranked No. 6 in Division II with 128 saves on 305 shots (42 percent); he was No. 23 with 23 ground balls.
Regan Lee (sophomore), middie, was ranked No 10 in Division II with 37 ground balls and No. 13 with four assists.
Hayden Poore (sophomore), attack, was ranked No. 13 in Division II with 13 goals.
Caden Pratt (sophomore), defender, was ranked No. 13 in Division II with 35 ground balls.
Jude Hammond (sophomore), middie, was ranked No. 15 in Division II with 31 ground balls and No. 18 with three assists.
Hamilton Busenbark (sophomore), defender, was ranked No. 22 in Division II with 23 ground balls.
Other team players (freshman): Alec Karnik, Chi Chiles and Billy Reed.
The team is looking forward to increasing its team size with upcoming freshmen, past players and any other interested athletes that love action and a fast moving game with skill. Bachison has plans of summer practices, tournaments and camps. The club is also organizing fall ball for interested players. For more information, visit www.redmondlacrosseclub.com.
