POULSBO — It’s never too early for children to experience America’s favorite pastime.
On this note, Poulsbo’s Parks and Recreation’s preschool sports program is making sure this spring will provide a grand slam of good times one for North Kitsap kids. Starting Monday, boys and girls from ranging from 3-5 years old began taking the first baseball swings of their young lives.
North Kitsap might be sitting pretty atop the Narrows League standings right now, sporting a 10-2 record most teams dream of. But it hasn’t been as easy as it looks.
The Vikings stayed busy during spring break, topping rival Central Kitsap 7-2 Tuesday before stumbling to an 8-1 loss to the Cougs at home Wednesday. The up-and-down week jumped back up with a big 13-0 blanking of Lincoln (1-8) on the road Thursday.
POULSBO — Close games give teams a chance to show their true colors.
If a squad can win those kinds of contests early in the season, it will undoubtedly pay off down the road when stakes are the highest — during the postseason.
The North Kitsap Vikings baseball team showed what it’s made of Friday afternoon, displaying resiliency and composure in a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over the then-unbeaten Stadium Tigers.
POULSBO — Spring Break is finally upon North Kitsap School District students. But before the Vikings took off for some fun in the sun for the holiday, they played host to Gig Harbor, Foss and Stadium for a quad track meet on a frigid afternoon March 31 at NK High School.
POULSBO — North Kitsap fastpitch played three games in three days this past week, leading up to a brief hiatus for spring break. NK will be back in action April 11 when it hosts Gig Harbor.
Wednesday, the Vikings utilized an offensive deluge, coming from behind on two different occasions to beat Bellarmine. Thursday, they held on for a close win in a non-league game against Olympic. Friday, NK traveled to Olympia, but results were unavailable at press time.
POULSBO — With an 11-1 win over Olympia Monday, North Kitsap baseball continues its roll.
The Vikings are now 5-1, grabbing for the top spot of the Narrows League Bay division along with Stadium and Bellarmine Prep. North finished its series with the Bears (2-2) in Olympia Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time.
BREMERTON — While the Viking tracksters’ trip to the Bremerton Relays wasn’t a lucrative venture on the score sheet, Saturday’s blustery weather made it a worthwhile, tough-as-nails experience.
The sport is largely about learning how to control one’s performance, focusing on form, despite distractions in the environment. On Saturday, athletes were trying to shut out commotion from the rain, wind and cold.
POULSBO — A cohesive and protective back row of defenders is the base of a solid soccer squad. It is not only one of a team’s last lines of defense, it is also in many ways the starting point of any offensive push.
Tuesday night, when North Kitsap dropped its first contest of the 2007 season to a fleet Stadium Tiger team, the Vikings were short four of their premier defensive backs, coach Chris May said.
POULSBO — With the Vikings hosting their first track meet of the season, matched with a rivalry on the fastpitch diamond and a rescheduled game being played out on the baseball field Wednesday, North Kitsap High School looked like an athletic mecca.
Below the fastpitch field, the NK tennis teams were practicing and down the road at Strawberry Field, Viking soccer was also hard at work.
POULSBO — While teams around the state are honing their ground strokes and lob shots, on the North Kitsap hard top, head coach Terry Grimm is teaching this year’s Vikings a whole new technique.
“She’s teaching us to dominate,” junior Jocelyn Gutierrez said as her practice doubles mate Lauren Curtis agreed.
KINGSTON — Kingston Junior High outlasted Poulsbo in the final game of the 2007 regular season Thursday, returning the favor by dashing the Panthers’ previously undefeated record.
Yet, not many players or coaches on either side feel it will be the final meeting between the teams.
POULSBO — Driven by the momentum of proving itself among the Narrows League best of the best in 2006, the North’s boys golf team has begun its season with a poised anticipation.
Last year at the Narrows League Championships, the Vikings finished No. 2, runner up to the eventual state champion Bellarmine Prep. With that performance, they topped some of the league’s big dogs: Gig Harbor, South Kitsap and Olympia.
POULSBO — Though it will be tough to rival the excitement of the Viking success on the short track last year, 2007 is building up to be a big year in the field, and possibly even larger in long distance.
The Viking throwers, jumpers and distance runners are forming the nucleus of the family for which Viking track made itself known in 2006. The distance crew is made up largely of North’s cross-country team which carried on that emphasis during the fall season with a team trip to state.
POULSBO — They’ve got a new head coach, a new batch of seniors and a new schedule to play, but the North Kitsap Vikings are still taking to the pitch like they’ve been doing it for years.
Chris May stepped in as head coach earlier this winter and has stepped in with immediate changes — in a big way with increased off-season training. He met with the team during the first week of January and since then, team captains led conditioning sessions on their own time.
POULSBO — At the head seat of the North Kitsap Soccer Club, a veteran volunteer has stepped down while another veteran steps up.
The NKSC’s former youth coordinator and veteran select team coach Aaron Vernik was approved to replace former president Todd Stone at the NKSC board’s Feb. 26 meeting.
POULSBO — In the words of one of the team’s captains, Kendall Peiguss, the upcoming season for North Kitsap Viking fastpitch is both an end and a beginning.
In the dugout, 2007 marks the end of former head coach Dan Kolda’s tenure and the beginning of Bill Hobaugh’s reemergence. It will also be the final year for a combined North Kitsap squad, but it’s the beginning for the underclassmen cadre of the team.
POULSBO — During the offseason, members of North Kitsap Viking baseball played in and picked up Babe Ruth state championships while some even made a trip to the Babe Ruth World Series.
Now, they bring that confidence to the NK diamond.
“They expect to win and they expect to be successful.That’s a big part of the game is just believing,” NK head coach Jeff Weible said. “A lot of them have put in the time and have earned the right to win.”
POULSBO — The game of golf is considered one of the most intricate, delicate and difficult sports to master. And while some struggle to fully achieve the skills in a lifetime, North Kitsap High School girls golf coach Jay DeVries is aiming to lay a foundation for this year’s Vikings in about two weeks.
It’s been a fickle year for Kitsap County prep girls basketball. From North Kitsap storming in like a lion and lambing out before the playoffs to the Olympic High School Trojans’ resurgence from a one-win season two years ago to the Olympic League championship, 2007 had it all.
MONMOUTH, ORE. — After four years of fierce play at North Kitsap High School and plus six years of development as part of the select team Westsound FC — formerly FC Kitsap — NK’s fiery forward Brenna Lander is taking her enthusiasm onto the NCAA division II soccer pitch.
