Taras McCurdie (he/him) is the sports editor for The Front this quarter. He is an aspiring sports journalist entering his final quarter at Western Washington University (WWU). Outside of school, you can find him freelancing for the Lynden Tribune, playing on the WWU club tennis team or running on the treadmill at the Rec Center. When chilling at night, he listens to throwback slow jams and ’90s hip-hop. You can reach him at tarasmccurdie.thefront@gmail.com.
The Western Washington University Vikings crushed it at home on Saturday, Oct. 29, with women’s soccer shutting out Saint Martin’s University and men’s basketball dominating Douglas College.
How does an athlete play on a college team? Do they get recruited in high school, attend college sports camps or try out once they are enrolled at their college? Do coaches watch athletes’ games, or do the athletes send their game films to the coaches instead? Is it beneficial to attend a community college first before going to a four-year university or is being recruited by a university right out of high school better? Each coach and player at different levels will tell you the college recruitment process differs. Coaches look for specific characteristics in a prospective recruit: grades, personality, skill; and athletes look for specific things the college has to offer them: academics, successes of the athletic programs, athletic aid.
How does an athlete play on a college team? Do they get recruited in high school, attend college sports camps or try out once they are enrolled at their college? Do coaches watch athletes’ games, or do the athletes send their game films to the coaches instead? Is it beneficial to attend a community college first before going to a four-year university or is being recruited by a university right out of high school better? Each coach and player at different levels will tell you the college recruitment process differs. Coaches look for specific characteristics in a prospective recruit: grades, personality, skill; and athletes look for specific things the college has to offer them: academics, successes of the athletic programs, athletic aid.
As a Ukrainian-American who was born in Kyiv and came to the United States when I was 1 year old, I have felt helpless. These last few months, I’ve seen the country I was born in and still want to revisit being demolished. And there’s nothing I can do except write this article.
Vikings on Wheels is a club wheelchair basketball team that competes in the Wade King Student Recreation Center every week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 p.m.
There are three local semi-pro soccer opportunities for players: one just began its inaugural season in 2021 and only has an indoor team with hopes of expanding outdoors in the near future; the other two both have indoor and outdoor teams. These opportunities allow current players to join in the summer and winter to prepare themselves for their upcoming fall and spring seasons. And, they give former players the chance to continue playing the game they love after college.
Iakov Shmelev, a former defender for Western Washington University’s men's soccer team and semi-pro team Bellingham United FC Hammers, now plays professionally for the Michigan Stars FC.
For many Washingtonians, once spring arrives in April and May, it is time to pull out the water skis, golf clubs and other equipment and head outside. Western offers 25 sport clubs with 20 active this spring. The activities range from outdoor land sports such as baseball, tennis, golf and ultimate frisbee to outdoor water sports such as water skiing, wakeboarding, rowing and sailing.
Regardless of who someone is or what they look like, everyone is susceptible to being attacked. In Washington during 2020, 29% of cases involved an offender and 26% involved a victim between the ages of 20-29, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Data Explorer. Seventy-eight percent of the cases involved a male offender while 55% involved male victims and 44% involved female victims.
Have you wanted to get fit but haven’t found the motivation to run on a treadmill or bundle up and go outside? Or worse, have you or someone you knew ever faced a dangerous altercation that could have resulted in severe harm or death, and neither of you had an idea how to fight back for protection?
Solutions by The State News
