"Bears on fast track...Fleet of foot, Olympia will bank on speed" -- Sept. 5, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

The Olympia Bears girls soccer team dressed up in suspenders, wigs, vests and colorful stockings under plaid shirts as they ventured around the South Sound, checking off a list of items -- "take a picture by the fountain, get a picture with the bagboy at a grocery store, get a bag of oyster crackers at the oyster house" -- during a scavenger hunt in groups of five or seven last week.

"It was like a big race," said Bears senior defender Cheri Watson. "We ended up probably running a few miles."

Racking up mileage isn't unusual for the team, especially for the five girls who ran on last year's state-champion Olympia track team.

Ciairra Austin, Joanne Hauplin, Tina Schicchi, Jill Lahmann and Cheri Watson all participated in running events and now turn their legs to soccer.

"There's not many teams that have five girls who went to state in track. That's going to help, having a lot of fast players," said Schicchi, a junior midfielder. "There won't be as many teams that can keep up with us."

The explosive sprints practiced in track and field carry over for the grueling minutes spent on the soccer field, Watson said.

Aside from team speed, head coach Tessa Effland knows what will get the Bears back to state.

"Tomorrow," she said. "State is a word that we have to practice Monday, Wednesday, Friday. It's a five-letter word that we realize is there."

The team lost its top two scorers from last year's 16-3 team, but returns 12 players this season -- six of whom are first team all-league players. The Bears say their communication and unity sets them apart from other teams.

Knowing that players are trying their hardest gives the Bears an upbeat practice because there's no room to harbor anger against slacking, Schicchi said.

Instead, practice is a time to "come and be intense with people on the field," Lahmann said, "but still when you come off you're still going to be friends with them."

This leads to a Bears' program that has its players -- through friendships -- mentally intertwined on the field.

"We know how the other girls play, so we know exactly where they're going to be, we know exactly where we should put the ball for that certain player. It's just knowing each other."

The Bears have 22 players on their roster this season -- five more than usual -- and are in a new league of 11 teams. Unlike last season, the Bears will play each team once, with the top five advancing to the playoffs.

The new league poses new challenges from new opponents, none of which Effland said is too daunting for the Bears.

"We all have to communicate; they all need to lead," she said. "We've found success that way."