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Anticipation of Beavers’ first season causing a stir on Viking Way

Steve Yingling

Practice began for a majority of high school teams on Monday morning in preparation for the 2001 fall season.

For most, it was like old times.

South Tahoe High returns seven coaches to run its nine fall varsity sports.



The only rookie coaches are football mentor Eric Beavers and tennis director Sabrina Zalles.

Beavers’ squad won’t start practice until Thursday, an opening date that all Nevada 4A schools must adhere to. The first-time varsity coach’s arrival is causing great anticipation on Viking Way.



“We had a great run with Tim (Jaureguito), but I think this run with Eric Beavers is going to be exciting,” said STHS Athletic Director Don Borges. “He has a tremendous knowledge of the game.”

As a quarterback, Beavers led the Nevada Wolf Pack to some of their finest seasons in the mid-1980s. Now, the Vikings’ two-year assistant gets his first opportunity to see if he’s just as successful as a head coach.

“You take away Jake Hurwitz, “E Man” Williams and Jarred Uppendahl, but then you start working with the next crew. Eric has the weight program where it needs to be, and we’re really excited about what’s going to happen in football,” Borges said.

“But you can say the same thing about Joe Winters, Julia (Peyser) Russell and Pat Fagen in tennis.”

Those three veteran Viking coaches head the boys soccer, girls soccer and boys tennis programs, respectively. Each should assemble teams capable of going deep into the postseason.

Of course, if the fall is anything like it has been in recent years, Dominique Westlake’s and Kathy Bluethman’s cross country teams have the best chances of bringing home state hardware. Both teams were state runners-up a year ago and return runners capable of making it happen again.

“Dominique and Kathy do an outstanding job. There’s no better boys and girls coaching staff in the state,” Borges said.

Students athletes can still go out for any of the teams. However, in order to participate in the season opener, they must get in at least 10 practices to be eligible.

Practice times are 7-9 a.m. for boys varsity and JV soccer at South Tahoe Middle School, 8:45 a.m. for girls varsity and JV soccer at STMS, 9 a.m. for boys and girls tennis at STHS, 8:30 a.m. or 6 p.m. for boys and girls cross country at the STHS football field, 2-4 p.m. for girls golf at Lake Tahoe Golf Course, 3-5 p.m. for freshman and JV volleyball at STHS and 5-8 p.m. for varsity volleyball at STHS.

Football practice kicks off at 8 a.m. Thursday for frosh, JV and varsity players at STHS.

Whittell also got busy on Monday with boys and girls soccer, cross country, football and golf opening. Boys soccer’s two-a-day practices are 8-10 a.m. and 4-6 p.m., while girls go from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. Cross Country commences at 8 a.m., volleyball at 3 p.m. and football at 9 a.m.

Football coach Anthony Esquivel, a former Ventura College player, is the Warriors’ lone new face for the fall.


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