CHIMACUM — A season removed from a district championship and state tournament appearance, Chimacum will field a softball team this spring with a little help from one of its rivals.
The Cowboys and Port Townsend Redhawks each sat out the 2018 season, but the schools will combine for a Chimacum-administered combined team this spring.
“We have officially entered into a two-year agreement and Chimacum will be hosting the softball team out there,” Port Townsend athletic director Lysa Falge confirmed Wednesday.
Falge’s Chimacum counterpart, Tony Haddenham, thinks the move will strengthen the program. The Cowboys made three consecutive trips to the Class 1A state tournament from 2015-2017 and six straight state visits from 2005 to 2010, but there have been dips in turnout that caused season-long cancellations in 2012, 2014 and last spring.
And while Chimacum has had success in the win-loss column, Port Townsend has consistently struggled. The Redhawks were mired in a 51-game losing streak dating back to April 28, 2014, before canceling the 2018 season.
“I personally believe it will solidify the softball program and make it more competitive for the girls,” Haddenham said.
“They will be playing as a 2A squad as opposed to a 1A squad, so they will see better competition. And I think they will be able to learn, grow and compete as a tight-knit unit.”
Port Townsend and Chimacum have cooperation agreements in other sports — Chimacum athletes have competed for Redhawk wrestling teams for decades in the regular season and Port Townsend athletes play for the Cowboys tennis team with individual athletes representing their own school once they reach the postseason — but this agreement is a little different.
“Combining a team is a far diffeent procedure than what we do for the individual sports of swimming, wrestling and cross country,” Falge said.
“When you combine teams, you have have to combine school populations. With PT and Chimacum combined we are considered a 2A team based on the classification numbers, so that makes it very different. We couldn’t [combine] on the fly [last spring], it takes a few months to figure who is paying for what, scheduling and get approvals from all of the interested parties.”
With co-op agreements, schools are not required to combine student populations so there is no changing classifications.
“It’s usually a well-established program and athletes come from a school that does not offer that sport,” Falge said. “We had two established programs in this case, so it was a different process.”
Haddenham said the move will impact fellow 1A Olympic League member Klahowya the most.
“We had to get the approval of both school boards and approval of the Olympic League because being a combined 1A/2A league that leaves the last 1A in Klahowya out in the cold,” Haddenham said.
Coupeville flew the Olympic League coop for a home in the newly created North Sound Conference this season, eager to ditch the financial burden of cross-sound ferry trips for every Olympic League road contest.
“Klahowya is out [for softball], and what I have heard is they will play in the Nisqually League.”
In addition to school board and league approval, the agreement also had to be given a stamp of approval by the West Central District 3 and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the ruling body for prep sports in the state.
Haddenham would like to see the presence of a combined team strengthen youth softball programs in Jefferson County, increasing turnout and avoiding the occasional season cancellation at the high school level.
“That’s my hope with this, many of the softball and baseball players in little league have been coming out here for the past couple of years. With the rich tradition that Chimacum has had for the last 10 or so years, it makes sense to revive and revitalize the team.”
Haddenham said the head coaching position is open and was posted on the district website last week.
“Jim Eldridge has resigned, so the position is open and we have no applicants as of [Wednesday],” he said.
To view the job description and apply, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-ChimacumSoftball.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
