Varsity - BHS vs Inglemoor 9-25-2025

Bellevue 4-0 Inglemoor

1st min Saleen (Ava)
9th min Mack (Nora)
15th min Mack (Paris)
54th min Paris (Nora)

I'm a soccer guy. Through and through. As a longtime player, a coach, and an avid fan. But, equally as important to who I am, later in life I've become a devoted horse dad (equestrian eventing), cheer dad (all-star cheer), and a golf dad (from AJGA to high school). 

Probably like a lot of parents with their firstborn, I thought my son would naturally inherit my personal interests and pursue soccer as his sporting passion. And he did play on his neighborhood team. But on one random Saturday afternoon when he was 7 or 8, I took him to the driving range for an hour of fun and distraction. I wasn't really a golfer, but I had my father's hand-me-down 15-year-old clubs for us to share. The shortest club in my bag was the pitching wedge, so I let him hack away with it. Mostly taking divots rather than hitting the ball. By happenstance, an old pro by the name of Bill Tindall was at the range that day. He saw my son flailing away with my adult-sized wedge and gave him a few simple tips: how to hold the club, how to shift and rotate his body properly, etc. All simple stuff that as a soccer guy I didn't know. After a few minutes of steady improvement, Bill told my son he would be right back and he walked to the range parking lot and popped the trunk of his car. He returned with a full bag of Ping Junior golf clubs and handed them to my son, saying "Son, these clubs were my grandson's, but he outgrew them. I've been waiting to find a kid to take care of them for me. So I want you to have them. But you have to promise to come back here and practice a bit, and we'll talk about golf." And with that simple act of kindness and generosity, my son became a golfer. Totally hooked. And I became a golf dad destined to attend countless junior golf tournaments as caddy, nervous spectator, or mere transportation. I never had to persuade him to practice or beg him to go to the course with me. It was his thing, and he loved it. All thanks to the kindness of a stranger. 

And now I'm a devoted (addicted?) golf guy too. Which is why I'm writing this recap at 4am the night after a comprehensive win against Inglemoor, watching the first shots of the Ryder Cup (a traditional [currently over-hyped and over-commercialized] team golf competition between the USA and Europe). 

The lesson learned? The kindness of a stranger has led me to set absurd alarms at 4am. 

But at 4am, years after being a mediocre and ignorant caddy at junior golf tournaments, I'm in a rapid-fire text conversation with my son who lives in San Francicso and is also awake and fixated on the golf. Thanks Bill Tindall. 🙂 Sincerely.    

But back to my first love and BGS. I was wary before kick-off of the infamous "let down" game after a big win. Defeating Skyline at their home field with a last-second goal was an emotional high, and standards declining a little is a common aftereffect. Our team looked loose during pre-game. Relaxed. Too relaxed? 

I needn't have worried. From the opening kick-off, Emerson hit her best long-ball of the year to a sprinting Kasia deep in the Inglemoor third and we were on the "front foot." Just seconds later, Ava slipped a simple, direct pass into space for Saleen to run onto in the Inglemoor penalty box, and no extra touches required as our Junior Captain slipped the ball past the onrushing keeper with a first-time shot. The best passes are those merely sent in the general direction of a teammate, but hit with the proper pace, roll, and accuracy so that the receiving teammate has easy options...and Ava's pass was one of those. 1-0 Bellevue in the first minute. In the 9th minute, we added another, as Saleen dropped a ball to Nora, and our Senior Captain hit a one-touch pass into the space that Saleen had just vacated and where Mack had made a clever probing run. Classy finish beneath the onrushing keeper, and it was 2-0. At the 15-minute mark, we staked ourselves an unassailable lead, as Mack earned her brace with a long-range floating shot that fell perfectly into the far corner of the net after a simple drop-back pass from Paris. 3-0 Bellevue. 

It would've been easy to downshift our intensity for the remainder of the game, but I was proud that we kept playing organized, pressing, free-flowing soccer. No let-up in quality, just a calculated rotation of tired legs as we used the balance of our time to test new player combinations and roles. Our final goal didn't arrive until the 54th minute as Nora found Paris' feet on the right side with an excellent entry pass, and our sophomore winger blasted the ball into the upper right corner from 25 yards. 4-0 Bellevue. Final score. Cartwheels from the coach for a shutout. Statistics: 26/3 and 5/1 shots/corners for Bellevue/Inglemoor. A comprehensive victory. 

All sport is an awesome absurdity. But it is a wonderful pursuit that has the power to create or reinforce lasting memories and relationships. It's a common language. A pre-game circle of teenagers, arms around each other's shoulders, shouting "woo" to the night sky or a wonderfully complicated handshake between sophomores before running out for the anthem. At its best, it's a social glue. For parents, their kids, their teammates, fellow supporters, crepe-making grandparents...or between an impressionable kid and an old pro showing kindness on a driving range. 

But beware the unintended consequences, you might be up at 4am someday texting furiously about how Morikawa and English are the worst possible pairing for alt-shot golf.

Rest up. Another big week upcoming as we host the undefeated 7-0 Lake Washington Kangeroos before traveling to Eastlake.  

Peter

PS. The first RPI ranking of the year was just released. Your Bellevue Wolverines are currently #4 for 3A. I'll write more at a later date on how we don't put much value on being ranked highly at the mid-point of the season, or how the RPI overly favors decent teams in mediocre leagues versus excellent teams in strong leagues, but it's still nice to see a top 4 ranking next to our name. Long may it continue. (and guess who has played the most difficult schedule so far in 3A based on OWP (opponent's winning percentage)? us again.)