Morrow's Musings
- By Jeff Morrow
509-582-1507
Posted Aug. 3, 2000
LaBounty hopes he's in Seattle, not Sydney
Attending the Seattle Seahawks' training camp in Cheney is a joy to behold.
The practices are crisp and run with enthusiasm. Every few minutes, an aide blasts an air horn, then players and staff move on to a new drill.
Before you know it, the 212 hour practice is over, and players spend some time signing autographs and giving kids their gloves and, sometimes, shoes.
The NFL Experience, a hands-on playground for kids, runs non-stop during the day.
And for a guy like Matt LaBounty, training camp never gets old.
The 6-foot-4, 275-pound defensive end from the University of Oregon begins his eighth season in the NFL.
The husband of Prosser's Olympic heptathlete Kelly Blair-LaBounty, Matt has outlasted the NFL lifespan for most players.
"The last I heard, it's five years for a starter and two years for a substitute," said LaBounty, 30. "I don't have any plans to give up."
LaBounty saw plenty of action last season as a backup defensive lineman for the Seahawks. Yet, he said sometimes you need a break to get into the NFL.
"It's scary," he said. "I'm sure not that strong, and I'm not all that big. I was a 12th-round pick by the 49ers, and some of my teammates ahead of me got hurt. I got to play nose tackle in preseason, and I made the team. If they hadn't gotten hurt, I probably would have been cut and doing something else."
But LaBounty said he never rests on his laurels.
Even though he had three quarterback sacks in last Sunday's team scrimmage, he knows that doesn't mean anything.
"Practice is pretty important," he said. "But after the first game (Saturday against Indianapolis), I'll have a better idea where I am."
While the coaching staff and most of the veterans know what he can do, he can't relax.
"Coach (Mike) Holmgren could come up to me today and say I have a guaranteed spot on this team, and I'd still be running scared," he said. "It's a business, and there's always something you can try to be better at."
Normally, the Seahawks get the bulk of their work done in the mornings, before the heat of the day gets pretty intense.
After lunch, the players return to the field at 2:45 p.m. for a light workout until 4:15.
LaBounty enjoys the quick, yet organized, sessions.
"Our practices are on pace," LaBounty said. "Notice the cones out here. We have to be behind those during the drills. Everything needs to be perfect. Jerseys have to be tucked in."
After dinner, players gather from 6:45-9:30 p.m. for meetings. The routine begins again the next morning and demands dedication.
LaBounty was inspired by his wife's qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team last month, when she persevered through leg injuries to take third in the women's heptathlon.
"I was very, very, very proud of her," he said. "She overcame a lot to get there. It took a lot of guts for her to perform the way she did on that second day."
The hard part for him is that he won't get to be in Sydney next month with Kelly during the Olympics because he'll probably be with the Seahawks.
"No matter how much you talk to her, you know you miss things because you weren't there," he said. "That happened in Atlanta in 1996.
"But we have a small window to compete," he continued. "You're here for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For Kelly, it's the Olympics. And for me, it's football."
# # #
Some area quarterhorses have been doing well around the country.
Eltopia's Cliff Schellinger saw his horse, Dat Valley Girl, win the $20,880 Professional's Choice West/SW Challenge at Wyoming Downs in Evanston. The horse was ridden by Berkley Packer and trained by Lin Melton. The winning time in the 350-yard race was 17.878 seconds. Schellinger received $12,528 for the victory.
Onwego Ashley, owned by Kennewick's Patricia Bigham, took third. The horse is also trained by Melton and was ridden by Cammie Papineau.
Heisman Hopeful, owned by Kennewick's Speed Scene Farms and trained by Melton, finished second in the $40,950 Bayer Legend Northwest Challenge in Boise.
# # #
Her college track career may be over, but Francesca Green Sewell will continue to be a WSU Cougar.
A Kamiakin High graduate, Sewell was named an assistant track coach for WSU.
She received her bachelor's degree in kinesiology in 1998 and her master's in sports administration from WSU in 1999. She won the Pac-10 long jump titles in both 1996 and 1998.
# # #
Umatilla's C.J. Savage will run track at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City. He placed sixth in the 1,500 meters at the 3A state track championships in the spring.
- Jeff Morrow can be reached at 582-1507 or via e-mail at jmorrow@tri-cityherald.com
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