I was born and raised in the interior of British Columbia, Canada, competing in athletics was a needed diversion from a strict educational system and very difficult farm work. Soccer was the dominant fall sport/ Track and Field in the Spring. Hence, both soccer and pole vaulting were my focus. During my University time at Portland State, I played Oregon state club soccer, assisting in two Oregon Championship and pole vaulted under Ralph Davis, winning the NAIA District 2 championship in 1958. Post university, I played 8 years of local and regional soccer with German, Hungarian, English and American teams in the Portland/Metro area.

The urge to compete in most everything I undertook, whether it was picking more boxes of apples than my brothers, pole vaulting the highest or scoring soccer goals, seemed to give me a sense of accomplishment , satisfaction, and add to my self esteem. The lesson I learned and cherished from my parents, was to do the best I could with anything that I chose to do in life. They even helped me develop a music career as an avocation. As a result, I continued athletics, education, and music throughout my life, culminating in a career of thirty six years as a Physics Instructor.

I strongly believe that competition in an athletic endeavor, be it soccer, cross country, ballet, cheer leading, golf, etc., helps to develops a strong concept of team work, leadership , creativity, work ethic, and other valuable practices that carry over into one’s lifetime.

I do have to add that I coached young men in soccer and golf until OSAA sanctioned complete women athletics in 1976. I still question why the opportunity for total women major sports wasn't a priority many years earlier. In 1976 I transferred from Washington HS to Wilson HS to teach Physics, and was asked to coach the women soccer and golf programs by a very visionary principal- Dr. Roy Malo. I reluctantly accepted and it only took a season or two to find that coaching women soccer and women golf was absolutely one of the highlights in my athletic life. Emphatically, the successes of these two programs at Wilson HS were, in part, due to the help of all my excellent assistant coaches, volunteers, colleagues and, most important, an understanding family.

Vocational role(s):

Physics Instructor for 36 years at the high school level.

Assisted in the development of two Inquiry-based Physical Science programs--”Introductory Physical Science” and “Force, Motion and Energy,” for SCI (a science curriculum development institute).

Taught at the University level for over 10 summers- six to nine week workshops for teachers of Science. (San Diego State, Colorado School of Mines, Boston University Extension, Portland State, Western Washington State, Seattle University, and other workshop sites)

Avocation of music for 10 years at KGW/King TV as a performer with the Circle 8 Hoedown and the Heck Harper Show.