After a couple months out of the loop Kevin Strozier is back in the coaching business.

The former Lincoln High girls basketball coach was hired to fill the same position at Kingston High, a new high school in the North Kitsap school district that will open this fall.

Kingston is a class 2A school that will play in the Olympic League.

"I’m ecstatic," Strozier said. ". "I am just happy they are giving me the opportunity to continue to coach. I knew I would get an opportunity to get back into coaching because people who know me

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Even though school is out, White River athletic director Mark Brandmire still is a busy man these days.

The Hornets have several coaching vacancies open, and recently hired a White River high graduate to fill one of them this week.

Anjalina Peloli is the Hornets new volleyball coach. A White River graduate, Peloli worked as an assistant volleyball coach at Bonney Lake High and will continue teaching at the Sumner School District school.

Peloli played volleyball at Pacific Lutheran University. It’s her first coaching position.

Leaving White River is head football and wrestling coach Kevin McNulty,

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The annual East-West all-star football game will be played Saturday, June 30, 1 p.m. at Everett Memorial Stadium. The all-star game will feature 64 of the state’s best high school seniors from the Class 4A and 3A classifications.

Tickets for adults and students are $7.

Oak Harbor head coach Dave Ward will coach the West team. Kentwood head coach Rex Norris will be one of the assistant coaches on the West squad.

Former Curtis High coach Bob Lucey will coach the East team. Lucey’s successor, Clay Angle and

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Centralia High’s Jordan Stray was named the Gatorade state boys track and field athlete of the year.

Stray was ranked third nationally in the hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 228 feet, 10 inches, and won the Junior Olympics title in 2006.

Stray maintains a 3.96 GPA and will attend the University of Oregon on a track scholarship this fall.

Othello javelin thrower Courtney Kirkwood was named the Gatorade female state track and field athlete of the year.

Here are a few thoughts on the game on 11-foot hoops on Saturday at Hec Edmondson Pavilion

No gimmies: Chippies inside are tougher with the extra foot, particularly with a defender inside. Even the big guys are forced to explode to the basket to make sure they get up enough to make the lay-in.

Good shooters adjust: As expected, good shooters adjust to the height and can still make shots, even from beyond the arc. The 11-foot height could have more affect in the final minutes of the game when

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For those that haven’t heard already Mount Tahoma senior Tyler Howes passed away on Monday, just hours before Mount Tahoma was scheduled to have its graduation ceremonty at the Tacoma Dome. Read more about the story here http://www.thenewstribune.com/front/topstories/story/86475.html#.

In talking to coaches and administrators at Mount Tahoma it sounds like Tyler was a great kid that will be missed by family members and students at the school.

We here at The News Tribune offer our condolences to the Howes family. Here’s a few words about Tyler from Mount Tahoma wrestling coach Randell Holberg, who coached Tyler

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Here’s an interesting story from the New York Times about skateboarding becoming a high school sport in California.

By MATT HIGGINS

New York Times News Service

After months of wooing sponsors, and drafting bylaws and articles of incorporation, all Jeff Stern needed to create the first high school skateboard league was teenage skaters to get onboard and compete.

He called their cell phones, but they never returned messages. Then someone suggested he try sending text messages, and the skaters replied immediately.

By modifying his approach to teenagers, skateboarding and interscholastic athletics, Stern has started the

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Former Curtis High standout Isaiah Thomas, currently attending South Kent prep school in Connecticut, has been invited and confirmed he will attend the 14th annual National Basketball Players Association’s Top 100 high school camp, which will take place June 19-24 at the University of Virginia.

The camp is advertised as an opportunity for NBA players to help in the development of campers’ individual and life skills, both on and off the court.

Former attendees include Washington’s Spencer Hawes, Kevin Durant, OJ Mayo, Chase Budinger, Greg Oden, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis,

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