Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009

PREPS: Lynden names new coaches

Two longtime coaches have left Lynden athletics, but two more are anxious to prove their worth.

Angie Dallas will take over for Chris Elsner, who resigned after 10 years to spend more time with her family, as the leader of Lions' volleyball.

Jose Gonzalez, who worked as an assistant coach with the Lynden boys' soccer team for two years and currently serves at the president of the Whatcom County Youth Soccer Association, will move over to coach the girls in the fall. He'll take the reins from Cindy Watt, who has coached the Lions girls team for almost a decade, including the last four years.

Losing two longtime coaches in the same year won't be easy, Lynden Athletic Director Terry De Valois said, but he's confident the Lions picked the right successors.

"I expect great things from both these coaches," De Valois said in a phone interview, noting that both coaches "have tough shoes to fill."

Dallas, who played volleyball at Ferndale and one season at the University of Puget Sound, relishes the situation, knowing that Elsner left behind a strong, stable program that has been a perennial contender over the years. This year, the Lions finished third at the 2A state tournament, and landed several players on the All-Northwest Conference team.

Dallas also arrived to find out the departing coach had already set up a summer training program prior to leaving.

The two have worked together in the past, mostly regarding player development.

"She's been a great resource," said Dallas, who describes Elsner's coaching style as positive, yet competitive. "I'd like to take what she has done and carry it on. We're young this year but we've got a great group."

In addition to heading the Whatcom County Youth Soccer Association, Gonzalez has coached for 10 years at various levels, including his two years as a Lynden assistant and stints with the Whatcom Rangers and the Whatcom Developmental League.

His father, who was born in Madrid, Spain, also played and coached soccer at the semi-professional level.

"So (soccer's) been part of my life since I can remember," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez also wants to assert lessons he's learned from practicing judo, a sport he attempted to make a run at the Olympics with in 1988.

"I'm building people first and the athlete will come second," Gonzalez said of his coaching philosophy. "My whole focus is to teach people peak performance."

Dallas' experience is bolstered by several years coaching volleyball at the club level as well as a stint assisting her husband, Brad Dallas, who coached the Nooksack Valley volleyball team from 1992-1996.

He won't be joining his wife's staff, though he'll likely have plenty to say, she said.

"I think an extra set of eyes in the bleachers is always a good thing," Dallas said.