Lake Stevens High School is the 7th largest high school in the state. They have a 90.1% graduation rate which is the highest in Snohomish County. Plus, LSHS has a 97.44% school attendance rate. Winter sports  for 2013-14 account for 127 athletes which represents 7.65% of the entire student body. Spring sports in 2014 had LSHS with 241 athletes which is 14.5% of the entire student body. The success of the sports programs in 2014 are numerous from Viking football WESCO Champions, to the Girls swim team, to the Boys Tennis team any other sports such as Viking Cross-Country. In 2013-14 over 400 student athletes participated in at least one sport. This past fall, four outstanding student/athletes signed letters of intent to play college sports.

 

Athletes are held to a high standard. Each athlete and parent signs a LSHS Athletic Code where it outlines expectations to maintain eligibility. Every High School has a similar standard. Over 300 students participated in ASB Clubs in 2014. Nearly 40% of our students are involved in Extra curricular activities which leads to a positive culture. So with a 90.1% graduation rate which again is the highest in Snohomish County and a 97.44% school attendance record, a culture is created that insures success and provides leadership opportunities for all students and athletics.

 

Lance Lopes, Senior Associate Athletic Director - University of Washington

 

Our second in the series of Athletics and Education was about the college level. Lance Lopes is in the twelfth month of his job. Previously, he was with the Seattle Seahawks involved in the hiring of Coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider. And before that, Lance was with the Green Bay Packers where he was involved in salary cap administration and player contract negotiations. He has a wealth of executive sports administration experience having guided facets of internal, external and legal affairs throughout his time with the Packers, Sounders and Seahawks.

 

There are 600 athletes at the University of Washington. Approximately 300 are under full ride scholarships. Over 70% of the athletes have a GPA above 3.5. Many are first generation collegians. Exciting to see the pride from the families watching these athletes perform and to witness their sons and daughters when they graduate. Athletics is the best learning experience involving learning skills and how to deal with win and losses.  The biggest challenge right now are the lawsuits involving the NCAA using images of past collegian sports players without their permission. Shouldn't that former player be rewarded with a cast payment for his image?  The judge hearing the case commented that the football and basketball players should be paid $5,000 per year. Why, with full ride scholarships in play at all of the colleges and universities. What about the impact on Title 9?  Currently, at the University of Washington, each athlete receives a monthly cash scholarship of $400 to be used for anything they want to spend it on. The lawsuit is under appeal so it will be sometime before the outcome is known.