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Graham, Laura, \u2707

Linfield Magazine Staff

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Linfield Magazine Volume 2 Number 2 Fall 2005 Article 14 Fall 2005 'Cat Tracks Laura Graham '07 Linfield College Linfield Magazine Staff Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine Recommended Citation Graham, Laura '07 and Linfield Magazine Staff (2005) "'Cat Tracks," Linfield Magazine: Vol. 2 : No. 2 , Article 14. Available at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine/vol2/iss2/14 This article is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. Susan O’Meara ’08, women’sbasketball and statistician forbaseball, soccer and volleyballHometown: Sonoma, Calif.Major: Exercise ScienceBeing an athlete at Linfield,“In college you have to studyway more but the time man-agement skills I learn as an ath-lete help me be successful. Even though practices are moreintense than high school and I have to focus on school aswell, I enjoy it. I am a more effective person if I have lotsof things to do.”Being an athletic statistician, “I became a statisti-cian after a teammate asked me to fill in and then theathletic department needed a statistician for the base-ball season. It was all about knowing the right people.I also had experience from high school when I wasthe statistician for my brother’s sports teams. I enjoythe job because it gives me the opportunity to watchall of the other sports.”Chose Linfield because, “I knew I wanted asmall school with a strong program in my intendedmajor. Even though I am from California, all thesmall schools are in the Los Angeles area and thatwas not where I wanted to be. I also looked at big-ger California schools and they were just not right.But when I walked on campus at Linfield I felt,‘This is it.’”Studying exercise science, “Since seventh grade Ihave had a trapped nerve in my knee. Over the yearsit has been misdiagnosed and I have tried every treat-ment for it. I soon found that physical therapy wasthe only thing that helped. This combined with myinterest in the human body attracted me to physicaltherapy.”Favorite Professor: Laura Kenow (human health andperformance). “I took the class Prevention andTreatment of Athletic Injuries with Laura Kenow and Ienjoyed it. I found that the class related to me as an ath-lete but I also found it interesting because of what I amstudying. She was an energetic professor, which broughtme into the subject even more.”Plans after graduation, “I want to go into physicaltherapy, which would require graduate school. But Ihave also thought about becoming a sports trainer for ahigh school team or going into coaching.”The Linfield College Athletics Hall of Fame willinduct eight individuals, a national championship relaysquad, and the first football team to compete in thenational playoffs at the eighth annual ceremony, Saturday,Nov. 5, at Linfield. The banquet will follow an alumni-junior varsity football game slated for 1 p.m.Athletes being inducted include Steve Lopes ’84, aformer All-American offensive tackle and member of twoNAIA national championship football teams; Ed Kama’81, a three-time all-conference offensive tackle and firstteam NAIA All-American in 1980; Lisa (Lind) Prevedello’89, a Northwest Conference champion in three eventsand current Linfield record holder in the high jump; JoeRobillard ’69, a four-year all-conference defensive backwho ranks second on Linfield’s career interceptions list;Cliff Saxton ’52, a four-year starter on both offense anddefense and a NAIA All-American for Hall of Fame foot-ball coach Paul Durham ’36; Alan Schmidlin ’80, a firstteam NAIA All-America quarterback who passed formore than 5,000 career yards; and Keith Lazell, StewartMinors, Carl Shaw and Randy Carter, all Class of ’76 andmembers of Linfield’s NAIA national championship4x400 yard relay squad. The quartet continues to holdLinfield and Northwest Conference records in the milerelay.Linfield’s 1961 Camellia Bowl football team, whichplayed for the NAIA national championship and was thefirst Linfield squad to compete in the national playoffs, isalso being enshrined.Earning induction into the Linfield Athletics Hall ofFame for meritorious service are Dave Hansen, theWildcats’ football and basketball radio announcer forabout 30 years and current vice president for student serv-ices and dean of students, and longtime Linfield supporterDel Smith, trustee of the college and owner of EvergreenAviation.Eight athletes, one team to be inducted into Hall of FameLearning time management: Susan O’MearaF A L L  2 0 0 5 -   2 3As the pen touched the paper TommyPaterson ’05 felt his life change. Years of hard work and a life-longdream were summed up in the contractbefore him. In early June, Paterson signed asa professional free agent with thePhiladelphia Phillies. Hours later he was onhis way to Clearwater, Fla.“I signed my contract at 10 p.m. on aTuesday night,” said Paterson, who earned a bachelor’sdegree in finance. “I had to be on a flight at 6 a.m. thenext morning.”Paterson honed his baseball skills at Linfield wherehe was named first team All-American by the AmericanBaseball Coaches Association. He hit a career .367 andranks fourth on Linfield’s all-time list for runs batted,117, and bases stolen, 38. “Tommy was the model player at Linfield,” saidScott Carnahan ’73, head Linfield baseball coach andathletic director. “He had a strong commitment toimprovement and was the type of player that would bethe first one to practice and the last one to leave thefield.”Once in Florida, Paterson spent three months livingand breathing baseball. He played for the Gulf CoastLeague Phillies, a short-season team to introduce first-year players to professional baseball. His day began at 6a.m. with team practice, a game at noon and an after-noon workout lasting until 5.Although the schedule and 110 degree heat indexwas a difficult adjustment, it was the business side ofprofessional baseball that surprised Paterson the most.He signed a baseball card contract, in addition to theplaying contract, and underwent more than eight drugtests for steroids.Paterson also faced cultural challenges, encounter-ing a language barrier with Latin American teammates.“At Linfield it was easy to form a team bondbecause we attended the same classes and lived and prac-ticed together,” said Paterson, who is the 36th Linfieldplayer to sign a professional baseball contract. “I found itdifficult to form a strong team bond in Florida becausewe spoke different languages and people were continu-ously coming and going from the team.”Paterson used the dynamics of the new team to hisadvantage. He focused on his own skills and madeadjustments to improve. “Tommy just has such a strong desire to play andsucceed at the professional level,” said Scott Brosius ’02,former New York Yankees third baseman and assistantLinfield baseball coach.Now back in McMinnville for the off-season,Paterson will train with the Wildcat baseball team andstick to the strict workout regimen given to him by theGCL Phillies. He will return to Florida in February tobegin spring training. He is confident about his futurein baseball after his summer experience.“My goal has always been to play in the majorleagues,” said Paterson. “I came away from this summerrealizing I have the drive and perseverance to accom-plish my goal.”Paterson has a legion of fans rooting him on,including Brosius, who spent 11 seasons playing withthe Oakland A’s and the New York Yankees. He was alsothe most valuable player of the 1998 World Series.“I know I felt this and I know Tommy feels it now,that if you can just get one shot to prove what you cando, that would be enough,” said Brosius. “Then, even ifyou fail, you know you have taken the chance and madethe effort.”— Laura Graham ’07‘Cat Tracks‘Cat TracksPaterson’s dreamcoming true2 2   -   L I N F I E L D  M A G A Z I N ETommy Paterson ‘05Susan O’Meara ’08, women’sbasketball and statistician forbaseball, soccer and volleyballHometown: Sonoma, Calif.Major: Exercise ScienceBeing an athlete at Linfield,“In college you have to studyway more but the time man-agement skills I learn as an ath-lete help me be successful. Even though practices are moreintense than high school and I have to focus on school aswell, I enjoy it. I am a more effective person if I have lotsof things to do.”Being an athletic statistician, “I became a statisti-cian after a teammate asked me to fill in and then theathletic department needed a statistician for the base-ball season. It was all about knowing the right people.I also had experience from high school when I wasthe statistician for my brother’s sports teams. I enjoythe job because it gives me the opportunity to watchall of the other sports.”Chose Linfield because, “I knew I wanted asmall school with a strong program in my intendedmajor. Even though I am from California, all thesmall schools are in the Los Angeles area and thatwas not where I wanted to be. I also looked at big-ger California schools and they were just not right.But when I walked on campus at Linfield I felt,‘This is it.’”Studying exercise science, “Since seventh grade Ihave had a trapped nerve in my knee. Over the yearsit has been misdiagnosed and I have tried every treat-ment for it. I soon found that physical therapy wasthe only thing that helped. This combined with myinterest in the human body attracted me to physicaltherapy.”Favorite Professor: Laura Kenow (human health andperformance). “I took the class Prevention andTreatment of Athletic Injuries with Laura Kenow and Ienjoyed it. I found that the class related to me as an ath-lete but I also found it interesting because of what I amstudying. She was an energetic professor, which broughtme into the subject even more.”Plans after graduation, “I want to go into physicaltherapy, which would require graduate school. But Ihave also thought about becoming a sports trainer for ahigh school team or going into coaching.”The Linfield College Athletics Hall of Fame willinduct eight individuals, a national championship relaysquad, and the first football team to compete in thenational playoffs at the eighth annual ceremony, Saturday,Nov. 5, at Linfield. The banquet will follow an alumni-junior varsity football game slated for 1 p.m.Athletes being inducted include Steve Lopes ’84, aformer All-American offensive tackle and member of twoNAIA national championship football teams; Ed Kama’81, a three-time all-conference offensive tackle and firstteam NAIA All-American in 1980; Lisa (Lind) Prevedello’89, a Northwest Conference champion in three eventsand current Linfield record holder in the high jump; JoeRobillard ’69, a four-year all-conference defensive backwho ranks second on Linfield’s career interceptions list;Cliff Saxton ’52, a four-year starter on both offense anddefense and a NAIA All-American for Hall of Fame foot-ball coach Paul Durham ’36; Alan Schmidlin ’80, a firstteam NAIA All-America quarterback who passed formore than 5,000 career yards; and Keith Lazell, StewartMinors, Carl Shaw and Randy Carter, all Class of ’76 andmembers of Linfield’s NAIA national championship4x400 yard relay squad. The quartet continues to holdLinfield and Northwest Conference records in the milerelay.Linfield’s 1961 Camellia Bowl football team, whichplayed for the NAIA national championship and was thefirst Linfield squad to compete in the national playoffs, isalso being enshrined.Earning induction into the Linfield Athletics Hall ofFame for meritorious service are Dave Hansen, theWildcats’ football and basketball radio announcer forabout 30 years and current vice president for student serv-ices and dean of students, and longtime Linfield supporterDel Smith, trustee of the college and owner of EvergreenAviation.Eight athletes, one team to be inducted into Hall of FameLearning time management: Susan O’MearaF A L L  2 0 0 5 -   2 3As the pen touched the paper TommyPaterson ’05 felt his life change. Years of hard work and a life-longdream were summed up in the contractbefore him. In early June, Paterson signed asa professional free agent with thePhiladelphia Phillies. Hours later he was onhis way to Clearwater, Fla.“I signed my contract at 10 p.m. on aTuesday night,” said Paterson, who earned a bachelor’sdegree in finance. “I had to be on a flight at 6 a.m. thenext morning.”Paterson honed his baseball skills at Linfield wherehe was named first team All-American by the AmericanBaseball Coaches Association. He hit a career .367 andranks fourth on Linfield’s all-time list for runs batted,117, and bases stolen, 38. “Tommy was the model player at Linfield,” saidScott Carnahan ’73, head Linfield baseball coach andathletic director. “He had a strong commitment toimprovement and was the type of player that would bethe first one to practice and the last one to leave thefield.”Once in Florida, Paterson spent three months livingand breathing baseball. He played for the Gulf CoastLeague Phillies, a short-season team to introduce first-year players to professional baseball. His day began at 6a.m. with team practice, a game at noon and an after-noon workout lasting until 5.Although the schedule and 110 degree heat indexwas a difficult adjustment, it was the business side ofprofessional baseball that surprised Paterson the most.He signed a baseball card contract, in addition to theplaying contract, and underwent more than eight drugtests for steroids.Paterson also faced cultural challenges, encounter-ing a language barrier with Latin American teammates.“At Linfield it was easy to form a team bondbecause we attended the same classes and lived and prac-ticed together,” said Paterson, who is the 36th Linfieldplayer to sign a professional baseball contract. “I found itdifficult to form a strong team bond in Florida becausewe spoke different languages and people were continu-ously coming and going from the team.”Paterson used the dynamics of the new team to hisadvantage. He focused on his own skills and madeadjustments to improve. “Tommy just has such a strong desire to play andsucceed at the professional level,” said Scott Brosius ’02,former New York Yankees third baseman and assistantLinfield baseball coach.Now back in McMinnville for the off-season,Paterson will train with the Wildcat baseball team andstick to the strict workout regimen given to him by theGCL Phillies. He will return to Florida in February tobegin spring training. He is confident about his futurein baseball after his summer experience.“My goal has always been to play in the majorleagues,” said Paterson. “I came away from this summerrealizing I have the drive and perseverance to accom-plish my goal.”Paterson has a legion of fans rooting him on,including Brosius, who spent 11 seasons playing withthe Oakland A’s and the New York Yankees. He was alsothe most valuable player of the 1998 World Series.“I know I felt this and I know Tommy feels it now,that if you can just get one shot to prove what you cando, that would be enough,” said Brosius. “Then, even ifyou fail, you know you have taken the chance and madethe effort.”— Laura Graham ’07‘Cat Tracks‘Cat TracksPaterson’s dreamcoming true2 2   -   L I N F I E L D  M A G A Z I N ETommy Paterson ‘05

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