Lanie Kary

LONGVIEW Lanie Kary was helping Ned Bittner and Jason Derrey coach the spring league girls basketball team from Ilwaco when she was discovered by Lower Columbia College coach Chad Meadors and the rest is very pleasant basketball history.

Kary was a unanimous pick for first-team Trico 1A League honors and was tabbed as the girls most valuable player and that was in 2008. Kary led the third-place Lady Fishermen with 19.8 points per game and had 16 double-doubles in scoring and rebounding that season.

Right after high school I didnt go to school to play any sports. I just went to college, Kary said. She attended Whatcom Community College in Bellingham for four quarters and then moved back home to Ilwaco the fall of 2009.

I lived in Vancouver for about nine months in 2011 and went to an amazingand freetrade school for women looking to get into the trades. It is in Portland and is called Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. When I came back home again I took several welding classes at Clatsop Community College, Kary stated.

I remembered Lanie from her high school days in Ilwaco and that she was a special player. She didnt express an interest in playing college basketball, but she was in our gym over the past several years helping coach Ilwacos high school team, LCC coach Meadors said.

Lanie expressed an interest in taking some welding classes and pursuing a career as a pipe fitter. When I told her about the possibility of earning a degree in our excellent program she became interested in going to school here and playing basketball for us and Im excited to see how well she has fit in, Meadors explained.

At first I thought coach Meadors was kind of joking when he approached me with this idea to come play basketball for him at LCC. I was thinking, What would he want with an out of shape, older post who hasnt played competitively in four years? But he was dead serious. I told him I would play for him if LCC had a welding program. As it turns out, they do, and it is highly regarded. I signed my letter of intent June 6, Kary explained.

Lanie is a very good post player and gets along great with her teammates, Meadors praised. Kary has started for the Lady Red Devils and averages 6.8 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per contest. She is shooting 44 percent from the field and 76 percent from the foul line. The 5-foot-11 Kary is also among the assist, blocked shots and steals leaders on the team.

Its very exciting to be able to see Lanie play in college. She is a positive role model for our younger basketball players, coach Bittner stated. She has always been very helpful for our summer program as a volunteer.

This fall I moved to LCC to get my two-year degree in applied sciences with an emphasis on welding. Basketball is a huge bonus, plus it helps pay for a good chunk of my schooling, Kary said. Ive learned so much since Ive been here, in both school and basketball. The welding program is really demanding, so Ive been getting a lot better with certain processes already. And basketball is a daily challenge to be mentally tough and physically prepared.

LCC has been great. Our basketball team is close-knit and it has been cool to have 10 people to joke around with from the beginning, Kary related.

My parents (Randy and Tracie Kary) have given me so much in my life. But Ned (Bittner) and his basketball teams have been a really positive part of my life, especially in the last few years. I realized it was hard to tell a group of girls, all willing athletes, that they need to go out there and make the most of their opportunities, and not try it myself.

In a game Jan. 15 Kary played against former Ilwaco and Naselle Pacific 2B League three-time MVP Carley Kitzman. Green River Gator Kitzman scored 11 points, grabbed three rebounds, had four steals and three assists, while Kary scored nine points, had five rebounds, pilfered three steals and dished out a pair of assists. LCC downed Green River 84-49 and Kary played 20 minutes and Kitzman 29 as both local girls were in the starting lineups.

Lanie is a great example of someone who keeps their dream alive and then follows through. She gives solid help with our summer camps and spring season and she is also a positive presence at open gym. It is exciting to watch her play in college. She led LCC in scoring against Centralia in a game we watched, Ilwaco coach Bittner praised.

Karys tentative plans for the future are to graduate from LCC with a degree, get a job or apprenticeship as a pipe fitter, and make a career in welding. Of course, Chad, my coach, always has plans for us that are bigger than our own. He has talked to me on a few occasions about continuing to let basketball pay for my schooling. There are six schools in the country who offer four-year degrees for welding and engineering type stuff, and they each have a basketball team. One of them is Lewis and Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho, so its something Ill be thinking about a lot over the next year, Kary said.

I guess I would say to anyone younger, an athlete, an artist, a philanthropist, a leader, to find something that he or she is passionate about, and find a way to keep it in their daily lives, Kary concluded.

It helps to have that sweet 15-foot jumper, the hustle to be a rebound and assist leader and be able to use those post moves she perfected four years ago on the court at Carl Aase Gymnasium.