Youthful new faces at the helm of Kentlake soccer, fastpitch teams

Published 4:39 pm Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Kentlake has a pair of youthful new faces on its spring sports coaching staff.

Michael Fuller, a 2008 Kentwood graduate, has taken over the boys soccer team while Kaylee Powell, who graduated from Kentlake in 2006, is head coach for the fastpitch program.

Fuller is currently attending Highline Community College where he is studying accounting.

Powell played catcher at West Texas A&M University after high school and her day job is at a national chain restaurant.

Both have coaching experience at other levels. Fuller has coached Kent United in the Kent Youth Soccer Association while Powell coached with Greg Kaas, her former high school coach and the man she is replacing at Kentlake, at Cedar Heights Middle School until the Kent School District cut middle school softball two years ago.

Both thought that they may not be in the running for a head coaching gig at Kentlake because of their ages but it was their youthfulness that helped them both land their jobs.

Coaching for the Falcons was an opportunity neither could pass up.

“Since I’m not playing anymore I thought coaching was a good way to stay around the game of soccer,” Fuller said. “I thought it would be a good way to get some experience. I interviewed and… I was surprised because of my age that I got the opportunity.”

Fuller said during his interview that being in his early 20s would allow him to better relate to the players and it also means there’s potential to be at Kentlake for a long period of time which would create stability and continuity for the boys soccer program.

One of the Kentlake fastpitch players told Powell that Kaas had resigned from the position, one he held for a decade, and initially Powell didn’t think to apply. She was surprised her former coach had chosen to step away.

“When you think of Kentlake fastpitch, you think of Greg Kaas,” Powell said. “At 24 I didn’t think I had a shot.”

Yet, Powell has a unique insight into Falcons fastpitch other candidates likely did not.

“I wore that uniform,” she said. “I know what it’s like to be a Kentlake Falcon.”

So, Powell said, she called Kaas and asked him in a roundabout way what he thought of her applying for the position and he encouraged her.

“I applied and I didn’t even expect to get an interview,” she said.

In November, both Fuller and Powell got the call, and for Powell it was an emotional moment.

“I was in the airport in Denver,” Powell said. “It was Nov. 3. It was an early birthday present. Mr. Rick called and said, ‘We picked you.’ I cried. I called everyone I knew then I came back and started preparing for the season.”

Powell is taking over a program that finished 15-1 in league and a share of the South Puget Sound League North title, that has gone to state eight of the last nine seasons, that won a district title a year ago and has a proud tradition at Kentlake.

A program which has a saying: Tradition never graduates.

A saying which will be on their team sweatshirts.

In some ways, Powell said, Kentlake fastpitch shouldn’t look too different than it has in the past given her time in the program.

“Any time you bring in a new coach, the transition can be tough,” she said. “I have such big shoes to fill. That being said, we go to work. Kentlake has always been pretty powerful. We tend to be pretty competitive.”

Powell explained that the caliber of athletes on the team, most of whom also play club ball year round, means she doesn’t have to teach the kids fundamentals.

Her focus will be on helping the kids learn how to be prepared both emotionally and mentally.

With that experience comes strong leaders.

“We have a lot of senior leadership on this team,” Powell said. “We’re going to rely on their leadership.”

Senior leadership is a strength of the boys soccer team, as well, according to Fuller.

“We have a really talented team,” Fuller said. “We have 11 seniors, so, it’s an older team. They’re all really motivated which makes my job a lot easier so I can just focus on the soccer.”

Fuller said it was important for him to come in and set the tone as a new coach. He wanted the players to know they could work with him to find success on the pitch.

He also believes the team can make the playoffs, something the Falcons haven’t done in a while, missing out by just one spot last year.

“All the seniors who have been on the team two or three years, none of them have played in the playoffs,” Fuller said. “They want to get there. And the rivalry with Kentwood is definitely a motivating factor.”

While both Fuller and Powell may be young relative to other head coaches in the league neither seem to have much to worry about given the talent and experience have on their squads.