The Front Row with MARK NELKE Sept. 15, 2011

In the past, Lakeland High boys soccer coach Nick Haynes said he has had years when he had to instruct even the most basic soccer skills to his players.

"I had to teach them the throw-in," he said.

He might have been kidding.

But maybe not.

These days, more and more Hawks are entering the high school program with more experience, and it's showing at the varsity level. Lakeland improved to 5-3-2 after Wednesday's 6-1 win at Lewiston, with a couple of 2-1 losses at Moscow and Sandpoint in 4A Inland Empire League play.

Last Saturday, Lakeland beat 5A Lake City for only the second time in school history; the first time was in 2004.

"We just have more experienced players; most of our kids are playing club now," said Haynes, in his 12th year as Lakeland coach. "This year we had 16 freshmen come in that all played soccer before. In the past kids came in that played a little park and rec."

Lakeland has never had a winning record in boys soccer. The Hawks were 8-9-1 in 2008. Of course, playing four area 5A schools each year isn't going to help the overall record - and Sandpoint and Moscow are often two of the best teams in North Idaho, regardless of classification.

Lakeland gets Moscow at home on Sept. 22, and welcomes Sandpoint on Oct. 1.

But only one of those three teams will advance to state from the Region 1 tournament.

"I think it's going to be interesting at districts," Haynes said. "This is probably my best team since I've been at Lakeland."

n Based on returning players and recent history, Post Falls was considered the preseason favorite in 5A Inland Empire League volleyball.

Naturally, the Trojans lost their first two league matches, to Lake City and Lewiston, before beating Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday night.

Lake City coach Bret Taylor also considered Coeur d’Alene a league title contender in the preseason.

But it was Lake City that emerged on top of the league standings after beating Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene last week.

What’s going on?

“We’re resilient,” Taylor said. “But there’s so much more of this journey that we have to complete.”

“Bret’s pushed us through some tough times to make us come together at the end,” Lake City junior setter/outside hitter Kylie Curtis said. “We deserve to win these (matches); I think we’ve worked hard, and it’s paying off.”

Lake City (2-0 5A IEL) plays at Coeur d’Alene (0-2) on Tuesday, is home vs. Post Falls (1-2) on Sept. 29, and still has both matches with Lewiston (1-0) left, in early October.

Coeur d’Alene, which plays at Lewiston tonight, hosts Post Falls on Sept. 27 in the “Volleyball 4 the Cure” breast cancer awareness match.

Two of the four teams will advance to state Oct. 28-29. The state 5A tourney will be at either Coeur d’Alene, Lake City or Post Falls, depending on which local team does not qualify for state, as teams can no longer play state on their home court.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected].