THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: Friday, August 21, 2015

Thanks in part to a group of parents whose girls played club soccer in Post Falls, the St. Maries High girls soccer team is back in action for the first time since 2011.

Sure, the Lumberjacks did not win a game that season - nor did they back in the 'olden' days of 2010.

Plus, before a year off in 2009, their last win was on Sept. 25, 2008, over Timberlake, back when George W. Bush was still president, right before he handed off the proverbial Presidential baton off to some guy talking about bringing hope and change named Barack Obama. Speaking of '08, St. Maries will wear those same uniforms they wore back then.

BUT THE point in the overall big picture is St. Maries' girls will be running up and down the fields in general. They'll be making some saves, scoring some goals, executing corner kicks, free kicks and possibly penalty kicks off of set pieces, and getting the ball out of harm's way on defense. Just participating, regardless of how their record ends up being in the Intermountain League (which in soccer is comprised of 3A and 2A teams), must be a thrill.

The first season that St. Maries played was when it was a 3A team in 2001. St. Maries is now a 2A school. The only time it qualified for the state tournament was in 2005, when it finished sixth after winning its first 3A district title.

THE HEAD coach is a 28-year-old married father of a 3-year-old daughter and has not coached at any level, but played for two seasons as an all-NWAACC defender with Peninsula College of Port Angeles, Wash., from 2005 to 2007. Brad Groce of Medical Lake, who was hired in May as an algebra and geometry teacher, mentioned in his job interview for the teacher's slot that he had some interest in helping form a soccer team.

Former athletic director Cory Newton hired him, a couple months before former Coeur d'Alene AD Todd Gilkey returned to St. Maries in a similar role.

"When I interviewed with Cory, I told them about my soccer background," Groce said. "That sparked some interest. I got hired, there were not that many applicants. During the first tryout last Monday, 20 came out - 25 originally said they'd come out. Nineteen made the team and 14 of them are freshmen. You need a minimum amount of 14 to field a team. It's still a small amount, but they're excited."

The season opener for St. Maries will be at 4 p.m. at home on Monday against none other than Timberlake, which lost in the state 3A championship game last fall to Coeur d'Alene Charter, which the Lumberjacks host on Aug. 25.

"It'll be a good test of where we need to be at," Groce said. "We'll be seeing some top-shelf soccer."

GROCE CREDITS the parents of the girls who're currently on the team for getting the ball rolling.

"They were pushing for it, getting the numbers up," Groce said. "They had a lot of interest coming into it. The boys program was pretty strong coming into it. We just had to get the girls to participate."

Gilkey said the girls are ready to get things started on Monday.

"It's a program that they're trying to get off the ground," Gilkey said. "St. Maries kids work hard and they've worked hard all summer. A lot of the freshmen have played in club and have put in the extra time. The program has generated an opportunity to help kids and keep them involved in sports."

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, via e-mail at bbourquin@cdapress.com or via Twitter @ bourq25