Chiefs' Ramirez headed to Walla Walla

MOSES LAKE - If this spring's Moses Lake High School boys soccer team does even better than last year, chances are Richie Ramirez will be a big part of it.

The senior forward, who earned a first-team selection to the All-Columbia Basin League squad in 2007, is excited about the Chiefs' chances to make their second straight district playoff appearance.

The Walla Walla Community College Warriors are just as excited about Ramirez. After looking closely at Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges brethren Wenatchee Valley and Columbia Basin, Ramirez recently signed a letter of intent to wear the Warriors' black and gold this fall.

Walla Walla coach Chad Bodnar, who led the Warriors to a 16-4-3 record and an NWAACC quarterfinal appearance in his first season, was evidently jazzed about adding the skilled and speedy Ramirez as a forward.

"What kept my interest up in going was they kept asking me what they needed to do to have me go," Ramirez said. "Other colleges weren't responding to any of my questions, my recommendations and applications, and Walla Walla was the first to pop up."

It also helped that the college had a strong program in one of his career choices - a Spanish interpreter. His older brother, Jose Ramirez, is studying the same field at Big Bend Community College. But the younger Ramirez also has other aspirations.

"I'm trying to get to a four-year school after my community college and hopefully get a degree in physical education, where I could become a coach at a school," he said.

Jason McLean, a Moses Lake High School teacher, is another person that helps Ramirez go after his dreams the same way he chases down a soccer ball in the attacking zone.

"He's always pushing me and pushing me to do better than I am now," Ramirez said of McLean. "He knows my abilities and what it's like to be out there."

With the Chiefs' season opener on tap for this Friday, there's not much time left for Ramirez and his teammates to prepare. They believe they have a better squad than 2007, when they finished 9-9 and qualified for the district playoffs for the first time in seven years.

"We're looking to be league champs this year and make it past the second round (of districts)," Ramirez said. "We've had a lot of recent players pick up skills - conditioning and fitness-wise - and we're looking pretty strong."

While the team lost some key players in outgoing seniors Bobby Alwine and Seth Bruneel, second-team All-CBL midfielder Devin Petersen returns and could be one of the guys the Chiefs count on to feed Ramirez.

Ramirez began playing soccer 11 years ago, and he's honed his skills in recent years through the Moses Lake Cougars, a local club team, and with an adult coed league in Othello. He used to play basketball and football, but lost interest the more he played soccer.

"Basketball got my attention until high school, when we started doing more soccer and more soccer," he said. "Probably the thing that caught me the most about soccer is traveling - you get to see more sights and it's different seeing other teams plays against you and their styles."

Ramirez hopes to be an immediate factor in Walla Walla for Bodnar, who has coached the men's and women's programs to eight of the past 10 NWAACC Eastern Region titles. The Warriors don't lose much - only eight times in 104 outings under Bodnar - and that's something Ramirez is revved up about.

"Their style of soccer is more towards my style - fast-paced and moving," he said. "Their team is very good and that's what interested me most."