High schools

Soccer is in at Hall High School.

The Hall school board Wednesday approved installing an intramural coed soccer program this coming school year. A survey of 258 Hall students indicated 70 students expressed an interest to play soccer as did 39 students out of 97 polled at the four feeder schools.

“This is a way of getting the program started, and then it’s up to the program itself to evolve,” Board President Todd Fanning said. “We are fully committed, if the numbers are there, and the interest is there, to push it ultimately to a varsity level.”

See full coverage of the soccer story in the school board meeting coverage in the BCR.

• James in: The Princeton High School board rubber stamped the hiring of Bob James as head varsity softball coach at Wednesday’s board meeting. James had been sophomore coach for four years and has been heading up the new Bureau County Blaze ASA program for two years.

“Bob has done a fabulous job for us in the past. He is very dedicated to softball. We look forward to seeing Bob take over as head coach and making the program second to none,” PHS superintendent Kirk Haring said at Wednesday’s board meeting.

James replaces Sara Hartz, who coached five years. He is the fifth coach in a PHS softball program that has had just one winning season in 11 years, following Kim Hubble, Eric Tinley, Cheryl Miller and Hartz.

Volunteer assistant Vanessa Madison, a candidate for the head job, was named as James’ assistant.

• L-P basketball: LaSalle-Peru filled its head basketball vacancies in one night, hiring Scott Olson as boys’ coach and former Lady Cav standout Gina Anglavar as the girls’ coach. Olson previously was head coach at Orion, East Moline and Danville.

• Heinz returns: Travis Heinz has returned to Forreston High School as head football coach. He was an assistant coach for the Cardinals from 1997-2001 and 2005, and he assisted at Freeport from 2002-04 and 2006. He replaces Greg Wood, who resigned to take the offensive coordinator position at Urbana High School.

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