North Thurston Public Schools

Trading fastballs for fairways at Capital City Amateur

June 11--Golf wasn't always the game for Jon McCaslin. Not at first.

Baseball was McCaslin's first love, and his ambitions were high from the beginning. Golf was simply "something to do" and to "see how far I could hit it."

"I wouldn't call it playing golf," said McCaslin, a 2002 North Thurston High School graduate.

Yes, he did play one year of golf at North Thurston, but baseball was his thing. As a senior in 2002, he led the Rams to an undefeated season and the Class 3A state title, but an elbow injury sustained while playing baseball at Lewis-Clark State College ended one career -- and started another.

McCaslin has been the hottest South Sound amateur golfer in the past few years with back-to-back victories in 2009 and '10 at the Capitol City Amateur -- today and Sunday at Capitol City Golf Club. He'll begin defense of those titles when the field tees off at 7:30 a.m. today.

"I'm very excited," McCaslin said. "We'll see if we can make it a three-peat."

In high school, McCaslin was a hard-throwing right-hander for the Rams, who sported an 11-0 record with a minuscule 0.99 ERA in leading North Thurston to a 24-0 mark and its first state title in baseball.

He played two years of baseball at Lower Columbia College in Longview before transferring to Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho. A shoulder injury his junior season made baseball not fun for him anymore; he took the 2006 year off, came home to Lacey, and figured he'd give golf a try. He returned to Lewiston a year later, with a healed shoulder and his love for baseball back. He rejoined the Warriors' baseball team and also walked on to the men's golf team. Soon, he was balancing classes while being a two-sport athlete. Throwing bullpen sessions after golf practice happened a lot.

It was early March of 2007 that McCaslin's baseball dream was shattered. In the fifth inning of a tournament game against Gonzaga, McCaslin tore a ligament in his throwing elbow after firing a fastball. It's an injury that is often repaired by Tommy John surgery.

"It was devastating," McCaslin said. "You grow up your whole life thinking you'll pursue the baseball dream. It ends with one pitch."

McCaslin's pursuits soon changed course in favor of golf. His success in golf didn't come out of the blue; he worked on all aspects of his game.

Real estate agents take bus tour of North Thurston Public Schools ...

North Thurston Public Schools is the largest school district in Thurston County and encompasses Lacey and Hawks Prairie, areas that remain popular spots for homeowners.

Many of those homeowners have ties to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a sector that has helped fuel the district’s population growth.

The district has 14,000 students, about 10 percent of whom have ties to the military; that percentage is even higher for some schools in the district, Superintendent Raj Manhas said.

Agents and brokers on the tour said they wanted to learn more about the district so they can share the information with clients. Prospective buyers often decide where to buy homes based on where they would send their children to school.

Military families often don’t have the time to research a school district before they buy, so an agent can help fill in the blanks, said Woody Hill of Windermere Olympia.

After the morning reception, the agents and brokers boarded a school bus to visit Timberline High School and Chambers Prairie Elementary, the district’s newest school, which opened in September 2009.

At Timberline, the tour group was shown around the school and treated to a performance of the school’s symphonic choir. At Chambers Prairie, the elementary students took over, show- ing the adults around the school and pointing out its features.

Friday’s tour was the second of its kind offered by the district, Schrieve said.

The district would like to schedule a tour this fall with businesspeople, she said.

Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403 rboone@theolympian.com www.theolympian.

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