Fastpitch Softball Still Lures Larabee -- Kent Teacher-Coach Plays Ball In B.C.

KENT - The lure lingers for Mike Larabee.

Given a prime opportunity to hang up his cleats when the area's top men's fastpitch team folded after losing Seafirst as its sponsor, Larabee leaned toward retirement.

For a heartbeat or two.

But with his heart still very much in softball, the Kent teacher and coach found a more palatable solution. Larabee didn't have to leave the sport he loves to play.

He just had to leave the country. On weekends, anyway.

Larabee plays in Abbottsford, B.C., this summer, just over the Canadian border, about a three-hour drive from his Covington home. He usually stays in Lynden with Ed Bomber, another former Kent teacher and coach who played with Seafirst last year. Randy Cline of Yakima, Seafirst's catcher last season, also crossed the border.

Larabee, who coached Kentridge to the semifinals of the Class AAA state girls fastpitch softball tournament this spring, is one of the top outfielders in the country. He was selected to play for the U.S. team in the ISF World Championships last summer and looked forward to another stellar season with Seafirst when the ax fell in early this year, about two weeks before the season was to open.

No sponsorship, no team.

"I was really disappointed," Larabee said. "Prior to finding out we didn't have sponsor, we had a good team. I was looking forward to going out and competing. We had a couple of good pitchers and some new position players.

"It was really a shock. I had started swinging the bat a little in my garage off a tee and getting excited. I thought we'd be really competitive this year and have a chance to do something at World and Nationals, so it was a shock."

Larabee had joined the premier men's fastpitch team in 1989, the year Seafirst took over sponsorship from Pay 'N Pak, and was on the 1990 squad that won the 1990 World title in Victoria, B.C, site of this year's tournament.

Larabee, 35, who has a wife and two young children, considered retiring when the team disbanded.

"I'm getting toward the end of my career," he said. "I started thinking, `Do I really want to continue playing and find another team, or just kind of hang it up?' I talked it over with my wife, and she said, `Do whatever you want to do.' "

Abbottsford provided the perfect solution. The team assumed Seafirst's schedule in the NorWest League and plays primarily on the weekends. Larabee said he travels less than he did with Seafirst, which played an extensive tournament schedule.

Larabee said he looks forward to playing in this weekend's Seattle Invitational at Bellevue's Hidden Valley Park.

"It's going to be great to get together with the guys," he said.

Larabee also looks forward to the World tournament next month in Victoria and expects Abbottsford to receive a berth. He was invited to play for Ashland, Ohio, in the U.S. Championships in September, but declined because of new career challenges. He moves from Meridian Junior High School to Kentlake High School, which opens in the fall, as a teacher and coach.

If Seattle gets a team together again next season,, Larabee expects to be in the lineup.

"I still really enjoy playing the game and competing," he said. "I've been playing so long. As long as I stay healthy and my wife gives me the go-ahead."