TWO'S COMPANY
Ian Laimbeer and Will Davey placed third at the state tournament as a doubles team this spring. They’re both three-sport athletes for Polson, playing football and basketball as well.
Ian Laimbeer and Will Davey placed third at the state tournament as a doubles team this spring. They’re both three-sport athletes for Polson, playing football and basketball as well.
How hard is it playing three different sports, and switching gears each season? What do you think is your favorite sport?
WD: They are tough in the sense of touch. The game is there but making fine adjustments is the hard part. My favorite sport is football by far.
IL: Managing three sports is hard to do. When you pile school-work and scholarships and community service on top of that, it gets chaotic. It’s hard to excel in three sports since each sport requires such a significant amount of hard work. It’s hard to play a sport and see some of your friends practicing for the sport the following season that you aren’t allowed to practice for. In between football and basketball, and basketball and tennis, there aren’t a lot of layovers, and often times the seasons overlap with each other. As soon as one sport ends, another starts, or at least getting prepared for the start of the season and trying to make up that lost time begins. Over the course of high school, each sport I’ve played has been my favorite at one time or another. Just being with the guys and different groups of friends with each sport is fun. The people are what make the game fun.
What’s the hardest part about playing doubles tennis?
WD: The hardest part is trying to control your partner and it never works (laughs) and also with service returns, you can either hit a great return or give the other team a meatball to hit.
IL: The hardest part about playing doubles tennis is the mental aspect. Tennis is a much more mental game than people realize, I think. When Will and I played doubles his freshman year, we were an athletic team, but we would get crushed by kids who wouldn’t be able to catch a football or make a lay-up. Those experiences were humbling. In singles tennis, it’s hard to maintain a cool demeanor, but with doubles, I think it adds a different dynamic since each individual is trying to keep his head while hoping his partner is keeping his too.
The Polson boys basketball team has reached state for three years in a row, how does it feel going to the state tournament and competing against the best teams in the state?
WD: It feels great and I’m glad our team has made it a habit to go to the state tournament. Playing those teams is fun and also very hard. We have only won a couple games at state and that’s why the best teams are there.
IL: The past three years in Polson High School basketball have been awesome. As a middle school student, I would watch the high school team and think how good they were, although they rarely went to state. I think it is fair to say now that if our boys basketball team doesn’t go to state it’s somewhat of a let down. Even this season we had our troubles through the conference schedule but bumped up our game at divisionals to upset Whitefish and head to Butte. The state tournament itself is such a blast. The teams from the same conference end up becoming buddies and meeting kids from all over Montana is really special. The level of competitiveness is also such a higher level. Eight teams are playing the best ball they can for a weekend, so it gets pretty intense.
How is tennis different from the other two sports?
WD: In tennis you can’t bull your way through or manhandle a guy to get points. You have to think your way through the game and that’s tough for me.
IL: I sort of answered this in question two, but tennis is such a mental game. In other sports the best athlete prevails, but that isn’t always the case in tennis. At first that was frustrating, but also motivating.
What do you think was the key for the season you guys had this year in football?
WD: The key was our defense and our line on both sides of the ball the line wouldnt give an inch and gave Vince room to run.
IL: We had a large group of close-knit guys this year on our tennis team. As underclassmen, we had tasted success from the previous classes and we wanted to keep that going. Our team had a lot of fun this year but we knew what we wanted to do. In the end I think we fell just short of that, but it was a great season nonetheless. We have been playing football together since recess in fourth grade. On summer evenings we would get together on our own to run through drills and play Philly football. Every one of us were so competitive that it just pushed everybody to step up their game. It was a great season.
Who do you feel has helped you the most in your athletic career?
WD: My dad. He has been there for me. He will slow the game down for me in any sport and he helps me analyze the game. He can tell me what to expect and how to deal with the peaks and valleys. He has taught me mostly everything about sports.
IL: A lot of people have helped immensely throughout my athletic career. There are some great coaches and motivators out there. I think my friends have helped me the most though. Through thick and thin we rallied and always pushed each other in a positive way
What are your future plans beyond high school?
WD: I plan to go to college to play football. I have hopes to go to MSU and to go to school to become a dentist.
IL: After high school I will go to Gonzaga University in Spokane to study business and finance with a possibility of law school after that. Intramurals baby!