| Amazing Race Pair Honors Ex-Coach | | | By: Amberly Dressler | Posted: Thursday, October 1, 2009 8:57 am
|  | | Meghan Rickey and Cheyne Whitney. |
Patrick Henry HS alumni Meghan Rickey (Surf) and Cheyne Whitney are participating on the TV show The Amazing Race and remembering a former coach along the way.
Rickey and Whitney, who met in elementary school, have deep roots in San Diego soccer. Both played for the Patriots. Rickey was coached by Howie Hawver at Patrick Henry and by Colin Chesters, Ada Greenwood and Jose Ocampo at Surf. She is currently a Poway Vaqueros coach.
Rickey and Whitney are honoring Hawver by wearing red “Fight ALS” wristbands. Hawver was diagnosed with ALS, often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, in December 2008.
“Meghan had emailed me earlier to tell me that they will be wearing them for inspiration,” Hawver said. “Of course, that made me very proud.”
Hawver remembers Rickey, who was a four-year varsity starter for him. Hawver says Rickey matured into a leadership role by her junior year and was a team captain as a senior.
“What made Meghan a great captain was that she had the ability to rally her teammates while maintaining a fun, happy attitude,” Hawver said. “She always had a great sense of humor, but knew when to be serious at the same time. She was one of the leading scorers in her senior year. She was also a total team player. I'm sure she's bringing those qualities to the The Amazing Race.”
Coach Ocampo also remembers Rickey fondly.
"Meghan was always the personality of the team," Ocampo said. " She always kept us enjoying training and laughing while doing so. She left a long-lasting impression on my first year coaching at Surf 10 years back."
Rickey's personality likely went a long way in beating out The Amazing Race hopefuls from across the country for the chance to compete on the show, travel around the world and take a crack at the $1 million prize. Episode one aired Sunday, Sept. 27.
Rickey and Whitney’s performance will also please supporters. The couple, along with 11 others, met at the Los Angeles River basin where, for the first time in the show’s history, one team was eliminated at the starting line. Rickey and Whitney passed the first challenge with flying colors. Upon receiving the next clue, the two learned they would fly to Tokyo Japan.
The first challenge in Tokyo was to compete in a faux-Japanese game show. Each of the teams had to eat Wasabi bombs in order to leave the show and escort 20 Japanese tourists through the populated streets of Tokyo. Rickey and Whitney were the first to finish the task.
Rickey and Whitney then learned they would travel to Vietnam. The next morning, the couple hopped a ride on a wooden boat to a mud pit where they hauled bowls of mud to eventually cover the base of a fruit tree. The next task was to herd 100-plus ducks into a cage, which sounds easier than it was for most teams. Then the couples then made their way through the streets of Vietnam to the finish line. Rickey and Whitney finished that leg of the race sixth.
 |  | | Meghan Rickey played for Surf for seven years, winning State Cup, the Far West Regional and National Cup. |
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