The Carly Stowell Foundation for Education in Athletic and Music Performance is taking its first big, public step this weekend when it hosts the Field of Dreams fundraiser.

The event begins at 6 p.m. Saturday at Grimstad Farms in Kent. The RSVP date has passed, but people can attend by paying the $75 fee at the door. There will be a silent auction, which includes trips to Africa, Mexico and British Columbia.

The gala's aim is to show that the 1-year-old foundation is intent on reaching its goals and to secure donations to help it realize its ambitions, which includes building a facility for its athletic and musical endeavors.

"Our grand vision is that someday we will be able to run the types of programs we want to without being beholden to school districts or stuck waiting in line for gym time," said Chuck Stowell, father of the foundation's namesake, Carly.

Carly Stowell was a 14-year-old freshman at Kentlake High School when she died suddenly in April 2007 of arrhythmia at a basketball tournament in North Carolina. She excelled at basketball and was the only freshman member of jazz band at Kentlake.

Chuck said he and his wife, Elena, Carly's mother, wanted to do something that Carly would like.

"This just seems right," he said.

Since it was formed a year ago, the foundation has sponsored one volleyball and six basketball teams, in addition to offering jazz classes twice a week. Chuck said the number of teams will double in the next year, with the organization adding two lacrosse teams. Most of the kids are from the Kent area, but kids from Renton, Issaquah and Puyallup also participate.

When Gravin Kralik became Bethel's head coach at 27 years of age, he thought leading a football team was about schemes, strategies and sets. Four years later, he understands it requires much more than a playbook.

"I had no idea how much it was about building a program," he said, "and not offensive or defensive sets."

His mistaken assumptions spurred him to learn more about what it takes to build a winning program from coaches at some of the nation's top football programs. So, Kralik traveled the country during the offseason and put what he gleaned into a book. Gridiron Dynasties is scheduled to be released Aug. 29.

"I'd go to coaching clinics and as a young coach it was frustrating," he said. "Coaches would talk about their offense or defense, but I wanted to learn more. I wanted to learn how to build a program."

Kralik, who financed the book himself, said Gridiron Dynasties touches on a variety of subjects, including how facilities and booster clubs affect programs.

"It was a fun deal," he said. "I got to pick the brains of some of the best coaches in the country. If I wasn't writing this book, there's no way I would have had the chance to talk to some of them."

A familiar name has been hired as interim head football coach at Lincoln High School.

Ben Cochrane, a running back on the 1999 NCAA Division III national champion Pacific Lutheran University team, will lead the Abes. Cochrane takes over for former coach DJ Dobbins, who resigned this month to pursue a career in law enforcement. He begins at the Tacoma Police Academy later this summer. Dobbins coached Lincoln to a 6-4 record in 2007, his third season leading the Abes.

Cochrane, who graduated from PLU in 2002, coached at Ford Middle School from 2002-06. He also volunteered for a season at Stadium High School and coached at Franklin Pierce High School in 2000.

The head coach position will be opened after the 2008 season, Tacoma School District officials said.