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The Home Journal’s
SANDLOT
CALENDAR
High school volleyball
Saturday
■ Houston County, Warner Robins,
Stephenson and Lithonia at Redan,
11 a.m.
■ High school cross country
Saturday
■ Warner Robins at Valdosta Invite,
10 a.m.
High school football
Today
■ Hawkinsville at Perry, 7:30 p.m.
■ Houston County at Northside,
7:30 p.m.
■ John Milledge Academy at
Westfield, 8 p.m.
Saturday
■ Warner Robins versus Camden
County at the Georgia Dome, 5:30
p.m.
IN BRIEF
WR Rec to host NFL
Punt, Pass and Kick
The Warner Robins Recreation
Department will be sponsoring the
NFL Punt, Pass and Kick competi
tion Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. (check in at
8:30 a.m.) on Perkins Field.
The competition is free and it is
for boys and girls ages 8-15. The
age control date is Dec. 31. A birth
certificate is required. Tennis shoes
are required to be worn for the
competition. Each child will punt,
pass and kick the football. The
child that comes in first place in
each age group will move on to the
sectionals.
Applications can be picked up
at the Warner Robins Recreation
Department located on Watson
Blvd., and must be turned back in
to their office by Sept. 12 at 5 p.m.
Perry cheer squad to
hold one-day clinic
Perry High School’s cheerlead
ers will host a one-day cheer clinic
Sept. 15 in the school's multipur
pose gym. It is open to children
from 4 years old to sixth grade.
The cost is $35 which includes
an event T-shirt, drinks and
a snack. A $5 discount will be
given for additional family mem
bers. Participants, according to a
release, will learn a number of
cheerleading skills. They will pres
ent those at a parent performance
before the football game Sept.
28. For more information, e-mail
MSloan@hcbe.net.
Perry JL undergoing
Fall Ball registration
Perry Junior League Fall Ball
registration has begun and will con
tinue until Oct. 5. You can register
on line at www.perryjuniorleaue.
com or at the park under the pavil
ion on these dates: Sept. 22 and
Sept. 29 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Fall ball fees are $45 and the
organization is offering a special for
Fall/Spring Combo for $125.
For more information, Kelly
Tucker at pjlpresident@windstream.
net or via phone at 988-2618.
Douglas to host
baseball showcase
The PRO-DAY “South Georgia”
High School Baseball Showcase
will take place Sept. 2 at South
Georgia College in Douglas from
noon-6 p.m., announced Jeff Gross,
director of PRO-DAY Baseball. The
Showcase, according to a release,
is an opportunity for high school
players (ninth-12th grade) to show
their talents in front of professional
scouts and collegiate coaches.
The players will be evaluated in
all areas. These evaluation cards
will be kept on file to monitor a
player’s progress throughout their
high school career. PRO-DAY will
also send them to three colleges
of the players choice. Participants
may register online at www.proday
baseball.com or may print an appli
cation and send a check or money
order to: PRO-DAY Baseball, P.O.
Box 333, Orange Beach, AL 36561.
For additional information, call 251-
980-2300.
YMCA looking to start
new cheer program
The Houston County YMCA,
according to a release, is currently
looking to start a program for com
petitive cheerleading. To that end,
they need experienced cheerleader
coaches. Contact Shannon Cobb,
gymnastic coordinator the Houston
County YMCA at 478-922-2566 or
stop by their office.
AAU basketball team
gearing up
Any girls interested in playing
AAU basketball for a new Middle
Georgia team is asked to contact
Travis Hammock at 478-918-5593.
The desired age group is 14-17.
FRIDAY,
AUGUST 31, 2007
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Houston County assistant coach Tom Seward, right, works with the Bears Wednesday at practice.
Bears coach follows familiar footsteps
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
To set the record straight, he’s not a junior
(he’s not even in school anymore, hah,
hah, hah). And his father is not a senior.
The first member of the Seward family to make
a mark on Houston County High School athlet
ics was Tommy. Earlier this year, a new Seward
arrived in Bears camp with the name Tom. The
names are not quite the same, but when it comes
to the love of football, it may be hard to tell the
son from the father.
The Seward family first arrived at Houston
County High in 1996 as Tommy took the job of
football offensive coordinator under then head
coach Doug Johnson. He was also head baseball
coach for the Bears through the 2000 season.
“When we moved up here, I was a sophomore
(in high school),” said Tom Seward, the new run
ning backs coach for the Bears varsity football
squad. “I graduated in ’99.”
However, even with his father on the high
school coaching staff, son Tom did not play high
school football in Warner Robins.
“Being a coach’s son and never really feel
ing like there was much choice or option - even
though there was - I kind of got burned out of it
at a young age,” said Seward. “I decided I didn’t
want to play in high school, and really regretted
it once I got out of high school and wanted to be
a part of it again.
“I always played rec ball and sports all year
round. When I was done with rec ball I would go
practice with the varsity up at the high school. I
was putting in as much time as high school play
ers were when I was 7, 8 years old. If your heart’s
not really in it - and at that point it wasn’t - I
didn’t get my interest back until it was too late.”
Seward played all that recreation football in
Tifton, where his family lived for 20 years prior
to the move to Houston County.
After graduating high school, Seward attended
the University of Georgia as an education major.
His first coaching job was at Athens Academy
while he was still a student.
“I’ve always loved the game,” he said. “I always
was supportive of my father and what he did and
really admired what he did. I always thought it
Buckshots win World Series
Special to the Journal
The Middle Georgia
Buckshots, an All-Star team
with ties to the Perry area (a
grandfather and a sponsor),
according to a release, domi
nated all aspects of the game
of baseball and returned
home the 2007 11U AA
World Series champions.
The boys from Middle
Georgia went undefeated
throughout the World Series
tournament held July 17-22
in Kingsport, Tenn. Thirty
teams competed represent
ing states from Texas to
The next generation
Virginia and extending to
the Great Lakes.
At the plate the Buckshots
were awesome with Wesley
Ammerman achieving a slug
ging percentage of .900 with
two towering home runs, 5
RBIs and hitting .450 for the
tournament. Coty Graham
led the team with 8 RBIs
while hitting .444. Matthew
Powell hit the highest for
average at .471 with 4 RBIs.
Ridge Warren matched
Graham hitting .444 while
knocking in 3 RBIs. Lane
Crummey and Michael
Santamaria followed hit
Sports
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Seward evaluates the kicking game.
"I've always loved the game. I always was supportive of my father
and what he did and really admired what he did. I always thought it
was something I'd ready enjoy doing, so I thought I'd give it a shot
and really liked it a lot."
was something I’d really enjoy doing, so I thought Seward’s next stop in high school coaching was
I’d give it a shot and really liked it a lot.” ut Loganville High School in Walton County. His
After graduating from Georgia in 2004, See FOOTSTEPS, page jB
ting in the .350 s with both
players having two doubles
and two RBIs. Trevor Wood
had three RBIs, a double
and hit .300. Curtis Gay had
two RBIs, a double and hit
a monster of a home run.
Dylan Churchwell and Luke
Mathis had doubles with 3
and 2 RBIs respectively.
On the bases the Buckshots
were unstoppable with 37
stolen bases. Santamaria
and Warren led with eight
bags a piece. Middle Georgia
scored 63 runs over 8 games
with Santamaria leading
See BUCKSHOTS, page 4B
-Houston County assistant coach Tom Seward
Leadership WR uses Bowl-a-thon
to support disabilities ministries
Special to the Journal
Leadership Warner Robins held a Bowl-a-thon to
benefit the Heart of Georgia Developmental Disabilities
Ministries Aug. 11.
According to a release, these fund-raising efforts
helped bring DDM one step closer to the ground break
ing on two group homes for adults with development
disabilities.
There were 34 teams that participated in the bowl-a
thon and 39 sponsors that supported the bowl-a-thon
that was held at the Gold Cup Bowling Alley on Russell
Parkway.
See LEADERSHIP . page 4B
PAGE 1B
ENI/Gary Harmon
ENI Gary Harmon