Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

4B ♦ FRIDAY, AUGUST3I, 2007 H t m M ■(& - «u *- *»v. B iHByypSJjS" iSfw ** m j l 5 * ni t ». r- ; Jwh Imm fi Ir,/ V' 'll PggßjP||f - Tjip % *” ™ LVB I zSiSifci * “” , SSiSSIHii * i ''; if JIffMSBWM ■;. J :V ■ Al MKrafl Mr - <3 -- w - H JjgF it I 9kaA£ ■■■ ■ &. m ‘•iftjH E, >'J pM* I ®* «w ]F IF tts * iL k^^SßPLk^ Contributed Pictured are participants of the Bowl-a-thon put on by Leadership Warner Robins Aug. 11. LEADERSHIP From page iB The Leadership Warner Robins participants are part of a rigorous series of classes and assignments that is based on the UGA FOOTSTEPS From page iB responsibility there was tight ends and wingbacks. “I learned a good bit coach ing when I was in college and at Athens Academy,” said Seward. “But being thrown into the fire at a high school program, you learn a lot. I was always very apprecia tive of the coaches up there and the opportunity I had. “And I was always appre ciative of my dad. He’s somebody good to have in your corner when you won der if you’re doing the right thing and how to handle situations. It’s good to have somebody like that a phone call away.” From observing his father at work, Seward said he learned how to handle play ers, demaning respect from them while still finding a way for them to like you as a person. “You walk a thin line now more than ever with kids,” he said. “You can demand respect and really be hard on them a lot of times. It’s really hard to build a rela tionship at the same time. I found that happy medium through watching (dad) and how he was with his play ers. “ I’m getting better at that, still trying to build on it. It’s something I want to get bet ter at.” Seward now has the spot on the Bears coaching staff vacated by Andy Gentry when Gentry took an assis tant principal’s job at the new Mossy Creek Middle School. But Seward actu ally applied for a teaching position in the school’s new engineering department in March. His undergraduate degree is in technology edu cation. Seward interviewed with principal Sheila Beckham, and he said it was Beckham who went to Johnson about bringing him onto the foot ball staff. “When he called, I was very happy at Loganville, but at the Bame time I have a lot of respect for this program,” said Seward. “It’s home to me. I would go from being a little over three hours from my family to being about an hour and 20 minutes. I J.W. Fanning Institute’s Community Leadership Program and incorporates best-practices of similar programs being conducted around the country. Heart of Georgia DDM is a non-profit organization established in 2004, by vol- realized the pros outweighed the cons, and once I came down here and interviewed I knew it was where I needed to be.” When Seward joined the staff, he - as every other Houston County coach did back in the spring - expected to be working with Johnson, someone he got to know well during his high school days. “I really have a lot of respect for coach Johnson,” said Seward. “He has a great record. I’m grateful for the opportunity he gave me to be here.” But it was in July that Johnson announced his retirement from coaching due to health reasons. “I was very shocked,” said Seward. “A lot of people were. I really hate that I’m not going to get an oppor tunity to coach with him on the sidelines, but at the same time I understand when you get your time in, you can enjoy your retire ment. I think he understood that, and I’m very happy for him.” Seward has had all sum mer to get settled back into Houston County and get a feel for the kind of team the Bears will field while working for new head coach DM we capture \ # your photo? Click on the big blue Y ) our website at M vTUIIk www.hhinews to see. If we did, you can chains, t-shirts and more right from your wwwjihtnewsfcomi unteers, to fill a need in our community for developmen- disabled adults. Their goal is to raise funds to build, furnish and maintain two long-term care facilities that will house four to six residents, plus two live-in house partners. George Collins. “It’s hard for me to gauge,” he said. “I’m coming from a school that wasn’t quite at the same level athletically as Houston is on a year in, year-out basis. I’ve seen some athletes and my eyes light up a good bit. I grew up around this region we’re in and I know exactly what we’re going up against, what you need to win. It’s going to take our kids going 100 per cent the best they can. “I watched a lot of game tape (from 2006). I’ve seen the backs they had, and it would be great to have one or two of them back. But I feel confident with what we have right now. I like the kids I’m coaching. They give it their all every day.” Back to the subject of retirement, Seward knows a bit about that as his father Tommy retired in 2005 after four seasons as Tift County High head coach. Tommy still lives in Tifton, plays golf often and has a new grandchild as Tom’s sister had a baby over the summer. Tom said the family does plan on being at McConnell- Talbert Stadium tonight when Houston County meets defending Class AAAA state champion Northside. SPORTS r I ■ ~ iWtf ' m HOSgV apt Rp? Jf mttL \fa Jfl I <§ jffif f fiMK ■ / on. JE9L I'j|9|||‘v wra Jjjg Y-- '.v ,Jj|| 1| IMHPEF* '-<%V £ is je iS .tSr A "is— - Wsm 9 &?-■ y< m ' ; 9in ' The Buckshots hold up their trophy. BUCKSHOTS From page iB with 10 runs scored followed closely by Churchwell and Powell with 8 each. Defensively the boys from Middle Georgia had a team fielding percentage of .939. The stellar on field perfor mance held the opposing teams to a net batting aver age of .269. Ammerman had 42 put outs followed by Warren with 10 unassisted put outs. Crummey and Wood had 13 and 12 assists respectively. Churchwell, Crummey, Gay, Graham and Mathis were CLEATS (c) 2007 Bill ——— jpp ■ '-'99 . : Ipl fH I i \ » \s' ' \9 w / Congratulations to the WRALL WORLD CHAMPIONS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION www.midfcu.org 800-736-8407 (H } c Our Fric/u/lu Facts f 5j00440<2 This Credit Union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration. flawless on the field with perfect fielding percent ages of 1.000. The pitching by the Buckshots was rated as the best in the tournament by the Kingsport sports writ ers with a team ERA of 2.78. Coty Graham led the tournament with two com plete game shutouts and a perfect ERA of 0.00 with 12 strike outs (yes, zero-zero zero, move over Cy Young). Matthew Powell had an ERA of 1.13 in his three wins with 17 strike outs and championship game victory. Lane Crummey recorded 2 wins and a save MidSoutn HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL with Michael Santamaria close behind with 1 win and a save. Trevor Wood and Wesley Ammerman were strong in their appearanc es with Wood recording a save. The many hours on the practice field, at Burress Baseball and with Brian Mallett at The Bull Pin solidified the Buckshots chances to dominate the mound and come home World Series Champions. As the boys dog-piled at the conclusion of the champion ship game, it was obvious that all the fundamentally correct hard work had paid off. Contributed 52*14