Newspaper Page Text
Page 10 - Friday, March 31, 2023
The Jenkins County Times
thejenkinscountytimes.com
By Brad Asbury, Sports Editor
for
'I i 11 : Times
pastorbradasbury@gmail.com
Under the Bleachers
Watching sports, playing sports, and attending sporting
events seem to be the theme of the spring. With the finish
of the NCAA basketball season, MLB starting, local
spring sports nearing their end, and recreation ball opening
weekend Saturday; sports seem to dominate the scene.
There are many other big sporting events this next week
including the start of The Masters on April 6 th .
Saturday, April 1 st will be the men’s Final Four. This
season has provided the strangest Final Four that we
have seen in recent years. The lowest seed remaining in
the tournament is the University of Connecticut, which
is a four seed. The tournament will also feature two five-
seeds (Miami and San Diego St.) and a nine-seed (Florida
Atlantic). The two five seeds and the nine seed have never
won the National Championship.
The women’s Final Four will also be this weekend. A team
not too far away. South Carolina Gamecocks will be the
overall favorite. As the Final Four begins they are 36-0.
They will face a very good Iowa, but it seems that South
Carolina will be hard to beat. The other two teams that
will face off will be LSU against Virginia Tech.
Once you read this article, the MLB season will have
begun! The season is 185 days long, at least until playoffs
begin. Teams will play 162 games. If the season lasts until
game 7 of the World Series, we will have approximately
219 days of baseball on television. The 146 days without
baseball are tough days in the sports world for some fans,
including myself. I look forward to the excitement of the
next 219 days. Baseball is a game that requires patience.
Games last 3 or more hours, and the season is long. Baseball
teaches us patience and it teaches us endurance!
Last week I mentioned that there are two words that many
of us, including myself struggle to hear. Those two words
are patience and perseverance. Perseverance, simply put, is
the ability to endure to the end. It can even be simplified to,
“finishing well.” Often what hinders our “finishing well” is
having patience. Patience is also a word in the Scripture that
is seen as “long-suffering.” The idea behind long-suffering/
patience is that one is bold in not making rash decisions.
Having patience also involves enduring to the end. Yet,
many of us can say that we quickly lose patience. In the
sports world, impatience is shown by fans who give up on
their team early in the season and you hear the phrase, “I am
tired of watching them lose,” rather than stand behind them
they jump to the team who is winning or just quit watching.
Players get frustrated and rather than work harder they give
in instead of “trusting the process.”
Patience is hard. People test us. Trials test us. Family tests
us. Jobs test us. We are tested in everything in our life. One
thing I know, patience does not grow under the bleachers.
Rather, patience comes from God who is patient with us and
who always responds in patience covered in grace! Patience
comes from God and is a fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
Therefore, if we are lacking, we need to ask from the One
who is all patient.
Take it from the guy, “under the bleachers,” who often
struggles with patience; seek God while you are also “under
the bleachers” and ask Him for what is needed. Then get out
from under the bleachers, get on the field, and finish well!
Jenkins County
Connections
Recently, the Bulloch Academy Middle School Golf team
competed in the Bulloch County Championships. Both
boys’ and girls’ teams finished in 1 st place. There were
two golfers with Jenkins County connections. Front row,
5th from the left (from left to right) Marlie Herrmann
daughter of Scott and Jessica Herrmann. Back row, 1 st from
the left (from left to right) Hunter Chance the son of CJ and
Evan Chance, grandson of Tracy and Karen Johnson and
Charlie and Sandy Lanier, (photo submitted)
Clark Takes Over Rec Department
Just a few weeks ago it was announced that a new director
had been named for the Jenkins County Recreation Department
(JCRD). The new face leading the way at the JCRD is not new
to Jenkins County. Wendell Clark will now take over as the new
director.
Clark retired from the Jenkins County High School in 2019 after
teaching in Jenkins County for 19 years. During his time teaching
at Jenkins County, he was the Defensive Coordinator for the
baseball team for 18 years and was the head baseball coach for 12
years. Clark began his time in education and coaching in 1987 at
Jasper County High School. Since retirement, Clark has spent his
time coaching football at Edmund Burke Academy and Bulloch
Academy.
When Clark took over as the director, the spring sports season
was just about to begin. Sign-ups were completed, teams were
in the process of being selected, and the work would begin with
the opening day approaching in a hurry. In his short time at the
recreation department, he has already developed short and long
term goals. Clark stated, “I would like to get back to some adult
softball, basketball for all ages, and hopefully some tournaments. In
addition, in the long-term, I want to work on the facilities, upgrade
the lights, improve the fields, build a picnic area with shelter, and
continue to improve upon the activities we have.”
One thing that all recreation departments across the country
are having to deal with is a steady decline in youth recreational
sports. Health News reported in a recent article that youth sports
have been in steady decline over the past decade. Their report
from the Aspen Project said that youth sport participation declined
from 45% to 38% of children participating in youth sports. The
article would later say, “The future of recreation and youth sports
will be dependent on parents and encouraging their children’s
involvement” (http://www.healthnews.com).
Combating the decline will be a task for Clark. When asked about getting more involvement, Clark said, “He encourages
parents to sign their kids up because it not only gets them playing sports, but they can also build upon many qualities of
growing up, displaying teamwork, giving of oneself, and a love for sports.” Clark went on to say, “I love watching kids fall
in love with something that I have loved my entire life. I also enjoy watching the community come together for a common
cause.”
Clark takes over for Lisa Dailey, now taking over at the Jenkins County Senior Citizens Center. In the many years Lisa held
the position, she had many successful programs and seasons.
Wendell and his wife Starr have been married for 39 years and they have two sons Zac (Kendall) and Spencer (Jamye), and
one daughter Sydney. They also have two grandchildren Layla and Jackson. Be sure to get out to the Recreation Department
in the coming days and congratulate and welcome Wendell on his new venture in Jenkins County.
Wendell Clark, known by many as Coach Clark,
has taken over as the director of the Jenkins County
Recreation Department. Clark is pictured with his wife
Starr. Clark will bring years of athletic experience to
JCRD. (photo submitted)
Underwood Signs to Play Baseball
with the Stingers
On Friday family, friends, teammates, coaches,
and many others gathered in the Media Center
of Jenkins County High School for a special
day in the life of Gavin Underwood. It was on
this day that Underwood signed to play with
Florence-Darlington Technical College. In that
moment of signing, Underwood described it
as a huge relief and stated, “I felt like I made
everyone proud. It has always been my dream
to play beyond high school and I could not
believe it was finally happening. It was a dream
come tme. I loved it, I loved having my family
together and my friends seeing me accomplish
my dreams.”
While Underwood has much to be proud of,
he understands that he could not have done this
on his own. He had plenty of people to thank on
that day. He stated, “I’d like to thank my mom
because she never complained about taking me
anywhere or being there for me throughout my
journey in baseball and was always there. My
dad was whom I got my work ethic from and
one
of the biggest reasons I work hard is because of
how hard he works. Grandma also because she
always kept me humble. A big thank you to the
coach’s that I learned the most and everyone
that played a part in my journey! I don't want to
mention names, I might forget someone.”
Gavin has had much success on the field in
his time at Jenkins County and on his travel
ball teams. He will now take that success and
hard work to the Stingers who have a strong
tradition of winning. In 2021 the Stingers were
46-8 and Region regular season and tournament
champions, and in 2022 they finished 49-13
and repeated as regular season and tournament
champions. When asked what made him sign
with the Stingers, Underwood had several
clear reasons, but when he stepped on campus,
he felt welcomed and most importantly he felt
like
he was at home.
Florence Darlington is a junior college, and
Gavin said that he began looking last year
for Junior College options and was stated by
everyone in South Carolina that this was the
best school. He went on to say, “The coaches
were straight up with me and they told me
what they had to offer.” Underwood was also
persuaded even more knowing the connection
Florence-Darlington has in the college and
MLB baseball world. He signed to play catcher
but knows that he could play anywhere on the
field.
Gavin Underwood made it official with his signature on Friday as he signs to
play with Florence Darlington Technical College, (photo submitted)
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During the signing event on Friday, Underwood spent time offering thanks to
God, his family, friends, teammates, coaches, and many others. Underwood is
pictured giving thanks to those as he gave a speech on Friday, (photo submitted)
Gavin Underwood is
seated surrounded by
his teammates during
the signing event on
Friday.
(photo submitted)