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Friday, December 29,2017 Lake Oconee News Page C7 sports Year in Review 4. Greene County cross-country sees massive growth Justin Hubbard justin@lakeoconeenews.us If you have driven through the streets of Greensboro over the past few months and noticed packs of kids running in the afternoon, then you’ve seen the Greene County cross-country team on full display. In total, the team features about 80 middle and high school students on its roster, all coming from Union Point STEAM Academy, Carson Middle School and Greene County High School. That’s quite a big jump in roster size compared to last year’s team, which included only six runners. Mike Smith is one of the team’s co-head coaches. Smith teaches physical sci ence atUPSA. Adam Bradley, who works at Greene County High School, is the other co-head coach. Smith said he was dis heartened when the duo first took over the program, but words of encouragementfrom Bradley proved true. “When we started in summer conditioning, we had six or seven,” Smith said. “I was alittle discouraged, but coach Bradley kept saying, ‘Wait till school starts,’ and then the numbers kept grow ing and growing. We have students that have joined the team this week. They’ve come in and said, ‘Hey, we hear you have great things going on and we want to be a part of it.’ We take in everybody.” Bradley previously worked at GCHS before his current tenure at the school. He was the school’s cross-country coach back then, too. When this year’s team began competing together, it was clearto Bradleythere was a big difference between the first cross-country team he coached at Greene and this year’s team. “That team, they made it easier on me,” Bradley said of his former squad. “Most of them were friends, and they pushed each other. This year, we have more of a variety of students. Some ofthem didn’t know each other when they came in. I think the first year that I coached, they did a lot of the teamwork stuff before I even was in the picture whereas this year we’ve kind offorgedthoserelationships.” That “variety of students” is a unique one. Smith was originally brought in to coach the middle school cross-country program, and Bradley would coach the high schoolers. Shortly after starting summer conditioning, the decision was made to combine the two teams. Smith said there are now plans to further expand the program. “It started out with middle school and then it just kind of evolved to coach Bradley andl doingthe whole thing, taking the high school and middle school,” he said. “Next year, we’re even gonna implement an elementary level, just because it has taken off.” Combining the two pro grams has certainly worked, but it presented a unique challenge to Bradley in the beginning. “It’s different dealing with the younger kids,” Bradley said. “I have to kind of have a different approach to teach ing younger kids to learn to love to run. I was a little bit nervous at first but now that’s kind of the backbone of the future of the team. A lot of them, next year or in two years, will be running for varsity, and they’ll have a good foundation.” In addition to building up the program for the future, Smith said he hopes to help his runners improve their grades, too. He said he’s seen it happen at a school where he previously coached. Slate Continued from C3 drivers from Charlotte that had been here 1,000 laps worth,” Shawn Slate said. “Wewatchedthem, andreally figuring out the line around the track started to bring our times down, way faster than anything we could do with the car.” Once Slate picked up speed, it was clear he could have a strong weekend. Unfortunately for Slate, a crankbroke on the car during final practice. The race was scheduled for later that after noon, so the Slate family hurriedly replaced the engine. Duringthe race, Slate made some moves toward the front ofthe field. He went as high as sixth at one point but wound up moving backward in the pack. Trouble struck once again later in the race, as Slate blew an engine. His car momen tarily caught on fire, but he escaped unharmed. Slate replaced his engine once again and returned to the track to finish the race. “It’s tough to come off the track when you’re doing that good and charging to the front,” Shawn said. “When I saw it start blowing smoke in the turns coming around, he started getting smoke in the cockpit, it’s one ofthose things (where) everybody knows what’s about to happen, but, man, it stinks.” Slate’s final standing in the national and state points ranking is impressive regard less of the disappointing events of the Nationals race. He has proven himself as a tough contender in the Legends racing series, driving last year in the Young Lions division and contending this year in Semi-Pro. Next, Slate hopes to make his mark in the Pro divi sion. His time in the Pro classification started soon after Nationals with races at Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville. Slate saidheis confidenthis successful run in the Semi- Pro division will carry over into his new class. “I feel like a lot of people at the top of Semi-Pro are good enough to be near the top in Pro, so I feel pretty comfortable,” he said. “I’ve seen how a lot of the people in Pro drive and I’ve talked to a lot of them and know them. I feel pretty good, feel pretty comfortable.” r. SAVE $10 Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye 1 lb. Salmon cfrqo 4»OQ tpOi/ ipAU (Item #1-16316) Use code MB17085 online at BuySeaBear.com or call 855-388-8041 “When I coached at Archer in Gwinnett, I just noticed early on that the kids that ran cross-country and ran dis tance, their grades improved over those that didn’t,” Smith said. “Once they came into the program, their grades started getting better and better, and I think that’s something aboutthe discipline ofhaving to run distance - it just rolls over into your academic work as well.” So far, Smith said he’s been impressed by his runners’ work. “With it being the first year, I think we’ve done really well,” he said. “We placed at our last meet, we got second place in high school boys and girls. ...Themiddleschoolgot third at a huge, huge meet in Conyers where they had Justin Hubbard/Staff The Greene County cross-country team, comprised of runners from Union Point STEAM Academy, Carson Middle School and Greene County High School, poses with co-head coaches Adam Bradley (left, bottom) and Mike Smith (right, bottom) for a team picture. 37 schools represented. One Smith and Bradley plan to Bradleysaid, “but here it kind of our ninth-graders, Leo make Greene’s cross-country of feels like it. I want that to Lopez, has gotten first place team a force in the area. continue to grow and I want several times in meets. We’re “Cross-country’s not other people in the commu- doing really well.” considered a major sport,” nityto feel that same feeling.” UGA COACH Vince Dooley’s Latest Book The Legion’s Fighting Bulldog Get your signed copy by coach Dooley S39 95 Value FREE with 5-year subscription to: (Du' Lhitmttmt ^Messenger Lake Oconee News (Hite IJcntes (Euuntu Nems I Baldwin Bulletin New or Renewal Read the exciting account of young Lieutenant Colonel William Gaston Delony, an Athens, Georgia Bulldog who served in Cobb’s Legion in Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Delony was a graduate of the University of Georgia and the first real fighting Georgia Bulldog. 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