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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Thursday, March 25,2004
Local Sports
South Forsyth
baseball camp
set for April
The South Forsyth War Eagles
will host their annual Spring
Break Baseball Camp on April 5-
6. South Forsyth baseball coaches
and players will instruct players
ranging from age 10 to graduating
seniors. The two-day camp costs
S7O and will run from 9 a.m.-2
p.m. each day. Registration will
begin at 8:30 a.m. on April 5 at the
SFHS baseball field.
For more information, please
call (770) 887-6132 or
www.southforsythbaseball.com.
Spring break
soccer camp on
the horizon
Atlanta Soccer Academy,
Forsyth County 's new soccer club
is hosting a Spring Break Camp
on April 5-9 from 10 a.m.-l p.m.
(U9-U11) and from 1:30-4:30 PM
(Ul2-and-up). The cost is $ 1 (X).
P’-ricipants will receive an Atlanta
:iverbacks t-shirt and a ticket to
the Silverbacks home game open
er. Call (770) 557-0430 or visit
w ww.atlsoccer.com for more
information.
Park and Rec
offers camps
The Forsyth County Park and
Recreation Department is hosting
two camps in the coming weeks.
For more information, call Tellv
Helms at (678) 455-8540.
• The Spring Break Basketball
Camp features instructors from
the Forsyth Basketball
Association (Bobby Smith, Jason
Smith and Tracy Tipton) on April
5-8 from 9 a.m.-noon for ages 8-
15. The cost is $75 (Class No.
201427)
• Small group training is
available for boys and girls ages
9-18. Individual skills are
learned in small groups where
players practice individually,
then crystallize their skills by
practicing in a two-on-two or
three-on-three setting. Group
size ranges from six to nine play
ers.
The first session is Sunday,
March 7 from 4-4:30 p.m. (ages
9-10), 4:30-5 (ages 11-12), 5-
5:30 (ages 13-18). This will be
followed by six 90-minute ses
sions on Sundays (3-6 p.m.).
Cost is $125 per six-week ses
sion (Class No. 202337).
Hoops camp
seeks applicants
Applications are now being
evaluated for the Ten Star All-Star
Summer Basketball Camp. The
camp is by invitation only. Boys
and girls ages 10-19 are eligible to
apply. A camp will take place this
summer in Atlanta. Call (704)373-
0873.
Softball stars
eye showcase
Perfect Game Softball will host
an Identification Camp at Georgia
Tech on April 24. This one-day
event is for softball players ages
13-18 interested in showcasing
their skills in front of Perfect
Game Scouts. Results of the
assessment will be placed on their
official Web site and will be sent
to college coaches nationwide.
Each player will also receive a
video produced by Skillshow. To
sign up for the event or for more
information, call Perfect Game
Softball at (319) 261-2923.
Fast-pitch team
needs players
The Georgia Storm 12-U A
level fast-pitch travel team is look
ing for a few key players for the
o upcoming 2004 season. Call (770)
205-9437.
1
Sports EXTRA
South football up for grabs
Head coach
Vaughan’s
future uncertain
By Morgan Lee
and Travis M. Chaffin
Sports Writers
Though no one has been fired and
no one has quit, the future of the
South Forsyth's head football coach
ing position is currently up in the air.
Last week. South Forsyth princi
pal Richard Gill informed current
head coach Norris Vaughan that a
five-member search committee had
been formed to find the top candidate
for a job he has held for the past
eight seasons, leading the War Eagles
to a combined 59-30 record and six
trips to the state playoffs.
Vaughan, who retired from teach
ing at the end of the 2002-03 school
year before continuing this year as a
half-time teacher, was told he could
reapply for the job, which will be
filled only by a full-time teacher.
“We needed to be in a position at
this school to have a full-time teacher
as a coach,” said Gill. "I want the
head football coach involved on a
daily basis in the lives of the players
and the coaches.
"This had been weighing heavily
on my mind," continued Gill. “Last
week was the week for teacher
renewals. It seemed like, in my posi
tion, if I was going to do this, that's
when it needed to be done."
Since retiring, Vaughan's duties
called for him to teach two classes a
day and coach football.
"He [Gill] agreed to let me do
that this year." the coach said.
Vaughan said he asked Gill if.
perhaps, next season he could just
coach, as the Georgia High School
Association allows for retirees.
“I had been told I could do this,
and now he changed his mind a
month later," said Vaughan. "Last
Friday, he called me into his office
and said he had decided that the head
football coach had to be a full-time
teacher. So, that leaves me out
because I'm not a full-time teacher
and I wasn't offered the position as a
full-time teacher. But I was told that
I could apply for the full-time teach
ing job and the head football job next
year if I would like. So, officially, I
don't guess I’ve been fired.”
“[Vaughan] asked if he could
apply." noted Gill, “and I said,
‘Absolutely. If you wish to do that,
you could.' It became apparent dur
ing that meeting that he probably
would not do that. But, certainly, that
was an option that he had."
If Vaughan did decide to apply,
school officials assured that he would
have an equal chance against any
new candidates.
“If Norris decides to come back
and apply as a full-time teacher, then
obviously, his [resume'] would be
viewed in the same sense.” said Terry
Sanford, assistant principal and head
of the five-person search committee.
For the time being. South’s search
committee made up of South foot
ball booster club president Mike
Sanders and parents Jenny Ward and
Dean Bernard, along with Sanford
and athletic director Don Hutchins
has begun feverishly searching for
the best candidate.
New tire could make for exciting racing at LNS
From start reports
The United Sprint Car Series will
open its 2004 “Asphalt Thunder"
Tour on Saturday, March 27, as part
of the Checks-2-Cash “Spring
Explosion” at Lanier National
Speedway in Braselton. Winged
Outlaw Sprint Car drivers from eight
different states are expected for this
event.
The L'SCS pavement pounders
will be turning the fastest speeds ever
recorded on the three-eighth-mile
paved oval. The defending and two
time USCS Asphalt Thunder
Champion, the “Malabar Missile,”
Kenny Adams of Malabar. Fla., cur
rently holds the LNS all-time track
record of 11.320 seconds for an aver
age speed of 119.258 mph.
To break the 120-mph barrier at
LNS, a lap in 1 1.250 seconds is
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"Each member of the committee
will have input into the applicants
that are [eventually] interviewed."
said Sanford. "We will bring the top
applicants in for Mr. Gill to conduct
interviews."
The comrtiittee has already seen
how popular the job is likely to be.
receiving 10 resumes
by Tuesday after
noon, including three
from “head coaches
in the metro area,"
according to Gill.
"We’re very
impressed with the
quality of coaches
who are interested in
the position." he
added.
The committee
would like to move quickly and
establish a head coach by the time
spring football practice begins the
second and third week in May but
has not set a hard deadline.
“Certainly that’s our goal." said
Gill. “As far as a time line, it's hard
to even say. I would like to begin,
hopefully, next week with some ini
tial interviews.
"I don’t know that I’ve ever been
involved with a committee like this
that was weighted heavily on the side
of parents." said Gill. "A lot of times
it’s a token parent. But we felt a need
needed. Many drivers feel that the
new Hoosier spec tire will make this
possible.
Among the other USCS pavement
hot shoes looking for a new track
record and an opening night win are
the defending USCS National
Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett,
Tenn., 2(X)3 USCS Asphalt Thunder
Runner-Up Jim Raptis of Marietta
and 2002 USCS Asphalt Thunder
Runner-Up Doug Day of Winder.
The Sprint Car Network will
broadcast Saturday night’s LNS
USCS event live on the Internet
beginning at 7 p.m. Race fans world
wide can hear the action live at
www.sprintcamet.com.
“We're happy to have the oppor
tunity to share the excitement of
USCS Winged Outlaw Sprint Car
racing on both dirt and asphalt this
to get stake-holder involvement here
and. therefore, we feel like we’ve
selected three outstanding individu
als to be part of this review commit
tee."
Hutchins met with the football
coaching staff on Monday, informing
them of the possible changes ahead
** That leaves me
out because I'm
not a full-time
teacher... So,
officially, I don't
guess I've been
fired...
turnover as possible.
"We feel like we've got a great
staff," said Gill. “There are a lot of
quality individuals that Norris has
brought in here to be part of this
staff, and we want to try to keep it
intact.
“One of the things we're looking
for in this teacher-coach is: We want
a team player. We want a person who
can come in here and work with the
current staff. We're not looking for
fruit-basket turnover here. We feel
that this staff is a staff that can oper
ate under a new person and function
season with race fans around the
world through the Sprint Car
Network," USCS President Pete
Walton said. “We’ll be making histo
ry Saturday, as we will have the first
ever live Webcast of an asphalt Sprint
Car race on SCN.”
Based on their victories on the
dirt track at Volusia Speedway Park
in Barberville, Fla., on Feb. 2-3,
Chad Kemenah of Findlay. Ohio, and
Joey Saldana of Brownsburg, Ind.,
top the USCS National Point
Standings. Kemenah leads Saldana
by four points.
Sport Allen of Largo, Fla., is in
the third spot, and is tied with
Maryland driver Curt Michael, and
Shane Stewart of Bixby. Okla.,
Danny Martin of Sarasota. Fla., is in
the sixth spot, followed by former
Nextel Cup Champion Tony Stewart
and to let them know
that their applica
tions for the position
will be accepted as
well.
As for the rest of
the coaching staff,
they must also wait
to see what happens.
But Gill and
Hutchins have
expressed that they
would like as little
Norris Vaughan,
who had
coached the
South Forsyth
War Eagle foot
ball team to a
59-30 record
over the past
eight seasons,
may not be back
to coach the
team next year.
South Forsyth
principal
Richard Gill has
decided to make
only full-time
teachers eligible
for the the head
coaching posi
tion, while
Vaughan is cur
rently a half
time teacher at
the school.
Vaughan may
apply for the job,
but a search is
currently on for
other candi
dates.
Photo/David
McGregor
quite well and be very successful.
“We realize a new coach may
want to make some changes
some. But as we look at resumes. I'm
not looking for somebody to come in
here and completely restructure
things."
Vaughan is a 1965 graduate of
Forsyth County High School, where
he played linebacker and fullback for
the Bulldogs. He graduated from the
University of Georgia in 1973 and
started his coaching career the same
year as defensive coordinator at
Winder-Barrow.
He later served as defensive coor
dinator for Campbell of Smyrna and
M.D. Collins before earning head
coaching jobs at Heard County.
Meadowcreek and North Springs.
Then in 1996. Vaughan returned
home to Forsyth County as head
coach of the South Forsyth War
Eagles.
Gill was quick to praise
Vaughan’s accomplishments at
South, and. should he not return next
season, the principal says that he will
be missed.
“I have nothing but positive
things to say about Norris Vaughan
and his contributions to this school,"
said Gill. "His football success has
been unparalleled. His legacy will
always live in the future of our
school."
of Rushville. Ind., Jason Sides of
Bartlett, Tenn., and Greg Wilson of
Benton Ridge, Ohio. There is a two
way tie for the tenth spot between
Kenny Adams of Malabar. Fla., and
Canadian Glen Styers.
All this will change as the series
is changing surfaces this Saturday
night at LNS, and a new driver mix
will arrive. USCS drivers have a
four-race membership grace period
for the 2004 season. This means that
drivers who have not paid their mem
bership fees by the fourth race of the
season will lose all points accumulat
ed.
For race day and ticket informa
tion, call Lanier National Speedway
at (770) 967-8600. The speedway is
located on State Road 53 four miles
north of 1-85 at exit 129, or five
miles south of 1-985 at exit 16.