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PAGE 2B Local Sports ASA to begin fall registration The Atlanta Soccer Academy recreational pro¬ gram is now accepting mail in registrations for the Fall 2004 recreational season, for ages under-six and up. There will also be a walk up registration on August 7, and August 28, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Forsyth County Public Library, Sharon Forks Branch. Call, (770) 557-0430 for more information. Or go to www.atlsoccer.com. Travel baseball team forming A travel baseball team is forming in Dawson County for players ages 11-and under. The team will play in the Georgia Baseball Federation League. There will be two tryouts in August and one September, and there is a registration fee. Please call Tom at (706) 265-0979, for more information. Roller hockey camp gearing up for session Slapshots Family Skate Center is offering a Learn to Play Roller Hockey Camp July 12, 14 and 16, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8 a.m.-ll a.m. for $145. Stay and skate offered from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for only $7 and includes lunch. Additional camps offered all summer. For more information, visit www.slapshots.net or call (770) 888-5000. Adult baseball team tryouts coming soon The Cumming Reds adult baseball team in the Stan Musial League is seek¬ ing players with college, professional, high school, amateur and American Legion experience. The team will soon be hosting tryouts for players at all positions. Call Dennis Holbrook at (770) 887- 4036. Cheerleading teams forming Teams are now forming for the Forsyth-Dawson County CATS Competition Cheerleading program. The cost will be $85 per month, with a one-time $30 regis¬ tration fee. There will be an evalua¬ tion of each cheerleader for placement purposes, but no tryouts. If you are ready to take cheerleading to the next level, but are not ready to cheer for an All-Star team, this is the place for you. The only criteria is that you participate in one of the following programs: Midway Park, Dawson County Park, Pinecrest Academy, Sawnee Mountain Park, Bennett Park or Sharon Springs Park. Please contact Debbie Storey or Denise Garner at (770) 781 9289 or email her at forsy thcats @cs .com. Tackle football team forming The War Hill Christian Academy is now forming a tackle football team for the upcoming 2004 season. Call (706) 216-3524 for more information. Officials needed for fall football The Lanier Football Officials Association is now FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Wednesday, duly 7,2004 accepting applications. If you have ever thought about becoming a football official, this is a great opportunity. The Lanier Football Officials Association is now taking applications for the 2004 season. No experience necessary, all training is provided. LFOA is a member of the Georgia High School Association. Visit www.lanierofficials.org or call Tim Tipton at (770) 967-3197, ext. 239. Lacrosse camp coming soon SuperSouth Lacrosse Camp III is currently accepting registration for girls, boys and youth lacrosse camps set for North Georgia College and State University. Visit www.bagatawaylacrosse.co m or contact Jason Alberici (404) 216-5870 at jasona@ bagatawaylacrosse.com. Soccer summer camp nearing The Atlanta Soccer Academy, Forsyth County’s new soccer club, is hosting Summer Camps this season in Cumming. The ASA’s camp runs July 19-23. This camp is involved with the Atlanta Silverbacks professional club and will take place at Forsyth’s Pinecrest Acad em y. a The camp has two ses¬ sions: 9 a.m. to noon (cost, $100) and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (cost, $185). There is also a pre- and pjjgt-camp shuttle service able for U6-U8 players fee of $5. Call (770) 557-0430 or visit www.atlsoccer.com. Running Camp gearing up The Mountain High Running Camp will take place July 12-17 and July 19-24, at Tallulah Falls. The staff is composed of elite Kenyan and international distance runners and inter¬ nationally experienced coaches. For information, contact Scott Simmons via email at simmons@minotstateu.edu, or call (800) 777-0750, or visit the camp’s Web site at: www.mountainhigh running.com. Local racers head to Hampton Atlanta Motor Speed¬ way’s Thursday Thunder will return this week for Walker Goncrete Night, which will include a special celebrity intermission race between WSB radio’s Capt. Herb Emory and Jason Durden. Tickets for Thursday Thunder are just $5 for adults, $1 for children 6-12, and children under 5 arc free. Parking is free. Spectator gates open at 6 p.m. with preliminary action begin¬ ning immediately. Feature racing begins at 7 p.m. and concludes by 10 p.m. For more information about Thursday Thunder, call (770) 946-4211 or visit www.atlantamotorspeed way.com. Midway Packers host registration Midway Packers Football and Cheerleading Associa¬ tion will host registration and uniform sizing for the upcoming 2004 fall season at the Midway Park Pavilion from 8 a.m.-noon on July 10 . You can’it blame the catcher this season Thank goodness for Johnny Estrada, the rare pleasant surprise in a half season of Brave disappoint¬ ments. All he’s done is lead the Tribe in batting average, hits, and doubles, rank second in on-base percentage and runs batted in, and third in slug¬ ging percentage and total bases. Best of all, he’s out of this world with runners in scoring position, especially with two outs. And to think GM John Schuerholz stole him from the Phillips for a retread pitcher who couldn’t even make the Braves current rota¬ tion. Almost as amazing has been Ivan Rodriguez, the Tigers catcher, who has lead the American League in hit¬ ting for most of the season. When’s the last time you saw a catcher with an average in the .375 range? And when’s the last time a catcher led league in hitting? You have to travel way back to 1942, when “The Schnozz”, Ernie Lombardi of the Boston Braves, topped the NL with a .330 average. Lombardi also lead the league in 1938 with a .342 average for the Reds. Only one other catcher won a batting title. That was the immortal Eugene “Bubbles” Hargrave, who hit .353 for the Reds in 1926. That’s because there is no position in sport as demand¬ ing as catching a baseball game. Here’s Reggie Jackson describing Thurman COOLER from IB 4f y tqgpjffdr thelrtfamilies. visiting Anglers and In fa<?t>'for many Georgians Lake Mkton conjures up memorials of catching wild trout fr«h ill the picturesque pools of tribu¬ taries, and some will remem¬ ber learning to water ski on Burton’s caliq, blue-green 1919, it is the second oldest manmade reservoir Lin Georgia and contains 2,775 acres of water. Its clear waters are teeming with life and because of a DNR exper¬ iment, is producing better catches than ever before. The rebirth of this more than 70-year-old lake is the direct result of an experiment by DNR biologist Anthony Rabun that began In March of 1990. At that time, 40,000 threadfin shad were stocked in Lake Burton. They were followed with an additional 20,000 the following February. The growth and reproduc¬ tion of that 1990 class were phenomenal and caused a furor. The spotted bass popu¬ lation exploded in both num¬ bers and size far beyond expectations. Though the average fish is still around a pound, many spotted bass are being taken in the three to four pound class with an occasional five pound fish as a bonus. During these warmer months, fishing can also be outstanding up in the Tallulah River arm of Lake Burton or at the mouth of any of the feeder streams. The main body of the lake from the Highway 76 Bridge to below Billy Goat Island is an excellent fishery. Besides the great fishing, Lake Burton has much more A Loan Built Around You. r r *■ ,» *4. IS ,.#i k r / k W United Community Bank offers a wide array of consumer loan products, while maintaining competitive interest rates. Our professional lending officers and staff consistently provide efficient, friendly service and individual attention so that your loan process is simple and quick. With our variety of loan products, we can assist witl^iy of your personal loan needs, 6 including: Vehicle Loans When you find the perfect new or used car, truck, boat or recreational vehicle. United Community Bank can help with the perfect loan. Installment Loans United Community Bank can also help with loans that are ideal for smaller borrowing needs such as computers, appliances, furniture or minor home improvements. You will benefit from flexible terms, competitive rates and pre-approval before your final purchase decision. United Community Bank also provides convenient payment options whether you choose to pay by mail, in person or by ..debiting your checking account. Call or visit us for more ^information. Tim Heard is glad to be back • In his hometown. We invite ynited Community Bank proudly serves Georgia, North Carolina you to drop by and sh Tim and Tennessee with 70 locations. for your consumer loan needs over S M Offk* Bridge Bood U United GA 30041 mm Community Bank. Tram iaao & | ut hi <om 1 IV Uni I h.1 1 SERVICE 1 U11! t CUT from IB left to round out the scoring. “Tampa Bay has an excel¬ lent team and should be com¬ mended for their play today," said Phil Beniamino, the club’s president, as well as its offen¬ sive and defensive coordinator. “However, I’m extremely proud of the way our girls stuck together throughout the year, fighting week after week. “We faced a heck of a lot of adversity from coaches, prac¬ tice fields and finances this year. These girls pulled togeth¬ er and played their hearts out and I’m proud to be associated with them. I couldn't ask for a better group of ladies to repre¬ sent to Atlanta what women's football is all about." \ The Tampa Bay Ter¬ minators head to New York on July 10 to take on^ the New York Sharks for the Eastern Conference Champion and a chance for the IW$L Cham¬ pionship in Sacramento, July 24 . Denton tote, - s Ash way > COLUMNIST Munson’s last game: “For the ] first time since we had been teammates, he had to take himself out of a game. His knees had become assassins after all the years of squatting behind the plate, all the games when he’d taken his squat body and hurled it at the game of baseball. “There is no tougher posi¬ tion than catcher. Knee’ bends are lousy for you. Get up. Get down. Get up again. Get ' down. Come up throwing. Take the chest protector off. Take the shin guards off. Hit. Put them back on. Go back behind the plate and repeat the process. Catching just breaks a man. down, inning by inning, game by game, * year by year.” Former umpire Ron Luciano concurred. “Catchers are the most beat-up, bruised, broken, knurled players on the field. They are the only athletes I know who can stick their hands out straight and point behind them.” As former catcher, and current Diamondbacks man¬ ager Bob Brenly recalls, “By the end of the season, fused to feel like a usfed car.” Any wonder, then, that as soon as he broke Carlton ^Fisk’s by record catcher, for career Mike home runs a - Piazza moved to first base? . waters or enjoying the purely Southern culinary experience of home-cooked food at LaRrade’s. Moccasin Creek State Park information is available by calling (706) 947-3194. Bill Vanderford has won numerous awards for his The position is so difficult that it caused Lena Marchiano to observe, “I did n’t raise my son to be a catch¬ er.” So, after a tryout with the Cubs, her son Rocky became history’s only undefeated heavyweight boxing champi Hey, it was easier than catching! And yet, the player who gets beat to death is the most important player on the ros¬ ter. Miller Huggins, who managed the Yankees in the '20’s, observed, “A good catcher is the quarterback, the carburetor, the lead dog, the pulse taker, the traffic cop, and sometimes a lot of unprintable things, but no team gets very far without a good one.” Nothing has changed. Here’s the observation of long-time GM Frank Cashen m from just a few years “The first thing you wanMn a catcher is the ability to the pitchers. Then you want defensive skill and, of course, the good arm. Last of all, if he can hit with power, well, then you’ve got Johnny Bench. Very few good teams that win year after year have done so without a top catch er. “Catching is like manag ing,” observed Bob Boone, whose undertaken both jobs. .Managers don’t really win flimes, but they caij lose ty of them. The same way with catching. If you’re doing a quality job, you should be almost anonymous.” c Casey Stengel thought so 'much of catchers that he made Hobie Landrith the very first New York Met in the 1962 expansion draft. As Of Case said, “You gotta have a catcher, or you’ll have a lot of passed balls.” In fact, catcher was the position Casey had the most trouble filling with those early Mets. "The combined results of all our catchers turned out fairly good, and men bad,” Casey observed after the ’63 season. “I got one that can throw but can’t catch, and one that can catch but can’t throw, and one who can hit, but can’t do either.” Casey kept Choo Choo Coleman in the lineup solely because he could block pitch¬ es in the dirt, and “them are the only ones the other teams ain’t hitting!” Casey also noted, “I had 15 pitchers who said they couldn’t pitch to him, and it turned out they couldn’t pitch to nobody.” Of Chris Cannizzaro, Casey said, "He’s a remark¬ able catch, that Canzoneri. He’s the only defensive catch¬ er in baseball who can’t catch. He calls for the curve ball too much. He don’t hit it, and he don’t think nobody else can.” Finally, of Greg Goosen, Casey predicted, “He’s only 20, and with a good chance in 10 years of being 30.” Catchers. Always abused, seldom appreciated. When not practicing his avocation, Denton Ashway practices his vocation with *^the law firm of Ashway and Haldi in Cumming. writing and photography, and has been inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendarv Guide. He can be reached at (770) 289-1543, JFish51@aol.com or at his Web site: www.fishing lanier.com.