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Local Sports
South Forsyth
football camp No. 1
South Forsyth varsity football
coach Wendell Early will be
offering a quarterbacks, receivers
and defensive backs camp for
ages 9-17. The camp will be held
Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June
7, and will feature Buster
Faulkner from NCAA Division II
National Champion Valdosta St.
Camp will be conducted from 6-9
p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. - 5
p.m. on Saturday at South
Forsyth High. Cost is $75.
Contact coach Early at (770)
356-4569 or
wearly@forsyth.kl 2.ga.us.
South Forsyth
football camp No. 2
South Forsyth varsity football
coach Wendell Early will be
offering an offensive line and
defensive line camp for ages 9-
17. The camp will be held Friday,
June 27 and Saturday, June 28,
and will feature Sean Elliott,
offensive line coach for Division
1-AA Appalachian St. Camp will
be conducted from 6-9 p.m. on
Friday and 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on
Saturday at Piney Grove Middle
School. Cost is $75. Contact
coach Early at (770) 356-4569 or
wearly@forsyth.kl2.ga.us.
SF strength camp
South Forsyth strength and
conditioning coach Bill Forman
is offering a SPARQ training
camp. SPARQ is a program
developed by Nike that focuses
on the five building blocks to
superior athleticism: speed,
power, agility, reaction and
quickness. The camp will be
hosted at South Forsyth High
June 3-6. Ages 8-11 participate
from 12-3 p.m. and ages 12-18
from 3-6 p.m.
Sign up through the Forsyth
County Park and Rec or call
Coach Forman at (770) 781-
2264, ext. 100520.
NFHS/Bobby Pless
basketball camp
boys only
North Forsyth varsity boys
basketball coach Bobby Pless
will be holding a boys only bas¬
ketball camp for grades 3-9
beginning Monday, June 9
through Thursday, June 12. Camp
begins at 9 a.m. and ends at l
p.m. Cost is $90 per child. Camp
will be held at the North Forsyth
gymnasium.
SFHS/David Sokol
basketball camp —
boys only
South Forsyth varsity boys
basketball coach David Sokol
will be hosting boys only basket¬
ball camps for ages 8-15 begin¬
ning Monday, June 23 through
Friday, June 27. A second camp
will be held Monday, July 7
through Friday, July 11. The
camps begin at 9 a.m. and end at
12:00 p.m. Cost is $125 per
child. If two children in the same
family sign up, the cost is $100
per child. Camps will be held in
the South Forsyth High School
gymnasium.
Shooting only will also be
offered on July 14 and 15 for
ages 8-15. Cost is $60. Start/end
times and location are the same.
SFHS/Keith Gravitt
basketball camp
South Forsyth varsity girls
basketball coach Keith Gravitt is
offering a girls only camp for
ages 6-13, starting Monday, June
9 through Thursday, June 12.
Camp begins at 9 a.m. and ends
at 12 p.m. Camp will be held in
the South Forsyth High gym.
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Forsyth County News—Wednesday, May 28,2008
SOUTH FORSYTH SPRING FOOTBALL
Chemistry experiments
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South Forsyth quarterback Austin Jones throws the ball during spring practice.
at South new formula for success
By Jared Putnam
Sports Editor
Wendell Early likes the way his
new team is shaping up thus far.
Arriving at South Forsyth ear¬
lier this spring after coaching at
Berkmar in Region 8-AAAAA
since 2003, the War Eagles’ new
head coach said he has already
been very impressed by the char¬
acter of his players.
44 It’s just a great group of kids,
said Early, days after the conclu¬
sion of spring practice. “They try
to do everything you ask them to
do and more. "
He and his staff believe that at
this stage of the offseason, they are
in the relationship business as
much as the football business.
Building a strong rapport between
the players and coaches has been
job number one from the outset.
“It’s vital,” Early said. “It’s our
highest priority right now. *<
In addition to the change at
head coach, six of South’s 12 assis¬
tant and position coaches are also
new. While the group is a mix of
new and familiar faces, according
to Early, they have had no trouble
gelling together.
“I’m really happy with our
% T
-
D. Ross
Boston Red Sox starter Jon Lester delivers a pitch.
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War Eagles Nathaniel Van Dyke and Jesse Gerding make con¬
tact during a spring practice drill.
staff. It has great chemistry,” the
coach said, adding that due to the
volatile nature of the business, he
places a great emphasis on making
sure his coaches feel supported.
Lester gem an inspiration
The current state of the sports He made the Sox post-season ros¬
world offers us myriad reasons to ter only because Tim Wakefield could¬
question remaining a fan. n’t pitch. And for lack of another alter
And then someone like Jon Lester native, he found himself starting
forward to our Game Four of the 2007 World
doubts.
It wasn’t even a year ago —
August 1, to be exact that
this space was used to thank
Lester for providing a much
needed feel good story.
That came after the pitcher
returned to the mound for the
Boston Red Sox after beating
his toughest opponent, non-
We watched Lester struggle
through the rest of the summer and
fall, trying to regain his strength, his
feel, hi^ rhythm.
“I believe in servant leadership. I
believe my job is to give our coach¬
es what they need to do their job.”
While learning names and build¬
ing relationships was a focal point
Denton
Ashway
□
during the spring, the War Eagles
also spent plenty of time on X’s and
O’s. The team installed a brand new
offensive system, changing to the
spread scheme from the wing-t that
was used last season.
Although there is a learning
curve to virtually any new system,
the coach said that his athletes have
been receptive to the change and he
feels the team has the personnel to
make it to succeed.
.. We threw a lot at these kids in
two weeks,” Early said. ‘They’re
hungry and they’re excited and
they want to learn. We’re not barn¬
burners, but we have guys that can
run decent routes and catch the ball
in a crowd and get first downs.”
The new coach expects the
quarterback position to be a main
strength of the new system, where
senior signal-caller Brian Adams
can continue to punish defenses on
the ground and through the air.
“The approach we’ve made is
tailor-made for a guy like Brian
Adams,” Early said. “He is a
superior athlete.”
Backup quarterbacks Austin
Jones, a junior, and Nick Belyew, a
sophomore, have also made posi
See CHEMISTRY, Page 2B
Series.
That night Lester pitched
what teammate Curt Schilling
called “the clutchiest game I’ve
ever seen.” Lester lasted into
the sixth inning and got the win
as the Sox swept the Series.
Last Monday night, thanks
to modern technology and the
largesse of ESPN, we got to
look live at Fenway Park. There on
the mound stood Jon Lester. It was the
top of the ninth. He hadn’t allowed a
See ASHWAY, Page 2B
V .