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| FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com
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Forsyth Central’s football team rebounded from a tough mid-season stretch to win its final two games and finish 4-6 under
Shane Williamson. Williamson and Central parted ways after the season, and the Bulldogs hired former West Forsyth head
coach Frank Hepler.
FROM 1B
onship. Girls soccer made
an impressive run to the
state quarterfinals.
Wrestling had its first
individual placer
(Abraham Perez) at the
traditional state tourna
ment in years. Swimming
and diving had state plac
ers in Micah Gillam,
Logan Belt and Ashley
€esario. @ Bonnie
McKinnon helped the
girls cross country make
a long-awaited return to
the state championships,
then placed at the state
track meet, along with
Taliyah Manning.
Ten teams in all repre
sented Central in postsea
son play to help the
Bulldogs improve in the
Regions Directors Cup
from 39th last season to
20th.
FCN: Was your second
vear as an athletic direc
tor caster than the first?
Kaplan: “'I had more of
a groundwork of what to
expect. I'm a big timeline
guy. I'm scheduled. So 1
knew. alright, in the sum
mer | knew what was
coming up. Had to get the
GHSA dues in. our region
dues in and certain forms
turned in. And as the
weeks went along, as you
got ready for winter
sports you kind of knew
what had to be turned in.
I guess you could say it
was easier, yeah.
“The relationships
[with athletes and coach
es] were further bonded.
In certain sports we had a
large percentage of
seniors, like our baseball
team for instance, another
great season that they
had. back-to-back region
champs. They had a large
contingent of seniors
where on the other side of
the spectrum. but just as
successful. our girls soc
cer team had a large
amount of freshmen and
sophomores. So there’s a
really neat dynamic that a
lot of our established pro
grams had some older
kids but some of our pro
grams that are starting to
establish themselves have
such a young core of
kids.”
FCN: Your two biggest
coaching hires this season
— Brian Welsch for vol
leyball and Frank Hepler
for football — I think a lot
of people were impressed
with the caliber of coach
you were able to bring on
board.
Kaplan: “Both high
quality men, which we
look for all our head
coaches to be quality peo
ple. When we got here we
had such quality people.
With the addition of those
two gentlemen and the
extiement we had in the
spring, I can kind of feel
the quality of our five fall
coaches in place, we've
got a great core of fall
leaders that we're so
excited about. We have so
much comfort in our fall
five. And then you look at
our winter sport coaches
up the defense —
Clemson improved to
62nd in fielding this
defense — and find con
sistency in pitching
behind starter Charlie
Barnes and versatile Pat
Krall, who filled whatev
er need the Tigers had out
of the bullpen or starting
games. The result was 44
wins, more than the
Tigers had since their last
“'WS appearance in 2010.
“here was still incon
sisincy in pitching this
«~ason, which showed up
in two NCAA losses to
Oklahoma State last
week. Still, Lee was
pleased with Clemson’s
character.
“This team did it with a
lot of moving parts.” Lee
said.
Look for more move
ment this offseason.
Along with switching
up Beer’s position,
infielder Chris Williams
FROM 1B
would make the Tigers
(44-20) a better team if he
switched to the infield.
Lee is excited about what
is ahead for the Tigers,
who entered the year with
several question marks
but won their first ACC
Tournament crown in 10
vears. Clemson also host
ed an NCAA Tournament
regional for the first time
since 2011.
“We will always be
able to use the 2016 team
when we're talking about
mental toughness and
competitiveness. playing
together through the good
teams and the bad times.”
Lee said. “It will be a
measuring stick.”
Few were sure what to
expect in Lee’s first sea
son replacing Hall-of-
Fame coach Jack Leggett,
who took the Tigers to six
College World Series
trips in 22 seasons. But
Clemson had slipped in
recent seasons. losing
eight of its previous 10
NCAA Tournament
games before this season
and ending 238th nation
ally 1n fielding percentage
in 2015
Lece worked to tighten
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and the quality and depth
they have, and obviously
our spring coaches have it
with what we’ve just
gone through. I'm very
proud to be associated
with our head coaches.
Parents who I speak to
are very, very pleased
with the folks who we
have guiding their kids
and teaching them to be
young adults.”
FCN: Considering
Hepler’s reputation in the
county, how much of a
buzz did the announce
ment of his hiring create?
Kaplan: “Obviously.
we got a boost of buzz,
just with the success he’s
had at another school in
Forsyth County. They did
fairly well there. from
what I understand.
“Every place he’s been
— he was a long-term
coach in south Florida.
His record speaks for
itself down there, and
then the amount of quali
will move to catcher to
fill the expected vacancy
after junior Chris Okey
was selected 43rd overall
by Cincinnati in the MT ®
draft Thursday. Kral! will
get worked into the start
ing rotation, Lee said, this
fall to give Clemson a 1-2
punch for weekends next
season.
Lee said coaches will
work with Beer to
improve his strength and
speed. Beer came right
from high school in
Suwanee, Georgia, last
December to Clemson’s
practice and did not go
through the months of
summer and fall weight
lifting and conditioning
most first year players do.
Lee expects it will also
help Beer become more
of a leader.
“I can’t wait to get back
on the field,” Lee said.
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going where other pro
grams are saying, Hey,
we want to be successful
too. Even some of our
programs that have not
made it to the postseason,
they're continually trying
to find ways to take the
next step. Whether it’s a
small leap in another
sport and they double up
their wins but it may not
be making the postsea
son, they’re still making
strides to get to where
they want to be. You can
throw a dart any of our 23
sports and I can tell you
there’s been progress
made in all of them.”
FCN: Next season you
move into a new region.
You get to join your sister
schools in Region 5-7 A.
What is the level of antic
ipation around the pro
gram for the move?
Kaplan: “l think the
ty players and the amount
of quality men he pro
duced, kids who still call
him today for advice.
FCN: You made a
jump from 39th to 20th in
the Directors Cup stand
ings. Another good sign
of “P and R?”
Kaplan: “A direct
reflection of what our
kids are doing and the
leadership our kids are
giving them. When I got
here there was such a
quality of a coach already
and such a quality kid,
just with the continued
support and the dynamics
of their programs, they’ve
been able to establish
momentum. The whole
kind of theme has been
when a couple programs
have been successful at a
school, other programs
want to emulate that. 1
think there’s a little fever
o
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vibes are excitement. The
kids are excited about
being able to play people
they know. In regions
we’ve played in in the
past we've travelled as far
as seven counties. So
there haven’t been any
real rivalries.
“When the first inkling
of us being in the region
with the FoCo Five and
Milton, everybody was
like, ‘Do you really want
to be in there?’ I was like,
‘Yeah, I want to be in
there. Who is our rival?’
And nobody could come
up with who our rival is. I
think we’re going to
return to some great rivals
we’ve had in the past.
That alone is going to
breed excitement and
continue our hopeful
progress and respect in
the county and the state.”