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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017
READY TO RIDE
Members of Jefferson’s new mountain biking team gather prior to a recent practice. The team is not affiliated with either Jefferson High School or Jefferson
Middle School but is open to students in grades 6-12. The season begins Sept. 10 with a race at the biking trails at Road Atlanta. Photo by Ben Munro
Mountain biking... continued from IB
workout,” he said. “On a
mountain bike, as opposed
to a road bike, you're
using your upper body to
absorb shock. Plus, you get
the endurance, the aero
bic (exercise). A lot of the
trails around here, there’s
some good anaerobic spots
where you've got some
short, punchy climbs so you
really need to get into your
reserves. So it's a great over
all workout that works well
with really any other sport.”
The team welcomes riders
of all experience levels.
Kerr’s son, Bobby, a
16-year-old Jefferson High
School junior, is an avid
mountain biker like his
father, riding his first trail
bike at age 3 and competing
since age 5. He said peo
ple are usually taken aback
when he tells them he races
mountain bikes.
“Usually their first state
ment is, ‘I didn’t know you
could race mountain bikes.’
which kind of surprises me,”
Bobby said. “If you’ve got
something on two wheels,
you can usually put it up to
a race.”
While he's competed in
everything from water ski
ing to baseball, mountain
biking holds a particular
appeal for Bobby.
“I’m an adrenaline per
son, so I like going fast and
hitting bumps,” he said. “We
don't do jumps, but I like
doing jumps as well, and
just riding with friends ...
I’ve been riding with friends
for a long time. That’s prob
ably one of my favorite parts
about it.”
Teammate Nick Bell, 16,
also a junior at Jefferson
High School, has been rid
ing mountain bikes since the
sixth grade and was pleased
when he got word that a
team was being formed.
“I was pretty excited
because when you go out
and ride, you’ve got friends
and if some friends can't
make it, you’ve got to go
ride by yourself,” Bell said.
“With a team, you’ve always
got friends that can ride with
you. so it's pretty cool.”
The team's first meet is
Sept. 10 at Road Atlanta on
brand-new trails devel
oped for the league. The
Jefferson team will ride in
a meet every two weeks
through Nov. 5. In addi
tion to the Road Atlanta
meet, the schedule will
take the team to Acworth,
Conyers and Oconee-Her-
itage Park. The state
championship is in Jack-
son. The Jefferson squad
is one of 40 competing in
Georgia.
Currently, most of the
team's athletes are boys.
The program includes
three middle school girls,
so it is trying to recruit
high school girl riders.
The group hopes its
popularity will grow to
allow it to transition it to
a club sport at Jefferson.
“I think that would be
the ideal situation if we
could do that.” Kerr said.
But for now, the team is
ready to race.
“It's going to be awe
some to feel the competi
tive side of mountain bik
ing and just have fun with
friends as well,” Bell said.
12U ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
Commerce’s Carson Hobbs (left) was selected
to a 12U All-America team from USA softball
while her sister, Grace Hobbs, was selected
as an alternate. Over 200 girls from across the
state tried out for the team. The team will com
pete in a national tournament in Oklahoma City
Aug. 18-20. Submitted photo
Scrimmage ...
continued from IB
and stretch our kids.
“So, hopefully we can
go out there and compete.”
Madison County is in
Class 4A. Commerce
opens the regular season
with Banks County who
competes in Class 2A.
Commerce plays in Class
A Public.
“Anytime you can line
up and compete against
another team, the kids
get excited,” Brown said
about the anticipation of
live-game action. “The
coaches get uptight and
nervous about it and we’re
ready to get our first real
test and see where we
are.”
Commerce went in pads
against other teams in the
summer, but not in a live
situation like Friday night.
Since padded practice
began last week, Brown
explained things are still
“slower” on the offensive
side of the ball than the
defensive side. The pace
doesn't slow the effort,
though.
“But, they’re working
hard,” he said. “I think
they're coming to prac
tice each day with a pur
pose and trying to get
themselves better in what
they’ve been coached to
do.”
The offense returns only
three starters and is look
ing to fill the quarterback,
running backs spots and
offensive line. Brown said
players are still competing
to see who will fill the
spots.
“I'm really, kind
of, waiting until after
Wednesday to sit down
with some of the coaches
and pencil in some of the
starters on the offensive
side of the ball.” Brown
stated.
Brown’s message to the
team this week, and the
past several weeks, is that
they're still in a preseason
mentality.
“We're just trying to
get better.” Brown said.
“Friday night is just an
assessment, a test to see
where we are.
“We’ll have an oppor
tunity to identify some
things and come back the
next week and work on
those for a week or so.”
Wood... continued from IB
Wood spent the sum
mer bulking up to prep
for his final year and
the collegiate football
options that await him.
He added 10-12 pounds
to his frame — he now
checks in at 186 pounds
— and paid special atten
tion to the mechanics of
running and increasing his
speed. He also attended
college prospect camps
“to try to wake some
of these coaches up.”
“I did pretty good at
them,” Wood said.
Wood currently has
between nine to 10 col
legiate offers to choose
between. Mercer, The Cita
del, Army, Air Force, Navy,
Presbyterian and Eastern
Michigan are among the
schools competing for his
signature. When asked if
he has a dream school,
Wood mentioned Clemson.
Despite Wood’s statistics,
accolades and versatility,
he only rates as a two-star
prospect on the 247 recruit
ing website. And Cathcart
said that’s the “sad truth”
of the modem recruiting
game in which people
fall in love with measur-
ables, not production.
“He happens to be an
inch or two short or what
ever to be on everybody’s
board as a prospect,” Cath
cart said. “That's really
not his fault. That’s more
of the college’s fault.”
Cathcart believes what
ever school lands Wood’s
services will gain an excep
tional football player.
“He'll make an imme
diate impact on some
one’s program,” Cathcart
said. “They'll be getting
a tremendous young
man, who's an awesome
student, and they'll be
getting an outstanding
guy who just quietly goes
about doing his job and
is a great teammate.”
Wood's main concern
this year is doing his part
to help the Dragons net
another region title and
advance them deep into
the Class 4A playoffs.
“I'm ready to start.” he
said. “I'm ready to shock
some people because
they think we’re going
to be down. I just think
it's another year that the
Dragons will be great.”
He does have a per
sonal benchmark he’d
like to reach in his final
year — 1,800 yards. That
total would put him at
6,417 yards and among
the all-time career rush
ing headers in the state.
He'll ran behind an
offensive line this year
with two new starters.
“Compared to the past
few years, we’re a bit
undersized but we still have
that dog in us,” he said.
“I feel like with the three
returning starters, they’re
leaders, so they’ll help the
two that’s filling in for the
spots of Caleb (Chandler)
and Nick (Holman), so I
feel like we'll be fine.”
Regardless of how the
year ends, Wood — who
has the rare chance to
become a three-time
first-team all-state selec
tion — has already left a
lasting impression on his
teammates and coaches.
In fact, Cathcart reserves
the highest praise he can
bestow a player when
summing up Colby Wood.
“The greatest compli
ment you can pay a great
player is that they are a
tremendous football player,
period,” Cathcart said. “I
don’t think there's anything
at the end of the day that
Colby could not do.”
DOING IT ALL
In addition to running for 1,642 yards last year,
Colby Wood was the Dragons’ leading receiver
last year and also led the team in interceptions.
Photo by Ben Munro
Athlete of the Week!
sponsored by:
HYMAN BROWN SOUTHERN TRUST
INSURANCE INSURANCE
AGENCY, INC. COMPANY
Jessica Streuer
Jackson County Volleyball
Jackson County volleyball player
Jessica Streuer tallied a combined
29 kills and 24 digs in three matches
Saturday.
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INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
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