Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 3B
Weightlifting
Moon wins power lifting title in Chicago
ADDING ANOTHER TITLE
Tim Moon poses with his wife, Patty, after winning
another National Benchpress Title. Submitted
New coaches
Jackson County announces new
boys’ soccer, volleyball coaches
Jefferson High School
alum Tim “T” Moon picked
up where he left off last
year-winning bench-press
competitions.
Moon's latest victory came
in the World United Ama
teur Powerlifting (WUAP)
National Championships in
Chicago, Illinois recently
when he won the national
tide in the Master’s Men’s
50-54 year old 140 kilo
gram/308.64 pound weight
class, battling through illness
and injury to do it.
Weighing in at 288, Moon
easily lifted 327.5 kg, or a
little over 722 pounds on
his first attempt to take the
championship to add to his
numerous other national and
world titles.
“First road trip of the year
for me,” Moon said. “My
training has been really good
this year up until a couple
of weeks before the compe
tition. I hurt my shoulder at
work and was hurting going
in. Also, I was very annoyed
to have sinus infections and a
bad cough on the trip.”
“I started with a light
opener for me just to get on
the board because I wasn’t
sure how much strength I
had,” Moon continued. “It
was the only lift I got credit
for. My second attempt was
352.5/777.1 locked it out but
was red-lighted for uneven
extension. My final attempt
was 365/805 which, I was
close, but could not finish
the lift.”
Moon said his next bench-
press endeavor will be a mis
sion trip to Costa Rica where
he will be doing several exhi
bition lifts and sharing good
news at a prison and several
schools. Moon, a resident of
the Belmont community in
Hall County, added. “God
has made me strong.”
Jackson County Com
prehensive High School
has filled its remaining
coaching vacancies, nam
ing Jason Guzzardo as its
new boys' soccer coach, and
Jeff White — who has three
state titles to his credit — as
its next volleyball coach.
Guzzardo comes to Jack-
son County from Carrollton
High School where he spent
one year and served as an
assistant coach for a team
that advanced to the Elite
Eight.
Prior to his stint at Carroll
ton, Guzzardo served as the
head girls' coach at Lakeside
High School (2008-09), and
as both the head girls’ head
coach (2009-14) and boys'
head coach (2015-2017) at
Dacula High School. His
teams made the state play
offs in 2008, 2009. 2010,
2011, 2012 and 2013. Guz
zardo was named Region
8AAAAAA Coach of the
Year and Gwinnett County
Coach of the Year in 2012.
Guzzardo is completing a
master’s degree in Instruc
tional Technology and will
lead Jackson County’s ISS/
alternative school.
Meanwhile, White brings
over 300 wins and three
state championships to the
volleyball head coaching
post at Jackson County.
White, a California native,
began his head-coaching
career at Chattahooch
ee High School, lead
ing the school to a Final
Four appearance in 2000
and a state runner-up fin
ish in 2001. He then led
Northview High School
to state championships in
2005, 2007 and 2008. He
was named Georgia High
School Volleyball Coach of
the Year in 2001, 2005, and
2008. His career record at
the high school level is 346-
158.
He returns to high school
coaching after stints as head
coach at Brenau University
from 2012-2013 and Bir
mingham Southern Univer
sity from 2014-2017. He
was an assistant last year
at the University of Ala-
bama-Birmingham. He
compiled 96-54 as a colle
giate head coach.
White earned his Ph.D.
in Kinesiology from UGA
in 2014 and join Jackson
County’s health and phys
ical education department.
“Having a championship
culture in both academ
ics and athletics is a goal
of ours at Jackson Coun
ty High School, and I feel
that coach White and coach
Guzzardo will contribute to
that goal greatly,” Jackson
County athletic director
Brad Hayes said. “Both are
excited to begin working
with our students, and we
are excited to have them.”
Bolt... continued from page IB
Hayes said the school
received “a lot” of resumes
for the job despite it never
being officially advertised.
But he didn’t feel the search
needed to go further follow
ing Bolt's interview.
“We just didn’t feel like
we needed to look very far
for the right person - the
person that truly cares about
our kids, understands what
we need and understands our
vision as an athletic program
as a whole,” Hayes said.
“There's no need to go out
and try to create something
that's already right in front
of you.”
Bolt’s ties with Jackson
County run deep.
He grew up in Jackson
County and played for Jack-
son County Comprehensive
High School from 2005-
2008. He went on to play
collegiate baseball at Pied
mont College for two sea
sons before transferring to
Georgia. His coaching career
began at Jackson County
under former coach Tommy
Fountain in 2011 while still
completing his undergrad
studies. Bolt has been teach
ing at Jackson County and
a full-time coach since the
2013-14 school year.
Bolt coached under both
Fountain and Gastley as the
program has enjoyed its most
successful run in program
history. The Panthers have
reached the state playoffs six
straight years, including an
Elite Eight appearance in
2015 and Final Four run in
2016 under Fountain.
“It's been awesome work
ing for coach Fountain; it’s
been awesome working for
coach Gastley,” Bolt said.
“I've learned so much from
both of them.”
Bolt pointed out that he
was part of a program that,
as player, wasn't equipped
with a summer schedule or
a ninth-grade team. Jack-
son County never won more
than six games in a season
during his playing days. He
now takes over a program
well-stocked with feeder
programs that has reached
the state playoffs regularly.
“I pretty much watched,
first-hand, what coach
Fountain did to transform
this program into what it
is today and then Gastley
came in and maintained it,”
Bolt said. “It’s been awe
some to see how much this
program has transformed
over the years.”
Bolt hopes to continue
that transformation.
“I feel like I’m ready, and
I feel like I’m ready to take
it to the next step,” he said.
“We need to get to the point
where we're back in the
Sweet 16, Elite Eight and
Final Four.”
Bolt’s familiarity with the
program will allow him to
hit the ground running. Bolt
Jackson Co. football... continued from page IB
passing scrimmages will
give Worley an extended
look at the passing game and
ability of all the team’s quar
terbacks. Those quarterbacks
— in no particular order —
include Jake Stinchcomb,
Tyler Wester and Jessie
Whiting.
Worley praised Stinch-
comb’s understanding and
management of the offense.
Byrom...
Northeast Georgia,” he said.
Byrom is no stranger to
serving as the head coach
of two major sports at one
school, having spent 12 sea
sons coaching both softball
and girls’ basketball.
The longtime coach
believes players should par
ticipate in multiple sports and
hopes to serve as an example
of dual-sport involvement by
serving as a dual head coach
at East Jackson.
“Society is not exact
ly pushing kids into multi
sport athleticism, and I truly
believe in that,” said Byrom,
who owns 629 coaching
wins between girls' basket
ball and softball. “But I’m
going to set the example that
you can do two things and
you can try your best to do it
at the highest level and you
don't have to really specialize
to be successful.”
Byrom added, “We have
a set group of athletes at this
school, and a lot of them
could be role players in other
programs.”
With the exception of his
three-year stint as Gibbs’
assistant coach, Byrom has
been a head girls’ basketball
coach since 1996 at four dif
ferent stops.
He started at Eagle's
Landing High School (1996-
2003) where he guided an
Eagle program that had won
14 games the previous six
seasons to a 116-72 record
in seven seasons and a trip to
the Sweet 16.
Wester was away at a wres-
ding camp last week but
got several reps during the
spring. Whiting, a converted
tight end and linebacker built
more like a fullback, has
drawn praise from Worley
for his arm strength. Addi
tionally, Ayden Griswold,
an all-around athlete on the
team, can play several posi
tions, including quarterback.
continued from
A five-year stint at Pick
ens High School (2003-08)
followed, where he led that
program to a 74-56 record.
His time there included three
sub-region titles and a 21-5
mark during the 2006-07
season.
Byrom coached a season at
Wayne County High School
(2008-09), during which the
Yellow Jackets enjoyed their
highest win total in five sea
sons.
An ultra-successful six-
year run (2009-2015) at
North Oconee followed, with
Byrom compiling a 132-39
record. Under his watch, the
Titans reeled off a school-re-
cord 32 straight wins in
region play from 2011-2014.
His 2009-10 team went 24-6
and reached the Sweet 16 for
the first time in the school’s
history. His 2011-12 squad
then went 20-3 with another
trip to the Sweet 16. The year
included a 15-game winning
streak and a region-runner-up
finish in 8-AA.
Even greater success came
in 2012-13 when Byrom
guided the program to a
27-3 record, a school-record
17-game winning streak,
a Region 8-AAA title and
Sweet 16 appearance.
While at North Oconee,
Byrom garnered GACA
Region 8-AAA Coach of the
Year honors in 2012-13 and
twice won area Coach of the
Year honors.
At East Jackson, Byrom
will take over a program that
“And we've got some
young ones coming, so we'll
see,” Worley said. “They’re
working hard.”
Worley said the 7-on-7
passing sessions are con
structive, even though the
Panthers don’t plan on put
ting the ball in the air fre
quently.
“You have to practice that
because sometimes you’re
ia£e IB
will only return one senior
from last year’s roster (anoth
er is expected to return to
the team after missing last
year with an injury). While
most of this coming season's
contributors will be freshmen
and sophomores. Byrom also
sees an opportunity.
“So it gives me an oppor
tunity to lay, and continue to
build, on that foundation that
we had last year and show
them that they've got the
talent,” Byrom said. “Now
we've got to get the team
work to go with it.”
East Jackson, which has
been in the midst of its sum
mer work, will conclude its
summer schedule this week
with a series of scrimmages
as it looks toward next year
and building on the progress
of the past three seasons.
East Jackson set a school
record for wins with 11 in
both 2015-16 and 2016-17
and won 10 games this past
season. Byrom also pointed
to success in the junior var
sity program as an encour
aging sign for the future.
But the Eagles have yet to
enjoy a winning season in the
school’s 11-year history.
“The East Jackson pro
gram has never had a win
ning season, and I would like
to make sure that that hap
pens next year,” Byrom said.
GIBBS TALKS ABOUT
DEPARTURE
Matt Gibbs will take an
assistant boys’ basketball
coaching position at Hart
going to have to do it,” he
said.
The 7-on-7 scrimmages
are probably more important
on the other side of the ball
for Jackson County, testing
the secondary.
“It’s more important to me
defensively than it is as any
thing.” Worley said.
Away from the practice
field, the program is again
County but said leaving East
Jackson was not an easy
choice.
“It was definitely one of
the toughest decisions I've
ever had to make,” Gibbs
said.
Gibbs, who graduat
ed from Hart County High
School in 2003, said he’s
making the move for fami
ly reasons. He’s been com
muting to East Jackson from
Hartwell for the past five
years and his wife teaches
in the Hart County School
System.
Gibbs' departure ends
a six-year ran as the East
Jackson girls’ basketball
coach and an eight-year stint
at the school. He expressed
his gratitude to the Jackson
County School System.
“I can’t begin to express
how grateful I am to them
because they helped start my
career in education and gave
me my first head-coaching
job,” Gibbs said.
On the court, Gibbs' teams
won a school-record 11
games in both 2015-16 and
2016-17 and 10 this past sea
son while starting two fresh
men.
“It sure was tough to give it
up at this point,” Gibbs said.
“I feel East Jackson girls’
basketball has a really good
nucleus of young talent that’s
willing to get better and is
committed. It was definitely
a tough decision.”
He added that the program
is in good hands under a
has known most of the ros
ter since those players were
in middle school and has
taught the majority of his
players in the classroom.
“It’s a blessing,” he said.
“I’ve known most of these
kids since the six. sev
enth and eighth grade. I've
watched them grow up ...
I think that's huge for me
to know these kids and to
know these families.”
Bolt expressed his grat
itude toward Gastiey, who
took the head-coaching job
at Lumpkin County, for
leaving him with a full sum
mer schedule of scrimmag
es in place.
“Gastley has certainly
made this transition so easy
for me,” Bolt said.
As for next year, Bolt
inherits a strong nucleus
coming off a 13-18 team
this past season. All-region
players Tanner Crump.
Joey Corso, Walker Fryer
and Zac Saine will return in
2019 as the program aims
for its seventh straight state
playoff appearance.
“We definitely have a
solid core coming back,”
Bolt said. “We went 13-18
last year, and it was a dis
appointing year for us. I
told our kids that we have
a chance to do something
special. However, we can’t
look past the fact that we
went 13-18. We've got a lot
of work to do.”
putting a premium on nutri
tion, making sure players
don't lose an excess of cal
ories between their summer
football work and obliga
tions to other sports. The
program, as it has the past
few summers, is feeding its
players during the day.
“We’re trying to get some
extra calories in our kids so
the amount of work they
do over the summer doesn't
take too much weight off of
them or too much strength
off them as we're trying to
peak when we get to the end
of July and the beginning of
August,” Worley said.
Jackson County, which
will scrimmage North
Oconee Aug. 9 at home,
opens its season Aug. 17 at
Banks County.
veteran coach like Donnie
Byrom, who Gibbs said was
a mentor to him. He called
Byrom “one of the best girls'
basketball coaches in the
state of Georgia.”
“I do have solace in that
that they're going to be fine
with his leadership,” Gibbs
said.
Gibbs, who played for
Hart County from 1999-2003
and was on the Bulldogs'
state runner-up team in 2003,
will move on to Hart County
to work under veteran coach
Harry Marsh, who has over
600 coaching victories with
one state title.
“Yeah, it’s definitely
mixed emotion,” he said of
taking a new job. “There's an
excitement level with getting
back to coaching boys. That's
exciting. But you feel like we
laid a foundation and maybe
put a layer up and turned the
reins over to another contrac
tor so to speak in building the
program.”
L
Jackson County Park & Rec. & The Michael Douglas Youth Foundation presents
* HARLEM LEGENDS
SHOOT FOR THE STARS
BASKETBALL CAMP
Directed by Legendary
Harlem Globetrotter
Michael Douglas
James Brown Rec. Center
441 Gordon St. • Jefferson, GA
July 9 -13, 2018 • 9:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
$140 per camper
Boys & Girls Ages 7-14
Camp geared for all skill levels
Additional Registration forms at
www.harlemlegends.com
Michael Douglas • Camp Director
678-630-8843