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Inside this section • Classifieds • Legals • Real Estate March 5,2015
Full week of soccer action for Pickens High
PHS Varsity and JV soccer
Sports Fanatic
Chasing Sunsets
The PHS soccer teams, off to
a slow season due to two weeks
of inclement weather, look for
ward to getting back on the pitch
this week.
This week's schedule:
• The Dragons hit the road for
their first varsity match of the
season against Heritage High
School on Monday, March 2.
• The JV boys play against
Lafayette at Lafayette on Tues
day, March 3.
• On Wednesday, March 4, the
Dragons will battle Cartersville
on home turf at Dragon Stadium.
The girls start at 5:45 p.m. fol
lowed by the boys at 7:45 p.m.
• On Thursday, March 5, the
jv teams hit the road and travel to
Dahlonega to play against Lump
kin High School. The girls start
at 5:00 p.m. followed by the boys
at 6:30 p.m.
• Friday, March 6 will find the
Dragons back home for a varsity
match up against Northwest
Whitfield High School at Dragon
Stadium. The girls start at 5:30
p.m. followed by the boys at 7:30
p.m.
The teams love to see family,
friends, and fans in the stands.
Please come out and support
PHS soccer!
By Tommy Gartrell
As an Atlanta falcon fan, it is
time to wake from the dream of
past successes and stop chasing
the sunsets from 2010-12. The
run which saw the team earn
three playoff berths with a 10-6
season sandwiched between a
pair of 13-3 compaigns ended
two years ago.
In sports, that
era is ancient
history.
Many of the
faces and
names from
those glory
years are gone
and various others are experienc
ing declines in athletic ability
and eroding skills. Five years
does not seem like a long time,
but five years ago my son stood
five feet, seven inches tall and
weighed 150 pounds as he en
tered high school with not a
whisker on his face. Today, he is
in college at six feet tall and 200
plus pounds with a budding mus
tache. The visible signs of aging
are more subtle in twenty and
thirty-somethings than in a
growing teenager, but profes
sional athletes age too.
Too that end, the Falcons cut
several familiar faces last week.
Namely, they were running back
Steven Jackson, defensive end
Jonathan Massaquoi, left guard
Justin Blalock, and wide receiver
Harry Douglas. These roster
moves are to save money and
shed declining players. The Jack-
son and Douglas moves alone
saved the team $7.25 million in
salary cap money which can be
used in the free agent frenzy that
starts this week.
Frankly, Jackson was a bust
in Atlanta. In his two years with
the Falcons, he rushed for half of
his career yearly average in
yards. The old saying is that it is
better to let a player go a year too
early than a year too late. The
Rams shed him at exactly the
right time in his career, while At
lanta bought an old, oft injured
dud. As for Douglas, Atlanta cut
him at a good time because he is
30 years old, and this year’s draft
class is loaded with talented re
ceivers.
Massaquoi possessed talent
that did not develop, and Blalock
is older and slow a foot which
does not fit into the offensive
scheme of new offensive coordi
nator Kyle Shanahan.
Knee-jerk reactions by fans to
theses cuts are premature be
cause the Falcons saved money
to go shopping in free agency
which begins on Thursday,
March 7. You can bet that At
lanta seeks a high-end player at
tight end and pass rushers on de
fense, but the players who can
reshape the fortunes of Atlanta’s
professional football team as
coming from the NFL draft
which opens on April 30.
Are the Falcons big players in
the free agent game this year? I
think not. The core of the team is
relatively young, and with a few
additional pieces from free
agency, they will be contenders
again soon. Another sustained
period of success hinges on fu
ture draft selections. Falcon’s
head coach Dan Quinn helped
build the preeminent NFL de
fense in Seattle with young play
ers.
Professional football salaries
and salary cap restrictions are
more sophisticated in football as
opposed to baseball, but select
ing the best available talent and
developing it works in any sport
or business. Do the Falcons have
the right people in place to do
those jobs? Time will tell us, but
clinging to faded sunsets and
tired older players for sentimen
tal reasons is only going to lead
to seasons like the last two years.
8-and-under girls make state
Upward Soccer begins soon
In an era of sports when trash
talking, win-at-all-cost mentali
ties and fights on the field seem
to be the norm, it’s no wonder
that 70 percent of U.S. children
playing organized sports will
quit by age 13 and never play
again. Pickens County kids and
families, believing that sports
can be a positive experience, are
participating in an unconven
tional youth sports league which
teaches that the process of com
petition is just as important as the
outcome.
For more than six years First
Christian Church has hosted
sports leagues through Upward
Sports—the world’s largest
Christian sports league for chil
dren—coaching and mentoring
more than 500 Pickens-area kids.
The church offers three Upward
Sports leagues: basketball, soc
cer and cheerleading.
“Kids seem to really grow—
both as athletes and friends—in
an environment that one practice
and one game per week focuses
on skills, sportsmanship, team
work and integrity while having
fun,” said Tim, a volunteer coach
of the Upward Soccer League at
First Christian Church. “It’s been
exciting seeing families from
several neighborhoods come to
gether for the first time. One soc
cer team can often represent
more than three schools. This
soccer program is building
friendships and community.”
Focusing on healthy competi
tion and positive sports environ
ments that build strong
self-confidence, Upward Sports
equips churches with everything
needed to run a competitive but
fun, 10 week sports program for
children K3 - sixth grade. Each
year, more than 1 million people
play, coach, referee or volunteer
in Upward Sports Leagues
throughout the country.
To avoid player and parent
bum out. Upward Sports limits
time commitments to one prac
tice and one game per week.
Other distinctive aspects of
Upward Sports Leagues include:
• Unique substitution system
designed to provide every child
equal playing time, competing
against an equally matched op
ponent
• Competitive games with
strict adherence to a proprietary
drafting system that balances tal
ent on each team
• Supportive coaches that
bring out “the winner” in every
child regardless of the game’s
score
To register for an Upward
Sports League, visit www.fccof-
jasper.org. For more information
about Upward Sports visit
www.upward.org.
More Information:
Attend league evaluation day at
First Christian Jasper - March 6
between the hours of 6:00-8:00
p.m. Plan on being there about
20-30 minutes.
. Practices are one hour long.
(Contact Marcia Boyd (706)
253-2577 for more information
or to volunteer to help coach)
Games begin 4-11 and last one
hour each week. The ages are
PreK-6th grade.
Congratulations to the Pick
ens County under 8 All Star Girls
Basketball team for winning its
way into the State Tournament
that begins this week in Cal
houn! In last week's District
Tournament the team beat Gor
don County, Murray County, and
Gilmer County. They lost to
Calhoun in the Championship
Game but will now be one of two
teams representing District 5 at
the State Tournament this week.
Team Members (left-right):
Front Row- Peyton Clark, Charli
Fendley, Carly Patterson; Back
Row-Abby Plumley, Ashaela
Buchanan, Emery Steinhauer,
Emery Bryant, Kelsie Davis
(missing from picture: Mia Anti-
nozzi)
Coaches: Jennifer Bryant,
Eileen Steinhauer
WBuxImik
7
m,
iJlk
Friday, March 6 th
6:00 - 8:00 PM
First Christian, Jasper
Ages PreK3 - 6 th grade
Cost $70
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL
706-253-2577
UPWARD.ORG
Legal ads
from across
Georgia can be
found on our
website
pickensprogress.com
or at
www.georgia
publicnotice.com
Bartkowski dinner rescheduled
Office space for rent
in downtown Jasper
Two offices have become available in the Edge
Building upstairs from the Pickens County
Progress. There is one smaller office for $200 per
month and a larger one for $300 (includes power
and water.)
706-253-2457
snowed/iced out last week. But
organizers were able to work out
a make up date with the Falcon
great.
Keynote speaker for the event
will remain Steve Bartkowski,
former quarterback of the At
lanta Falcons.
Bartkowski is a member of
the College Football Hall of
Fame; the Georgia Sports Hall of
Fame; and the Atlanta Sports
Hall of Fame. He is also a mem
ber of the University of Califor
nia Sports Hall of Fame. Steve’s
wife Sandee is a talented photog
rapher and they live in the At
lanta area.
FCA will have both Corporate
and Individual sponsored tables
for this event. Corporate spon
sors will be able to attend a VIP
reception from 5-6 p.m. with Mr.
Bartkowski before the event. If
you are interested in hosting a
Corporate or Individual table,
please contact Eddie McDonald
at 770-324-3603 or Matt Queen
at 706-851-5074.
Steve Bartkowski
The 6th Annual 515 Fellow
ship of Christian Athletes
Fundraising Dinner has been
rescheduled for March 24th, at
6:30 p.m. at Chattahoochee
Technical College in Jasper.
The original date was
fritfay the fJth
No School
Baseball/Softball Camp
9am-lpm for Ages 7-13
Cost: $30 (USA Players $20)
Camp includes instruction, lunch and drinks.
To register or for more information visit our website at
universalsportsacademyinc.com
U*S*A
Universal Sports Academy
101 Mountain Park Road, Jasper, GA 30143
(Home of Challengers Softball and Nationals Baseball)
“Changing athletics in North Georgia one sport at a time"