Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2B
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2008
Outdoors With Skipper
Remember to take time to smell the roses
H aving attended three
funerals in the past
week has certainly
focused my attention on the brev
ity of this life, even with those
funerals involving folks 70 years
plus.
Life rapidly passes us by, and
there is a lesson that all of us who
love the outdoors need to learn if
we haven’t already. Take time to
smell the roses.
I remember a few years back
as my younger son, Shawn, was
striving to be the best, in business
and in whatever he did. I recall
telling him to learn to smell the
roses as he was reaching for the
orchids.
Nothing wrong with ambition,
with drive, with wanting to be the
best, but along life’s way make
some time, take some time, to
smell the roses. It was the yellow
daffodils blooming now in the
winter, at an old home site, that
caught my attention.
I slowed down the car and just
stared at their beauty on a cold,
windy day.
It was my grandson Carson,
just this Monday morning, as he
pointed out to his grandma, that
the sun was coming up. They
paused to see the beautiful sun
rise peeping up from across the
pasture.
We watched the blue-jays, the
The
Great
Outdoors
By Skipper Smith
706-677-1520
two squirrels, along with some
25 or so plain looking little birds,
feasting on the sunflower seeds,
as we ate breakfast today. Soon,
as spring approaches, if you take
time, you will notice the birds
with nesting material in their
beaks, looking for a place to raise
a family.
The trees will soon put on their
greenery, and the grass will not
be brown any longer. I beg you to
slow down, put aside the hustle
and bustle of life’s activity, and
just enjoy what the good Lord has
created, if only for a moment or
two.
Take time to send that note of
encouragement to a friend who
is having a rough time. Make
time to spend with your children
and grandchildren. Some times
as dads, mothers, grandfathers,
grandmothers, we must lose time
in order to gain it.
I will never forget the story of
the father and son who each kept
a diary. One day the dad took the
son fishing. In dad’s diary were
written the words for that day,
“Wasted day, took Johnny fish
ing.”
In the little fella’s diary were
these words, “Greatest day in my
life, Dad took me fishing.”
Or the little lad who when
asked how he knew his daddy
loved him? He replied, “Because
he plays with me.”
I called my son Shawn today
to see what he was doing. It was
President’s Day, and his seven-
year-old son Hunter had the day
off from school. Shawn said,
“Dad I took the day off from my
business to spend it with Hunter.”
That’s what it is all about.
Perhaps, my son Shawn has
taken to heart, his dad’s words
years ago.
“Son, take time to smell the
roses, while you are reaching for
the orchids.”
I trust you my dear reader, will
do the same. Life is rapidly pass
ing us by. Let’s not have regrets
when we come to the end. If you
have an outdoors story, give me
a call.
Skipper Smith is an outdoors
columnist for The Banks County
News. His column appears
weekly. Let him know about your
hunting or fishing adventure at
706-677-1520.
Soccer season
A SIGN
OF SPRING
The new soccer
season for the
Banks County High
School Leopards
sees a new head
coach. Michael
Boomer is now
directing the Lady
Leopard program.
BCHS opened
the 2008 season
last week against
Jackson County
High School in
Jefferson.
Photo by
Lyn Sengupta
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Diamond Leopards... continued from page 1B
The coach said with 15 subregion
games teams will not be able to look
ahead.
“You have to take the schedule
one game at a time,” Lord said.
“You will have to prepare well for
each game. I don’t think there’s a
region team that we can’t beat if we
play well. However, if we don’t play
well, there’s not anyone in there that
can’t beat us. It’s pretty even, and
that’s what you want. That’s not a lot
of disparity from top to bottom. That
gives everyone a fighting chance and
that’s all you can ask for. Nothing is
guaranteed and we’ll have to go out
everyday and earn each win.”
SUBREGION FOES
Coach Lord gave an early spring
scouting report on the teams BCHS
will face in the subregion in 2008:
•Rabun County: “They are much
improved over the past few years.
They are scrappy and well prepared.
They will be fired up about the
season.”
•Union County: “They have a new
coach and some new players that
I’ve heard good things about. I think
they will have a new attitude and
renewed confidence. They are defi
nitely a team that could beat you on
any day and it’s always tough to win
in Blairsville.”
•Dawson County: “They made
the state playoffs last year and fin
ished as region runner-up to North
Oconee. They return most of their
team including their top two starting
pitchers. They will be tough.”
•East Jackson: “They have been
pretty competitive in all of their
varsity sports and I look for baseball
to be no different. They have a good
nucleus of athletes down there to
work with and they will be looking
to start a winning tradition.”
Lord stressed again the subregion
race is “up in the air.”
“I like our chances,” the coach
said. “We have just as good of a
chance as anyone else and I like our
team. The region tournament this
year is state tournament format. The
top two teams from each subregion
will host best two-of-three series
ACE PITCHER
Alex Gailey will be the top
pitcher for the Diamond
Leopards this spring.
Photo by Chris Bridges
against the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds
from each subregion. The winner
of those series will be reseeded in a
region tournament at a neutral site
to determine the sides. If you win
that series, you’re in state. After that,
you’re playing for seeding. That’s a
good setup.”
NON-REGION
OPPONENTS
BCHS will compete against
Commerce twice, Elbert County
twice, Lakeview once and Jefferson
once this spring in non-region con
tests.
“Commerce is always a fun game
for us,” Lord said. “We split with
them last season.”
Elbert County will be a new oppo
nent for the Diamond Leopards and
will provide a solid test for Lord’s
team.
“I could only get Jefferson on the
schedule once this year, but I love
playing them,” the BCHS coach
said. “We’ve been on the wrong
end of some lopsided scores against
them, but we feel like we are clos-
ing the gap. Playing them is always
a good measuring stick to see where
we stand.”
Lakeview will also provide a qual
ity test for BCHS this spring.
ROSTER
Currently, Lord will use 17 players
on the varsity roster.
Players, along with comments and
information from Lord, include:
•Alex Gailey, pitcher, center field
er, team’s No. 1 pitcher, team’s top
offensive player.
•Aaron Wagoner, second base, will
contribute in the middle infield.
•Zack Dale, catcher, a varsity start
er since his freshman season.
•Justin Gibbs, outfield, returning
starter, strong bat, good speed.
•Kasey Hudgins, pitcher, infielder,
will be looked to for pitching depth
and infield play.
•Chris Porter, pitcher, infield,
can play anywhere in the infield,
improved at the plate.
•Jeff Smith, pitcher, right field,
returning starter in outfield, good
power, mid-order batter.
•Ben Thacker, pitcher, infield,
good left-handed option at plate.
•Justin Bowen, infielder, much
improved batter, strong attitude and
work ethic.
•Tyler McEntire, pitcher, first
base, great attitude, strong defensive
skills, team player.
•Tyler Hulsey, pitcher, third base,
hard worker, big contributor at
plate.
•Wesley Angel, pitcher, outfield,
reliable pitcher who can give team
extra innings, hard worker.
•Kyle Smith, infield, can play all
over the infield, much improved.
•Brett Armour, catcher, outfield,
versatile, can catch and play out
field, good speed, very athletic.
•Chase Armour, center field, very
athletic, will contribute in outfield,
can catch anything.
•Bill Redmon, pitcher, shortstop,
very good instincts, will see time on
the mound and at shortstop.
•Josh Gary, manager, helps with
anything we need him to, extremely
important to us.
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