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June 25, 2008 Section b The Banks County News Sports Editor: Chris Bridges Contact: 706-367-2745 www.mainstreetnews.com First & Ten ★ ★★ chris@mainstreetnews.com BY CHRIS BRIDGES Much progress shown in past three years I t dawned on me the other day that I have been on the Banks County sports scene for three years now. While in the grand scheme of things, three years is not a long time, there is a lot that can take place in that span. Certainly that has been the case on the local sports scene. Progress and improvement are words which I would use to describe athletics at Banks County High School. Things are certainly moving in a positive direction and it goes beyond the number of wins being recorded by the athletic teams. First, the facilities the BCHS teams are using are 100 percent better than when I arrived in 2005. A new baseball and soft ball complex is now complete along with new tennis courts. The football stadium has also been expanded with bleachers installed on the visitor’s side as well as a concession stand and restroom facility. Even the practice field the gridiron Leopards use has been expanded and looks better. While this might not be something many people notice, believe me it is important when you are trying to build a program into a winner. To be fair, I do hope improve ments can be made in the future for the BCHS cross country and track programs. The cross coun try teams need some immediate help in clearing a course to run on and I feel confident that help is forthcoming. The BCHS track teams also need a better suited place to run as the Leopards and Lady Leopards are not able to com pete at home at the present time. Given the way the Banks County Board of Education has support ed athletics in the past, however, I believe help is on the way for these programs as well. While the summer heat is beating on us right now, there is already excitement in the air about the upcoming fall athletic season. Head football coach Blair Armstrong and his staff are in the middle of summer workouts and there is potential, on paper at least, for 2008 to be the best season that the Leopards have enjoyed in some time. Armstrong has meant so much to BCHS athletics as well as the school and community as a whole. Armstrong has jumped wholeheartedly into his role at the school and is building the necessary level of community support it takes to have a success ful athletic program. Like many, I have certainly been impressed with what he has done in a little more than a year at BCHS. Given time, there is no telling just how far Armstrong, and all of the coaches at BCHS, can take the athletic program. The school has some top-notch individuals leading the athletic programs. From football to softball to bas ketball to cross country to base ball and everything in between, it’s an exciting time to be a supporter of Leopard athletics. I know I’m glad to be on board as well. Chris Bridges is sports editor of The Banks County News. Contact him at 706-367-2745 or by e-mail at chris@mainstreetnews.com. High School Baseball BCHS has success in recent North Oconee tournament BY CHRIS BRIDGES Facing quality oppostion during June is something Banks County High School baseball coach Joe Lord likes for his team to experience. Such was the case this past week as the summer Leopards competed in a tournament hosted by North Oconee. When the dust had settled, BCHS emerged with two wins and were competitive in its two defeats as the losses were by a combined four runs. “This was a good tournament for us,” Lord said. “We got to play some good competition. We extended our pitchers a little longer in most of these games because four games in two days is a lot. If you get a player out there who’s pitching well and feeling OK, then it’s a good idea to leave him in to keep a good pace to the game.” BCHS defeated GMC (12-4) and Monroe (10-1) in tournament play while dropping close games to West Forsyth (2-1) and Grayson (8-5). All teams in the tourna ment battled hot weather conditions. Tyler Hulsey played a key role for the Leopards at North Oconee connecting for two homeruns which went a total of approximately 800 feet, Lord said. Zack Dale and Justin Gibbs continue to do well offensively and Jeff Smith had a big performance in the win against Monroe. Bill Redmon has stepped forward and is excelling in the leadoff position. See Baseball on page 3B SUMMERTIME PLAY The BCHS summer baseball team continues to gain experience with each game. Photo by Lyn Sengupta Baseball Camp: Boys of Summer WEEK OF FUN AND LEARNING A youth baseball camp was hosted by Banks County High School baseball coach Joe Lord, his coaches and players last week at the Banks County Parks and Recreation Department. Emphasis was placed on the enjoyment of the game in addition to learn ing the fundamentals of the sports. Photos by Lyn Sengupta Summer Softball Learning key during work in summer BY CHRIS BRIDGES It could be called a different form of summer school. The summer schedule for the Banks County High School fast-pitch soft ball team is all about learning. As coach Josh Lord said recently, “We want to continue to learn, myself included.” The Lady Leopard coach views summer play as an early pre-season or an exhibition schedule. “Any time we take the field, be it in the summer, during regular sea son games or practice, we want to get better,” Lord said. “Things have gone well so far.” One area the team has been work ing on this summer is calling pitches from the dugout. “We have more pitchers who throw a variety of pitches and our catchers have had to learn some new signals,” Lord said. “I am trying to communi cate with the pitchers and catchers to find out what they are most comfort able throwing in certain counts. We need our pitchers to have confidence to throw certain pitches at certain times. We need to pitch inside more and we need to throw changeups for strikes more.” The summer games are giving the players a chance to work on those areas. Lord wants the pitchers to get the softball down and to cut down the number of walks allowed. “I already have a much better idea of what we can do and what needs work,” the coach said. BCHS should benefit from the addition of two young pitchers on the varsity. Taylor Purvis is a move- in and Jordan Rogers is moving up from the junior varsity. The team will be without sopho more Brooke Harris, who will miss the season because of a shoulder injury. “She would have been a key con tributor for us,” Lord said. “She has already had the surgery and is expected to make a full recovery, but we won’t have her on the field this season. She’s a tremendously dedicated player and will work hard to get back to full strength.” See Softball on page 3B Annual Contest Paper's sports section honored by Georgia Sports Writers Association The sports section of The Banks County News was recently honored by the Georgia Sports Writers Association during its annual contest. Sports editor Chris Bridges received several awards from the GSWA and the paper’s sports section tied for third in Division III, which includes all newspapers in the state published once, twice and three times per week. Bridges won first in the Best Local Event Story category for a story he wrote about new Banks County High School football coach Blair Armstrong and the winning pedigree he brought to the Leopard program. All entries were published during the 2007 calendar year. Bridges also took first place in the Best Local News Story category for a story about the death of BCHS student-athlete Ashley Blevins and how the school remembered her following her tragic passing in the spring of 2007. Bridges was named the top sports columnist for the division as he swept the award win ning first, second and third place. He won first place for a column published in September which compared the football programs at BCHS and Jackson County Comprehensive High School. The second place column was for an opinion piece on Fannin County High School’s use of the Confederate Rebel as its mascot. The column generated a massive amount of feedback. The third place column centered on the ongoing saga between the Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Mike Vick’s legal woes. Judges for this year’s contest included Mark Blaudschun, sports writer for The Boston Globe and former president of the Football Writers Association of America; Clyde Bolton, former sports writer with The Birmingham News; Corky Simpson, sports writer with the Tucson (Ariz.) Citizen and Dick Rosetta, former sports writer with the Salt Lake City Tribune. “It is always gratifying to be recognized by your peers in the sports journalism field,” Bridges said. “I place a high level of impor tance on this contest because of the quality of judges. I have done my best to provide the sports fans in Banks County with a profes sional section to read each week since my arrival at the paper three years ago.”