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Sports
■ VetoF. I
g£| Roley I
Spons editor
With sincere
apologies to
Hornet tennis
I need to apologize to Travis
Watson, John Shipley, Leslie
Davis, Susanna Turner and Jenny
Crooms.
Crooms is the coach of the
Westfield tennis program, while
Watson and Shipley played in the
G.I.S.A. men's doubles tourna
ment, and Turner and Davis played
in.the women's double tournament
I owe them apologies since I did
not get the final results of their sea
son in the paper. I managed to put
my notes under some papers on my
desk—which has in the past been
compared to a paper black hole.
Crooms had a great first season
at Westfield. "The kids really
wanted to exceed and do well," she
said. "And, they did. I thought the
kids did real well."
Watson and Shipley made it to
the state semifinal round before
bowing out of the tournament, fin
ishing the season as the number
three team in the state.
The Westfield men's duo had to
overcome adversity in the quarterfi
nal round to get to the semifinal
round. After losing the first set in
the tournament to Pinewood's Will
Parker and Cale Blocker 6-2, Wat
son and Shipley were down in the
second set 4-1.
However, Watson and Shipley
fought back, winning the next five
game sin the second set to take a 6-
4 win. After coming back to win
the second set, the duo took the
third, and deciding set, 7-5.
"The guys wanted it very badly
and dug down deep," said Crooms.
"There was nothing I could tell
them that could help them do bet
ter. I had to come from them
selves."
However, Watson’s and Ship
ley's run through the state champi
onship round ended on their third
match of the day, losing to George
Walton's John Stepheson and Roger
Griner, who beat them in the region
tournament.
Although Davis and Turner left
after the first round of the day, they
put up a fight
After losing the first match 6-2
to Brookwood's Whitney Henderson
and Kelly Stratford, Turner and
Davis came back in the second to
even the round at one match each,
with a 6-4 win. The third match
went to the Brookv/ood team, 7-6,
but only after an 18 point tie
breaker, which Turner and Davis
lost 10-8.
Once again, my apologies to the
Westfield tennis season. They had a
great season, with one team almost
going all the way.
VV V V
Florida State University has
been the latest team to have been
hit by shady agents. This time,
several FSU players went to a shoe
store and purchased over $6,000 in
merchandise, with the bill being
picked up by an agent.
Most of the coverage of the inci
dent has been focused on the shady
agents or the coaching staff. Yes, I
agree that better sanctions need to
be in place to prevent agents from
taking advantage of players. And, I
also agree that the coaching staff
needs to supervise its players.
But, I think that one aspect of
the case is being overlooked. That
aspect is the fact that players have
few sources of legitimate income to
meet legitimate needs.
NCAA rules strictly limit the
amount and types of work a college
athlete can perform during the off
season. Although the NCAA has
limited the amount of time an ath
lete can spend in organized practice,
the time demand is still such that
during the season the athlete has lit
tle chance to make money, to meet
legitimate needs.
By legitimate needs, I'm not
talking about a brand new sprats car
or an lavish apartment. I am talking
about basic transportation, laundry,
basic apartment expenses such as
electricity, water and the such like,
pizza money and date money.
It is my firm belief that athletes
should be given, as part of the
scholarship program, a small
stipend to assist with these needs. If
schools were allowed to give assis
tance to the legitimate needs of
their athletes, then we would see a
lot of the "cheating" ended, since
see Roley, page 9A
Fort Valley State to offer summer fun
By VETO F. ROLEY
BporU Editor
Parents interested in keeping their children busy over the
summer need to check the Summer National Youth Sports
Program at Fort Valley State College.
Children between the ages of 10 and 16 are eligible for the
program, said Dr. Curtis Martin, of Fort Valley State College.
The program will give the children a free physical, teach
them at least three sports, teach them how to swim and teach
enrichment programs on "drugs and alcohol, proper nutrition,
sexuality, careers, first aid and a number of other topics," said
Martin. "Seven-and-a-half hours (of the program) must be de
voted to drug and alcohol abuse."
"Everything is free," said Martin. "We don't charge for any
thing." The program is administered through the NCAA, and
is paid for by the federal Department of Health and Human
Services.
Sexton makes softball a
family sport at
Ochlahatchee girls league
By JIMMY SIMPSON
Staff Writer
There’s nothing more rewarding than
having the opportunity to play sports as a
youth. Jeannie Sexton should know. Hav
ing laced up her own cleats to play softball
as a youngster, Sexton is on the opposite
side of the playing field when the first
pitch is thrown these days.
“It’s just great,” she said, in reference to
her first year as head coach in the Ochla
hatchee girls junior softball league.
“Seeing the girls’ reactions, seeing them
improve and a smile come across their face
when they do something g00d... it just
makes it all worthwhile,” said Sexton, who
has taken the reigns of the Family
Footwear-sponsored team.
It was on the same field that Sexton
now fields her team that she, too, stepped
onto when softball season got underway at
Ochlahatchee in years past.
“Me and my husband, Mayo, always
used to play out here (at Ochlahatchee),”
she recalled. “It was always so much fun.”
So after watching her husband take the
reigns of head coach in boys junior league
play for the past four years, Jeannie Sexton
decided it was time that she, too, got in on
the action.
“I always volunteered to be scorekeeper,
team mother, or work in some volunteer
position,” Sexton said, in reference to her
husband’s team in which their son, Hunt,
is also a member.
Already involved in church youth activi
ties at First Presbyterian Church here,
Jeannie Sexton knew she had the perfect
opportunity to make coaching a family af
PHS thinclads perform at state meet
By VETO F. ROLEY
Sports Editor
The Perry High School Panthers
saw their track season come to an
end in the GHSA AAA state meet
in Jefferson.
Although the Panthers sent eight
performers to the meet, they were
unable to capture any points.
Tereya Williams came the closest
PHS plays young players
By VETO F. ROLEY
Sport* Editor
Three years ago, the Perry Pan
thers, with a wealth of senior and
junior talent, won the 1991 AA
state baseball championship.
Only one player, Dallas Waldrip,
from that team played in 1994 as
Panther coach Bob Jones put a team
with only three upperclassmen on
the field.
The young Panthers started the
1994 season off with disastrous 10-
0 loss, a loss in which Perry batters
were unable to get a hit and struck
Hornet offensive numbers
Name H-AB-HR-RBI PACT 28-38-TB S% 88-HPB-S OBP K SB
Matt Shepley 21-73-0- 7 .288 5-0 26 .356 72-0-0 .388 915
Thad Hawk 13-49-7-7 .265 5-0 21 .429 11-0-3 .429 7 3
TroyNuss 21-54-3-20 .389 7-1 39.722 19-7-1 .593 7 3
Lon Talton 79-64-0-79 .297 2-0 21 .328 72-0-2 .246 9 2
Jake Walls 17-69-7-14 .246 1-0 21 .304 7-0-0 .342 9 3
Clay Smith 14-62-0- 6 .225 2-0 16 .258 3-1-0 .273 14 0
Sheldon Shelton 7-41-0- 3 .171 i-0 8 -195 6-3-1 .352 T 4 0
Greg Adams 4-20-0- 1 .200 0-0 4 .200 5-0-0 .360 10 0
Billy Kitchens 10-44-0-7 .227 3-0 13 .295 (2-2-0 .414 11 3
Brian Staines 5-35-0- 1 .143 2-0 7 .200 7-1-0 .302 18 4
Michael Davis 2-11-0- 2 .182 1-0 3 .273 1-0-0 .250 6 4
Lee Talton 0- 3-0- 1 .000 0-0 0 .000 3-0-0 .500 1 2
Jeff Dehem 1-29-0- 5 .241 1-0 8 .276 7-0-0 .389 4 1
Lance Watson 4-26-0- 1 .154 i-0 5 .192 6-0-1 .333 4 1
Weston Ekey 0-4-0- 0 .000 00 0 -000 0-0-0 .000 4 0
Keith Waites 0- 1-0- 0 .000 0-0 0 .000 0-0-0 .000 0 0
TEAM STATS 143-581-5-95 -246 30-1 190 .327 115-14-8 .390 137 42
fair when her daughter, Lee Anne, signed
up to play her first season.
So, taking the advice of another volun
teer parent, assistant coach Steve Gray,
Sexton turned a sport of years’ past into
one of immediate involvement.
“My only hobbies up until this year
were tennis and reading,” the mother
tumed-coach said with a laugh. “But now,
softball is definitely in that group.”
While some may argue that the compet
itiveness in youth sports doesn’t begin un
til youths reach the senior league level,
Sexton said she is now more convinced
than ever that that theory doesn’t hold true.
“I used to hear how competitive the
girls’ junior softball league was before I
started coaching, but I just didn’t believe it;
I do now,” she said, without any hesita
tion.
Yet aside from the excitement that
competition seems to bring out, Sexton
said the most rewarding part of volunteer
ing has to fall back on the participants
themselves.
“I really have enjoyed getting to know
all of the girls and their parents,” she said.
“It’s just like one big happy family.”
For an example, just take the four addi
tional volunteers- Kim McKinney, field
ing coach; Pam Pierce, dugout coach; Ann
Brannen, scorekeeper, and Jennifer Dawson,
team mother— who work to assist the team
on a weekly basis.
“Parents are always more than eager to
do anything you ask of them,” Sexton said.
“These parents are just part of what makes
it all worthwhile...”
of any of the Panthers with an
eighth place finish in the pole
vault.
Max Vickers, coach of the Pan
ther’s men’s team, said the state
meet capped an up-and-down year
that saw his thinclads hampered by
a late start, injuries and key players
being ineligible for grades.
"It was a satisfying season," said
out 10 of 15 trips to the plate.
However, the Panthers rallied, win
ning nine of 20 games.
Late in the season with a chance
to go to the playoffs on the line,
the Panthers won two region road
games, including a 13 inning affair
at Appling County. However, the
Panthers would be denied the chance
to go for post-season play, with a
loss at Gray to Jones County.
"From that point on (the open
ing game of the season), things got
progressively a little better," said
Jones. "It (the first loss of the sea-
Last year, said Martin, a record 693 children participated in
the program. The program accepts children from six local
counties, including Houston.
Martin said the only requirement for the program was that
90 percent of the students come from homes in the lower in
come bracket. He said there was no limit on the numbers of
children that could participate in the program.
"We can take as many as we can transport, or as many as
we can get to the program," said Martin. "We don’t turn any
body away.”
For families that are unable to transport their children to
Fort Valley to participate in the program, Martin said the
school offered limited transportation. In Perry, the program's
bus will stop at Perry Middle School, Oldfield Church, New
Hope Baptist Church, Creekwood and Five Points.
Martin said children would be offered instruction in a vari
ety of sports including softball, basketball, volleyball, tennis,
Vickers. "It could've been worse."
The team's highpoint, said Vick
ers, came after meets at Dodge and
Northside where the Panthers fin
ished second. "A lot of kids ran
well (at those meets)," said Vickers.
"It looked like we were going to
have a good season."
Vickers said his team's won-loss
record also reflected a tough sched
ule. "We could've easily scheduled
one or two meets were we would've
won," he said, noting, however,
that he chose meets where the com
petition was tougher.
"We had a good year," said Vick
ers. "We had a lot of good accom
plishments. Some of (the runners)
peaked; but, we all didn't peak at
the same time."
While Vickers is losing around
eight seniors from this year's thin
clad squad, he said next year looks
good, especially if some of the run
ners ineligible this year can regain
their eligibility.
"We had a lot of ninth graders to
run real well," said Vickers. How
ever, he added that he needed more
Please see Thinclads, page 9A
Houston Times-Journal
Wednesday, May 18, 1994 Houston Times -Journal-
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Coach Jeannie Sexton and player Lee
Anne Sexton
Hornets finish strona in '94
By VETO F. ROLEY
Sport* Editor
Replacing seven starters from last year's
Westfield team that finished with a region
championship was tough for head coach
Bert Brown. The Hornets lost six position
players and their DH.
Although 10 seniors would start the
season, only two would have significant
playing experience, pitcher/infielder Lon
Talton and pitcher/outfielder Troy Nuss.
Nuss would lead the Hornets at the
plate, hitting just under .400 with three
dingers and 20 RBIs. Nuss, hampered all
year by a weak lineup behind him, would
also lead the team in on-base percentage
with .593, walking 19 times and getting
aerobics and weightlifting. "One of the mandatory activities,"
he said, "is that the students learn to swim."
Instruction in the various sports will be provided by various
high school teachers in the area. Martin said that each instruc
tor would have a college degree.
In addition to instruction in various sports and lifestyle is
sues, participants will also be given a free meal.
"The program is very important considering counnes arouno
us arc mostly rural and don’t offer a lot of existing activities
for this age group," said Martin. "Once kids are out of school,
what arc they going to do?"
Martin said the program tried to offer children something
positive to do besides hanging around the streets. "It is a very
structured program," he said.
For more information on the program, call the Fort Valley
State College athletic department at 825-6208.
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Natalie Taylor and Rlckevla Jackson represented the
PHS women thinclads at the state meet Saturday.
Page 2A
Westfield
sports honors
Lon Talton was named Male
Athlete of the Year, and Jennifer
Smith was named Female Athlete
of the Year at the Westfield Spring
sports banquet held Tuesday night,
May 17th.
Other awards were not available
as of press time Tuesday afternoon.
A more complete report on the ban
quet will appear in Saturday's paper.
Physicals
set for Sat.
Physicals for all area high
school and middle school athletes
will be give May 21 at Perry High
School. The cost of the physical is
$5.
Chip McCarty, head trainer for!
Perry High School and Westfield,
said that anyone wanting to partici
pate in sports at Perry Middle
School, Houston County High
School, Westfield or Perry High
School must get a physical. He said
that there would be no makeup day. j
The physicals will start at 6:30
a.m., and will be given by doctors
at Perry Hospital. McCarty said
there would be no makeup physi
cals.
McCarty said that players were
to go to their schools first. The
school will transport the players to
Perry High School for the physi
cals.
Physicals will be given to Perry
High School students starting at
6:30 a.m. Starting at 7:30 a.m.,
physicals will be given to Houston
County High School students.
Westfield players will receive
their physicals starting at 8:30 a.m.
Students at Perry Middle School
will start receiving physicals at
9:30 a.m. i
hit by a pitch seven times.
Talton would also respond with a .297
average, finishing second to Nuss in the
RBI category with 19. He would record five
of Westfield's eight win; on the mound,
and three of the team's four complete
games.
Even though the two returning seniors
had good seasons, the Hornets finished the
season with a disappointing 8-15 mark.
However, the Hornets would capture second
in the region, with a 7-3 record. Westfield
lost-all 11 regular season non-region games
they played.
However, the 1994 season could've been
worse for Brown and his baseball team.
Please see Hom»t s. oaae 9A
