South Charlotte Sports

GREATER CHARLOTTE HOT STOVE LEAGUE TO HONOR THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CHARLOTTE BASEBALL

2008-10-23T09:55:00.001-07:00

GREATER CHARLOTTE HOT STOVE LEAGUE TO HONOR THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CHARLOTTE BASEBALL

…Former Major League All Star Bryan Harvey and top Boston Red Sox prospect David Mailman among those set to be honored at the 2nd Annual Dinner

The baseball term “hot stove” is affiliated with the time of year when those associated with America’s past time, whether it is players, managers, front office personnel and fans, discuss the summer game during the winter months. Even before the Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920, folks sat around the hot stove to debate and discuss the significance of their team’s transactions.

Even though air conditioning and furnaces have replaced the iron stove as sources of heat, the term hot stove is still quite common in baseball vernacular. A place it is used frequently is to reference baseball banquets that take place during the off-season. The banquets are held to celebrate the game of baseball and to reward those in the game that contribute to its success.

On January 24, 2009 the 2ND Annual Greater Charlotte Area Hot Stove League Dinner, hosted by Carolinas Baseball Center and The South Charlotte Sports Report will be held at the 25,000 square foot Carolinas Baseball Center. This first class evening of entertainment will celebrate the growth of youth baseball and softball in the Greater Charlotte Community. Headlining the special night will be a keynote speech by former Major League All-Star relief pitcher and UNCC baseball alumnus Bryan Harvey.

The Bandys High School graduate played from 1987 to 1995 for the California Angels and the Florida Marlins. He was elected to the All-Star team for the American League in 1991 and for the National League in 1993. He led the American League in saves in 1991 with 46. Harvey was named Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News.

Providence High School Class of 2007 graduate David Mailman will also be honored. Mailman was a 7th round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox and has what many scouts have described as a “picture perfect swing.” He has become one of the Red Sox top-rated prospects and is expected to one day take to the field at Fenway Park.

In addition to the speech by Harvey, guests will be treated to a social hour and autograph session with 10-20 current or former major and minor league baseball players from the Charlotte area, a sit down dinner, vendor displays and one of the largest silent auction of sports memorabilia in the area. The evening will also include the presentation of awards to the top youth baseball and softball players in the area. Last year’s winners included; Richie Shaffer (Providence), Constance Orr (Butler, UNC-Chapel Hill), Chase Arnold (Holy Trinity Catholic) and Erin Kayton (Marvin Ridge.)

Two new awards have been added for 2009. The first one is the Team of the Year. This award is open to every baseball and softball team in the area, from the Tee Ball Level up to 18U Teams. The winning team will demonstrate success on and off the field of play. The second award is the York, SC Baseball Player of the Year Award.

We are very proud to announce our charity partner for the 2009 Greater Charlotte Area Hot Stove League Dinner. The Miracle League of Charlotte. The Miracle League of Charlotte, a chapter of The Miracle League, will provide physically and mentally challenged children a safe and spirited program in which they can hit, run, and catch on a baseball field – just like other kids. It will offer a unique and memorable opportunity these children would not otherwise have.

The 2008 inaugural event was a sellout and a second straight sellout is expected. A limited number of individual tickets and corporate tables for the dinner are available now. Once those tickets are gone, no additional tickets or tables will be made available. Individual tickets are available for $95 per person and $75 for baseball and softball players under 18. Corporate tables are also available for $950. Each corporate table will include eight seats and the guests of the table will be joined by a current or former major or minor league baseball player.

Three levels of event sponsorship are also available for this unique event dedicated to the growth of youth baseball and softball in the area. Grand Slam, Perfect Game and Home Run Packages are open for sponsorship. Each package includes many unique benefits for corporations interested in marketing to the baseball and softball communities in the greater Charlotte area.

Nomination forms are now available online at www.hotstovedinner.com for the top area high school and youth baseball and softball players of the year awards. In 2009 a special award will be added for Team of the Year. Nominations will be accepted until December 31, 2008

For more information on the 2nd Annual Greater Charlotte Area Hot Stove League Dinner, please call Tripp Roakes @ 704-906-5466 or visit www.hotstovedinner.com

BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY AT WWW.HOTSTOVEDINNER.COM

South Charlotte Sports Basketball Tryout Boot Camp

2008-09-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

Friends

I wanted to share this new and exciting basketball camp with you

When I heard about the 125 kids that tried to earn a spot on a local Middle School roster last winter, I knew that I had to come up with something to help kids through the emotional rollercoaster of tryouts. So many of these kids had all the tools needed to earn a position, but somehow became lost in the pack of players.

I have worked real hard to develop a first class basketball event that will focus on preparing 6th-9th graders for the School Tryout Process. My goal is to provide a simulated basketball tryout to give your child every advantage possible for the school tryout. This two day event (October 18 and 19) will feature many of the coaches that work at the school your child attends, giving them a chance to become more familiar with the kids. I am also very excited to say that Ardrey Kell Head Coach Mike Craft is helping me with the overall leadership of the camp. Mike is one of the top teachers of basketball in this area and has been a huge help to The South Charlotte Sports Report and our basketball programming.

This camp, held at Community House Middle School will focus on 4 key elements of the basketball tryout process:

Gaining a Psychological Advantage during the tryout.

Developing the Physical Conditioning necessary for a successful tryout

Applying the proper basketball fundamentals in each tryout drill

Catching the coaches eye when the court is crowded with other players.

We cannot guarantee that our camp will earn your son or daughter a place on their school team, but we can guarantee that if your child will accept the teachings of the camp and apply what they learn during this camp, they will enter tryouts with an advantage other players may not have.

This camp, open to boys and girls will operate under the same commitment to first class instruction that the community has come to expect from The South Charlotte Sports Report.

Please be kind enough to pass this around to others that may be interested. Don't wait to long to register at http://southcharlottesports.com/news/2008/bballbootcamp.html

We have a limited # of positions open in this camp and I didn't want any of you guys to miss out.

Thanks so much for your support,

Tripp Roakes

For those that receive this that may not have a child in these grades, please keep an eye out for our next youth camp to be held before basketball season.

ZICO PASUT HEADED FOR PIRATE COUNTRY

2008-09-12T09:30:00.001-07:00

Ardrey Kell High School tight end Zico Pasut has been in the stands for East Carolina's two season opening wins over nationally ranked Virgina Tech and West Virginia. Those two wins propelled East Carolina to # 14 in the country and led Zico to cast his lot with the Pirates next season. The multi talented tight end made an official commitment to East Carolina on Wednesday night, choosing the Pirates over Virgina Tech and West Virgina.

The Pirates have to be excited about landing the rugged football player. The offense run by Skip Holtz at East Carolina should make good use of Zico's pass catching abilities.

The South Charlotte Sports Report congratulates Zico Pasut on achieving this level of success and choosing the East Carolina Pirates!

NOT ENOUGH JERSEYS FOR AREA KIDS

2008-09-12T09:29:00.001-07:00

NOT ENOUGH JERSEYS FOR AREA KIDS

Last season I penned a column about the number of kids trying out for middle school athletic teams versus the actual number of positions available. The response I received was overwhelming to say the least. As schools were jammed full with kids, no one thought about how we could provide equal opportunities to these very athletic and ambitious student-athletes. Some Charlotte Mecklenburg Middle Schools witnessed 130-150 7th and 8th graders attempt to earn a position on the school football team. Basketball teams offered 15 positions for the 100-120 kids that tried out. Baseball followed with similar turnouts. A lot of very talented kids were left without a fair opportunity to compete for their school.

Let’s compare two Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) Middle Schools and the opportunities they provide. School A, located in another part of Charlotte had 700 Middle School Students and a maximum roster of 45 football players. School B, located in South Charlotte has been jammed full to the point of needing trailers to handle 1800 plus students. Number of football opportunities for School B…. 45. So with nearly three times as many students, they offer only 45 opportunities to play football and wear the colors of their school with pride.

I sent an inquiry to Vicki Hamilton, CMS Athletic Director and a very talented one at that. I wanted to find out if CMS thought this was a problem or if anything was being done and why things were so different between CMS and Union County School. Vicki’s reply included some of the CMS rules and regulations as well as the comment that “there is no plan at this time to budget to expand middle school athletics to create a 7th grade and separate 8th grade team in 13 sports offerings.”
Probably not what a lot of current Middle School parents would like to hear. Especially the ones that dealt with very upset children this week that were cut from the football team.

Since I mentioned Union County, I believe it’s very important to commend them on the approach they have taken to middle school athletics. Every sport except for basketball and basketball cheerleading is operated by very strong booster clubs. These booster clubs work hard to provide more opportunities for their students. For instance, Weddington Middle School has a 6th, 7th and 8th grade Football Team. They begin practice on August 1 versus September 3rd for CMS. They play big games on Saturday afternoons and never have to worry about darkness cutting their games in half like CMS Middle Schools run into for the last two games of the season. The Union County Schools also have a playoff system and treat the season as something special. Kudos to the Weddington and Marvin Ridge Booster Clubs.

It’s also important to point out that budget should not be something that prevents the schools from providing more opportunities. The kids already pay a large activity fee to participate and I know the power of parents in South Charlotte. If they need to raise money to make something happen they will, at no extra cost to the school system. If the wonderful folks out at Weddington and Marvin Ridge can make this happen, why can’t the families of South Charlotte Middle Schools?

Maybe it is time for some “outside the box” thinking. I would like to see CMS follow the Union County method of letting the Middle School Athletic Programs be run by Booster Clubs. It would be one less thing for CMS to worry about and they can take the money they spend on the programs and use if for something else, maybe even start to build another much needed middle school in South Charlotte.

We are leaving too many kids on the sidelines by sending them to middle schools with 1800 kids and 140 kids trying to earn one of 45 positions on a football team. If CMS can’t address the problem, then maybe it’s time for someone else to come in with a plan that will create competitive opportunities for these student-athletes. The South Charlotte Sports Report is always open to new programming ideas and joint ventures. If you have a plan we can work on, give me a call or send an email to Tripp@southcharlottesports.com

It’s important to note that I don’t intend for this column to be against CMS as I am a proud CMS Parent and Supporter, but the size of the school district and overcrowding of the schools has created some problems and this is one that probably doesn’t get a lot of attention downtown at the main office. That’s understandable with all the eligibility problems and paperwork they have faced the last year. Vicki and her staff are good people, they work a ton of hours each week to stay on top of all the high school and middle school programs and maybe deep down they realize the problem, but know the time and resources aren’t there to fix it.

It kind of scares me to know exactly how talented my five year old will have to be when he gets to middle school. By then, there will probably be 2500 kids at his school, with 40 trailers parked around the football field like a campground with 250 kids trying to earn a spot on the football team.

The South Charlotte Sports Report operates under the goal of creating opportunities for the youth in the community. We have a lot of smart folks in South Charlotte; maybe one of them will come up with the right idea and give me a call. Let’s work together to find more opportunities for the kids.

CHARLOTTE LATIN STAYS ON TOP OF SUPER SEVEN FOOTBALL POLL

2008-08-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

SOUTH CHARLOTTE SPORTS REPORT

SUPER SEVEN POLL

August 30, 2008

RANK LAST WEEK TEAM Comments

1 Charlotte Latin A lot of “experts” have written off Latin
Bad Move, The Hawks are still loaded with talent.

1A Butler A 49-7 win over North Meck for the Dawgs!

3 South Meck The South Meck running game is unstoppable with Spencer Shuey and Tim Palmer.

4 Catholic Big 21-20 win over Myers Park. Joe Felts runs, and runs and runs his way to victory.

5 Christian 28-0 shutout of Augusta Christian. Schedule will toughen up as the year goes.

6 Ardrey Kell An off week was just what the Knights needed to work on their offense.

7 Providence Will not stay winless for long.

Marvin Ridge vs Country Day

2008-08-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Word to the wise........ If you want to get a good seat for the Marvin Ridge vs Country Day game out in Marvin Friday night, GO EARLY!

Word has it the Mavericks are planning for a big turnout

The South Charlotte Sports Report will be there on the scene!

Arrest made in School Bus Prank

2008-08-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

I read this morning that the 26 year old prankster has been arrested for getting on the school bus yesterday, Thats very good news. Next move should be to discipline the DJ known as Brutha Fred since he says it was his idea.

Yes Fred, it was an idea that went to far.......

NOT VERY FUNNY IN MY EYES

2008-08-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

I just read the story of the 96.1FM radio stunt this morning to put a 26 year old person on a school bus with kids. Pardon me, but I don't see a lot of humor in the stunt.

My son starts his first year of school tomorrow and i have a middle schooler and a high schooler. I personally don't want any adult other than a teacher or a bus driver on the bus with my children and I bet most of you agree.

Dr. Gorman seems more concerned with the bus driver letting the adult on the bus. I don't disagree with him, but where is the outcry to have this dunce arrested for trespassing and any other related charges?

If I am a parent of a child on this bus, I am calling both the 96.1 boss as well as Dr. Gorman.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/150677.html

Adult on middle-school bus causes stir

By Ann Doss Helms
ahelms@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Monday, Aug. 25, 2008

An adult who boarded a Southwest Middle School bus as part of an on-air prank has gotten a Charlotte-Mecklenburg bus driver in trouble and marred an otherwise smooth opening of school, Superintendent Peter Gorman said today.

The stunt was part of 96.1 The Beat's “A.M. Mayhem” show. A character called Cubby went to a random bus stop around 8:30 a.m. today to see if he could get on.

“The point is not to make you look like a child molester,” an on-air personality said in a recording of the stunt posted at the station's Web site. “”The point is Cubby looks like a small child but is an adult.”

When the bus arrived, the recording captures Cubby asking the female driver whether this is the right bus for Southwest, getting confirmation and boarding. He got off at the next stop, as the studio personalities howled with laughter and speculated on whether he was breaking any laws.

“You're 26 years old and you're on a bus with a bunch of 7-year-olds!” one exclaimed.

Station officials could not be reached for comment this afternoon.

Gorman said the driver will be removed from driving until CMS supervisors can figure out why she let an unauthorized adult board.

CMS Releases new Eligibility Rules for Athletics

2008-08-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

After a review of the current CMS athletic eligibility rules, Superintendent Peter Gorman released new rules today. He had enlisted a committee of local citizens and CMS employees to help with these new policies. (For the record I was turned down for a position on the committee. I also must add that Dr. Gorman never even acknowledged the receipt of my emails on some ideas I thought would be very helpful. All of that was disappointing and left me with a few opinions that I will not share here.)

Let's move past that and talk about the new rules. First off, I agree with most everything in the press release posted below. A lot of it deals with an Honor system, which I think is great for some, but I can assure you the same people that cheated the system before, certainly aren't going to all of a sudden become honest because they have to sign an Honor Code.

The Hot Line to report violations is a good idea, but CMS must insure that each accusation is dealt with in a consistent matter. The whole South Meck football issue compared to how the West Charlotte and Independence football issues were handled, was a major mistake.

I fully support the idea that Athletic Directors jobs need to be full time jobs. I see first hand how hard some of these AD's work and to tell them they also need to teach 2-3 classes is a little too much. With that said, you have to hire competent AD's that know the rules and know how to follow them. You can't have AD's that are breaking rules as we saw at one high school last year.

We are lucky in South Charlotte to have some incredibly talented people serving as AD's. Going back to South Meck football, a mistake by an AD should NEVER, EVER lead to a kid being penalized or a whole team having a season yanked out from under them.

I applaud CMS for not making the decision to require a kid to sit out a year if he makes a legitimate move from one school to another. I was really worried this was going to happen and I think that would have been a mistake. We are in a big city, people are going to move, school lines are going to change, don't penalize a kid for this.

Overall, good job, I just wish I could have been a part or at least gotten an email or call returned by Dr. Gorman.

CMS announces improvements to

athletic-eligibility system

Changes include honor codes, better training

and a whistleblower e-mail and phone line

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 15, 2008 – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools announced widespread changes to improve verification for athletic eligibility. A new rule requires students, parents and coaches to sign an honor code before participating in sports. Other changes include a system to track student-athletes, a dedicated phone number and e-mail address to report suspected violations, and additional training for principals, athletic directors and coaches.

“We believe it’s important for everyone involved in sports to play fair,” said CMS Superintendent Dr. Peter C. Gorman. “These changes will help ensure that happens.”

The changes were based on 11 recommendations made by a 24-member athletic eligibility advisory committee formed in January after a record number of student-athletes were declared ineligible during the 2007-2008 fall and winter sports seasons. Four CMS football teams also forfeited their seasons due to eligibility violations. The committee reviewed district procedures and school board policies regarding athletic eligibility.

The committee spent four months studying and learning about athletic-eligibility issues before issuing 11 non-policy recommendations. Since then, CMS staff has been researching ways to put the recommendations into practice.

The first major changes affecting students, parents and coaches are required meetings and honor codes. The athletic eligibility advisory committee recommended required open houses for parents and students before fall and spring sports seasons. Schools have held open houses for parents of student-athletes in the past, but they were not required.

Starting this school year, parents and athletes must attend preseason meetings that will include a presentation on athletic-eligibility rules. Parents must sign an honor code pledging that they will follow all eligibility rules and will report suspected violations. The parent honor codes must be signed before student-athletes can play their first game. Student-athletes were required to sign an honor code before practicing. In addition, all CMS coaches were required to sign an honor code before coaching their teams.

“I believe that signing this honor code shifts some of the responsibility to play fair where it belongs – to coaches, to players and to parents,” said Dr. Gorman.

The athletic eligibility advisory committee also recommended the district create an anonymous whistle-blowing system for the public to report suspected eligibility violations. CMS has developed a dedicated phone number and e-mail address for students, parents and members of the community to report suspected athletic-eligibility violations. The phone number is 980-343-1098 and the e-mail address is playfair@cms.k12.nc.us. The phone line and e-mail address will be monitored by CMS Law Enforcement and all suspected violations will be investigated.

Another recommendation included developing a system to track student-athletes. CMS is now using the online student records database to document the school placement and eligibility status of student-athletes.

The athletic eligibility advisory committee also suggested CMS communicate clearly the eligibility rules and consequences to students, parents and staff. District staff created a list of frequently asked questions that will be available at each CMS high school, the learning community offices, and on the CMS Web site.

Eligibility rules and consequences are also posted on the athletics department page of the CMS Web site and in the CMS Parent-Student Handbook and the CMS High School Planning Guide. CMS TV will produce a series of programs explaining eligibility rules and consequences, and is developing an athletic-eligibility DVD that will be shown in all high schools.

Other recommendations from the athletic eligibility advisory committee included:

Ensuring adequate personnel to launch and monitor processes.

CMS is exploring the option of making the athletic director position a full-time one. The superintendent will include funding for those positions in the 2009/2010 budget-planning process. The district also added a temporary part-time compliance position in the athletics department that is funded from August to December 2008.

Creating a slogan for eligibility and the role of athletics.

All athletic-eligibility materials will include the “Play Fair” message to remind students, parents and coaches that only eligible players will participate in CMS sports.

Creating a structured education process for principals, athletic directors, coaches and students.

Coaches, principals and area superintendents were required to attend a pre-season eligibility meeting to review the rules and consequences. Athletic directors also attended a full-day opening of schools meeting which included an extensive session on eligibility. Monthly athletic directors’ meetings will also include sessions on eligibility. In addition, high school registrars and magnet-school staff will receive detailed athletic-eligibility information in their training sessions before school starts.

Developing a required compliance test for coaches.

CMS supports mandatory ongoing education programs for coaches to reinforce the importance of knowing and following all rules. However, CMS staff believes the test would be better if it were developed and administered at the state level. CMS will propose the requirement at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s October meeting.

Developing a video that all student-athletes and their parents must view before participating in sports.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association produced a presentation on state athletic eligibility rules that will be shown at every required preseason parent meeting.

“The work of this committee has been very important in strengthening our verification process,” said Dr. Gorman. “We are grateful for their hard work.”

The athletic eligibility advisory committee also reviewed proposed policy changes, but generally favored keeping the district’s existing policies on eligibility with some minor changes. The first change affects tuition-paying students. Effective in the 2008-2009 school year, students will not be allowed to play sports the first year they pay tuition. Students who already pay tuition to attend CMS, or who lived in the district in 11^th grade and are paying tuition to finish their senior year in CMS, will not have to sit out a year. Previously, tuition-paying students were allowed to play sports without sitting out.

The district also changed its rules for students living with a non-parent adult. Under the new rule, students living with a non-parent adult as a result of a documented hardship will be allowed to play sports after they have been enrolled in CMS for two semesters. Strict documentation of the family situation is required to determine hardship status. Under the previous rule, students living with a non-parent adult who did not have legal custody or legal guardianship were not eligible to play sports.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education approved a change to the student-assignment policy at its meeting on July 22. The change will allow juniors and seniors who move out of an attendance area after school starts to stay at their original school until graduation. Previously, students who moved out of an attendance area could remain at the school until the end of the year. They had to change to the school serving their new address the following school year. The amendment aligns with the Board’s longstanding practice of not requiring rising seniors to attend different schools when CMS opens new schools or changes high school boundaries.

###

ASU Mountaineers Raiding South Charlotte for Baseball Players

2008-07-31T18:22:00.000-07:00

The Appalachian State Mountaineers have come down off the mountain to grab a fantastic trio of South Charlotte baseball players in the past week. The Mountaineers have picked up commitments from Tyler Tewell, (Butler), Ryan Stetston (Ardrey Kell) and Tyler Zupcic, (Providence)

These three kids are all super baseball players and quality kids. Sounds like ASU is going to get serious about their baseball with these three players.

As we begin to look at the 2009 baseball season, it wouldn't be a surprise to see any of these three players as a finalist for the Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Player of the Year. The award will be given on January 24th at the 2nd Annual Hot Stove League Dinner.

Congratulation to all three players!

Pineville Legion Team down 2-1 in Series, Must Win tonight

2008-07-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

Coach Edwards and his American Legion players for Post 337 Pineville face a must win game tonight versus Cherryville. After 2 straight losses, the Best of 5 series now stands at 2-1 Cherryville. Pitching could be at a premium tonight as Pineville will bot have Jordan Darnell, Daniel Glenn or Mac Hunter available to start as they have all started a game in the last three days.

The bats must also come back alive for Pineville after falling silent the last two evenings. Someone for Pineville must step up and be a leader at the plate tonight.

It's time to get back to playing the type of baseball that got the team this far. If that happens, Pineville wins and heads to Cherryville for a decisive game five, possibly with Jordan Darnell on the mound.

No plans tonight? Come join me at Ardrey Kell to cheer on the home team. Cherryville will have plenty of fans there, hopefully Pineville will as well

Huge Game 3 tonight for Pineville Legion Team

2008-07-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Tonight's game 3 in the 5 game series between Pineville and Cherryville should be a big one. Both teams have been on opposite sides of blowouts in games 1 and 2. The winner of the Series moves on to the State Championship Tournament.

Last night at Ardrey Kell High School, the Pineville squad seemed to be way out of sync, committing tons of errors and baserunning mistakes. It was so out of character for this super talented team.

So what happens tonight in Cherryville? It could come down to pitching. Both teams are now a little deeper into their pitching rotations, so the first 4-5 innings will be very important. The Pineville defense must stay away from the errors and mistakes from last night. If they can do this and the bats of Jordan Darnell, Matt Crump and other stay hot, I can see Pineville returning home on Tuesday night with a 2-1 lead.

Regardless of what happens tonight, Tuesday night will be a great night for area fans to join me at the ball park at AKHS for an outstanding evening of baseball. Tyler (my 5 year old) can't wait to see his two favorite players, Jordan Darnell and Matt Crump one more time.

Good luck tonight Pineville!

South Charlotte Sports Action Sports Photography

2008-07-26T08:50:00.001-07:00

Our Action Sports Photography company is now scheduling the fall sport season. Call us to come visit your games this fall. At no cost, we provide first class sports photography for the South Charlotte community. From action photos and posters to the team and player posed photos, our company provides the best level of service around.

You can rely on the South Charlotte Sports Report Photography division to provide the same positive results as you find in each issue of our newspaper.

We offer our services for individual games, tournaments, travel teams, leagues, schools and anyone in between. We can structure a program that will also return money to your organization

Take a moment to view some of our work.

www.scsractionphotos.com

Give me a call at 704-906-5466 or email Tripp@southcharlottesports.com to schedule us for a game this fall.

Can't say it Enough, Think First

2008-07-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

Tragic news flows in from nearby Stanly County. Three rising seniors are killed in a car crash. Car was going 85 in a 55mph zone and lost control in a curve. I repeat, three rising seniors, who also played football are dead. There will be no celebrating touchdowns on Friday nights, no Senior Exams, no Prom, no graduation, no college, no families, no kids of their own. Their lives are over.

http://www.charlotte.com/109/story/728068.html

HIgh Schoolers, if you are reading this, please note there is a reason your parents preach to you about being safe and not doing dumb things. They don't want to bury you, they want to continue to enjoy life with you.

Be careful, think before you do something dumb.

Many times, you don't get a second chance

The ESPY's -- My favorite memory

2008-07-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

I grew up an NC State fan. It came from the days of David Thompson and Monte Towe. I remember being a mere child and watching those guys win the national title. Jim Valvano arrived at NC State 6-8 years later and I attended 3 of his basketball camps. He was so charismatic and passionate about the game. While NC State quickly fell to the wayside when I chose East Carolina for college, I kept a special feeling about Jim Valvano.

It was crushing news to hear about his cancer. I was lucky enough, along with my friend Chip Hutchinson to attend a basketball game near the end of Jim Valvano's life. It was a game versus Duke and Jim was there to announce it for ABC Sports since he had already left coaching. He was barely hanging on at this time, but at halftime they held a special event for Coach V. Almost all of his players were in attendance from the past, he talked of his love of NCSU, he knew this was one of his last times in public and he took full advantage of it to entertain the crowd. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

I don't remember is this was before or after his famous Never Give Up Speech at the ESPY's. That speech was one of the greatest speeches of all times and I encourage you to go to You Tube and watch it if you have never had the opportunity. I still have my bumper sticker that says DON't EVER GIVE UP!

Watching the ESPY's tonight reminded me of Coach V and his legacy.

His lasting words should be remembered by all DON'T GIVE UP, DON'T EVER GIVE UP

Rest on Sunday

2008-07-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

After 9 tee ball games in a 5 day period, I was exhausted. As many of you know, tee ball may require more coaching than any level of baseball. The kids and parents in this organization were super to work with, but I was on empty after Saturday's final game.

I fell asleep late Saturday night and didn't wake up until 10:00am on Sunday. I don't think I have slept that late since the days of waking up at noon while in college!

My first USSSA baseball tournament

2008-07-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling a lot of you will be able to relate to this posting.

We concluded our run in the USSSA Tee Ball World Series last night at 10:30pm, yes 10:30pm...

Stepping back a few days, I received a call from Don Mason at Crystal Carolina Sports last week. He said, "Tripp, I need some help. I have a tee ball team coming down from Pennsylvania for the World Series and we don't have anyone for them to play."

Don knew I had a tee ball all-star team full of kids between the ages of 4 and 5 years old. We had tried to play some other teams earlier this summer, but they were all 6 and 7 years old. Needless to say, those games were not pretty.

Don told me the team from PA was mostly 5 and 6 year olds and asked me for a favor. So I gathered 10 of my kids and we showed up at Olde Providence on Tuesday. A team from Thomasville, NC had joined the affair as well. They were loaded with older kids including a couple that were clearly a little to old to be qualified for the event (that's another story for another day)

Our group of determined little boys and one girl took the field twice on Tuesday and another two times on Thursday. We were outmanned for sure, but our kids played hard, showed great sportsmanship and became better with each inning. By the final game, we took the World Series winner, Thomasville, to the final inning in a very close game.

I was so proud of all my kids. Their tanks were on empty as the tournament times were not conducive to 4,5 and 6 year old kids, but they tried their best every play. The experience is something everyone will remember and as I told each of the parents, "your children learned more in these 4 games than they did in the entire regular season."

I had a ball coaching the kids, it was mentally draining for sure, but I will always remember it.

The kids each received a great trophy and that made it all worthwhile to see their smiles at 10:30 at night.

Side note -- We can always tell people we finished third in the Tee Ball World Series!!!!! We don't have to tell anyone that there were only 3 teams playing!

SHE'S BACK!

2008-07-11T14:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, one of the top volleyball coaches in the state is heading back for the sidelines. Zoe Bell has left her job as the AD of Providence to join the Ardrey Kell High School roster of coaches. After a 2 year break from coaching, Zoe will return to the court and build a team for the Knights.

She has a nice group to work with , led by Samantha Gosling. Give her a year or two and watch the Knights become one of the top teams in the state.

Good luck Zoe!

Wrigleyville

2008-07-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy going to historical sporting venues. One of my favorite places in the world is Yankee Stadium. You can feel the history all around you as soon as you step off the train to walk into the House that Ruth built. Last year I added Fenway Park to my list of great places. I am no Red Sox fan, but it was easy to recognize how special of a park it is. I even had a first row seat on the first baseline.

On Wednesday night, my friend Jeff Schaeffer of CBC BAseball hooked me up with a ticket to see the Cubs and the Reds at Wrigley Field. I was in Chicago and had an open evening for the game. What a special place it was. Any of you that have been will relate to some of the things I am going to mention.

It all starts with the parking, there are no parking decks or standard lots around Wrigley. Its in a community full of old duplexes and quad houses and everyone seems to have an alley behind their home. These alleys are used as parking spots and you pay someone between $20-40 to use their parking spot for the night. I ended up parking inside an old two car garage four blocks from Wrigley Field. Everything looks alike there, so I was careful to write down that I was at the corner of Racine and Newport.

I picked up my ticket at Gate 10 Will Call and walked to my seat behind home plate for the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning.

What a neat place, the Cub fans love their team! Carlos Zambrano pitched a 1 hitter through 8 innings and the Cubs won 5-1

Wrigley is a special place and I hope to return again! They don't build ballparks like they used to, thats for sure!

A great two weeks of camp

2008-06-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

We just completed two weeks of camps with our basketball and cheerleading programs! I can't even begin to express how excited I am about how the camps turned out. We hired a quality staff to work with all our campers and the results showed in the end. It was very rewarding to watch kids progress as the week went along. The younger cheerleaders were amazing as they picked up the basic skills of cheerleading.

Hats off to all my coaches for their hard work and to all the campers and parents who supported the camps.

Look for some exciting announcements on upcoming camps!

Time to spend a little bit of that money NCHSAA

2008-06-18T03:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, I called on area schools to find a way to purchase Automated External Defibrillators for emergency use. These machines can be used to save lives when every second matters. One was used this spring at Cardinal Gibbons School to save the life of a lacrosse player. A local Charlotte doctor from OrthoCarolina was involved in the life saving.

I have found the perfect way to purchase these machines and it will not cost the schools a single penny. A recent report by the News and Observer out of Raleigh, NC revealed that the North Carolina High School Athletic Association had built up a very nice reserve of money (18 million dollars)

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1108786.html

It's time to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars and guarantee that every high school in the state has an AED and the training needed to use it. Summer is here, the kids are out of school for two more months, spend the money and make this happen by August 15th. Please spare me any excuses NCHSAA, I don't want to hear about red tape, I want to see action

Father's Day

2008-06-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Father's Day, always a very special day. I am lucky to have a son, a step son and a step daughter that all look to me in different ways as a Dad. For Tyler, my 5 year old son, he believes I walk on water and to be honest I really try to walk on water for him. He has been everything a father could ever want in a son. He is very loving and he never wants me to leave his side. We share a lot of things together, but our # 1 activity by a longshot is baseball.

Tyler first started picking up a bat at age 2. I guess it looked neat to him, a year later he was hitting a plastic ball and learning more and more about the game. At age 4 he spent three weeks over the summer learning about baseball from Jeff Schaefer at Carolinas Baseball Center. Jeff was holding camps for little kids and we wanted to let Tyler learn more about the game. Those three weeks did wonders for Tyler as he truly fell in love with the game, much the same way I had as a child. I can't even begin to describe the pride I feel when watching Tyler play baseball.

On this Father's Day I am happy to say that Tyler made an all-star team and continues to make Dad very proud.

Will, my 12 year old step son came into my life almost 8 years ago when his mother and I first met. I have been very proud to provide all the support and love I can possibly give him. I know life isn't easy as a step-child, but all I can do to make it a little easier, I do. He has caught onto the baseball fever his younger brother is experiencing and he returned from a 3 year layoff to play baseball this summer. Each game he gets a little better and its very cool to sit in the stands and watch him learn and grow with the sport.

Hannah, my 15 year old step-daughter just finished her ninth grade year of school. HOLY COW! Where did that little 7 year old girl go to that I first met? She has turned into a beautiful young lady that seems to learn and mature with each day. As many of you can relate, it's not easy for a Dad or Step-Dad to completely understand a teenager. You want nothing but the best for them, but it's hard to understand what they are going through at times. The best part is always when she comes back to me and says "You were right." At that point, I think she realizes, that I know a little bit about the way teenage boys behave. It's scary to know that in the next year she will hit the roads of South Charlotte behind the wheel of a car. My how time flies!

Being a Dad isn't easy, but I know deep in my heart, I try to be the best that I can be. I want to do all I can to give all my children the very best opportunity to succeed in life. If you are a Dad reading this, I am sure you can relate.

Happy Father's Day to all Dads, Step-Dads and Grand Dads across this great nation.

Hey Buddy! That's Lightning!

2008-06-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a baseball game tonight and the more I think about what happened, the more I shake my head. As you know, thunder and lightning were bouncing all over South Charlotte around 7:45 tonight.

The field I was at seemed to be right in the middle of it. After a 5 minute rain, the thunder continued with lightning off in the distance. The lightning seemed to draw closer and kids and parents started to question what was going on. The plate umpire, an older man seemed to be relying on the method of how many seconds were there between the thunder and lightning to tell us how close the lightning was. Now I remember doing something like that on my Grandmother's porch when I was little, but I don't think there is a lot of truth to it.

Someone called out "Hey Blue! This stuff is getting close, lets be careful here!" He hollered back "It's 20 miles away!" About that time, a huge blast of thunder and bolt of lightning blasted from the sky just 100's of yards from the field. He called the game off at that point.

Point being, that old method of calculation doesn't work and one of his supervisors may need to let him know.

If that blast of electricity had hit the playing field, it would have been a bad situation.

I also think we as parents, coaches and fans may need to be more proactive in the future as well, sometimes you don't get a second chance. My wife lost a classmate at Latin to lightning on the baseball field.

Be careful out there!

At some point, the kids have to come first

2008-06-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

I was at a local Babe Ruth Recreation Ball baseball game for 13-14 year olds yesterday. I saw something crazy happen. In the 100 degree heat, a coach let his pitcher throw 145 pitches over 6 innings. This was rec ball, nothing more on the line than one team winning and one team losing.

145 pitches from a full length baseball mound.....

I wonder if this coach even had a clue as to how many pitches the kid threw?

Bad thing about it is the pitcher had talent and threw really hard. With some good coaching, he could be a pretty good pitcher. At this rate, his arm will fall out of joint by the time he is 15 years old...

Coaches, keep your eyes on your pitch count, no game is worth hurting a kid over

South Charlotte Summer Camps Kick off in less than 2 weeks

2008-06-03T18:13:00.001-07:00

I am getting excited about our summer series of sports camps here in South Charlotte. We are offering basketball, soccer, cheerleading and multi-sport camps this summer for kids 5 and up.

I am most excited about the folks I have partnered with on each camp.

With basketball, Ardrey Kell Head Coach Mike Craft has proven to be one of the top teachers in the area. With a college and high school coaching background, the kids are sure to learn more about basketball.

Cheerleading Camp should be wonderful with Caroline Adkisson as the camp director. Unlike many cheerleading coaches, Caroline is still in cheerleading shape, having cheered for Wake Forest prior to arriving as a new teacher and coach at Ardrey Kell High School. The girls are in for a treat at this cheerleading camp.

Soccer and Multi Sport Camps are partnerships with Mike Stricker, a very dynamic youth coach with vast experience through his Dynamic Performance Sports company.

To learn more or to fill one of our final spots, please visit www.southcharlottesports.com

We guarantee a great summer of camps!

South Charlotte Sports Action Photography

2008-06-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Our youth sports photography company is busy getting ready for the summer. With an outstanding debut year behind us and over 1 million photos viewed online the last 8 months, we are ready for the summer.

If your swim team, all star team, travel baseball or softball team would like us to come photography you in action, give us a call at 704-906-5466 or email Tripp@southcharlottesports.com

We offer great looking action photos from high level professional photographers. Talk to us about becoming the official photographer for your organization and we can work out a fundraising plan to let your organization earn money back on each photo as well as free advertising in the South Charlotte Sports Report.

Check out our current photos at www.scsractionphotos.com

Don't miss a second of the action, give us a call!

McKenzie Morenus HR leads Butler to 3rd straight Title

2008-05-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

The Butler Bulldogs captured their third straight softball title this afternoon. McKenzie Morenus blasted a home run to put Butler into the lead.

Congratulations to the Bulldogs!

Greenville Rose beats AK with last at bat

2008-05-31T13:06:00.001-07:00

Great season by both teams, AK was just a few errors away from forcing a game three. I know these boys and Bags are hurting right now, but once they return, they need to hold their heads high for an amazing season

Butler one win away, Ardrey Kell has a tough task today

2008-05-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

Someone finally scored an earned run on Constance Orr. North Davidson squeezed a run across to spoil the perfect season for Constance, but Butler rebounded and won the game and one more to walk into the final game today. I expect nothing less than a 15 strikeout performance from our player of the year.

Ardrey Kell lost a heartbreaker in extra innings last night. Errors seemed to hurt the knights and Greenville Rose. I also beleive the sheer size of the minor league field may have kept a few hits from being home runs and basehits.

The Knights must win todays first game with Alex Wood on the mound. Alex is a super pitcher, headed for Georgia in a year, he is a lefty with nice action on his pitches. I guess i could use the term "crafty" with Alex. He rose to the occassion versus Providence last week and may do the same today against an awesome Greenville Rose team. I felt really old when I looked at the Rose roster last night and saw the name Trey Little. 16 years ago I worked with Trey's mom at East Carolina when Trey was born...... Man, I feel old......

Someone has to come up big at the plate for Ardrey Kell today, I will guess Zico Pasut does something big and I expect a better game at the plate from Jordan Darnell since he is finished pitching for the season after last night.....

AK 6, Rose 4 in game two..........

Area Players named to State Games Team

2008-05-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to these local baseball players for earning a position on the Region 6 State Games Baseball Team

Ryan Stetson – Ardrey Kell

Alex Wood – Ardrey Kell

Corey Roberts – Olympic

Luke Bard – Charlotte Christian

Ty Linton – Charlotte Christian

Danny Vliet – Charlotte Catholic

Carter Bumgardner – Charlotte Country Day

Tyler Tewell – Butler

Pineville American Legion Junior Roster

2008-05-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

The Pineville American Legion Junior team is loaded with talent this summer. Many of these 10th and 11th graders will be leading players for their high school teams next season. A summer full of legion ball will help these players gain valueable experience

20	Robbie	Baer	SMHS
2	Sean	Barcellona	Catholic
16	Aaron	Barton	A. Kell
24	Alex	Breneman	SMHS
3	Ryan	Glass	Butler
26	Jake	Hall	Providence
9	Derek	Ham	A. Kell
15	Jack	Hartpence	Catholic
21	Stephen	Hasty	SMHS
28	Jordan	Mackey	SMHS
22	Colin	Manning	Catholic
13	Lenin	Pena	SMHS
4	Derek	Rowe	SMHS
7	Kevin	Smith	Butler
8	Lee	Sutton	SMHS
10	Jonathan	Wall	Sun Valley
14	Tim	Youtsey	SMHS

Who are the current 8th graders that will star in varsity sports next season?

2008-05-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

After watching Logan Ratledge, Brett Austin and Jessie Rappe play starring roles in baseball and softball this season while in ninth grade, it made me wonder, what 8th graders can step up to star in varsity sports next season.

Look at the incredible season Liska Dobberstein had on the AK soccer field.....

I know a few 8th graders that are going to have a chance next season. Jay M Robinson 8th grader Jackson Campana is a big boy that starred in football, baseball and basketball this season. You will probably hear his name a lot the next 4 years. Preston Tiller has the ability to help the Ardrey Kell football team next season. He is a superstar baseball player as well, maybe he can follow Logan Ratledge onto varsity as a ninth grader? Mike Massardo out at Weddington Middle School will bring a wealth of talent to the high school level.

Click on the comment icon below and tell me about the 8th graders you beleive can play a varsity sport next season. With the quality of volleyball players in this area, there is sure to be a rising ninth grader ready to star on a varsity team. What about track, cross country, tennis, swimming, or soccer?

Sending out Best Wishes to Ardrey Kell and Butler

2008-05-30T05:04:00.000-07:00

The Knights and Bulldogs begin their state championship games in baseball and softball tonight.

Ardrey Kell will play Greenville Rose in a three game series. Our prediction---- If Jordan Darnell gives his usual bulldog type performance on the mound and the Knights win game one, they will win the series and be crowned state champions. Defense will be key for both of these well coached teams. A big home run from Zico Pasut sure would go a long way towards a win tonight.

Butler plays in a 4 team, double elimination softball championship series with game one versus North Davidson. No one has scored an earned run on pitcher Constance Orr yet this season, so why start now. We say Butler wins three straight and is crowned state champion

The 2008 South Charlotte Sports Report All-South Softball Team

2008-05-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

SOUTH CHARLOTTE SPORTS REPORT

ALL-SOUTH SOFTBALL TEAM

The South Charlotte Sports Report is proud to announce the 2008 All-South Softball Team. The squad of 14 players has been selected by gathering the opinions of area coaches, scouts and observers. The South Charlotte area may be the top community in the state for overall softball talent. It’s important to note that these selections are based entirely on each players high school performance and do not include any outside softball achievements. As with any all-star selection process, outstanding players may be left off the final team. The South Charlotte Sports Report salutes all high school softball players in the area for their hard work and dedication to the sport.

This squad is chosen from all schools in our primary coverage area.

Jessica Bowen, Butler

Allie Cashion, Weddington

Jessica Fellmuth, Weddington

Lauren Curran, Charlotte Catholic

Erin Kayton, Marvin Ridge

Kalie Lang, Ardrey Kell

McKenzie Morenus, Butler

Taylor Morris, Weddington

Constance Orr, Butler

Leah Quant, Providence

Jessica Rappe, Butler

Kelsey Spurrier, Butler

Mykaela Williams, Ardrey Kell

Missy Wills, Providence

Player of the Year: Constance Orr

Freshman of the Year: (TIE) Erin Kayton, Marvin Ridge, Jessica Rappe, Butler

Coach of the Year: Brian Cottom, Butler

The 2008 South Charlotte Sports Report All-South Baseball Team

2008-05-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

SOUTH CHARLOTTE SPORTS REPORT

ALL-SOUTH BASEBALL TEAM

The South Charlotte Sports Report is proud to announce the 2008 All-South Baseball Team. The squad of 15 players has been selected by gathering the opinions of area coaches, scouts and observers. The South Charlotte area may be the top community in the state for overall baseball talent. It’s important to note that these selections are based entirely on each players high school performance and do not include any outside baseball achievements. As with any all-star selection process, outstanding players may be left off the final team. The South Charlotte Sports Report salutes all high school baseball players in the area for their hard work and dedication to the sport.

This squad is chosen from all schools in our primary coverage area.

Luke Bard Charlotte Christian

Shane Basen Marvin Ridge

Brenton Bersin Charlotte Latin

Mickey Brewer Butler

Jordan Darnell Ardrey Kell

Jonny Eaker Ardrey Kell

Ty Linton Charlotte Christian

Tyler Pilkington Weddington

Joseph Shealy South Meck

Richie Shaffer Providence

Ryan Stetson Ardrey Kell

Tyler Tewell Butler

Adam Walton Country Day

Brent Watkins Weddington

Tyler Zupcic Providence

Player of the Year: Jordan Darnell

Freshman of the Year: (TIE) Logan Ratledge, Ardrey Kell; Brett Austin, Providence

Coach of the Year: Hal Bagwell, Ardrey Kell

Major League Baseball is out to Lunch

2008-05-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.wbbm780.com/Major-League-Baseball-Tells-Little-Leaguers--We-Ow/2248736

Major league baseball has taken something positive and tuned it into a huge negative, once again. If I am the commissioner, I have a youth program that encourages little leagues to use the names of my teams and I offer a $7.00 t shirt with any team logo on it. The league makes their money, the teams make theirs and more kids are exposed to the game.

I can still remember my first little league team being the A's and thinking it was so cool!

South Charlotte Sports Report All-South Baseball and Softball Teams to be named on Wednesday

2008-05-27T16:46:00.001-07:00

Along with our Player of the Year Awards. The voters had some real hard choices to make on their ballots. We will reveal the 15 baseball and softball players on Wednesday

Stay Tuned!

American Legion Baseball

2008-05-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Rowan County, NC American Legion Baseball seemed like the big leagues to me at a young age. Crowds of 2,000-3,000 a game, the players were hometown heroes. I cant tell you how much fun the games were.

There are three Legion Teams here in our coverage area. One of those is sponsored by the Pineville American Legion Post 337. The team roster is loaded with some very good high school players and first year college players. I can easily see this team winning a lot of baseball games.

Here is the roster

1	Evan Wilkerson	OF	Lenoir-Rhyne	Freshman
2	Nick Verhein	IF	Coastal Carolina	Freshman
3	Ben Berkey	IF/C	Butler HS	Junior
4	Cory Lee	OF	Providence HS	Senior
6	Mason Bradley	P/OF	Charlotte Christian	Senior
7	Jonnie Eaker	IF	Ardrey Kell	Senior
8	Chris Moore	C	Butler HS	Senior
9	Daniel Glenn	P/OF	South Mecklenburg	Senior
10	Brett Nyenhuis	IF	Ardrey Kell	Senior
11	David Chandik	OF	USC	Freshman
12	Steven Baker	P	Providence HS	Senior
16	Brent Lalas	OF/P	NC State	Freshman
17	Hunter Glass	IF	Lenior- Rhyne	Freshman
18	Matt Crump	C/OF	Wingate	Freshman
19	Jordan Fuller	P	Providence HS	Junior
20	Ryan Markham	P/OF	Ardrey Kell	Senior
21	Teddy Ritger	P/OF	Providence HS	Junior
22	Shaun Wixted	IF	West Point	Freshman
23	Jeff Barkley	P/OF	South Mecklenburg	Junior
24	DJ McMurchie	P/IF	USC	Freshman
26	Beau Tench	C	South Mecklenburg	Junior
31	John Coppedge	P	South Mecklenburg	Senior
32	Blake Parsley	P	Ardrey Kell	Senior
47	Jordan Darnell	P/IF	Ardrey Kell	Senior

A couple of names really stand out.

Jordan Darnell -- A super pitcher and hitter, he will help a team every night of the week.

Shaun Wixted -- Shaun has been at West Point the last year. He is a first class young man that everyone needs to meet.

Jonny Eaker -- A lot of colleges are going to be upset that they passed on him, I believe he is headed to UNC-A next season

Mason Bradley -- Very good baseball player, sure to help this squad

All of these players are solid and should help the team

If you live anywhere around the AK area and are looking for quality baseball under the lights, grab your yard chair and head on over the Ardrey Kell field. While it will never be like Rowan County Baseball in the 70's I still enjoy Legion Baseball

TEAM SCHEDULE

Wednesday May 21 Lancaster Away 7 pm

Thursday May 22 Lancaster Home TBD

Saturday May 24 Newell Away 7 pm

Monday May 26 Clover Away 5 pm

Tuesday May 27 Union County Butler H.S. 7 pm

Wednesday May 28 Rock Hill Home RESCHEDULED

Friday May 30 Gastonia Home 7 pm

Saturday May 31 Kings Mountain Away 7 pm

Sunday June 1 Clover Home 4 pm

Monday June 2 Caldwell County Away 7 pm

Wednesday June 4 Gaston Braves Away 7 pm

Saturday June 7 Denver Home 7 pm

Tuesday June 10 Cherryville Home 7 pm

Wednesday June 11 Cherryville Away 7 pm

Monday June 16 Huntersville Away 7 pm

Tuesday June 17 Charlotte Away 7 pm

Friday June 20 Newell Home 7 pm

Saturday June 21 Union County Away 7 pm

Sunday June 22 Gastonia Away 7 pm

Monday June 23 Charlotte Home 7 pm

Wednesday June 25 Kings Mountain Home 7 pm

Thursday June 26 Caldwell County Home 7 pm

Friday June 27 Gaston Braves Home 7 pm

Saturday June 28 Rock Hill (DH) Away 4 pm

Monday June 30 Shelby Home 7 pm

Tuesday July 1 Denver Away 7 pm

Thursday July 3 Shelby Away 7 pm

Friday July 4 Huntersville Home 7 pm

Area Playoffs: July 6^th

State Tournament: August 5^th – 9^{thsup> – Gastonia1:city>, NC}

^{Southeast Regional Tournament – August 14^{thp> – 18^th – Shelby, NC}}

^{^{World Series: August 22^nd – 26^th – Shelby, NC 2008}}

^{^{Head Coach: Mike Edwards}}

Interesting Matchup on a personal level for me AK vs Rose

2008-05-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

I went to college with JH Rose being about 100 yards at most from my dorm at East Carolina. The school has since moved about 3 miles away from the ECU campus, but I have continued to keep up with whats going on in Greenville.

JH Rose has a long history of success in many sports, with baseball being # 1. No surprise there, Greenville has an incredible youth baseball program, much like all the outstanding offerings in South Charlotte.

Another interesting side note, JH Rose Head Coach Ron Vincent has a special person that is at his side for all Rose games. His name is Marvin Jarman. Marvin has some disabilities, but no one in Greenville has his knowledge of love of both Rose and ECU baseball. Ardrey Kell head coach Hal Bagwell also has a special person that he keeps in his dugout and gives a uniform to. I am ashamed to admit that I don't know his name, but I know that he is special to the team and came with Bags from South Meck to AK.

This is a tough series to pick, both teams look evenly matched. AK's pitching from 1-3 is as good as it has been all year and that could be the difference, especially is Alex Wood and Ryan Butler play like they did versus Providence.

As I have said before, look for Jonny Eaker to make the difference somewhere along the way. He does all the things coaches love.

Hoping AK can bring the title back to Mecklenburg County, but with Rose on the other side, I know it will be a dogfight.

Always good to see someone do well

2008-05-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

I was so happy yesterday for my friend Robert Pollack and his son Mark. Mark was hurt really bad in a basketball game about a month-month and a half ago. He has just gotten the clearance to return to sports in the last two weeks. On Saturday he climbed on the mound to start his first game for the Olde Providence Babe Ruth team. Mark went nearly the entire distance, throwing a no-hitter through the first four innings.

Mark still has some weight to gain back and probably some confidence, but yesterday had to feel good.

Injuries are tough, especially when they come at the hands of someone being a poor sport. We are just glad to see Mark returning to his old self and looking to the future instead of the past.

Catholic Tennis Wins State Title

2008-05-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the Charlotte Catholic Boys Tennis team for winning their fifth state tennis title with the defeat of Southern Nash. As expected # 1 seed Daniel Tobben led his team to victory with a big win in his match

Also winning their matches were Michael Huber, Ryan Myrick, David Anderson, Sean Huber and Jordan Klochany. Their wins put Catholic up 6-0 and forced the cancellation of the doubles matches.

Congratulations Cougars on your huge season!

The tennis team joins the Mens Lacrosse team who won a state title last week

Ardrey Kell win sets up showdown with Providence

2008-05-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

Two wonderful nights of baseball for South Charlotte team. First, Providence pulls the upset over South Caldwell and then Ardrey Kell tops North Davidson to set up a best of 3 games showdown to move on the state championship.

Tonight's game was special. AK athletic director Cheryl Feeney had the Knights Castle ready for a packed house. Cheryl made a super decision to let folks sit on the hill beyond center field. That location is one of the best in the area to relax and watch a game. Good Move Cheryl!

Like I mentioned, the place was packed with all sorts of baseball observers. Jordan Darnell took the ball for AK and delivered 7 great innings of the mound. He may be the toughest competitor in high school sports in this area. .

The unsung hero for AK was Jonny Eaker. He played near flawless defense and came through at the plate. He must be a delight to coach. Freshman Logan Ratledge impressed me as well. BY the time this kid is a senior, he is going to be something special.

North Davidson made it interesting in the end, but a lazy pop up to third base ended the game and sent AK into a battle with Providence.

I am not ready to call a winner to this series, but I bet you it goes three games and I bet you Darnell returns to pitch before its over with. Providence is better set with its pitching, having the extra day to rest. Both teams seem like its their destiny to win a state title, but only one will have a chance.

Congratulations to both squads!

Butler Girls face Central Cabarrus Tonight in Softball

2008-05-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

Can Constance Orr keep the Bulldogs moving forward in their march towards another state title? Central Cabarrus will be a tough opponent, but if you cant score 2 or more runs on Constance, you can't win. No one has scored an earned run on her all season.

If you are looking for a fast paced game to watch tonight, head on over to see the Dawgs play! Softball is a great sport for the average fan to enjoy and Butler is loaded with great players!

Providence beats Nationally Ranked South Caldwell

2008-05-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

More to come, but just got a call telling me 10-4 with Tyler Zupcic and Brett Andrews leading the way. huge win for the Panthers!

Something tells me a few Panthers will make their way to AKHS tomorrow night

Great Job coach Hignight

Kudos to Hal Bagwell

2008-05-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing is worse than rain at a baseball field. Tuesday night, just 10 minutes before opening pitch, the bad weather rolled into the Ardrey Kell Road area. Lightening began to dance through the sky. Athletic Director Cheryl Feeney and her outstanding staff opened the school to the fans of both teams and vacated the baseball field just minutes before the scheduled start of the playoff game with North Davidson.

Over the next hour and ten minutes, rain drenched the field, even when the sun came out, it still kept raining. I wondered across the parking lot and back to the field around 8:00pm to check in with Coach Bagwell.

Like everyone else at the game, he wanted the rain to move out so they could play.

North Davidson's pitching ace was one day away from being able to take the mound, so tonight would have been ideal for the game to play as far as AKHS was concerned. The sun popped out around 8:05 giving a glimpse of hope to the game. The rain continued and Coach Bagwell put on his teaching hat and made a tough decision to postpone the game one more night in the best interest of all the student-athletes. The last thing AK needed was a midnight finish on a school night, leaving the North Davidson team a 2 hour ride home.

Coach pulled the plug at 8:11pm and went to address his squad. I am sure the kids were all disappointed as no one enjoys a rainout. But Bagwell is a smart coach, he will have the team ready to play tomorrow night and the Knights will accept the challenge of a probable new pitcher. It's not like AK doesn't have their own ace to throw. Jordan Darnell will climb back on the mound and bring his fire and passion on every pitch.

This game will still be a classic and best of all the lights at AK will be dim at midnight tonight.

Kudos to Bags for making a tough decision.

Ironically within 5 minutes of the decision, the rain came to a halt. Tonight simply was not meant to be.

I can't wait until Wednesday!

2 Big Time Baseball Games tonight

2008-05-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

As I look across the internet this morning, I havent found a lot of people picking the two local teams, Providence and Ardrey Kell to win their games tonight. Providence faces nationally ranked South Caldwell up in Caldwell county. This is going to be a tough game for Providence to win. I beleive Will Helms will pitch for the Panthers and if he can somehow throw a gem and hold South Caldwell to 3 runs or less, Providence can win this game. Richie Shaffer has the ability to produce runs every time he steps to the plate. If need be, he can probably throw a few innings in a pinch tonight as well. If South Caldwell stays under 3 runs, I say Providence upsets them!

Moving over the The Knight's Castle for the AK-North Davidson game.

Jordan Darnell takes the mound for Coach Bagwell. With his talent and passion for winning, anything is possible tonight. He would love nothing more than to keep ND and their two superstars from winning this game. Someone will have to do something special in the batters box tonight for AK and I predict that person will be either Brett Nyenhuis or Johny Eaker. I can see a two run double coming at the best possible time. Both of these kids come up with timely hits and tonight will be no different

I feel safe in saying we get one win out of these two local teams tonight and I would LOVE to see both win and move on to a best of 3 series!

I will be sitting right behind the plate and I can't wait!

Computer Issues

2008-05-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

Back online now, computer issues put me down for the count for nearly a week. I have a new computer now and and old one that I need to get fixed to transfer some information over....

My new computer is lightening fast!!

Weddington and Butler do battle for softball crown

2008-05-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

Butler and Weddington will line up tonight on the softball diamond at Ardrey Kell. COnference tournament title on the line. Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Softball player of the year on the mound for Butler, Constance Orr. Allie Cashion and Taylor Morris leading the way for Weddington.

Weddington will need to hope for 3 or 4 Butler errors as the hits will be hard to come by versus Constance. Dont be surprised to see her ring up 12-14 K's tonight

Weddington can upset Butler if they hold them to 2 runs and play flawless defense and put together 3-4 straight hits in a couple of innings

Myers Park vs Weddington for SW4A Championship

2008-05-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

Myers Park and Weddington surpised a lot of people by winning the seminfinal games on Friday Night

They will battle at UNCC for the baseball conference title, should be something special to see!

Look for either Weddington's Tyler Pilkington or MP's Charles Overman to be the hero tomorrow night

College Football belongs on Saturdays

2008-05-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

I just read where ESPN has paid Appalachian State to move their home game with Wofford to a Friday Night. This move brought back memories of something that happened with my college East Carolina about 6 years ago. In the state of North Carolina as in many states Friday night is reserved for high school football and Saturdays for college ball. When you start overstepping those traditional boundaries someone gets hurt.

In the case of East Carolina, we had a horrendous athletic director at the time that seemed to think he knew what was best for ECU regardless of what others may have thought, including the football coach at the time, Steve Logan. Seems ESPN came to ECU with a desire to move a game to a Friday night. This AD, (Mike Hamrick) had previously told the North Carolina High School Athletic Association that he wouldn't host a game on Friday night and would keep them informed of any possibilities that may came up. Essentially he gave them his word. Well ESPN calls to ask and Hamrick says yes without speaking to the NCHSAA or even to his head football coach. ECU was creamed in the media for this decision and rightfully so. Even though it was one persons decision, the school took the wrath. High school coaches were mad, fans were mad and very few approved of the decision. This entire fiasco led to a lot of hurt feelings and damage for ECU.

For more on this see

http://www.bonesville.net/Articles/DennyOBrien/2002/October/100802_CharlesAdams-NCHSAA_Interview-Story.htm

Now 6 years later, ASU and Wofford will engage in battle on a Friday night. I don't like it, but I will credit ASU, as soon as the possibility came up, they began talks with the NCHSAA, they kept the local high school, Watauga, in the loop and the lines of communication stayed open. Because they handled it professionally, Watauga was able to move game to Thursday night. While I don't like Friday night college football, this instance was handled much better. Everyone will work through it and both games will be positives.

Hopefully it will be a long time until another Friday night game comes up in North Carolina, When it does, lets hope the schools follow the ASU model versus the Mike Hamrick model in dealing with the issue.

The new www.southcharlottesports.com

2008-04-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

Check out my website, www.southcharlottesports.com

We have reworked the layout and gave the site a new look. I hope you will like it

We have a partnership with a web design company that offers fantastic rates for area teams, schools and student-athletes. Send me an email if you would like a price quote.

TR

Random Thoughts on a Thursday afternoon

2008-04-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

Carly Smithson voted off Idol! Seems crazy to me, but I don't think the voters ever really connected to her. Simon can make her a star, just watch.... I hope David Cook wins...

Pretty impressive the job Providence has done this year in softball. I believe they have only lost 4 games and 3 of those are to top 10 teams in the state. Nice job Ladies!

This Democratic primary seems to get more interesting every day. Local TV stations are going to do well with advertising sales the next two weeks I bet.....

Marvin Ridge High School has their baseball program in a very nice place in its first season. Lot of talent on that team. How incredible of a team would Weddington HS have right now if MR wasn't open yet? I bet the Southwestern 4A Conference race could look a little different if that would have been the case.

Not sure what presidential candidates will appear in the area the next two weeks, but if you get the chance, take your kids to see them. Regardless of the political party, your child will always remember seeing Obama, Clinton or McCain or even former President Clinton. I still remember seeing Candidate Ronald Reagan in a speech at the Roses Parking Lot when I was a youngster in Salisbury, NC. I also remember a couple of times being at events with both Bob and Liddy Dole. I have seen Gerald Ford in Durham and I also remember seeing former President Bush and I went to a BBQ with Al Gore while in college. Like I said, don't let politics get in the way of being part of an event your child can remember their entire life.

More later....

Jonny Eaker Delivers in Knights-Panthers matchup

2008-04-23T04:42:00.000-07:00

We knew it would be big and it was! By the first inning, the concession stand had already sold out of 200 Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and the standing room only spots were all gone! The Ardrey Kell-Providence game last night was the most anticipated high school game around these parts in many years. Two of the best high schools teams and coaches in the state battling it out, 12-15 future division one players on the field, many kids that share roster spots on summer showcase teams. The Panthers are led by a bonafide future top 3 or 4 round draft pick for Providence (Richie Shaffer.) One of the top pitchers in the state, Jordan Darnell was on top of the hill for The Knights. Darnell has quietly put together a year considerate of a few all-state votes.

Yes, this one had to be big! And it was.

Play was a little sloppy at times and the home plate umpire made a very strange call to allow Providence's first run to score. I was standing with some of the top baseball guys in the area, one a major league scout, one the coach of a nationally ranked youth team and we still haven't figured out the umpires hand motions with what the call ended up being on a 3rd pitch strike. I don't believe the umpire knew what to call, but from my vantage point, AK cather Taylor Patterson caught the ball in an odd looking pitch. He looked to the umpire waiting to make sure he was crediting the out, the umpire stuck his hand out in a motion similar to an out, but said nothing. Taylor went ahead to throw the ball to first to make sure, but the throw was off and the runner from third scored. I need to ask Coach Bagwell what the umpire said on his visit out to the plate.

The fourth inning brought a play that Ardrey Kell's Jonny Eaker will tell his grandkids about one day. Bases loaded, Richie Shaffer on the hill throwing 88-90 mph fastballs mixed in with 65 mph changeups that would make most players look silly. Eaker delivered a hard shot to score three runs. The Knights celebrated!

Darnell remained steady for three more innings and recorded a three hitter for what may be his biggest high school win ever.

Great game and I am sure these two teams will meet again in the conference tournament and maybe the state playoffs. Can the Knights beat them three or four times in a season?

Kudos to Coaches Bagwell and Hignight and the South Charlotte baseball community for working hard to provide such an incredible matchup.

Note to AK AD Cheryl Feeney -- Next time I will take that reserved seat you offered. Getting old and the back started hurting before the sixth inning :) I probably need to take a few of those aerobic classes with my stepdaughter that you are teaching :)

Biggest Game In Town

2008-04-20T06:43:00.001-07:00

Tuesday night will bring the biggest game of the high school season. Ardrey Kell will host Providence at 7pm. Probably need to come early if you want a seat for this one. AK Head Coach Hal Bagwell will send Elon signee Jordan Darnell to the hill to face Danny Hignight's ace Richie Shaffer. Dont think for a second the starpower ends there, with AK's lineup including Ryan Stetson, Logan Ratledge, Jonny Eaker, Taylor Patterson, Brett Nyenhuis, Andrew Miller and plenty more the Knights can wrap up the league title with a win here. Providence brings starpower as well with the Seminuik's (Eric and Kurt) CA Clayton, Will Helms and Greg Lawson.

Most would venture to say this will be a pitching duel, but I bet the winning team will go over 6 runs.... I am not about to pick a winner in this battle, but I expect the best of the best to step up and lead their team to victory.

Expect to see quite a few scouts around the field and why not when you can come to one ball field and see 4-6 players that will play for money one day along with 15-20 kids that will play college baseball.

This game is a testamant to the outstanding youth baseball programs in the area, I am sure that 90% of these kids played for Olde Providence, MARA, or Park Sharon just 4 or 5 years ago. Many have trained with On Deck, The Megastars and more recently Carolinas Baseball Center.

Tuesday night should be a night to make us all proud of what we have built in South Charlotte for baseball.

PLAY BALL

Things are looking up

2008-04-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

Two entries below I told about my friends son getting hurt. I am happy to find out that he is now out of the hospital and on the road to recovery. That is great news for all.

He is a tough kid and I am sure that helped get him through a very tough day on Sunday

Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Youth Softball Player of the Year on FIRE!!

2008-04-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Erin Kayton, the Greater Charlotte Area Hot Stove League youth softball player of the year is having a heck of a season at Marvin Ridge High School. Only a 9th grader, she is leading the Mavericks in many categories.

Yesterday she slammed 2 home runs and had 9 RBI's in a game.

Erin should become one of the next stars in a long line of South Charlotte area softball players. She has some great players to follow, Ashton Ward, Constance Orr, Kalie Lang, Allie Cashion.......

Think before you do something stupid

2008-04-15T05:16:00.000-07:00

I woke up Monday morning to an email telling me about an incident that happened in a local AAU tournament on Sunday. I will share it as an example of how bad things can happen to others when you do something stupid.

This happened to the 7th grade son of a great friend of mine. His son has played and won a ton of basketball games for me over the last three years, so I feel a bond to the young man. He is as good of a kid as you will ever want to meet, nice, respectful, no ego, good sport, etc.

He was going for an open layup at the end of a game in which had long been decided. A player from Greenville, SC decided he didn't want this young man to make that layup and from what I can gather he either pushed or tackled my friends son. The impact was so hard that it slammed him into what was luckily a padded wall. The impact also knocked him unconscious for 30 seconds. Next up was an ambulance ride, then a night in ICU, lots of tests and some very scary medical terms. Fortunately I hear this AM that things have improved, and he will be OK. I know Sunday night had to be very scary for the family.

All this pain because one kid decided to be the ultimate bad sport, because he never took the time to say "what happens if I hurt him?"

I cant speak to how the kid feels now, maybe he is laying in his bed with a terrible feeling that will not go away, maybe he is back in school and had forgotten about the entire incident, I don't know.

The point of this it think before you do something stupid. You could hurt someone really bad, this case had the chance for a few hours to become really, really bad, luckily it hit a point and bounced back.

If my player and friend is reading this, I hope you are feeling better and I hope you can put this incident out of your mind and get back on the court real soon.

If by chance the kid that did this happens to ever read this, which I doubt he will, but just in case... You did something very stupid, I hope you learn from this and become a much better sport in future competitions. I trust you and your family are smart enough to have made the necessary apologies and have displayed a real concern for the well-being of the player that spent the night in the ICU. Luckily he will be ok, so you get a chance to learn from your mistakes, please don't make the same mistake twice.

Kids 4 Kids 5K

2008-04-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Endhaven Elementary School teacher Adam Dovico and his Cougar Boys Running Club for organizing the Kids 4 Kids 5K run. This young group of runners will put on an event to help kids at the Levine Childens Hospital

For more information please visit www.kids4kids5k.com

Feel Free to comment on my posts

2008-04-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

Always enjoy hearing the thoughts of others. Click the comment icon and post away

Tell me about your team, your son or daughter or an interesting story idea....

Watch a 10th grader hit two homeruns at Providence HIgh School? Watch a young man win 3 events at a Weddington track meet? See a kid displaying great sportsmanship at Marvin Ridge? Let us know

These girls are Good!

2008-04-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's pretty amazing to watch the Ardrey Kell Ladies Soccer Team. They play a very pretty game of soccer with precision passing and every player seems to be able to think 2-3 steps ahead. I beleive I am correct in saying they haven't given up a goal this season. Each player seems to know their role and they stick to it. A freshman, Liska Dobberstein has stepped in to provide a huge boost of offense, while the upper classmen like Allie Hovis and Kait Roberts provide great leadership with their play. The goalie, Megan Dent has great instincts and has one of the most powerful legs around. Erica Dubin plays super defense and is as tough as nails in the backfield. Joy Pittman is a very strong player as well.

These ladies play a very exciting game of soccer. It's going to be very interesting to see how they do the rest of the season, Providence, Myers Park and Weddington all have strong teams as well and will be aiming to knock the knights off.

Enjoy Soccer? Go see these ladies play...

Final Four Predictions

2008-04-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have the chance to win the big prize in an NCAA pool, all I need is for Kansas to win on Saturday and Monday. A good friend of mine is the Associate Head Coach at KU, so I went with them the whole way in my bracket.

I say

Kansas 76 UNC-CH 72
UCLA 79 Memphis 71

Kansas 68 UCLA 65

So what if I were the Athlete of the Week

2008-04-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

A lof of people have asked me how I would answer the questions I present to the Male and Female Athlete of the Week in every issue.

I will give it a try.

Age: 41

Parents: Charlie (deceased) and Sandra Roakes

School: I graduated from Wilkes Central High School in Wilkesboro, NC in 1985

Favorite Sports Team: New York Yankees

Favorite College: East Carolina University Pirates (Class of 1990)

Favorite Subject: Tough One.......Political Science

Favorite Home Meal: Steak and Baked Potato

Favorite Restaurant: Eddie's Place :) Sambo's Tavern in Leipsic, DE, T-Bonz in Phoenix
In N' Out Burger out West, Shatley Springs in Ashe County, NC

Favorite Dessert: Hot Fudge Sundae

Favorite #: 44

Favorite Band: Chairmen of The Board (Carolina Beach Music Legends)

Greatest Sports Memory: Watching East Carolina win the Peach Bowl to cap an 11-1 season

Athletic Accomplishments: Way to long ago to remember any kind of stats, but a decent basketball and baseball player growing up. Played second base in baseball and guard in basketball. It was hard to find a sport I didnt enjoy playing. Tried to take what I learned growing up and use it to coach kids today in baseball and basketball. Won a lot of basketball games the last 5 or 6 years with kids that enjoyed working hard.

Academic Accomplishments: East Carolina University Graduate. Student Body President
89-90, Senior Class President, 1990, Spoke at my graduation.
I will admit some of these grade point averages of the SOuth Charlotte Sports Report athletes of the week are a lot higher than mine was :)

New Soccer Store In Town

2008-04-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

For all the soccer players in the area, I want to encourage you to visit the newest member of our Family of Advertisers, Premier Soccer. This wonderful store is located beside Earth Fare and Eddie's Place Restaruant. If it's soccer related, they have it, from shoes to balls to jerseys, this is a super place for soccer players to get their kicks! The store is very clean, well lit, and laid out in a way that makes the customer feel very comfortable.

Stop in and see Donnie and all his staff for some great deals on soccer merchandise. Tell then the South Charlotte Sports Report sent you and receive a 10% discount.

They are supporting our newspaper, we hope you will give them a chance to earn your business.

South Charlotte Sports Report is Growing

2008-04-03T20:57:00.001-07:00

I wanted to send a thank you out to everyone that has provided support to our newspaper over the last 22 months. With your support, we were able to publish our first 24 page issue this last week.

We need to continue to grow our base of advertisers, but this was a nice step for the company.

If you know of anyone that may be interested in advertising with us, please send them our way. Our advertising rates and demographics are a perfect match for every size company. We can build a package to fit everyone's budget

Jay M Robinson wins round 1 with Community House Baseball Team

2008-04-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Two of the best middle school teams in the state played a very tight game on Monday. With a steady mist following an all day rain, Jay M Robinson edged Community HOuse Middle School.
Ty Buttrey started on the mound and put Robinson in position for the win, pitching five solid innings before departing with a 6-2 lead. Community House rallied in the sixth, making the score 6-5 before Robinson posted one more in their half of the frame. At 7-6 in the top of the 7th, with two outs but the bases loaded, Tyler Morgan secured the final out with a catch in center field. Jack Brodowicz starred in the field with two double plays turned, while at the plate Buttrey and Jackson Campana led the way, each with a multiple-hit night.

The rematch will more than likely decide the conference championship. Should be a middle school classic.

Providence and Ardey Kell are set to reload with some incredible talent over the next few years

Constance Orr dominating the Softball Diamond

2008-04-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

In January, Constance Orr was awarded with the Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Softball Player of the Year Award. Her performance this spring has been outstanding. She has simply shut out all competition this spring on the softball field. Her fastball seems to be a little faster than last season and her hitting continues to improve.

The Tar Heels have picked up one heck of a softball player. Constance is only 16, so her best softbal days are ahead of her.

We are really happy to see her playing so well this spring. Great young lady with a super set of parents.

Zico Pasut playing well for Ardrey Kell

2008-04-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

I have been very impressed by the play of Ardrey Kell first baseman Zico Pasut this spring. Just last week, Zico went deep for Ardrey Kell not once but twice versus Weddington. Zico is a powerful player and also excels on the football field. Dont be surprised when you hear his name being mentioned as a division 1 football recruit next fall. We believe he has the talent to play both football and baseball in college.

What a day of baseball

2008-03-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

I made it over the back bed of my good friend Vance Tiller's truck yesterday at Community House. Vance has a son, Preston, that is one of the best athletes in the area. His team, Community House Middle School has the best middle school team around I am betting. CHMS cruised to an easy season opening win over Carmel on Monday. This team is loaded with talent, if they lose a game, it will not be because they had less talent.

Following the game, we made it over to Ardrey Kell to watch Butler pull a late game win over Ardrey Kell. The Bulldogs lost a bunch of talent last year, but Tyler Tewell, Mickey Brewer and the rest of the Dogs aren't going to rollover for anyone. Incredible job of relief pitching by Butler.

AK struggled to hit the ball last night, only producing 3 runs. I am betting these early season struggles work themselves out and AK will be ready for action in a few weeks.

Ran into my friend Jake Robbins, lead pitching instructor at CBC Baseball at end of the game. He told me that Providence hurler Richie Schaffer had 16K's in a win over Weddington. Richie won the Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Player of the Year in January. Ironically the other finalist Tyler Pilkington plays for Weddington and only have up 2 runs in the 2-1 loss. Those two guys are bonafide superstars.

Also a big salute to the folks that packed the house at AK last night. Coach Bagwell has put in a new brick backstop and a new net/fence and its impressive. It makes for a much better view of the game, Props to Coach and I hear something big is coming next year to the field

Summer Camps wit h South Charlotte Sports

2008-03-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

We have put together a series of summer camps for area youth. I have partnered with my good friend Mike Stricker on CHampionship Soccer and Multi Sports Camps... Mike is a phenominal teacher and has the great ability to make sure every child has fun.

I also will hold a first class cheerleading camp for South Charlotte area residents. The camp will be a lot of fun for girls from 5-14. Former Wake Forest cheerleader and Ardrey Kell head coach Caroline Adkisson will lead the camp. If anyone attended an Ardrey Kell game this year, you saw the level of instruction she provided for the Knights Cheerleaders

To learn more about Cheerleading camp, visit www.southcharlottesports.com

ROSTER CRUNCH AT AREA MIDDLE SCHOOLS

2008-03-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

ROSTER CRUNCH AT AREA MIDDLE SCHOOLS

…..It’s time to for some outside the box thinking

The time has come for some outside the box thinking on middle school athletics in Mecklenburg County. Too many kids are being excluded from sports participation.

As an example, let’s look at an unnamed middle school located in South Charlotte. Over 80 seventh and eight graders attempted to try out for the school’s football team. After three days of running sprints and other drills, the roster was announced and more than half of the kids were sent home.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools do not allow middle school football to start until a week into the school year, leaving many of the kids without a place to play football. By the time the school roster is set Pop Warner football has over four weeks of practice in the books. It’s important to note here that Union County schools have set their football programs up to allow for an August 1st start.

With their late start, the CMS schools also run into a situation where the last two games are lucky to make it to halftime before darkness sets in. We will leave this problem for another column, but wouldn’t it be neat to let the middle schools play a couple of games on high school fields under the lights or even as a lead in to the high school junior varsity game on Thursday nights? Why force a 4:45pm start in mid November when the sun sets at 5:30pm?

Back to the roster crunch some schools are experiencing. This same school had over 100 kids try out for the basketball team. Over 85% of the kids were sent home after three days of tryouts.

Baseball tryouts were held this past week and you guessed it, over 100 kids came to tryouts. With only 15-20 positions available, once again 85% of the kids came up short.

That’s a lot of kids to disappoint, especially in the seventh grade class where only a couple are chosen to play with the eighth graders.

Ok, so now I presented an obvious problem……. What’s the answer? One of my answers would be why only one team per school? Why not two teams at this overcrowded school? Lack of jerseys? Not an acceptable answer, with kids asked to raise money for everything under the sun at the school, I am sure the kids and their parents would gladly pay $100 - $200 more dollars to help fund the second team. Our area is loaded with what I call “CAN-DO” parents, they would find a way to fund a second team and probably a third or fourth.

Would it really hurt anything to have two football teams or a second basketball team when so many kids show an interest in playing? Imagine the excitement when those two teams play one another.

Overcrowding is a major issue in this area, but why should we let the overcrowding force so many kids to the sports sideline. Many of these kids work year round to excel in their sport and come up short due to the fact we have stuffed so many kids into the school. I could take a group of kids that came up short at the unnamed school and form a baseball, football or basketball team that would rival any other team in the conference.

Please note that I don’t have a child that is caught in this situation, my son is only four years old. I haven’t experienced the trials and tribulations of middle school sports yet, but I have many close friends that keep me informed J

It’s important to also note I am not advocating creating a position for every single kid that wants to try out for the team. That’s a different debate, but in situations where overcrowding has led to 120 kids trying out for 15 positions on a basketball team, it’s time for some outside the box thinking.

What do you think? We want to hear your opinions and ideas as well. Feel free to drop me a note at Tripp@southcharlottesports.com

West Charlotte Fiasco finally resolved

2008-02-19T15:52:00.000-08:00

Amazingly, over two months after the issue of eliigibility was raised for the West Charlotte football team, CMS finally announced a punishment. Nothing wrong with the punishment, although I am still trying to figure out how their AD didnt know a player had used the AD's grandmother's address to be eligible....

Now here is where it gets funny, CMS took only a couple of days to force South Meck to forfeit their season just hours before round one of the playoffs and then West Charlotte's case carried on for over 2 months...

I said it back then and I will say it again, the West Charlotte - Indy game should have never been played if you follow the same line of thought in punishment as the South Meck situation.

I have a feeling we are about to hear of another punishment for another school, so stay tuned...

It all goes back to the South Meck penalty compared to crime sure seems different than this recent punishment.

I wonder what the parents of South Meck football players are thinking today?

Leads us back to Dr. Gorman's committee on eligibility he has formed.... Anything less than a complete overhaul of the checking system and a restoration of the publics faith in the system will be failure.....

I have a feeling spring sports may bring more issues......

"Toughest Sport on Dirt"

2008-02-02T05:15:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have to admit, I agree. Bull Riding, yes Bull Riding is the toughest sport on dirt. My son and I traveled to Winston Salem last night for the Professional Bull Riding event. Over the last few months we began to watch the Bull riding on the Versus Channel and thought it was so cool. My son loves to see the 1400 pound bulls throw the 150 cowboys off. When we saw the Built Ford Tough PBR Series was coming to Winston Salem, we decided to make the 100 mile drive.

To be honest, I didnt know what to expect, as with any sport, you know it will be different in person vs on television. We were ver pleasantly surprised, the entertainment value was top notch. Plenty of entertaining music, pyro displays patriotic themes, funny rodeo clowns and of course the stars of the show, the Cowboys and the Bulls.

I have been to many unique events across the country, and I feel safe in saying that as far as pure family entertainment value, Bull Riding goes right to the top of the list. Unlike most events, no sexual themes, no dirty language, no displays of poor sportsmanship, just good clean fun.

We loved it and we will be back for more.

Check it out www.pbrnow.com

1st Annual Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Dinner

2008-01-31T17:56:00.000-08:00

The event has finally come and gone. After months of preparations with the good folks at CBC Baseball (Darren, Jeff, Amanda, Wendy and Jake) we held the event in front of a sold out audience. When it was all said and done, I felt like I had gone 4-5 with 3 RBI;s and a couple of stolen bases. The event was very rewarding to bring together so many baseball and softball folks for a night of fun. We kicked off our fundraising drive for The Miracle League and laid the groundwork for what should become one of the top nights of baseball for many years.

If you missed the event this year, make sure you are among the first to get tickets next fall when the 2nd Annual Greater Charlotte Area Hot Stove League Dinner tickets go on sale.

A special congratulations to all 8 of the player award finalists; Constance Orr, Kalie Lang, Tyler Pilkington, Richie Shaffer, Chase Arnold, Brett Austin, Erin Kayton and Alexis Davis.

For more information, please visit www.hotstovedinner.com

Snow and sports

2008-01-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

Snow can be fun, but not on Saturdays in January and February. Luckily we were able to get our game in today as the league did a nice job of not overreacting to the condititions. Nothing stinks quite like having a game canceled only to see the snow melt before it hits the ground. Good job Kevin and Johnathan.

We won as well, so thats always good!

Now if I can just keep the snow away from my Hot Stove League Dinnner next Saturday night!

14 Days and Counting

2008-01-12T13:30:00.000-08:00

Just 14 days from today, we will hold the 1st Annual Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League banquet to celebrate the growth of youth baseball and softball in the area. We have plenty left to do, but man am I excited! I have wanted to hold one of these for over 20 years and now this is the chance. I have to admit, my first thought of how to hold the event is nowhere near what the event has turned into. I was thinking small and my friend Jeff Shaeffer of Carolinas Baseball Center helped me to think BIG... Jeff has a way of seeing things a little bigger than most and I am very thankful of his ideas.

This event is going to be super, we have Grady Little and a whole host of current and former major league players coming to town. We have 5 great awards we are going to give out that evening to some very deserving youth players. The auction is set up to be one heck of an auction and we are going to kick off fundraising for The Miracle League, an organization designed to build a baseball field for physically and mentally challenged kids.

I hope you can join us for this special evening and help me to make this dream come true.

Changes on the Way

2007-12-21T03:20:00.001-08:00

Dr. Gorman announced this week that CMS will take a look at some positive changes on the eligibility issue. I commend him for standing up and realizing we must restore credibility to the product, in this case high school sports. Dr. Gorman has done a lot of good things since he arrived in town and we have no reason to beleive he will not get this corrected as well.

It's not going to be easy, we have way to many parents that don't think twice about cheating the system. Not sure what they are teaching their kids in doing this, but it can't be good.

CMS is a huge system, and folks come from all walks of life. The cheating isn't limited to one school, one area of town or one segment of the population. It will take a complete effort to rid the problem from CMS, but once we do, the questioning of certain schools and rumor mills can be erased. Thats a good thing for all of us.

Talking out loud

2007-12-11T04:39:00.000-08:00

Random thoughts for today:

Is there any place on earth better than Disneyworld? SPent time last week in the Magic Kingdom and was amazed at how perfect everything is. Disney is a well oiled machine where even the unhappiest person on the earth can find a way to smile. Our 4 year old had a blast from the time we parked the car until the park closed. As a friend of mine said Saturday Night "I always tell my clients to buy stock in Disney, you can't go and not have a good time and folks keep going back year after year."

I am very proud of the Charlotte Catholic football team. They Cougars gave their all and came up a few points short in the Championship game Saturday. The team showed heart, courage and class all season long. 4 Consecutive state championship games is a strong indicator that these boys know a little bit about football. Next season, a new group of kids will take over the leadership roles, but we expect continued success.

Hard to believe Christmas is only 2 weeks away and its 80 degrees outside. I hope we can take about 50 degrees from that total 2 weeks from today.

Now that the football season is over, will all the eligibility issues be swept under the rug? I hope not, its time for action, a mess was made over the last month, terrible decisions were made, its time to get this fixed, both on the academic and athletic side..... I do find it ironic that the kis that were crossing school lines to play for teams illegally are still in school at West Charlotte and Indy..... hard to understand that....

Have a great day

Charlotte Catholic : It just felt right

2007-12-01T11:31:00.001-08:00

Faced with a choice of going to see the West Charlotte-Indy game or the Catholic -Robertson game last night,,, I didn't know what to do. You see, I like to be at "events" and I knew the Indy/WC game would be an event. But as the day wore on yesterday and I began to see more and more eligibility issues arise and then CMS held a press conference on the matter, my choice became an easy one to make.

CMS announced a couple of kids hadn't told the truth about where they live, so those players were suspended from the game, unlike at South Meck where innocent kids had their seasons yanked from them because the AD had made a mistake. To make matters worse, it appears the West Charlotte AD was in on the address issues and his relatives address had been used..... I wouldn't want to be the West Charlotte AD on Monday...... To be fair, Indy also lost a player for an eligibility issue on Friday.... But, once again, the show goes on and the teams get to play.

It must be killing some South Meck parents to sit back and watch this. From everything I can gather on the South Meck situation, the only fair punishment would have been for the AD to serve the penalty, not the kids that had followed the rules.

Back to Catholic and what's right about high school football. Catholic is a special place, filled with special families. These same kids and their families have all been together since middle school at Holy Trinity. They know each other and it's one big family from the players, to the band members, to the cheerleaders and dancers.

Sportsmanship reigns supreme on the field for Catholic. Every game starts with a prayer and warm welcome for the team across the field. The students are loud, very loud. They get a little crazy, but everyone is there to have a good time.

The football team is void of superstars or High Level Division 1 recruits, yet they still play like a top -ten team. They are small compared to most teams, but make up for it with heart and superb coaching. Four straight visits to the state title game doesn't happen by accident.

Let me also commend the Catholic band for what was the best halftime show I have seen this year. The kids delivered a very nice performance with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees.

With all the focus on the game downtown last night, a lot of people missed a great performance by The Cougars. These kids are champs in every sense of the word and we are very proud to have them here in South Charlotte.

Once the game ended and I began my ride home I knew I had picked the right game to go to.

More Eligibility Issues

2007-11-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Just hours before the big game with Indy and West Charlotte in football, we find out that two more players have been found to not be telling the truth about where they live. The two players were removed from tonight's game, but the teams will not be punished. (quiet..don't tell the South Meck kids)

You see South Meck's football team was thrown out of the playoffs when it was revealed the school had missed a form in their situation. The kid in question had been up front, no one was playing a trick or lying for that matter.. yet the entire team had their season yanked away from them...

One could reason that the best policy is to lie and hope you don't get caught as that will only result in losing a player, not the season. We don't suggest anyone lie about anything, but it sure worked out better for West Charlotte and Indy than it did for South Meck.

The best punishment is removal of the kid from the team as well as from the school. We have a hard time finding a reason to punish an entire team that followed rules but was let down by a mistake from someone else.

I don't think this is an issue that is going away anytime soon. In all reality there are many other kids crossing school boundaries. Some legally, some not so legally. Dr. Gorman is going to have to step up and fix the system instead of simply responding everytime the Observer uncovers an issue. It's not fair to the kids or the school and it certainly hasn't been fair to the South Meck football team to sit back and watch the light punishments handed out for kids and parents struggling to tell the truth.

As we guessed, the big game will go on tonight, no way a decision was going to be made to cancel either one of the teams seasons..... that would be wrong..... right?

PS Sending out a wish of Good Luck to the Cougars tonight! Hold up the tradition of Cougar Football and move on the the state title!

Ardrey Kell Basketball

2007-11-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

I attended the Ardrey Kell vs Marvin Ridge basketball game last night at Marvin Ridge. What a super nice facility The Mavericks have. I was kind of dissapointed by the crowd size, for two schools this close, the place should have been packed. Tuesday night probably wasn't the best night for this game...

Back to the Men's Game.. It looks like AK coach Mike Craft is determined to show the same inprovement Marty Woolbright displayed with the football team. The Knights are strong up front with Jordan Darnell and Cameron McQueen. Ryan Chandler brings a big body off the bench as well. Guard play is super with Kevin Davis, Joey Cheek and Alex Watkins. The bench is strong as well, sharpshooter Matt Helickson has a very nice three point shot.

The Knights easily handled a scrappy Marvin Ridge team, in the first game back for AK footballer's Brad Wornick, Prince Shembo and Travis Burrell. The Knights knocked off North Meck to open the season and now stand at 3-0. Conference play will be interesting, Providence has a lot of talent with Thomas Berlacher and Lamar Bradberry. Butler lost their top player, but should still play strong. East Meck, Weddington, South Meck and Indy are all solid teams as well.

Where will AK finish? An early guess would be 3rd or 4th.... With Coach Craft calling the shots, anything is possible. His style and command of the game is very impressive. His college coaching background has given him time around some great head coaches. Looks like he has mixed up everything he has learned and formed his own style of successful coaching.

Side note - Marvin Ridge has a super coach in Gosnell White, but he will have to adjust to a different style of play from his past job at West Charlotte....... Speaking of West Charlotte, I read today in the Observer that they have a 6-10 kid from up north moving in and another all-star from VA coming to the team.... Hope someone checks the eligibility forms on those......... We wouldn't want to see any more issues on eligibility pop up....

ALL-SOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM

2007-11-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

We released our first ever South Charlotte Sports Report All-South Football Team on Monday.

view team here

In looking over the list, it is amazing to see how many talented football players we have in the area. Just at quarterback alone, we have 2 of the top QB's in the country, Latin's Braden Hanson and Butler's Jacob Charest. So many kids on the team will line up on Saturday's next year and continue to make our area very proud.

As with any all-star team, great players are sure to fall through the cracks. We have no doubt that we missed on a few kids and maybe selected a few kids folks will disagree with us on. Our philosophy here at The South Charlotte Sports Report is that all student-athletes are winners and should be commended for their time and effort. This list is simply a way to provide a little extra recognition to the players that stood out in a crowd this season.

It was interesting to round up all the votes and nominations for our awards. Braden Hanson was a clear cut winner as offensive player of the year. Robert Blanton of Butler edged out some fine football players for Defensive Player of the Year. Robert heads to Notre Dame next season!

Our Coach of the Year award had a clear winner in Marty Woolbright at Ardrey Kell. Going from one win to nine required great coaching.

Brad Wornick, Ardrey Kell QB was one of many players that were valuable to their teams. Brad won the award based on his ability to run and pass the ball as well as his leadership ability. On so many nights, Brad carried the Knights to victory. Brad played WR for the team last year and had a super year. Instead of focusing on his individual future as a WR, Brad agreed to play QB for the team and was magnificent. Whatever team signs Brad to a scholarship will be rewarded.

We met Christian Culicerto nearly a year ago and came away so impressed by his leadership and character. Christian is the kind of kid we should all be proud of. He is well liked by his teammates and always brings a smile to the table. He stepped up to play QB this season and has Catholic within 2 games of another state title. In the Catholic offense, it requires a leader to step forward, Christian was that person this season.

His teammate RJ Sweeney is truly tough as nails. He is a hard worker that fights dyslexia on a daily basis. With hours of tutoring everyday, RJ has become a successful student and will play lacrosse in college next season. He has the ability to play college football, but his lacrosse talent is even greater. RJ always found a way to help the Cougars gain the tough yardage and has been awarded our Tough As Nails Award for 2007.

We didn't mention it in the paper, but I want to send out a special heads-up for Ardrey Kell senior Brent Vinson. Brent injured his knee just days before the season started and missed the entire year. Brent was headed for an all-star season and a college scholarship, probably at a D-1 school. Brent stayed true to his teammates and was there for them all season long, even though it had to be tough to watch each game. We spoke to Brent a few weeks ago and he weighing his options of prep school vs a smaller college. We send out our best wishes to Brent on the future.

Congratulations to all the kids on the All-South Team!

High School Eligibility

2007-11-27T05:35:00.000-08:00

The recent eligibility issue at South Meck combined with the Independence issue last week bring to light a very important subject, high school athletic eligibility. At South Meck, they were forced to forfeit their 1st round playoff game right before loading the bus for the game. From all indications no real harm was intended, the Yokely's were up front and filled out what they thought was the proper paperwork. The South Meck AD failed to catch the one form that was missing and the Sabres paid the ultimate price. I can only imagine what it felt like to be a Sabre football player on that Friday afternoon.

At Indy, a player is caught using an illegal address and is removed from the team and Indy continued on in the playoffs. Reason given for no school punishment was the kid lied, so the school doesn't pay the price. Very hard for me to believe that no one at the school, the coaches or AD knew he didn't live in the district.

Many feel the message CMS and NCHSAA delivered is if you are going to try to play for a school whose district you aren't in, then LIE, that way the school pays no price for turning their heads and accepting whatever the kid says, even if you know its not true. The Yokely's were up front and outside of the AD mistake, had done everything correct. Yet, the entire football program pays the price. I can understand removing Yokely from the roster, but how do you punish all the other kids that have been honest and worked hard all season long?

These two cases have received all the headlines, but it's safe to say there are many, many more in all sports. Now is the time for Peter Gorman and his CMS staff to do a massive overhaul on how they determine athletic eligibility. I don't have all the answers, but I know it's time to remove any doubt from the eyes of the taxpayers and parents of CMS students.

If nothing is done now, its only a matter of time before the actions of one player will ruin the seasons for the remainder of a team. No one person is more important than an entire team of kids.

I would encourage parents of athletes to ask questions if they know of a possible issue. Make sure all forms are in order, otherwise it could be your son or daughter whose season ends in a split second because of the actions of others.

As a side note - West Charlotte and Indy play in a huge football game Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The Observer is said to be investigating some other players eligibility. What would happen if at 4:30pm on Friday afternoon, another issues similar to the Yokely's came to light on one of the players in this game? Would CMS make the call and award one team the winner and walk away from what will be the largest gate in Charlotte high school history? Wouldn't that be interesting.............. For the kids that have followed the rules, I hope it doesn't happen.

Riding the Light Rail

2007-11-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

My wife, son and I decided to go join the tens of thousands of other folks riding the new Light Rail on Opening Night. We arrived at the 485 station, rode the elevator up and jumped into a packed train cart. Five minutes later we are headed north on our maiden voyage on the light rail.

I have to say it was neat. There were lots of folks heading to see the Bobcats. We got off at the Bobcats station and walked around downtown looking for dinner. After dinner, we climbed back on at the Convention Center station for a quick 20 minute ride back to our car. Return trip was packed and we were lucky enough to be part of one of the technical glitches enjoyed on day one as the train lost power for about 2 minutes. The driver was nice and kept everyone informed and we were soon back underway.

All in All a neat evening for us, Tyler really enjoyed the fact that Santa Clause was on our train minus his outfit coming back home.

While I dont think the light rail will make a bit of difference on traffic and I wish the money had gone to widen 485 .... the train ride was neat..... The curiosity will wear off soon and it will be close to empty 95% of the time, but its worth a ride or two.

It will provide a great option for Bobcats games, that is if they actually do something to connect with their customers and give us a reason to want to go.. Panthers games should be fun on the train as it comes within 3 blocks of the stadium.

We can now say we were part of history!

2007-11-25T14:36:00.001-08:00