Like most high school basketball fans in Conecuh County, I’m
looking forward to what’s become an annual trip to Dothan for the South
Regional Tournament at the Dothan Civic Center.
I’m writing this column on Monday, so Hillcrest’s boys and
girls still had to win sub-regional round games in order to punch their tickets
for the regional tournament. I personally look for both of Hillcrest’s teams to
make the regional tournament, which will put them just four more games away
from winning a state title.
Both of these teams, led by head coaches Chenson Griffin and
Tammie Patrick, have represented our county well on the hard court this year,
and I look for that to continue as they head into the Dothan tourney.
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Elsewhere on this week’s sports page, you’ll see a story and
picture about a recent round of promotions at the local karate school. I think
it would be cool to be a black belt in karate, but I know there is a lot of
work involved. Sometimes the idea of a thing is better than the thing itself,
and I suspect that if I were to sign up for karate class, this would dawn on me
the first time I got punched in the nose or in the belly.
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The start of baseball and softball seasons at Sparta Academy
was scheduled to get underway on Monday, but wet weather postponed those games
until today (Thursday). I hope the weather will be nice because you’ll be
hard-pressed to find anything better to do on a Thursday afternoon than to go
watch a high school baseball game.
I like football, basketball and softball, but baseball is my
favorite sport. I played a little high school baseball, but I was a very
average player. However, I played alongside and against some really good
players and had a lot of fun doing so. I guess over the years, I’ve maintained
my nostalgia for the game, which is why I harp so much on baseball. In the big
picture, I guess there are a lot worse things to enjoy.
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Readers will also see on this week’s sports page a story and
picture about Evergreen’s 10-and-Under youth basketball team, which finished
runner-up in a big, 10-team tournament last Saturday in Elba. Many players on
Hillcrest’s current varsity boys team, which is ranked No. 3 in the state in
3A, went through Evergreen’s youth basketball program, under the direction of
Earnest Boykin. Boykin is one of the unsung heroes of local sports and more
than deserves a pat on the back for his efforts with our young local athletes.
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Another of these unsung heroes is Brian Martin, who has led
the local youth baseball and softball league for a number of years. Brian
called me on Monday to say that Evergreen’s Cal Ripken baseball and softball
leagues would be having sign-ups Saturday outside the Pic-N-Sav grocery store
here in Evergreen. In my opinion, aside from maybe church activities, youth
baseball and softball is about the purest form of good, clean fun a child could
be involved in, so sign them up on Saturday if you can.
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