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Local smorgasbord of sports topics
February 23, 2009Some random local sports topics on my mind:
* I am working on the area track preview for this season, and there is a lot of local talent in WFISD.
Hirschi's Toiesha Cooper and Rider's James Chambers, Jeylin Reed and Jazzmin Hill all return after making it to Austin a year ago. Reed and Hill were freshman last year, too.
One now-sophomore from Rider who won't be participating is Taylor Stolt, who set several school records as a freshman in 2008. I am told Stolt tore her ACL in basketball not too long ago.
* There are three girls area basketball teams left after two rounds of the playoffs. Several were knocked out last Friday. Among the trio is No. 2-ranked Bowie (who will play seventh-ranked and defending 2A champ Jim Ned) and No. 14 Hirschi. Byers is the third team still alive.
* Saw a list of applicants for the McCamey head football coach, a Class A school in West Texas. Two area defensive coordinators have applied -- Iowa Park's Dusty Robinson and Jacksboro's Heath Brown -- as well as Alvord head coach Mike Chaney.
Also, Clyde's Craig Slaughter was chosen as Kent Jackson's replacement at Sweetwater.
*Speaking of jobs, there are now four open in the area. Obviously, Bowie and WFHS are the main ones (and WFHS is not technically open because Pride will not be named at Mansfield Summit until next week).
The other two are 6-man schools. Gold-Burg, which made the playoffs the first time last year under Bill Clay, is one of them. The other school looking is Northside. Ed Donahue did double duty as the superintendent and head coach the last couple of years.
*Finally, it looks like WFHS-Rider in girls soccer is about the only good district matchup for either side. The Rider boys are heads and shoulders above everybody else -- at the midway point, no other team has a winning record. Losing Sherman and Denison, plus Gainesville and WFHS being a little down, is not helping the Raiders' cause as they prepare for the playoffs.
Posted by at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Why the WFHS job is a tough gig
February 20, 2009Travis Pride is leaving WFHS after three years to become the head coach at Mansfield Summitt.
I've only seen Pride's Coyotes play on occasion, because I'm usually out covering the area's football teams.
But he seems to get the most out of his players. And more importantly, he coaches kids the right way, holding them to high values off the field as well as on the field.
I'm sure the WFHS job will net lots of outstanding applicants. But there are a few reasons why it is not an easy job:
* The Choice Program. Unless you're getting most of the city's best players, you cannot be a fan of this. I don't know how many kids who are wearing black and gold live within the WFHS area, but I'm betting more than the other way around.
By the end of last season, the Coyotes' football numbers were about the size of a large 3A school. Injuries were part of the reason, but so are the amount of players. I believe Rider has two JV teams -- a luxury WFHS does not have.
* High expectations. Just a year or two ago, WFHS was named the best high school football program of all-time. But we live in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world. And the Coyotes, except for their deep 2000 run, have produced a lot of real good teams. Just no great ones.
There are still some people out there who expect WFHS to compete for state titles on a yearly basis. And I just don't think that is possible right now.
* Ponder. Scott Ponder has generated a quality program at Rider, and until he leaves, the Raiders will probably have the upper edge in this town. This is not my opinion (I'm not from here, so I have no affiliation with either school. My wife went to Rider, but the only reason why she went to football games was to be seen. Just wanted to give full disclousre) -- just the facts. Rider is 6-1 against WFHS in the past seven years. And what Ponder has built up is a big reason for that.
I think Pride is a great coach. I bet he does well at Summitt. But he had a 16-17 record in three years here, and that's plenty of proof how hard it is to win constantly at WFHS.
Posted by at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thoughts on the Bowie coaching job
February 3, 2009Brad Keck isn't coming back to Bowie next year, or at least as the head coach (I would be astonished if he stays around after getting reassigned).
I am a little surprised by this simple by the timing. If Bowie had wanted to go in a different direction before going to 2A, then I could see changing after back-to-back 2-8 years.
But after Keck went 7-4 and had the winningest season in 27 years, why get rid of him? The JV went 10-0 and the freshman were 6-1, so the Jackrabbits should be favored for a playoff spot again.
One thing about Keck -- I know his record wasn't great in his seven-year tenure, but I think he got everything out of his kids. There were some years when Bowie just didn't have the talent or numbers to compete with larger 3A schools.
I hope Keck latches on somewhere because he's a top-notch guy who seems to always do the right thing. We need those kind of coaches in this industry.
As for the Bowie job, it has some plusses and at least one minus.
The good: Bowie is moving into a new high school, with a new stadium (which is overdue in my opinion), that has FieldTurf and new other facilities.
The team also returns some key pieces from last year, including Tyler Price, and anyone who saw Aaron Chokas play down the stretch on the varsity had to have been impressed. It sounds like there's lot of talent throughout the program.
The minus: Talking to some Bowie people, it sounds like a move back up to 3A is a likely possibility. Bowie would be a small fish in a big pond again, and based on proximity, would definitely be grouped with Decatur and Bridgeport. That would make it an uphill climb.
Posted by at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
