"Hats off to the ladies"
Something rare in the world of local sports happened this past Saturday night. Of the five Jackson County varsity girl’s basketball programs, three of them made it all the way to the FHSAA Regional Finals. And while only one of the teams won and will advance to the Final Four in Lakeland, the fact that three teams from the same small rural county made it that far is quite remarkable.
The Cottondale Lady Hornets will make the trip to Lakeland after beating Port St. Joe on the road. Cottondale is under the direction of First Year Head Coach Laura Holman. If you recall Chris O’bert had been pulling double duty the last two years at Cottondale, coaching both the boys and girls squads. He turned the helm over to Holman this year and what a job she has done. Even more amazingly, this is Holman’s first coaching job as she just finished college last year at Troy where she played for the Lady Trojans. The Lady Hornets enter the Final Four with a record of 21-5, and two of those five losses came in close games to Graceville.
Speaking of Graceville, the Lady Tigers smoked most everybody during the regular season and entered the playoffs with a record of 23-2. After opening round wins over Rocky Bayou and Paxton, the Lady Tigers ran into a buzz saw this past Saturday night call Precious Hall (FAMU). On her home court Hall blistered the nets for 28 points to eliminate the Lady Tigers from the playoffs. Second year Head Coach John Habali led the Lady Tigers to a final record of 25-3.
As outstanding as those two teams have been, without question the biggest turn around this season has been the Marianna Lady Bulldogs. Charles Brown Jr. (or Chuckie) is in his second year and the Lady Bulldogs made tremendous strides this season. Back in the 80’s, under Charles Goodson, the Lady Bulldogs were a powerhouse that went to Lakeland routinely. But the past few years have been hard on the Lady Bulldogs so this year’s turnaround has been impressive. Marianna had opening round wins over Pensacola Catholic and Walton County, before losing in a close game on the road to Jacksonville Ribault Saturday night. They finished with a record of 19-8.
So, that is three coaches in their first or second year with their programs, leading the three squads to a combined record of 65-16. You can look long and hard at plenty of other small rural counties and not find that kind of success. Simply Put, we call that basketball, Jackson County style. Congratulations ladies and coaches on an outstanding year.
From the front porch: Uncle Bob said his teenage son eats like there is no tomorrow and sleeps like there was no yesterday.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
"coach j"
Simply Put
The Indian nation is in mourning with the passing of Chipola’s legendary Head Basketball Coach Milton H. Johnson. At both his viewing and funeral there were numerous stories recounted of how he had touched literally thousands of lives. I too, along with the thousands, have stories of how he touched my life and the lives of my family members.
Our family was first touched by Coach J in the 50’s when, as Head Basketball Coach at Campbellton, he coached against my father while Daddy was Head Coach at Marianna. I can tell you without any hesitation that, although the Wildcats beat the Bulldogs on plenty of occasions, my father had the utmost respect for Coach J.
In the early 70’s my oldest brother Terry was the starting point guard on the Indians basketball squad for two seasons. Those familiar with the game of basketball know that there is a special bond between the Head Coach and a point guard. That point guard becomes an extension of the coach. My brother, like my father, had the utmost respect for Coach J.
I rolled into Chipola in the late 70’s. Needing some P.E. classes I signed up for badminton. Having played tennis all my life I figured it would be an easy and fun class. And it was, in large part due to the instructor being Coach J. I’d like to think that he took a special liking to me because of his past relationships with my father and brother. But in reality he made everyone feel that he took a special liking to them. That was just part of his attributes, to make everyone feel special.
At his funeral Gordon Wells spoke of Coach J’s fondness for the game of badminton. I can attest to that fondness and his ability to play the game. When the semester started, being young and a little brash, some of us boys challenged Coach J to games of badminton. Suffice it to say, he humbled us and beat us like a drum. Our youthful pride was smashed, but he was a gracious winner and correctly predicted that we would be able to beat him before the semester was over as we learned more about the game and used our youthful athleticism. He was right about that too.
John Wooden, legendary basketball coach at UCLA, is one of my heroes in life. Coach J and Coach Wooden had some similarities in their coaching styles. Not a lot of yelling and hollering. They didn’t humiliate their players. They were motivators instead of intimidators.
Coach J’s accomplishments in the game of basketball are overwhelming. But to me his most astounding accomplishment on the floor is that in 32 years of coaching at Chipola, he never got a technical foul. Simply Put, I can think of no other measurement that speaks more volumes about the man, his character and integrity.
From the front porch: Coach said excellence is not a skill, it’s an attitude.
The Indian nation is in mourning with the passing of Chipola’s legendary Head Basketball Coach Milton H. Johnson. At both his viewing and funeral there were numerous stories recounted of how he had touched literally thousands of lives. I too, along with the thousands, have stories of how he touched my life and the lives of my family members.
Our family was first touched by Coach J in the 50’s when, as Head Basketball Coach at Campbellton, he coached against my father while Daddy was Head Coach at Marianna. I can tell you without any hesitation that, although the Wildcats beat the Bulldogs on plenty of occasions, my father had the utmost respect for Coach J.
In the early 70’s my oldest brother Terry was the starting point guard on the Indians basketball squad for two seasons. Those familiar with the game of basketball know that there is a special bond between the Head Coach and a point guard. That point guard becomes an extension of the coach. My brother, like my father, had the utmost respect for Coach J.
I rolled into Chipola in the late 70’s. Needing some P.E. classes I signed up for badminton. Having played tennis all my life I figured it would be an easy and fun class. And it was, in large part due to the instructor being Coach J. I’d like to think that he took a special liking to me because of his past relationships with my father and brother. But in reality he made everyone feel that he took a special liking to them. That was just part of his attributes, to make everyone feel special.
At his funeral Gordon Wells spoke of Coach J’s fondness for the game of badminton. I can attest to that fondness and his ability to play the game. When the semester started, being young and a little brash, some of us boys challenged Coach J to games of badminton. Suffice it to say, he humbled us and beat us like a drum. Our youthful pride was smashed, but he was a gracious winner and correctly predicted that we would be able to beat him before the semester was over as we learned more about the game and used our youthful athleticism. He was right about that too.
John Wooden, legendary basketball coach at UCLA, is one of my heroes in life. Coach J and Coach Wooden had some similarities in their coaching styles. Not a lot of yelling and hollering. They didn’t humiliate their players. They were motivators instead of intimidators.
Coach J’s accomplishments in the game of basketball are overwhelming. But to me his most astounding accomplishment on the floor is that in 32 years of coaching at Chipola, he never got a technical foul. Simply Put, I can think of no other measurement that speaks more volumes about the man, his character and integrity.
From the front porch: Coach said excellence is not a skill, it’s an attitude.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
"We Never Know"
On page B2 there is a story about some folks that have organized a semi-pro baseball league and are calling it the Big Bend Baseball League of North Florida. I had a note in my box here at the newspaper one day from one of the fellows that has been instrumental in organizing this league. Attached to the note was a flyer about this new league and the fellow was asking me to run the announcement (which we’ve run for the last two weeks).
The note on the flyer was from Harold Bailey and was addressed to me. He started the note by saying "Clint, I don’t know if you remember me but I would really appreciate you running this information about our league in the Jackson County Times." He went on to make a few comments about the league and then thanked me for any assistance I could give to the league.
How could I forget Harold Bailey. As a young man at the age of 20 I had taken a night course at Chipola called "Introduction to Corrections." Like many a young man at Chipola I had selected a major (Criminal Justice) but I really had no idea exactly what I would do with that major. But the class "Introduction to Corrections" was a required course and Harold Bailey was the instructor. At the time he was an Assistant Superintendent (now called Assistant Warden) at Apalachee Correctional Institution (ACI).
I recall on our breaks talking about sports and a variety of other subjects. One night he asked me what I planned to do with my degree. To which I replied "I don’t know." I’m sure he was impressed with my career development plans. He suggested getting a job as a correctional officer and then working my way into other jobs in the prison system that required degrees.
To make a long story short, that is exactly what I did. I got a job as a correctional officer at ACI and spent the next 18 years working for the Department of Corrections in a variety of different jobs. Then I went to work at Sunland and have spent the last 8 years in programs for developmentally delayed individuals with criminal arrest histories.
Nearly 28 years later Harold wondered if I remembered him. I certainly do remember him. I’m sure he taught hundreds of students over the years and probably gave many of them some good advice as well. I hope he and the others are successful in getting this semi-pro league off the ground. I’ll do my part to cover it and keep it in the news.
My main point though is, thank this is another reminder that we never know the impact we can have on the young people surrounding us. Simply Put, we need to be mindful of that and live our life accordingly. Thanks Harold and good luck.
From the front porch: Coach said if you want to stand out, don’t be different – be outstanding.
Friday, February 6, 2009
"Old-timers vs Modern Teams "
By Clint Cox
As I chatted with J.W. Jordan and V.H. Wilson in Malone last Friday night (See In The Spot Light on page B2), I was asking them a series of questions about days gone by. When we were almost through I asked if the Malone championship teams of the 50’s and 60’s could have beat the Malone Championship teams of the 70s, 80, 90s. I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of what if the great teams of yesteryear could take on the great teams modern era.
As I chatted with J.W. Jordan and V.H. Wilson in Malone last Friday night (See In The Spot Light on page B2), I was asking them a series of questions about days gone by. When we were almost through I asked if the Malone championship teams of the 50’s and 60’s could have beat the Malone Championship teams of the 70s, 80, 90s. I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of what if the great teams of yesteryear could take on the great teams modern era.
Often the old timers I’m talking with bow up their chest a little and say they think the old teams could beat the young whipper snappers. But Mr. Jordan and Mr. Wilson didn’t hesitate in their responses to my question. "No. The great teams from the old days (1960s and earlier) couldn’t beat the great teams from the modern era (1970 and later). The players of today are much taller, faster, stronger and quicker. Those older teams just wouldn’t be able to keep up with the modern teams."
They commented about those early teams being much shorter. If you had a 6 footer you had somebody tall." When I asked about if dunking was allowed they almost chuckled. "Lord no, we didn’t have anybody that could have dunk the ball anyway." These two men have probably watched more high school basketball than any two men alive. So I certainly respect their opinions and they are probably right about the old-timers matching up with the modern teams.
But I’ve watched a fair amount of games myself and have heard all the stories from my day about the glory days of Jackson County Basketball (1950s and 60s). I will concede the point that today’s players are taller, faster, stronger and quicker. But many of the modern era teams lack the discipline and fundamentals of the game. When I do see teams nowadays that are solid in the discipline and fundamentals of the game they instantly stand out. And incidentally those are the teams that seem to be more successful.
I know I’m sounding like an old foggie but things like palming the ball have become an accepted part of the game today (at all levels). And some team’s idea of defense is just to outscore their opponent.
Don’t get me wrong. There are some sound fundamental teams out there, but there are plenty that aren’t. And for those that aren’t, I think those teams from days gone by could put a whopping on the youngsters.
I know all this is just reminiscing about what might would be and it obviously can not take place. But wouldn’t it be fun if we could suit up those old teams and let’em take the floor against today’s teams.
Well, after thinking about that for a moment, maybe not. What if my theory is wrong? Simply Put, maybe it’s better just to keep reminiscing and dreaming of what might would be.
From the front porch: Uncle Bob said time that you enjoy wasting is not wasting time.
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