“Another School Year has Come and Gone ”

They say time flies when you are having fun. It is hard to believe but another school year has come and gone. It seems like yesterday that we printed the Grid Iron Gazette, our preseason high school football publication that serves to kick off a new school year of high school sports. But that was over 9 months ago and the 2008-09 school year comes to a close this week.

Looking back on this school year one has to say it has been another banner year for Jackson County High School sports. In the fall two of the county’s football teams (Marianna and Graceville) made the playoffs. Only one of the county schools (Sneads) had a losing record. On the girl’s side both Marianna and Sneads made the volleyball playoffs. Sneads advanced all the way to the Regional Finals before falling to Maclay. That was a school first for the Lady Pirates.

Moving on into the winter sports we all know that basketball is near and dear to us Jackson County folks. This year our county school did their best to uphold that Jackson County tradition by sending five of the ten programs all the way to the Regional Finals. In girls basketball the county had three of the five varsity programs (Marianna, Graceville and Cottondale) make it all the way to the Regional Finals. Cottondale won their Regional Final and made the Lakeland trip for the State Semi-Finals. Marianna made it to the Regional Final for the first time in ten years. Graceville finished the season with a 25-3 record after falling to a solid FAMU team in the Regional Finals.

The Boys didn’t do too bad either. Four out of the five varsity programs in the county made the playoffs (Malone, Graceville, Cottondale and Marianna). Graceville, Cottondale and Marianna all made it to the Regional Finals. And the Bulldogs made another trip to Lakeland for the Semi-Finals. That’s back to back Lakeland trips for the Bulldogs and the only other time that has occurred at Marianna was 1977 & 1978.

Springtime brought baseball and softball and the county had four baseball teams make the playoffs (Malone, Graceville, Sneads and Marianna). Malone made it all the way to the Regional Finals where they fell to an outstanding Eagles View team. The Tigers were the last public school standing in the Class 1A playoffs. In softball three of the county’s five teams made the playoffs (Graceville, Sneads and Cottondale). The Lady Hornets made it all the way to the Regional Finals. And not to leave the track folks out. Cottondale, Graceville, Sneads and Marianna all did well in their respective Regional meets and several county track athletes made it to the State.

So it has been another great year of high school sports. Simply Put, it was another year of what we’ve come to expect in Jackson County sports.

From the front porch: Coach said change is inevitably but progress is optional.

"Spring Practice "

I spent the last few weeks railing about some things that just don’t seem right (Sidewalk to Nowhere and Weight Rooms While We Lay Off Teachers). But in order to dispel the speculation that Sid Riley is rubbing off on me, it’s time to relax a bit and return to some sports news.
If you catch my article on page two of sports you’ll notice that spring football practice is wrapping up this week. But you’ll also notice that one school, Sneads, did not have spring practice at all this year. Another school, Graceville, cut their spring practice short and are not playing in their scheduled jamboree. A third school, Cottondale, had their Head Coach on limited duty early on due to being involved with the Lady Hornet’s softball squad in the playoffs.
The good news for most of these schools was that their baseball, softball and track teams did really well this year and made the playoffs. The bad news, especially for the three smaller schools, is this meant that many of the football team’s players and /or coaches were unavailable or limited in the abilities to participate in spring football.
Some football gurus are fretting over this fact. But most of the coaches really don’t seem to be that concerned. Sneads and Graceville could have mustered up a semblance of full spring practice but the thought seems to be, why bother. With players and coaches likely to miss the first portion of the spring session, it really is not worth the time and effort to get all the equipment out. At best they’d only have a few days to get some work in.
Even under the best of circumstances some would say spring practice is not really that benefical anymore. Spring practice has been reduced to three weeks, beginning May 1st. The first week is without pads, just helmets and shorts. The last week usually includes a spring game or jamboree on Thursday. So teams will spend at least a couple of days getting ready for that game. Do the math and that really only gives a squad about 8 days in full pads. Some would say that is just enough time to get a few folks hurt. At the very least it is not enough time to get much done.
The larger schools are not in quite the same shape as the smaller schools. They’ll likely have enough players at least to practice. But they usually will be missing a few of their better athletes that are still involved in baseball or track.
So to the football gurus worried that their favorite squad might be lagging behind. Simply Put, take a chill pill. The coaches will have the guys working all summer long and come fall they’ll get geared up and will be ready to go.
From the front porch: Uncle Bob said he agreed with Albert Einstein, who said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results".

"Weight Room and Teacher Layoffs ”

Last week I wrote about the "sidewalk to nowhere", the planned project to build a sidewalk from Citizen’s Lodge Park on the Caverns Highway all the way to Marianna High School. I’ve had several folks echo my sentiments that this seems to be a poor use of stimulus money for our area. Another recent announcement that has got some folks upset is the construction of a new weight room facility by the practice field at Marianna High School.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve said it before that my family and I bleed purple and gold. And I am all for the sports program having the best possible facilities. And that includes a weight room for the athletic programs at my alma mater. When they built the new school several years ago, it did not include a weight room. The plans called for the construction of a weight room facility several years later.
The stated reason for needing a weight room and the location of the new facility all make sense. They have been making do with the weights in a room for about five years now. But that room was not designed as a weight room and a better location is needed.
In addition, the practice field, located just east of the school, has no bathroom facilities or dressing rooms. The practice field is used by a variety of teams including varsity and junior varsity football, soccer and track. The band also uses this same field to practice as well. So the practice field gets a lot of use and students needing to use the bathroom or change clothes must go all the way back inside the school.
So an argument can certainly be made that they are in need of a weight room facility. The problem is that coinciding with the beginning of this project is the news that Jackson County must lay off teaching and support staff due to shortfalls in the budget. But apparently the money for the weight room had already been allocated and comes from budget entities other than teacher’s salary money. I have worked for 26 ½ years in state government and I understand just enough about state budgets to be dangerous. I understand that there are times when money from one entity can’t be spend in other entities.
But you tell me, does it make any sense to build an $800,000 weight facility when we are also announcing layoffs of teachers and support staff. Surely the bean counters could figure out a way to wave their magic wands and fix this problem.
My last two columns have probably got some folks speculating that I’ve been working around Sid Riley too long. But with the "sidewalk to nowhere" and the new weight room while we lay off teachers, Simply Put, we ain’t getting it right.
From the front porch: Uncle Bob said a happy marriage is a matter of give and take. The husband gives and the wife takes.

"Money and Athletics "

Recent headlines in some of our local papers, including the Jackson County Times, as well as papers in Tallahassee have announced that the Chipola College faculty union has complained about the amount of money being spent on athletics at Chipola. First let me say that I am not privy to the details of just how much is spent here and there in the athletic program. And is suspect, as with any organization, there are times when what is spent might be better used elsewhere.
That said, I am generally all for funding athletic programs to the fullest extent possible. That I feel that way is probably not a shock to most folks, given that I am the Sports Editor at the Times and have been broadcasting Chipola athletics for almost 10 years now. But my opinion is based on my belief that college athletics is good for the student athletes, the school and the community.
It is good for the students athletes in that they are able to get an education while benefiting from the side effects of participating in sports. Character traits such as self discipline, self confidence, teamwork, maintaining physical fitness, setting goals and working towards those goals are just a few of the well known benefits of participating in athletics. All the while they are getting an education. And some of those athletes would not get an education if it were not for athletics. My father was one of those athletes in the 1950’s. He was the only one of seven children to go to college and the only reason he was able to go was because of an athletic scholarship.
College athletics is good for the school. The Indians recent success on the basketball courts, softball and baseball fields have garnered the school national recognition. I think there is a direct correlation between successful athletic programs and increase enrollment. And allegiances to athletic programs are often passed down the family tree and that means generations attending a college, often because of that allegiance to the athletic programs.
And athletics is good for the community and the economy. As a community it can give us a sense of pride and camaraderie, in a day and time when it is far too easy to retreat inside our air conditioned homes and stare at the one eyed monster (TV). When I see the Milton H. Johnson Health Center routinely filled to capacity with close to 3,000 folks to watch an athletic event, that suggest to me that the community is in favor of these athletic programs and the money they bring in to our area.
I suspect the academic folks of the world have some valid concerns at times and these are some difficult days as far as state budgets go. But in my book, Simply Put, money spent funding athletic programs is generally money well spent.
From the front porch: Uncle Bob said that when you’re up to your rear end in alligators, it’s hard to remember you were sent there to drain the swamp.