To keep up with all the spring sports going on right now in Barrow County one would need lots of things.
The first thing would be a check list:
•running shoes, check.
•30 hours in a day, check.
•ability to not need sleep, check.
•ability to be in more than one place at the same time, check.
It goes without saying that it is impossible to keep track with everything from baseball to track to soccer to tennis to golf. It makes for an impossible chore for the local sports reporter this time of year.
Recently, a local coach told me, only half joking, “You need some help.” While that statement could be made into all sorts of one-liners, the coach was right that one person cannot keep up with everything that happens this time of year.
Throw in the fact that Barrow County has two high schools with a full complement of varsity teams and, well, you get the picture. One would be run ragged in a week’s time trying to keep pace.
On the bright side, there is always plenty to cover this time of the athletic year. You’re never at a loss for something to go to. You have a full menu to select from. Baseball one day, soccer the next, a track meet one afternoon are just some of the activities that can fill a sports writer’s week.
The great thing about Winder-Barrow and Apalachee having so many spring sports is that it means a high number of student-athletes are involved in some sport or another. That in itself cuts down on the number of students who simply go home, walk the streets or get into who knows what once school is out. Athletics serve a greater role than some realize and it is always great to see students involved in activities outside the classroom.
As for your local sports writer, I will continue to try and keep up the best I can. It’s an impossible task in the grand scheme of things. In a few weeks, the exact opposite will be true as I will be counting down the days until fall sports arrive and I look high and low for something to fill the sports section during the summer months.
Of course, summer is not like it used to be either. Student-athletes don’t have much of a break anymore as they compete in summer leagues and begin preparing at an even more urgent pace for fall once the school year ends.
For now, I have to put on a comfortable pair of shoes as the spring season continues.
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A quick note about the coaching search for the University of Georgia men’s basketball program. It is obvious now Damon Evans and the powers-that-be are not going to hire Bob Knight.
This makes the search a failure in my opinion. Knight, who expressed interest in coming to Athens, was the perfect fit for UGA and its lukewarm, at best, fanbase.
A coach like Knight was needed to breathe life into the morbid program which has been playing in front of more empty seats than fans recently.
UGA had a chance to bring Knight in but didn’t. Too bad. It could have been the most exciting time in the program’s history.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. E-mail comments about this column to cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
