Entries by Chris Bridges

The Winder-Barrow High School boys basketball team defeated Madison County 49-39 Friday night.

That is the easy part of the story.

When a basketball team wins, there are several elements which go into the victory. As is always the case, it takes a strong effort from each player who steps foot on the court. The Bulldoggs had just such an effort last Friday when Madison County paid a visit. [Full Story »] 

Due to the differing nature of each sport, high school coaches often take varying approaches in working with their respective athletes.

Swimming is an individual sport in many ways although team scores are kept and compiled. For Winder-Barrow High School swim coach Jennifer Blevins, there are a number of methods she uses to motivate her athletes in an attempt to drive them to do their best.

“Coaching swimming is definitely different,” Blevins said. “First of all, the athletes don’t have as much control of their breathing as they do in any other sport. This is always an interesting concept to teach the swimmers. They have to find a breathing pattern and get used to limited air. It is definitely a learning process and my new swimmers are the ones who grow the most in this area. Yet, swimming is a sport that can get someone into shape quick and is no impact so the pressure of being on land is not pressed onto the body.” [Full Story »] 

The Apalachee High School swim team had another meet full of improvements, coach Laura Rodas said.

“Every meet we’ve had this season, the majority of our swimmers have broken personal records,” the coach said. “With the season coming to an end, this gives us a lot of hope for next year’s team, and especially as new coaches this year, we really look forward to hitting the ground running. We still have a final shot at making state with our next meet at the University of Georgia on the 28th.”

Samuel Allen finished second in the 100 fly with a time of 1:00.72 (state qualifying is 58.0). Joe Allen and Sam Ransom came in second and third, respectively, in the 100 breast (state time 1:08.5). [Full Story »]