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Day by day we are getting closer. With the dawning of each new morning, the echoes for a new gridiron campaign can be heard more vividly.

Yes, the new high school football season is just around the corner. For players and coaches at Banks County High School, that means the tempo of preparation will only continue to increase as the days draw shorter to the first game against Washington-Wilkes on Aug. 29.

So much has been going on for the Leopards this season it takes a notebook with blank pages to keep track. Members of the team have ventured to lineman competitions and to various other camps. There are the numerous weight lifting sessions and conditioning drills.

What makes all of this so impressive? It’s the fact that all of the work turned in by the players is voluntary. Members of the BCHS program know, however, that this level of work and dedication is a must if success is going to happen on the football field.

If you don’t think players at Washington-Wilkes aren’t working hard this summer then you are mistaken. The Leopard players know their opponents are working hard and that’s why they have decided they are going to outwork them, outprepare them and be as ready as possible when they meet on the field.

This is an exciting time to be a part of the BCHS football community. The players are excited. The coaches are excited. The booster club members and fans are excited. So much work has been going on since the end of the 2007 season that even the most casual of fan has had to take notice.

It’s almost as if a new attitude has emerged from within the program. Several of the football players and coaches returned from camps this past week. Head coach Blair Armstrong was trying to catch his breath Sunday night as he talked about the overall air of excitement which is surrounding his program.

“We are excited about what the whole county is doing when it comes to our football program,” the second-year Leopard mentor said. “Everyone from the recreation department to the high school to the middle school is doing everything they can to make our varsity program successful. That is what it takes to build a winner.”

Several of the returning BCHS football players have shown they have what it takes be leaders this summer during offseason workouts.

Armstrong knows these players have the potential to carry over that level of leadership into preseason practice and into the season.
The official countdown to the first game of the 2008 season is now down to just over a month. The Leopard players and coaches will accomplish a great deal in that amount of time. One thing I know for sure, opponents on the BCHS schedule for 2008 had better be doing the same.

Chris Bridges is sports editor of The Banks County News. Contact him at 706-367-2745 or by e-mail at chris@mainstreetnews.com.

School may have been out of session this past month but it was no vacation for the Banks County High School Lady Leopards basketball team.

Coach Jerry King, who is entering his second season at BCHS, and his players had a busy month of June attending several camps and competing in numerous games.

“We tried to get everything finished in June so we could have July off,” King said Sunday. “Of course, the players will still be able to get in the gym and work on their own.”

Overall, King said the summer work was “positive” and he noted it was good to have a complete offseason to work with his returning players.

“We were able to get a great deal accomplished in June,” the coach said. “Of course, we still have a lot to work on.”

King said the Lady Leopards participated in 42 games this summer going to camps at Hart County, Gainesville and Jefferson. Some of the goals during the summer were to work on the team’s man-to-man defense and to see how the new players, especially the freshmen, did at the next level.

BCHS does have several returning varsity lettermen including four seniors for the upcoming 2008-09 season. King is dealing with various injuries to players.

Lacey Saxon is recovering from ACL surgery although the coach said he hopes she will be ready to go by October. Sophomore Lindsey McDuffie, who contributed valuable minutes as a freshman last season, suffered another ACL injury and may miss the entire upcoming campaign.

“We worked some players around in different spots this summer,” King said. “We competed against some quality teams like Stephens, Hart County and Elbert County. We saw some competition that was at a high level. That helped us get a great deal accomplished.”

By the end of last season, King’s Lady Leopards began making marked improvement after a somewhat slow start and had become a legitimate threat by the team the Region 8-AA tournament arrived.

The coach is hoping his squad can continue that momentum when the new season begans late this fall.

The dust — and there was plenty of it during the summer league schedule — has settled for the Banks County High School baseball squad.

Coach Joe Lord’s team played a full slate of games during June as the Leopards used the first weeks out of school as an early preparation for the 2009 season.

After advancing to the state playoffs for the first time since 2001 this past season, Lord wanted to continue to build upon that success and begin looking toward next spring immediately.

For more on this story read the Wednesday's edition of The Banks County News.

There is a definite sense of determination among the Banks County High School football players.

It can be seen on the faces as they arrive for summer workouts in the weight room located in the BCHS gym. Weights are being lifted and conditioning drills are being completed. For with each passing day the 2008 season draws closer. Blair Armstrong, who is now in his second year directing the Leopard program, likes the commitment that is being shown by his returning players.
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Blair Armstrong remembers when he was coaching in the 1970s summer workouts consisted primarily of lifting weights.

“We would award T-shirts for players who lifted a certain amount of times,” the Banks County High School head football coach said. “That was the extent of what we did during the summer.”
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