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Coach’s Corner 06/09/20: NCHSAA Green Lights Phased Return of Summer Sports

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Que Tucker, commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA), appeared on WIZS Coach’s Corner Tuesday.

Tucker discussed the NCHSAA Board of Directors’ recent decision to lift the “dead period” in high school sports effective Monday, June 15, 2020. Resuming of athletic activities will still depend on each district’s superintendent and local Board of Education’s approval.

Guidance from the NCHSAA utilizes a three-phased approach to help school systems navigate a gradual reopening of high school athletic activities.

Phase One, to begin June 15, includes guidelines suggesting sports practices be limited to 25 people max, sessions of no more than 90 minutes, face coverings to be worn, social distancing and hand washing/sanitizing to be practiced and the disinfecting of all shared equipment. While these general requirements apply to all sports during Phase One, specific requirements also apply to each sport.

Guidance for Phase Two and Phase Three will be announced in the coming weeks.

Acknowledging that there may be setbacks as summer activities resume due to the uncertainty of the current pandemic, Tucker said, “Risk is inherent in what we do in athletics. Just as physical setbacks occur, there may be those setbacks that occur relative to COVID-19.”

Click here for more details on the NCHSAA’s 2020 Summer Sports and Activities Guidance.

To hear more from Tucker, please listen to the Coach’s Corner audio by clicking the play button above.

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Coach’s Corner 06/08/20: Register Now for VCAC Barracudas’ Summer Swim Season

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Natasha Rubin, head coach of the Vance County Aquatics Club “Barracudas” appeared on WIZS Coach’s Corner Monday.

Rubin said Barracudas coaches worked hard to offer a 2020 Summer Swim Season to local youth amid on-going COVID-19 restrictions.

Swim sessions will be offered at two locations: Henderson Country Club and Forest Hills in Oxford. To accommodate all swimmers, practices are limited to one hour sessions with a maximum of 12 in the pool at a time.

According to Rubin, this smaller swimmer-to-coach ratio will allow for more one-on-one time and personal attention. “This session will result in better techniques and better speed when we start racing again, hopefully in the fall,” Rubin explained.

As of right now, Rubin said there are no meets planned for the summer session; however, plans are being made for intraclub competitions and other team-building opportunities.

Practices will be held three days a week for six weeks beginning June 15 and ending July 30. Practice will not be held the week of June 29.

Those who are interested in participating are asked to register by Wednesday, June 10. You can register online and choose a location preference at www.teamunify.com/ncvacb.

Visit the Barracudas’ website (click here) or Facebook page (click here) for more information.

To hear more from Rubin, please listen to the Coach’s Corner audio by clicking the play button above.

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Coach’s Corner 06/05/20: Crossroad’s Scottie Richardson & Hurricanes’ Jeff Daniels

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Scottie Richardson, men’s varsity basketball coach for the Crossroad Christian School Colts, and Jeff Daniels, assistant coach for the Carolina Hurricanes, appeared on the WIZS Coach’s Corner Friday.

Richardson discussed the Colt’s return to the gym this week for the first practice since the COVID-19 quarantine.

“I told my guys with a tear in my eye how exciting it was to be back in the gym,” said Richardson. “It’s a little different scenario and guidelines that we now have to abide by, but I’m just so glad to be back and smelling the hardwood.”

Richardson’s young team consists of four freshmen and two sophomores who are still learning the Colt’s program, making restrictions even more of a challenge in building a cohesive team.

“We tried to communicate at least weekly, if not every other day, with the team by breaking down film, talking about what’s going on in their lives and discussing how they can do better on working on their game individually,” Richardson said.

According to Richardson, while that’s been helpful, nothing beats in-person practice. To keep everyone safe, the Colts are following stage one guidelines provided by the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA), which are effective for the next two weeks.

Stage one NCISAA guidelines for athletic practices include the requirement of 10 people or fewer in a gymnasium and 25 or fewer on an outdoor court. Each player’s temperature must also be checked before practice, and anyone registering a fever of 100 or higher will be dismissed from campus for 14 days.

In perhaps the most restrictive measure for basketball practice, players are not allowed to touch the same ball. “Here’s where it gets tricky,” Richardson said. “No one can touch your basketball, and anyone that does is supposed to be asked to leave. We are lucky that we have six goals in the gym, so we’ve been working on form shooting and just taking some of the rust off.”

To hear more from Richardson, and to hear from Jeff Daniels with the Carolina Hurricanes, please listen to the respective Coach’s Corner audio by clicking the play buttons above.

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Coach’s Corner 06/04/20: H-V Rec. & Parks ‘Uncertain But Hopeful’ for Fall Sports

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Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Department’s Kendrick Vann, director, and Darius Pitt, program director, appeared on the WIZS Coach’s Corner Thursday.

Stating summer and fall sports are in a holding pattern due to COVID-19 concerns, Pitt explained the Rec. Department is following the directives of the National and North Carolina Recreation and Park Associations, as well as the CDC.

“We are watching right now, and everything is on hold,” Pitt said. “We want the kids to be involved in sports, but we are also concerned about their safety and the safety of their parents and others that come to the games.”

Pitt said the department is hopeful that activities will return for the fall, even if that takes on a different format from the norm. “Things change daily, and we are hopeful for the fall. Right now, we are looking at offering camp training programs rather than organized sports leagues. We are looking at ways to space kids out [physically] so they can stay active by doing individual workouts and conditioning.”

Vann said he is working with other area recreation departments and athletic directors to get new ideas for keeping youth and families engaged while still protecting against the spread of COVID-19.

“This is new to everyone and things change daily,” said Vann. “We don’t have a hard deadline, but we’re working with other areas so we can be consistent with our message and with our offered sports.”

To hear more from Vann and Pitt, please listen to the Coach’s Corner audio by clicking the play button above.

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Coach’s Corner 05/29/20: Crossroad Christian’s Taylor Bell Signs With Wingate University

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Friday’s edition of the WIZS Coach’s Corner featured an interview with Crossroad Christian School’s (CCS) Taylor Bell, Colts Athletic Director and Men’s Varsity Basketball Coach Scottie Richardson and Bell’s family and basketball mentors.

Bell, a recent CCS graduate and basketball player, gathered with his supporters last Friday afternoon for a belated (thanks to COVID-19) letter signing ceremony to indicate his intent to play basketball at Wingate University.

Honing his skills at Neuse Christian Academy in Raleigh during his freshman and sophomore year, Bell joined the Colts his junior year and reunited with Richardson, who also coached Bell’s older brother Maurice Wilcox.

With impressive high school stats, including averaging 21.2 points a game and scoring over 1,000 points, Richardson said Wingate will benefit from the “legacy” Bell built at CCS.

“Wingate is getting a leader both on and off the court,” Richardson said. “Taylor has certainly left a stamp not only on our program but also on our school.”

Bell will be in good company at Wingate as close friend Kurtis Taylor, who previously played at Neuse Christian Academy, as well as Andreas Wilson, a former competitor who played at Kerr-Vance Academy, have also signed with the Bulldogs.

“My friend Kurtis got an offer early from Wingate,” Bell said. “Once they showed interest in me, I knew I wanted to have the opportunity to play with my friend again, and I wanted to work with the Wingate coaches.”

To hear more from Bell and Richardson, along with commentary from Bell’s family and mentors, please listen to the Coach’s Corner audio by clicking the play button above.

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Coach’s Corner 05/26/20: Former SVHS, VGCC Basketball Coach Heading to Wake Forest

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Greg Ackles, the new head men’s basketball coach for Wake Forest High School and former coach at Southern Vance High School (SVHS) and Vance-Granville Community College (VGCC), appeared on the WIZS Coach’s Corner Tuesday.

Serving as the head men’s basketball coach at VGCC for the past two years, and at SVHS for the five years prior, Ackles now takes on a Wake Forest team with a recent 1-9 conference and 5-20 overall record.

While Ackles has his work cut out for him, he said his experience with team building and motivating players to be competitive – as witnessed in doubling the number of VGCC wins during his two-year coaching tenure – will serve him well.

“I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I know what I’m capable of and I know my ability in terms of building a program,” said Ackles. “The expectation is the same regardless of any job I take on: to get the players to be competitive.”

Ackles said he has already been in talks with the Cougar’s Junior Varsity basketball coach and has an online meeting scheduled with players this evening for a general meet-and-greet. It is expected that the majority of the players, with the exception of the four seniors who graduated, will be returning for the next season.

With the recent retiring of VCHS basketball coach Wilton Baskett leaving an open position at the combined high school, Ackles said he “heavily debated” his options, but ultimately decided to apply for the Wake Forest position and to accept the resulting job offer.

“I want to say thank you to Vance County because they treated me well the past seven years at both the high school and at VGCC. Hopefully, we can make this thing work at Wake Forest.”

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Coach’s Corner 05/21/20: Henderson Collegiate Fundraising for Championship Rings

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George Marshall, head men’s basketball coach and athletic director for Henderson Collegiate, appeared on the WIZS Coach’s Corner Thursday.

In honor of Henderson Collegiate’s recent designation as the 1-A Men’s Basketball State Co-Champions, Marshall announced the school is holding a popcorn fundraiser to purchase championship rings.

The online fundraiser that features unique popcorn flavors can be viewed by visiting www.doublegood.com and searching “HC Championship Rings” (click here for direct link). The fundraiser ends this Saturday at 10 a.m.

“This is the first state championship in our school’s history, so it’s an enormous accomplishment,” said Marshall. “What we are trying to prioritize is having something that not only honors the players but also something that can honor the managers, the coaching staff and founding administrators.”

According to Marshall, one side of the ring will honor #33 Elijah Brown, a Henderson Collegiate student and basketball player who died tragically in a car accident in May 2018.

“One of the things I’ve been most proud of isn’t the number of dollars that we’ve raised, it’s the fact that I’m getting texts from teachers saying things like ‘your players have demonstrated such great gratitude,’” Marshall said. “These are values that are going to help kids for the rest of their lives.”

Henderson Collegiate: State Co-CHAMPS 1A Basketball

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Late Wednesday afternoon, the Henderson Collegiate Pride was announced as the state co-champions in 1-A men’s basketball.  Head coach George Marshall had already appeared earlier in the day on WIZS Sports Mayhem with Kemp Collins and Ron Noel at 1 p.m. to make another big announcement.

Our Trey Snide of WIZS has the audio update…

 

Carolina Panthers – Mick Mixon Audio Interview

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The Panthers drafted seven defensive players, and the general reports indicate it was a successful plan, including those from Matt Rhule, the new head coach, and from General Manager Marty Hurney.

Mick Mixon, play by play announcer of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, joined WIZS TownTalk on Monday to discuss the latest NFL draft.

Of the present internal disruption within the Panthers organization, with a new coach, new owner and a lot of player turnover, Mixon spoke also of the present world disruption of covid-19 and said, “You can count on me not to over dramatize athletics…It really doesn’t mean that much when set against the backdrop of nurses and doctors and scientists and healthcare workers and the really essential things in life.

“However, let’s just call this too for what it is.  In the south, football isn’t just what we do.  It’s part of who we are, and it’s part of how we come together.  So, I think we’re kind of starving for a little bit of football.  At least that’s the way it feels to me around Panther Nation, and the draft was great.  Just to be able to have some new Panthers, how about that?  Seven new draft picks, all defensive players.”

With the NFC South loaded with talented quarterbacks like Drew Brees and now Tom Brady, the Panthers’ selections being all defensive, while it was not the plan, indicates the importance of improving the defense now as expressed by the Panthers’ leadership and their draft board.

The NFL logo and the overall organization has to be top 1o in terms of global recognition and branding, but it’s not too big to fail.  Mixon said, “I think what we may need to do is be patient.  I think the NFL needs to not put a stake in the ground (after a successful draft), and say, ‘Boy, thank Goodness that’s over.  Happy days are here again.’  There’s a lot of distancing yet, a lot of work, a lot of sand that needs to sift through the hour glass so to speak, but I know conversations have been held about — What would the world be like with a shortened season?  What would the world be like with games with no fans in the stands.  These are hard pills to swallow.”

The NFL will figure it out, Mixon said, and right now time is on the side of professional football.

Full Interview Audio:

NCHSAA

NCHSAA Cancels Winter Championships, Spring Sports

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-Information courtesy NCHSAA

North Carolina High School Athletic Association Commissioner (NCHSAA) Que Tucker offered the following statement on the NCHSAA website:

In keeping with Governor Roy Cooper’s announcement today that the public schools of North Carolina will be closed to in-person learning for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has canceled all remaining winter championships and spring sports.

“Today’s decision is difficult for the NCHSAA Board of Directors and Staff. We empathize with the thousands of student-athletes, especially graduating seniors, coaching staff, officials and family members affected by this decision,” said NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker. “However, this decision reflects a commitment to keeping our student-athletes, officials and member schools’ staffs and their communities safe, while following the guidelines provided by the Governor and his team, along with the Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education.”

“We had maintained hope for a conclusion to our State Basketball Championships and a modified spring sports season to help return a sense of normalcy to our communities,” continued Tucker. “Now, as we continue to deal with this difficult time, we must do so by applying the lessons that education-based athletics teaches us: cooperation, patience, sacrifice, responsibility, perseverance and resilience. Together, we will be able to put a “W” in the win column!”

The NCHSAA Board of Directors, in its meeting next week, will discuss finalizing the state basketball playoffs, policies for summer activities, as well as address academic eligibility concerns for Fall 2020.

For more information, please visit the NCHSAA site at www.nchsaa.org.