sixcat

Injuries will happen during football. Proper weight training and conditioning can reduce that number but never completely eliminate them. I can see frustration surrounding a coach if he hasn't implemented a proper training routine. With that said, the kids have to buy-in and participate. Weight training and conditioning isn't something you can fake and make in relation to football. I know a few programs where a proper training program was in place but only a handful of kids participated on a regular basis, which ultimately hurt the team. A couple of those instances, coaches were blamed by the community but the coaching staff can't force kids to participate. It almost always comes back to "want to" on the part of the kids in the school system. Reading between the lines, it sounds like maybe there is some of that going on here.

Phoebe participates in Cross Country, Marching Band, Swim & Dive, Concert Band, Jazz Band, MACC, Scholastic Bowl, Track & Field and volunteers 20 hours a week at a local nursing home. All that and I'm certain I'm missing a few others. She's also the senior class president and will likely be valedictorian. Very bright future. Phoebe and my oldest daughter are good friends.

Lots of chatter in years past that Allen benefited from Dixon’s players. Winning a state title in year 4 seems to place that logic on its head. In my opinion, location, location, location applies to athletics as much as it does real estate. Coaches fit some localities better than others. I think that’s very much the case with Allen in terms of Tazewell and Galax. Our communities in SWVA tend to be quite insular but in different and unique ways. From an outsiders perspective, Tazewell and Galax would seem very similar. But to those of us who have spent decades here, the differences can be glaring.

Shane Allen took over as head coach at Galax in 2020/2021 Covid shortened season. 2020 = 9-1 -state runner-up 2021 = 11-3 - state runner-up 2022 = 7-4 - 2nd round of playoffs 2023 = 11-4 - state championship His record at Galax is 38-12, a 76% winning percentage. At Tazewell, Shane was 15-37 in 5 seasons. 2012 = 2-9 2013 = 2-8 2014 = 5-6 2015 = 4-6 2016 = 2-8 53-49 overall record with a state championship and two state runners-up. Sort-of a chicken and egg situation if you ask me. Was he a good coach all along or did he become a good coach working under Mark Dixon for 3 years? I will say this, Dixon told me himself, the Galax defense between 2017-2019 was entirely Shane’s. Dixon had very little input.

I can certainly tell you who ain't good after watching Galax host Grayson last night. That was two gawd-awful basketball teams.

Talan Gentry of Galax has signed to play golf at Concord University.

It's not football related but these kids work hard and deserve to be recognized somewhere. Mia Llamas from Galax is starting on the swim team at California Baptist University in Backstroke, Freestyle and IM. Mia was a 6-time VHSL State Champion. Four consecutive 200 Meter Freestyle and two consecutive 100 Meter Backstroke. CBU is a member of the Western Athletic Conference and compete at an elite D1 level with numerous Olympic level performers throughout their lengthy history. She has appeared in every event so far in her freshman year. Her dad was a professional MMA fighter. Phoebe Fant from Galax has accepted a partial Rowing scholarship at UVA. She will likely graduate Valedictorian in a few months. Incredibly bright young lady with a future in medicine. Stands over 6 feet tall and is the most impressive, well-rounded athlete I've seen in my time here. She's also the drum major for the Maroon Tide Marching Band and captain of the MACC team.

My guess is, AJ Ashworth will join his brother at Ferrum. Ian has started at Safety since he stepped on campus as a freshman. I haven't heard anything about Tedruhn.

District calendar linked below. Last couple of games haven't been updated but they were both victories as listed above. Maxpreps got me on the Pipestem game (rookie mistake) but everything else checks out. Auburn has not lost an MED game. https://www.mountainempiredistrictva.org/public/scorestanding/genie/292/school/577/

Auburn hasn't lost in district. They have played a ridiculously tough schedule though, and are currently 7-6. My guess is, the Roanoke Times mistakenly thought Auburn is in the Three Rivers with Alleghany. Auburn 72 - Fort Chiswell 33 Auburn 59 - Blacksburg 61 Auburn 78 - Giles 27 Auburn 81 - Bland 49 Auburn 50 - Uniontown, PA 75 Auburn 51 - Raines, FL 70 Auburn 53 - Northside 93 Auburn 82 - Roanoke Catholic 68 Auburn 56 - Alleghany 67 Auburn 59 - Grayson County 32 Auburn 81 - Roanoke Catholic 67 Auburn 44 - Pipestem Christian Academy, WV 70 Auburn 56 - George Wythe 52

It does, along with a VHSL review of academics prior to eligibility being granted.

I was not at all impressed with Graham last week against a mediocre Galax team. Off night or is that the extent of what 2D has to offer? If the later, 2D is pretty weak.

Maxpreps is notoriously inaccurate.

Carroll County is legit, good. They are 10-0 with impressive wins over some traditionally talented schools. 71-48 over East Wilkes NC 51-21 over Radford 71-52 over Narrows 91-61 over Alleghany 81-61 over Glenvar I thought Alleghany would be the main competition for the TRD crown. It looks like CC may just run away from everyone else in the district. CC also has only 3 seniors on the roster.

This is the best Carroll team in years. Not a lot of size but athleticism to spare. They have a good shot at winning the TRD.

I’m not disagreeing with you at all. He goes pretty hard at Pulaski in every sport. IMO, he should probably wait several hours after a particularly poor performance before writing anything. It doesn’t come off well. Especially in the context of this being a game played by children.

The author is Rodney Young. He has a website RodneySportsNow.com. Pretty sure he’s on here.

Carroll County has an excellent head coach with a lengthy AAU track-record. I'm not surprised to see them trending upward. I think the Three Rivers is a two-horse race between Carroll and Alleghany.

Ole Lawrence Whitney is milking the "Mater" thing to the N'th degree, isn't he? /s

"Hickory" as in the movie Hoosiers.

GW was able to get Dorman into a 3-point shooting contest rather than them using their massive size advantage. Poor coaching on the Dorman staff to be honest. Great win for GW and certainly put Lancaster (and the rest of the state) on notice. GW still only has 2 seniors on the roster. Bright future in Wytheville. Dorman shot 31% from the field, 21% from 3 and 45% from the free throw line. GW shot 46% from the field, 47% from 3 and 61% from the free throw line.

A few simple things from CityData.com tell the story. The Town of Wytheville has a population of 8,241 as of 2021. An increase of 5.6% since 2000. One of the few localities expanding in southwest Virginia. The median age of a Town of Wytheville resident is 47.2 years. The median age of a Virginia resident is 38.8 years. Wytheville, much like Galax, has seen an influx of transplants from outside the area over the past two decades. People moving to the area after retirement rarely (if ever) have children in tow. In short, the 20-somethings leave the area and raise families someplace else while retirees from Maryland, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut move into Wytheville. The population rises slightly, but so does the median age of the residents.

Kenny Wayne is a freakin rock-star. That whole family is something.

I play a bit of golf with her dad Jon. He played at GW back in the day.