sixcat

I'm not going to make a prediction on how Galax will fair this season. They have talent, an excellent coaching staff and a shiny new toy turf field. They also have lost a lot of trust within the community over the way the field, coaching hires and resignations were handled. Nobody likes to feel as if they were held hostage or had their hand forced. Support for the program will continue to dwindle in my opinion, as it has over the past few years. Galax has always struggled to fill the stands and that has gotten more difficult in recent years. Name another program with similar success that has that issue, I'll wait! However, I'm hearing rumblings that the superintendent is retiring at the end of the current school year. If true, that could go a long way to rekindling community support surrounding all school activities. He is just a very divisive figure and can't be gone soon enough! Galax does have 3 freshman everyone should make the effort to go see at some point though. Not trying to put unnecessary pressure on three kids who have yet to play a varsity game but they are beyond talented. One will be the starting QB, is 6'-2" tall and 190 pounds. Another is simply a headhunter. He is 5'-11" tall and 190 pounds. The third is only about 5'-8" tall and 155 pounds but he will be the most aggressive, quickest, fastest kid on the field, regardless of opponent. He will be another 3,000 yard back!

Union Abingdon Fort Chiswell Blacksburg Central Richlands Tennessee Ridgeview Grayson Lebanon Marion Virginia Bland Glenvar Narrows Hurley Twin Valley Patrick Henry Twin Springs West Greene Eastern Montgomery G(s)OTW Graham 56 George Wythe 52

This is patently false! I go to several Oak Hill games every year given I live 20 minutes from campus. It would be easier for me to list the schools I haven't seen represented that the ones I have through the years. Coaches come through Galax regularly. Some are on a first name basis with local business owners.

I know, my mother was one of them! He was at Grayson when my brother was there.

He is a tool! He is early 50's and claims "independent wealth". I couldn't care less as long as he leaves as soon as possible. We were hoping beyond all hope he would take the Carroll County superintendent position this summer given he is a product of the area and system. No such luck!

Disagree! And so do many others........ http://www.courant.com/community/windsor/hc-synthetic-turf-heat-20160813-story.html http://www.fieldturf.com/en/artificial-turf/artificial-turf-news/penn-state-university-testing-debunks-cooling-technologies http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93364750

I don't disagree something needed to be done. I just know what was done (and not done) to ensure a worst possible outcome for the grass field. I don't even have a tremendous issue with a turf field if everything in-house from an educational standpoint is up to par. The issues I have are..... Not everything in-house is up to par from an educational standpoint. Honesty with the general public/tax paying citizens was an afterthought throughout this process. It was more about the ego of current administration and coaching staff than necessity of the turf field. Its a legacy item for the current school superintendent. It still doesn't fix the restroom, concessions and locker room situation, which was needed far worse than a turf field. The cost is exorbitant for a poor community that is losing population like the rest of SWVA. The school system asked to borrow half-a-million-dollars from the city to help pay for construction. City council had severe reservations about the project from the beginning, voiced those concerns publicly and denied the loan. In turn, the school system took funds from the "capital fund" to pay for the field. Teachers haven't gotten pay raises in several years, insurance costs out-of-pocket have risen and VRS contributions have dropped over that same period. Let's hope nothing happens in the short term to warrant necessary funds be spent from the capital fund like say, going over budget on the current 18-million-dollar renovation of Galax Elementary School.

Your players never played on the field before the current administration took over! It hasn't always been that bad. It was made that bad with a lot of intent!

Ill informed opinion. Galax chose not to properly care for the existing grass field intentionally in an effort to sway public opinion in favor of a turf field.

Galax will scrimmage Mount Airy Saturday at 6PM on the new turf that is 30% black! What's the over/under on the number of players who suffer heat related injury? Seriously though, who's idea was it to install black turf? The money could have and should have been better spent in many other areas for educational purposes in my opinion but black? Dam, that's gonna be a heat magnet!

I wish the kid all the best as well but dam, the kids in New Jersey don't even want to go to the state university!

On a much lighter note, It isn't out of the ordinary to see Oak Hill basketball players at Grayson County football games or it wasn't in the early to mid 90's. A very good friend and I were home on our first leave from the military. Paul grew up on a large Grayson County horse farm and has competed in local Rodeo's since he was a small child. He has always dressed the part but it isn't ornamental. He is a real life "cowboy". We were walking around at the game talking to old friends and former teachers when Paul started getting heckled by the tallest person I had ever seen over the way Paul was dressed. "Hey, look, it's Garth Brooks"! "Sing us a song Garth Brooks"! When that didn't get the response I guess this guy was looking for, he got really vulgar with his heckling. Paul, as only Paul could do, walked over and started singing "Much Too Young To Feel This Damned Old". Everyone within earshot started laughing. It diffused the situation for a moment but the heckler felt embarrassed by the "redneck" showing him up. He took a swing at Paul, who completed one of the greatest "Calf Roping" take-downs you have ever seen on Melvin Whitaker. Absolutely the funniest thing I have ever seen! A few years later, Whitaker was dismissed from UVA after slicing a football players face up with a box cutter during a pick-up basketball game.

My wife and I went to quite a few PH-Roanoke games when we lived in Roanoke. Her coworkers son was a four year starter and we are close with the family. Incidentally, He is the associate AD at VMI right now. During the final game of the 2000 or 2001 season, a huge brawl broke out on the field between PH and Halifax. A few dozen police officers on horseback were called in and teargas canisters were dispensed. It was the most surreal atmosphere I have experienced. It felt like watching yourself in a civil right video straight out of the 60's.

Tom Hale is the gift that keeps on giving!

http://www.vhsl.org/doc/upload/alignment-March-31-2016-ADM-numbers-by-classification1.pdf Riverheads must have something significant on someone at VHSL. According to VADOE records, they have never been below the magic number of 475 for 1A. http://www.pen.k12.va.us/statistics_reports/enrollment/fall_membership/report_data.shtml

Galax has 32 listed on the varsity roster effective July 25th which is more than they have had in a few years. Nearly half of those 32 are freshmen and sophomores but that hasn't been a problem for Galax in recent years.

They wouldn't be the "lone 4A school west of Blacksburg" but then again, everyone forgets Carroll because....well, it's Carroll! With that said, Carroll is a prime example that avoiding isolation from an enrollment perspective should be a key consideration when planning for consolidation.

Not firsthand information but I am told Deacon Beamer from George Wythe has a few offers from D-II schools as well as a few invited walk-on opportunities from FCS schools. Kid can play. He will land somewhere.

According to the most recent update to the district websites, the following "benefit" games are scheduled for August 18th. Christiansburg vs Carroll (each school has the game listed as being at home so....) Fort Chiswell @ John S. Battle East Mont @ Floyd Radford @ Auburn Glenvar @ Blacksburg Holston @ Bland Graham @ Gate City Rural Retreat @ Marion Chilhowie @ Castlewood Abingdon @ PH Glade Spring (Thursday, August 17th) Pulaski will host a jamboree on the 18th featuring Pulaski, Galax, George Wythe, Rustburg and Liberty-Bedford.

With George Wythe coming into the MED, I expect GW-Galax to become one of the regions best rivalries in every sport very quickly.

Won't get an argument from me. Galax could have done much more with the field, seating, restrooms and concessions with the staggeringly rediculous amount of money they are spending on the turf and storm water collection system.

Fries! But I may be a tad bias.

I will refrain from a top 10 list for the time being. Seems like a lot of uncertainty around the George Wythe and Galax programs right now. In talking to an assistant coach last night, both programs have apparently seen several returning players quit football and athletics as a whole. I know this has been an issue for Galax for a year now. I'm not certain what is going on but have heard a litany of rumors. Nothing I feel safe in sharing at this time, though. If the roster Galax posted on the district website yesterday is any indication, Galax has lost several starters and key contributors from last years team. Also, 16 of the 26 players on that roster have never seen varsity action with 10 of them being freshmen and sophomores. But, it's still July, things may change in a few weeks. And like other "big news" coming out of Galax in recent months, it could all be bullshit anyway!

The Mountain Empire and Three Rivers have moved to 7PM as well. I also noticed Grayson will be the lone member of the MED competing in Region D. Not sure how I missed that before?!?!? Must be some concession involving Grayson jerking the VHSL around over the move to the SWD. Not sure but interesting.