sixcat

Many apologies for resurrecting an old thread. I was searching for something else and stumbled across this gem. A few things come to mind when reading through the original post and responses. Bobby Dodd moved away from the Galax area at a very young age so, I wouldn't expect many to remember his time here. It wouldn't be unrealistic to think something in the line of "birthplace of Bobby Dodd" should be located somewhere in town though. The larger issue for me would be Tim Beamer. He isn't mentioned anywhere around town and doesn't appear on the Galax Wikipedia page. Even Bobby Dodd is listed on the Wikipedia page. Beamer doesn't even have a plaque, picture, trophy or mention in any of the high school trophy cases after playing his entire high school career for Galax. Beamer was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1971 from the University of Illinois and spent nearly a decade between the NFL and CFL. I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Beamer a few years ago. He told me how things were different back then and he isn't surprised at his local anonymity. He went on to tell me Galax held prom and homecoming at the old Galax Country Club, which had a strict "Caucasian only" policy, which forbade Beamer and many others from attending. Seems a bit petty now. You would think, those errors in judgement would have been rectified so many years later.

I didn’t consider that, thanks. Grayson is in a weird place in a district full of Class 1 teams. It hurts them in the end. Playing Bland, Auburn, Rural Retreat and Galax 8 times per year is good for the record but not for preparing to face Graham, Battle or another Class 2 opponent come playoff time. In talking to some friends in Grayson County, if they weren’t so strapped for cash, they would have stayed in the SWD. But the county is broke.

I'm not sure how you can consider Grayson in "no man's land"? Grayson was in Region D when I was in high school from 1988 through 1992. I could easily make the argument, from the mid 90's through a few years ago, Grayson was in the wrong region and should have been in region D all along. Here is a list of travel distances for comparison. Class 2, Region C: Buckingham (215 miles), Appomattox (195 miles), Chatham (126 miles), Dan River (134 miles), Gretna (135 miles), James River (130 miles), Nelson (195 miles), Floyd (55 miles), Fort Chiswell (42 miles), Giles (85 miles), Glenvar (97 miles), Martinsville (91 miles) and Radford (71 miles) for a total of 1,571 miles. Class 2, Region D: Battle (72 miles), Central (116 miles), Gate City (103 miles), Graham (67 miles), Lebanon (86 miles), Lee (140 miles), Marion (42 miles), Richlands (101 miles), Ridgeview (122 miles), Tazewell (72 miles), Union (124 miles), Virginia (77 miles) for a total of 1,122 miles. A 500 mile difference in expected travel between the two regions from Grayson County High School is significant. Grayson County may not have wanted the added travel for district play in the SW District, but they absolutely belong in Region D. Welcome to the board and enjoy the community. But remember, this site is filled with some knowledgeable people who aren't afraid to call bullshit when they see it.

Cost, zoning, regulation, funding, etc. etc. etc.......... The cost per square foot for commercial construction in 1950 was less the one-half-of-one-percent of the average household income. Today, it's closer to 6%! Current Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Codes for new school construction stipulates two distinctive ingresses and egresses. Basically, bus loading zones must be kept completely detached from any other forms of parking and travel through the school property, including travel and parking for athletic fields. School access roads aren't allowed to encircle the school. All roadways and parking areas must have "unobstructed views" from the main school building. The property is also required to meet minimum usable acreage guidelines. This requires a minimum of 10 acres with and additional acre required per 100 students in average daily attendance. So, if a school has an average daily attendance of 1,000 students, the property would be required to be no fewer than 20 acres. However, the key phrase in this requirement is "usable acreage". Stormwater collection areas, athletic fields and any other "waste" areas aren't considered "usable areas".

I met Avery Johnson at my wife's office in Galax a couple of years ago. He got off of Route 58 one entrance too soon for his hotel and came into her office asking how to get over to the Hampton Inn. He was in town recruiting Braxton Key at Oak Hill Academy. He was as nice and personable as he comes off on TV. I've actually met a dozen or so major D1 coaches in town to recruit kids from Oak Hill. Pete Gillen was easily the best, though. Driving his 20 year old Honda Civic with 300k on the odometer. He is a funny guy!

Must not be the same game I watched!

Bliss is certainly an antonym for what's there in reality. Fortunately, I wasn't there long. Those 115 degree days followed by 45 degree nights were more than I cared to endure long enough to get accustomed to. Not to mention, the astroturf lawns!

Since we have gotten outside the area a bit. I attended a few games while stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas way back in he early 90's. Jones Stadium was built in 1916 and is easily, the most interesting stadium of any kind I have ever visited. http://www.texasbob.com/stadium_h/hof_jonesrr.html

Radford and Glenvar don't play until the 26th. http://www.threeriversdistrictva.org/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5genie=308

Georgetown is just a name these days and not a lot more than that. As a result, they hired a "name" to coach a declining program rather than hire a credible coach. As I have said before, I wish McClung and any other kid nothing but the best in whatever life brings them. But it would be incredibly difficult for me to walk away from an Ivy League education if I had that option!

What Essence and Shay are doing now will be an example for the girls in middle school. That's where Galax has talent in spades.....boys and girls. Galax will be competitive on a state level in a number of sports with that group.

Girls basketball and softball consistently produce more state championship caliber teams than any other sports on our end of the state and have for a long time. They rarely receive the same recognition as the boys, however. It's nice to see the efforts of these young lady's being noticed with the amount of activity on this site. The girls who remain in the program at Galax are changing the culture. The new coach ruffled some feathers of parents and players alike causing roughly half the program participants to quit over the past year. I'm not certain that's an altogether negative thing. Changing a culture of mediocrity means changing habits, patterns, expectations and desires. Those who weren't willing to put in the work throughout the spring and summer were a part of the culture of mediocrity. The results have been tremendous thus far. This team is young, hungry but inconsistent. But the inconsistency is changing rapidly! I look forward to what these girls can accomplish over the next few years.

I think it's wonderful that we have, between this thread and the "Rankings" thread, 9 pages of nothing but girls basketball commentary. I didn't think that was possible, to be honest!

At the end of the day, it should be a family decision based on what's best for the child. I know the system gets abused to benefit athletic programs but I'm not certain anything can be done to correct that aspect of it. Either way, it doesn't affect my children so, to each their own, I guess.

So were Native American's when our ancestors stole this country from them! Just saying, many layers to an onion.

Galax thumped George Wythe 55-36 tonight. Impressive performance by an inconsistent team getting much more consistent as the season progresses.

From a conversation I had a few weeks ago with a longtime member of the Galax coaching staff, Carroll offered Turner the job quite a while ago. Turner had a list of items that would need to be addressed before accepting the position. Dedication to a system wide weight training program and supporting kids all across the county were main priorities on that list, meaning Carroll would have to dedicate activity buses to run more than just a few miles outside of the Hillsville town limits. That's always been an issue in Carroll. They have always been supportive of potential athletes as long as they live in or within a few miles of Hillsville. Anyone living beyond were more likely to be given far greater support from neighboring school systems. Some may get defensive over my statements. However, butthurt usually stems from a deeper truth those involved aren't willing to admit. I was one of those kids in 1988 when Fries closed and Carroll wouldn't allow me to play sports. Not much has changed in that time. I wish Turner well but nobody has ever been able to change the system for more than a year or two in Carroll. They have had top quality coaches in years past, the Tom Hale years being a noted exception. Mike Scharnus coached at Carroll in the late 80's and early 90's, taking them to the playoffs several times after a lengthy period of mediocrity prior to his tenure. David Haynie followed Scharnus and was probably Carroll's most successful coach but was never given full support and left after a few seasons. The most successful seasons in school history.

From what I understand, he was a bit of a wild child. Probably contributed to his shortened career at NC State. My uncle took me to see him play a few times when I was a small child.

I saw Shoemaker play both football and basketball in high school against my younger brother. Very talented athlete. Being the guy who replaced Tim Duncan at Wake is something he can tell his grandkids someday. Joe Stiltner was also a starter for an ACC program at NC State at a time when they were competitive on a national level.

Grayson's only loss was an impressive showing against Radford in a 9 point game. Grayson is a solid team with a lot of talent. Grayson didn't have an answer for the quickness of Morton-Robertson. Not many will outside of Gate City.

Joe Stiltner scored 875 points in only 21 games for Bland in 1977. His 41.7 points per game scoring average that season is still #1 in the VHSL Book of Records. The link is a photo of him playing for Norm Sloan at NC State. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/0008140#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&z=-4045.8165%2C-659.4103%2C12281.633%2C6961.1111 Any list of "best high school basketball players from SWVA" that doesn't include Stiltner is incomplete!

Georgia beat Samford who beat ETSU, therefore, ETSU and Samford were screwed out of their rightful places in the playoff!!!!!!!!!!!! Damned playoff committee!!!!!

Nelson County was the 2008 D1 champion and according to VDOE enrollment figures for 2008, it had 568 students to GW's 476. Interestingly enough, Galax beat Page and Amelia in 2011 and 2012 when Page had 608, Amelia had 561 and Galax had 394 each year according to VDOE stats. I know, i'm a nerd and have this data on hand at work!

From what I understand, a pretty nasty stomach bug.

I know Griffin personally along with another member of his inner-staff. He's not a likable person in the least. With that said, I am currently working on projects all across SWVA (with others contracted to begin in 2018) that wouldn't be feasible without his presence in office. As with UVAO, I'm not at liberty to discus further but it's a positive for our region.