BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 Richlands High School will be hosting its second signing of the year for versatile athlete Bradley Strong. Bradley has chosen Western Carolina University to continue his academic and athletic career for the Catamount baseball program. He will accept their offer by signing Tuesday, November, 23, at 12:00, in the high school library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueinbama 259 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 Congratulations Bradley! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wave316 64 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 Richlands High School will be hosting its second signing of the year for versatile athlete Bradley Strong. Bradley has chosen Western Carolina University to continue his academic and athletic career for the Catamount baseball program. He will accept their offer by signing Tuesday, November, 23, at 12:00, in the high school library. Cograts! Bradley! Hard work and a good attitude pays off! Bradley has also been invited to play in our FCA -Va versus Tenn. All-Star Senior Bowl Classic at Science Hill High School on December 18th. Hoping to maybe come up to Richlands this Friday to watch the game. Spoke to someone in Richlands today who shared Cave Springs has a good Qb . As the Qb goes so goes the team is what I'm hearing. Cold temps for this Friday ,so I had better bundle up right,? What's the wind like up there at Richlands stadium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 Cograts! Bradley! Hard work and a good attitude pays off! Bradley has also been invited to play in our FCA -Va versus Tenn. All-Star Senior Bowl Classic at Science Hill High School on December 18th. Hoping to maybe come up to Richlands this Friday to watch the game. Spoke to someone in Richlands today who shared Cave Springs has a good Qb . As the Qb goes so goes the team is what I'm hearing. Cold temps for this Friday ,so I had better bundle up right,? What's the wind like up there at Richlands stadium? usually there is a lot of hot air blowing out of there lol. Congrats to Strong though...that's an awesome chance to move on with his baseball career....best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wave316 64 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 usually there is a lot of hot air blowing out of there lol. Congrats to Strong though...that's an awesome chance to move on with his baseball career....best of luck! Lance,lol! What's wind conditions like at Grundy....lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 Lance,lol! What's wind conditions like at Grundy....lol! more muddy than windy...lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbgfan 856 Report Share Posted November 24, 2010 http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x1468306340/Strong-leader November 24, 2010 Strong leader Blues’ star signs with Catamounts By BRIAN WOODSON Bluefield Daily Telegraph The Bluefield Daily Telegraph Wed Nov 24, 2010, 05:00 AM EST RICHLANDS, Va. — Diamonds have been called a woman’s best friend. Bradley Strong likes them too. Other than on a football field for the next three weeks, there is no where else he would rather be. “I think all kids have a dream of picking up a baseball bat and playing professional baseball one day,†said Strong, a standout baseball and football player for the Richlands Blue Tornado. “For some that dream fades, but for me I stuck to it and believed in it and trusted God. “I can’t thank God enough, I couldn’t have done it without Him.†While Strong is busy this week preparing for Friday’s Region IV football championship game between Richlands and Cave Spring, his college future became official on Tuesday. It includes baseball, and signing a letter of intent to play collegiately at Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C. It’s the next step in what Strong hopes is a long career on the diamond. “I didn’t really set out to attain that goal, but I did have the goal of becoming a professional baseball player one day,†said Strong, who became the first Richlands athlete to sign a scholarship offer to play baseball at the Division I level. “I didn’t know what school it would be, but I couldn’t be happier than to be going to Western Carolina.†Also thought to be the first athlete to ever start on both sides of the football for three seasons at Richlands, Strong is also a three-year starter at shortstop for the Blue Tornado. He hopes to play the same position for the Catamounts. “Western Carolina really stood out to me,†said Strong, who chose Western Carolina over the University of Virginia. “The coaching staff compares favorably to other coaching staffs and I truly like the way the program is going. “I think I have got a chance to play early and hopefully go to Omaha. I really narrowed it down to UVa and WCU and I just thought WCU was the best fit for me.†While Strong is talented on the gridiron, both as a wide receiver, defensive back and return specialist, he felt his true calling was with a bat and glove. It’s a sport he’s been playing since his father — Richlands baseball coach Brad Strong — first put a bat in his hands. Strong’s brother, Reece, is also talented in both football and baseball, and could be involved in the same type of ceremony next fall. “I truly feel I am the most blessed mother in the world. I prayed for a child and I got not one wonderful son, but ended up with two,†said Strong’s mother, Mary Ann Strong, a Division I athlete as well, having played tennis at Alabama. “We just have a love of sports in our family. “When he could barely stand up, Brad put a bat in his hands, lefthanded by the way, and it’s just been a joy.†A lefthander at the plate, Strong was the Southwest District player of the year as a sophomore, batting .565, with 48 hits, including nine triples. He hit .480 last season, and has spent much of his life playing travel ball in the summers, hoping to get this chance. “That was a big commitment because the last time we took a vacation was probably my sophomore year,†said Strong, who will focus on architecture and electrical engineering at Western Carolina. “It is a big commitment, you have to make it ahead of time and I think it will keep paying dividends and I think it did today... “I would like to play baseball as long as I can, but I realize you have to hang the cleats up one day so I want to get a good education.†He participated with the Richmond Braves’ travel team two summers ago, and batted .405 as the leadoff batter last summer for the ultra-competitive South Canes in North Carolina. “It was dog-eat-dog, if you weren’t good enough you were not going to get the opportunity to play,†Strong’s father, Brad, said. “Every one of the kids that we played every weekend were going to play on the college level somewhere. “When he had to go out every inning he had to play his best. Wow, his level stepped up because there were some other good kids as well that were going to play at Florida and LSU and the big organizations. “It really happened to him, every weekend every college coach was eye-balling him.†Especially fourth-year head coach Bobby Moranda, who spent 18 seasons as an assistant in the ACC before arriving in Cullowhee. “They have made huge strides,†Bradley Strong said. “They beat Clemson twice last year, he’s got one of the best track records of any baseball coach at the Division I level. He spent 18 years in the ACC...†Western Carolina finished 37-21-1 last season in the competitive Southern Conference. “I really didn’t know much about (the conference) until this summer,†Strong said. “I found out they have the eighth best conference in the nation (in baseball) and I really have a good chance to play against some great competition so it is not like I am going to play against a bunch of slouches.†Neither will anyone facing Strong. “He just works real hard, he’s got great fundamentals, he’s got good speed, got great hands and he’s got the desire he wants to take it to the next level and that is where it starts,†Brad Strong said. “He’s a great student and he is a good athlete so we’re blessed, I’m blessed as a coach and a father.†Strong has had a breakout season on the football field, and has been a big reason for the Tornado’s 11-0 start to the season. He scored three touchdowns in three different ways in last week’s rout of Martinsville. “You are not going to find a better person than Bradley Strong,†Richlands football coach Greg Mance said. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to coach this young man, I know he is going to be ultra-successful in baseball. “I watched him hit one day and I went up to his dad and I said, ‘That kid is special. He’s got a set of hands that are really, really good.’†His choice of playing baseball in college wasn’t difficult. He admits to having never received a letter about football. “I just trust God that He is leading me in the right direction and baseball is what He is planning for me to do,†said the 5-foot-8, 160-pound Strong. “I think baseball is the right fit for me. “I think I will have a longer career in baseball, but playing with coach Mance and these coaches here, this has been the best time of my life. I don’t want it to end this week.†While Strong is focused for what he hopes are three more weeks of football, he was surrounded during a signing ceremony with family, friends, coaches, teachers, clergy and more, all of whom had stirring words of praise for him. “It really is an honor to do this for Bradley,†Richlands principal Karen Webb said. “Bradley is a very unique young man and he’s got a bright future ahead of him and we are certainly just glad we played just a small part in that.†Strong was certainly touched by all the kind words. “It is really just heart-warming just to see all my friends out there and my teammates I have played with for four years,†Strong said. “I love every single one of them, my pastor, my coaches, I can’t say enough about them. “I definitely wouldn’t be the person I am today without them. It really is a dream come true and it is a thrilling moment.†His immediate goals includes another thrill. It involves another sport. “This is definitely a dream come true as far as making my baseball dreams come true, but I don’t want football to end this week,†Strong said. “Hopefully three more weeks of football and win a state championship and that will just make my senior year a blessing from God.†—Contact Brian Woodson at bwoodson@bdtonline.com Life has many choices---eternity two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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