ghstoga 10 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Graham 17 Bland Co. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbgfan 856 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x814636955/Graham-rallies-for-season-opening-win-over-Bland-County Life has many choices---eternity two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x814636955/Graham-rallies-for-season-opening-win-over-Bland-County Life has many choices---eternity two Rallying from 3 down to beat Bland County in the final inning? That is not a good sign. Congratulations, GMen. Parlay this momentum onward and upward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 17-10...I just hope Graham can beat Bland by a similar score on the gridiron next fall... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldgeneral 10 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 17-10...I just hope Graham can beat Bland by a similar score on the gridiron next fall... Bland has some good athletes this year, many of which are seniors. Graham started off rough, but finished them off. The freshman pitcher for Graham did quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Went to game....pitching is an issue for both teams. Graham's got a couple of solid players with good gloves. A couple of good bats returning from last year. Can't really be excited about the 17 runs, because it was against very mediocre pitching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 17-10...I just hope Graham can beat Bland by a similar score on the gridiron next fall... IF...and that's a big IF....Graham's young players return...and they actually have enough to field a team next year....They should do pretty well in the MED. Still may finish behind the Fort and Grayson, even with all players returning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghstoga 10 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Graham scrimmaged Fort Chiswell last week and looked very good against them...not sure what the score was but it was very even. I'm not saying Graham is back, but they are looking better. IF, they can get their pitching going they will be competitive this year. Graham has much better team chemistry this year...good attitudes...and good senior leadership. Also, they had a bunch of kids come out to play ball this year which is a good sign. Coach Dixon is working very hard to get the baseball program going in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 I'm pulling for them...as long as they can be competitive and not lose by two or three touchdowns, it will be an improvement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghstoga 10 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 I agree G-Man....hopefully this year they can keep it to baseball scores rather than the huge blowouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 I agree G-Man....hopefully this year they can keep it to baseball scores rather than the huge blowouts. The only years in the past two decades that this has been the case was 2004 and 2005. Athletes so good that not even Morgan Campbell could coach them down. I wish for the very best for Graham. Respectability would be a major improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qqq 10 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 previous post is very poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) previous post is very poor. I didn't know Webster's changed the meaning of "poor" to "true". Since that seems to be what's happened, it's the poorest thing ever! Listen, I had to play through 4 years of 26-0 beatings, when our practices consisted entirely of taking fun-go and hitting off a pitching machine. The J.V. beat the varsity in inter-squad scrimmages. Yes, that actually happened. If it weren't for the 1 good pitcher we always seemed to have, we'd have done worse than 4-16 or 2-18 or 6-13 or 5-15. Those are Graham's varsity records from 2000-2003. I've said it twice, and I'll say it again. I wish Graham the very best of luck. Little would make me happier than seeing Graham get back to pre-1991 days in terms of baseball. Edited March 16, 2011 by UVAObserver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghstoga 10 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 I don't know that baseball in Blfd, VA will ever get back to the way it used to be prior to the 90's. Baseball is barely a 3 month sport here. There are no summer leagues or fall ball to play. Plus, the baseball program may be the least funded sport at GHS. But hopefully with a few more wins each season things will change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 I don't know that baseball in Blfd, VA will ever get back to the way it used to be prior to the 90's. Baseball is barely a 3 month sport here. There are no summer leagues or fall ball to play. Plus, the baseball program may be the least funded sport at GHS. But hopefully with a few more wins each season things will change. Good points. Sounds like little has changed since my time there. First, about summer-ball and fall-ball. We do lag a bit behind Tazewell/Richlands/Abingdon by not having those set up. If we just had one squad of 10 kids (even varsity and J.V. combined) devoted to summer and fall baseball, that would put Graham much farther ahead than they are right now. Sure, I know some kids on the baseball team also play other sports, but not all of them. That'll be the most difficult thing to get off the ground: you need mentors to serve as coaches, and you need the funding. Baseball, as you said, is so poorly funded in Bluefield. Second, about having baseball as more than just a 3-month sport. That, IMO, is a culture change that starts with the head coaches. A new coach should call a meeting and lay out what will be expected. Get those boys in the weight room to work on their lower bodies. Get those boys running. Find some leadership among those boys and have THEM lead activities (off-season fielding and BP, i.e.) to make the team better. If a coach can set the bar, that baseball will be a long-term commitment rather than just a short-term obligation, then the players will either have to follow suit or give up playing. Either will be better than the commitment to mediocrity that's there now. I would hope that a couple of years of success would change that, but the failure to sustain the slight successes of '04-'05 are worrisome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 I didn't know Webster's changed the meaning of "poor" to "true". Since that seems to be what's happened, it's the poorest thing ever! Listen, I had to play through 4 years of 26-0 beatings, when our practices consisted entirely of taking fun-go and hitting off a pitching machine. The J.V. beat the varsity in inter-squad scrimmages. Yes, that actually happened. If it weren't for the 1 good pitcher we always seemed to have, we'd have done worse than 4-16 or 2-18 or 6-13 or 5-15. Those are Graham's varsity records from 2000-2003. I've said it twice, and I'll say it again. I wish Graham the very best of luck. Little would make me happier than seeing Graham get back to pre-1991 days in terms of baseball. Pre-1991 wasn't much better...lol. I played until my sophomore year, then gave it up for soccer on the WV side....I got to start in one j.v. game my sophomore year, after playing in several my freshman year.....I singled, stole 2nd base...was batted home by the next batter...then was delegated to pinch runner the rest of the year??? Only a few of the guys that played with me in senior league and went to the all stars actually played in high school, sadly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) Pre-1991 wasn't much better...lol. I played until my sophomore year, then gave it up for soccer on the WV side....I got to start in one j.v. game my sophomore year, after playing in several my freshman year.....I singled, stole 2nd base...was batted home by the next batter...then was delegated to pinch runner the rest of the year??? Only a few of the guys that played with me in senior league and went to the all stars actually played in high school, sadly. True, Graham was still never a powerhouse back in the days of old, but they were competitive most every time with the better teams of the district. Your J.V. experience sounds a lot like mine. I had 1 AB my 9th grade year, against Richlands, on a day that it was 43 degrees and raining. Not surprisingly, I struck out. Next year, I batted over .400 on J.V., of course. When I went up to varsity, my first year I played a decent amount as a D.H. for our stud pitcher, and at 1st base occasionally. Senior year, our 1st baseman got injured, we still had our stud pitcher...and I rode the bench. Don't ask me how or why. I'd crank homers in "batting practice" like no one's business, then have to ride the bench on gameday. Baffling, to say the least. And like with you, it wasn't uncommon for the baseball all-stars in 6th grade to be playing soccer in 9th grade. Much of that is bad baseball experiences, I'm sure, but I wonder how much of that is because soccer is a spring sport in VA. Why the VHSL doesn't make soccer a fall sport like in the majority of other states confuses me. Edited March 16, 2011 by UVAObserver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 I'd crank homers in "batting practice" like no one's business, then have to ride the bench on gameday. Baffling, to say the least. Simple answer...you were "feasting" off of Graham pitching in practice like the other teams do during games... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Why the VHSL doesn't make soccer a fall sport like in the majority of other states confuses me. Do you really think that the football coaches (around here anyway) are going to share their field in the fall with the soccer team???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) Simple answer...you were "feasting" off of Graham pitching in practice like the other teams do during games... Nah, Campbell would use a pitching machine. He never developed enough arms to run a live BP, so a machine was the only option we'd have. I wish I were lying, but that's what it was. I was middle of the pack for BA on the team in 2002. Sure, that was low-mid .200s, but it was good enough for 6th of 10. It's not like I was striking out on the pitching machine, like some of the guys... Do you really think that the football coaches (around here anyway) are going to share their field in the fall with the soccer team???? Then practice at Graham Rec. Park. Soccer is a fall sport, played in the fall in the vast majority of places in this country. So what if it conflicts with football? It's like trying to justify playing football in the spring: sports have their own seasons, and soccer's is fall. Edited March 16, 2011 by UVAObserver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Do you really think that the football coaches (around here anyway) are going to share their field in the fall with the soccer team???? Heck no!! We're commies according to the football coaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Nah, Campbell would use a pitching machine. He never developed enough arms to run a live BP, so a machine was the only option we'd have. That's part of the problem. Hitting off a pitching machine and hitting off a live pitcher are completely different. With a machine, you know the "release point" on every pitch. Live pitchers vary from one another and their release points vary from one another. You grow accustomed to seeing the ball being "thrown" from the same spot when you use a pitching machine. Then, when you go up against a live arm in a game, you're off because that "release point" is far different from what you are used to seeing in practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 That's part of the problem. Hitting off a pitching machine and hitting off a live pitcher are completely different. With a machine, you know the "release point" on every pitch. Live pitchers vary from one another and their release points vary from one another. You grow accustomed to seeing the ball being "thrown" from the same spot when you use a pitching machine. Then, when you go up against a live arm in a game, you're off because that "release point" is far different from what you are used to seeing in practice. You're exactly right. Even in high school, I was wondering: "Release points are a pretty big deal...why aren't we getting more work with them?" At 16 years old, I knew it was a bad idea not to take live BP. Of course, we only averaged 1-2 runs/game, if that. The point I was trying to make (in talking with Viva) was that everyone on Graham's baseball team when I was there did the exact same stuff. Pitching machine + fielding fun-go. I was an above-average fielder, a below-average thrower, poor speed, and an average hitter with probably the most power of anyone on the team. The fact that I rode more pine than a lumberjack my senior year made no sense when compared with the playing time that I did get my junior year and the fact that the people above me on the depth chart either graduated or were injured. But baseball in Bluefield, VA hasn't made sense in a very long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghstoga 10 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I really think Graham's new coach is doing the right things. He mixes things up in practice...there isn't any standing around....lot's of different drills. I do agree that they need to establish a weight room program for baseball but there may be issues getting use of the weight room. There is a really good group of young players coming up at Graham...I'm curious to see if in a few years they are really competitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qqq 10 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I didn't know Webster's changed the meaning of "poor" to "true". Since that seems to be what's happened, it's the poorest thing ever! Listen, I had to play through 4 years of 26-0 beatings, when our practices consisted entirely of taking fun-go and hitting off a pitching machine. The J.V. beat the varsity in inter-squad scrimmages. Yes, that actually happened. If it weren't for the 1 good pitcher we always seemed to have, we'd have done worse than 4-16 or 2-18 or 6-13 or 5-15. Those are Graham's varsity records from 2000-2003. I've said it twice, and I'll say it again. I wish Graham the very best of luck. Little would make me happier than seeing Graham get back to pre-1991 days in terms of baseball. "Poor"... as "in poor taste". Regardless of your opinion on the man's coaching abilities, he was a fine man, and is deceased. A modest amount of respect, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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