There must be something in the water

On the Fly (as published in The Democrat on August 21, 2012)

I always love seeing our local athletes succeed and lately Tate County has had no shortage of good news.

It’s even better for me to see that each of the schools in the county has had its share of success recently.

·       For Strayhorn High School, Greg Caston won the first state championship in school history in any sport when he finished best in the state for the 2A classification in the shot put competition.

·       For Coldwater High School, alum sprinter Trell Kimmons represented the school, county, state and country in London as part of the 2012 Olympics. The boys’ basketball team won the 1A state championship and the girls’ basketball team came within one game themselves.

·       For Senatobia High School, alum Quintavius Burdette is likely looking at playing time as a freshman on the Ole Miss Rebel defense, having consistently received high praise from coaches for his work ethic and dedication to film study.

·       For Independence High School, alum Quentin Saulsberry is currently preseason football in the National Football League for the Minnesota Vikings following a career on the offensive line at Mississippi State.

·       The same can be said for Magnolia Heights School, as alum Addison Lawrence is playing NFL preseason football for the Baltimore Ravens following his time at Mississippi State. His younger brother Cameron Lawrence is now entering his senior season as a linebacker for Mississippi State and is expected by many to be the leader of the Bulldogs’ defensive unit after leading the team in tackles as a junior.

·       Northwest Community College recently received big news of its own, as former Ranger defensive lineman Cortez Kennedy was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Kennedy, who played for the Rangers under coach Bobby Franklin in 1986-1987 before finishing his collegiate career at the University of Miami, played 11 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks, amassing 58 sacks. He was voted into the NFL Pro Bowl game eight times.

While it’s great to hear of these athletes’ successes in their respective sports, what I am even more appreciative of is the examples that they have set for the youth in our county.

I’ve had the privilege of personally knowing many of these athletes and they’re equally as impressive off the field of play as they are while they’re on it.

It’s great for young athletes to have role models such as these to model themselves after, but it’s even greater that they have examples such as the ones these athletes have set to follow outside of the sport.

Quick hitters

• ·       It’s impressive that LSU took the stand it did in kicking Heisman trophy contending defensive back Tyrann Mathieu from the team following a violation of team policy. It’s interesting, however, that quarterback Jordan Jefferson remained on the team last year despite his involvement in the beating of an off-duty police officer.
• ·       While there’s no doubt the Los Angeles Lakers will benefit from a trade acquiring elite Center Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic, it’s still premature to write the Lakers into the NBA Finals. The Lakers as a team are growing old and Howard has been injury-prone throughout his career. I still think the Thunder are the conference’s safest bet, but don’t sleep on the Memphis Grizzlies.
• ·       High school football kicked off August 17. Others sports were already in progress. Please come out and support your local student athletes. They work hard for it.