My Advice For Upcoming Athletes

Keep your grades up! Without good grades, it will be a tough road ahead.  If you are looking for a scholarship, recruiters look at your grades first, even if you are a superstar.

Don’t quit. You can do it. I played volleyball, softball, and basketball during high school, and what many people don’t know, is that they saw me on the football field too.  WIDE RECEIVER!  Just kidding. I was a member of the SHS Tiger Marching Band where I played baritone and was low brass section leader.  I owe Mr. David Curren, my high school band director, a BIG thanks for allowing me to march in the band and play volleyball. He worked around practices and competitions so that I would be able to do both.  I was also a member of Beta Club, Key Club, Student Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and I was president of my senior class.  Don’t say you don’t have the time.

Keep a good attitude!  Kids look up to us. They see things that we don’t think they do. They see us slamming the ball down, mumbling under our breath, glaring at the referee, and even rolling our eyes at the coach!  Always keep a good attitude. Umpires and referees like good attitudes. 

Be a teammate on and off the floor.  We should always do what is best for our team while we are on the floor, but more importantly, we should do what is best for them off the floor. We all have problems, but with a friend beside us, the problem seems to not be so bad.

Respect your coach and he/she will respect you.  We should all respect our coaches, teachers, parents, and elders.  I have always tried to give these people the respect that they deserve. 

Rewards come with hard work and dedication.  We shouldn’t expect to win when we don’t put the effort into practice.  A victory feels earned when I know I’ve worked hard for it.  Future athletes will follow our examples. The harder we work now, the harder the athletes to follow will.  Start a good program now. 

HAVE FUN!! WANTING to work and get better makes practice go by a lot easier than not wanting to.  I’ve learned that you are only as good as you want to be.  I started playing basketball when I was in the 5^th grade.  I played little league and in the Oneonta League.  I played Junior High in the 7^th and 8^th grade for Coach Dale Beason, then Coach Warren House asked me to play varsity as a 9^th grader. I was scared but excited about the opportunity. I started as a 9^th grader at point guard.  I did ok, but Coach House and Coach Ryan Smith knew I could do better.

I worked hard the summer before my 10^th grade year on my shooting.  The hard work paid off. I hit 99 three-point shots that season, was named MVP on the all-county coach’s team and made 2^nd Team All-Metro. My junior and senior years I didn’t work as hard and it showed.  I didn’t do as well as I was expecting, but as I look back it all reflects on how much I put into it. My advice for young players is to work hard no matter how much or how less your success. I always had coaches pushing me to work hard at practice, but everyone goes to practice. What makes the difference is the work away from practice.      

We all have hard times in our lives. One of the hardest times in my life has been when my grandmother, Mary Alice Jones, died in November of 2003.  She was such a role model for my entire family.  She took care of my sisters and me while my parents worked.  She was always there to take me to and pick me up from practices when I was too young to drive.  She was really someone that I could count on to be there for me. When she was in the hospital I wanted to help her so much, but all I knew to do was hold her hand.  Then I realized that I could help by simply passing on the values, morals, and love that she instilled in me. This is the same in sports.  Once our career is over, we shouldn’t just stop playing.  We should spread what we have learned from our coaches and teammates, not only about the game but about life.  I have learned so much from Coach Warren House. He has taught me not to give up on anything.  To keep trying and I’ll make it.  He pushed me hard as a young player and then expected me to push the young ones when I was older. He might yell a lot, but he just wants the best out of everyone on the floor, and I tried to give him 110%.

Although I never won a state championship, I guess I am one of the luckiest athletes to come out of Springville. I played all three sports at the varsity level starting my 9^th grade year. Out of those years, the volleyball team made it to the regional tournament all four years and to the state tournament my senior year. The basketball team made it to the regional tournament my sophomore year and to both the regional and state tournament my junior year. The most success came on the softball field where we went to the state tournament 3 out of 4 years and finished 2^nd my senior year. Coach Chris Williams was another to really push me to do my best. He is determined to win a state championship, I’m just sorry I won’t be there when he gets it.  He sure deserves one.

To come this close to a state championship in all three sports is something to be proud of, but I wish I had have made that one kill, that one 3-point shot, or that last hit to win these close games. Better yet, that one dig, that one steal, or that one great defensive play for an out.  Anyone that cared about playing thinks about “what they could have done” that would have changed the game.  Don’t let this happen to you.

I am attending GSCC on a softball scholarship, but I also played on the basketball team. Well, I finally got that state championship. It was just in college. My softball team finished 3^rd place in the state tournament, but my basketball team finished 1^st place in the AJCCC State Tournament. We beat Wallace State – Hanceville and got our rings this past Saturday. I was very excited, but it is not the same as if I had one from high school.

As far as grades go in college, I have a 4.0 GPA and plan on it staying that way. I should receive an associate’s degree in general studies from GSCC in May of 2005. I am not sure of the college I will transfer to, but I plan on majoring in either physical therapy or education.  I really think I would enjoy the physical therapy field, but I just know I am meant to be a teacher and coach. Maybe I can be a physical therapist who coaches an AAU basketball team or an ASA softball team. I guess I will find out soon.

I have decided to focus on softball this year. I will not play basketball, although I will still be the team statistician and travel when able. I am currently working at Performance Fitness on Deerfoot Parkway in Trussville, AL.  I work the morning shift (5AM – 9AM). When I was interviewed for the job Mr. Neal Chambers asked if I thought I would make it in time for work. I just smiled and said, “Well, I got up that early or earlier for practices during high school and college. I think I can make it to work too”. I was hired. All those morning practices did pay off didn’t they?  I also help with my family’s embroidery business, “Pink Rose Stitchery”. 

Two of the most memorable times I had at SHS were the Special Olympics and being selected as a D.A.R.E. Role Model. After the Special Olympics, I thanked God that he allowed me to be able to play sports and march.  I didn’t realize how lucky I was to be so healthy. As a D.A.R.E. Role Model I was asked this question, “What do you do when someone offers you drugs?” My response was, “I can’t say. I have never been offered drugs. I don’t put myself in the situation. I have friends that don’t do that, and I hang out with them.”  I think that having a group of friends that you can trust is something EVERYONE should have.  Thanks to all my friends for being my support group, I love you guys!  Thanks Mom and Dad for always being there for me.  I love you both.

Come watch the GSCC Lady Card Softball Team this fall and spring.  Admission is free. We will have a fall season starting soon and our regular season will be in the spring.  Schedules will be available at www.gadsdenstate.edu and at www.golindsey.com. 

Lindsey and Michele

Michele’s Article

Sports are an important role in many students’ lives throughout high school. I started playing sports at a very young age.  My dad would get my out in the yard and teach me hand-eye coordination.  He would push me to practice everyday.  My first sport to ever play on a team was t-ball.  I was the only girl on my team, but I worked hard to show that I was as good as the boys.  It paid off; I was the only person on my team to make all-stars.  I started playing metro basketball and before I knew it I was playing volleyball, basketball, and softball for Moody Middle School.  I still continued to go out into the yard and practice with my dad. I started playing varsity basketball in the eighth grade.  That was the only year we made it to the Sweet Sixteen.  That is something that I will never forget.

As an eighth grader I was starting point guard in the Sweet Sixteen tournament at Jacksonville State University. Coach Traylor was my basketball coach. He pushed me everyday at practice because he knew that I could do better.  There were many times when I was ready to quit and just give up but I hung in there.  I had a hard time in most of the games because I was always in foul trouble. I was actually told I held the record for most fouls at Moody High School. It got to a point where I just thought that all of the referees hated me.  At half time Coach Traylor would always tell me that I had three fouls and to play smart, but I never seemed to change.  I have learned that it was all about discipline, but I was being hard headed. Finally, my last basketball game to ever play in high school, I realized what it meant to play with discipline and to play smart.  Even though we lost I felt as though I played me heart out, I played with discipline, and I had no regrets. By my senior year playing with Coach Traylor I had learned a lot from him about hard work and dedication and I respected him more that I ever had.

I started varsity softball and volleyball in the 9th grade.  Softball is my all around favorite sport. We made it to the state tournament twice while I played. While at state tournament me junior year we got third place. I was name on the all-state tournament team. I then realized all of the extra practice with my dad was paying off. I felt like I had made my parents proud and there is no better feeling than that. 

I am sure most of you are familiar with the policeman, Freddie Turrentine. I have to give him a big thank you. He was at almost all of our games whether he was escorting us or just meeting us there to support us. We were so excited because my senior year on the softball team we had made him an honorary coach. He was going to go to all of our games and help us however he could. Before our first game he was called in to go fight for our country. He never made it back in time to see any of our games. We missed him and prayed for him. He has been home for about eight months and I already see him at football practices. I just want to tell him thanks for everything that he has done at Moody High School.

In the summer of 2001 a close friend and teammate of mine was killed in a car wreck. Her name is Farrah and she was a year older than me. I had played all three sports with her all through high school. She was going into her senior year and she was so excited. She was a leader, as well as a role model, on and off of the court. I looked up to her and I learned many things from her. My teammates and I dedicated that year of sports to her, while wearing her number on our jerseys. We missed her at every practice and every game, but that just make us strive to do better just as she would. I think Farrah was one of the greatest athletes to go to Moody High School and she will always be remembered.

Before I knew it, I was half was through my senior year and I did not know if sports would continue through college. My softball coach, Mrs. Harbuck, pushes to get as many scholarships for all of her players as possible. I later signed a softball scholarship at Gadsden State Community College.

The first day of practice I realized I knew half of the freshmen. There were six girls from St. Clair County schools playing softball at GSCC. Most of us had played all three sports in high school and from playing against each other for so long we had met each other. Five of us are returning this year and we are becoming such good friends. A few of us have even lived together. Lindsay Pearce, from Springville, is on the team and we have become best friends. If you read her article last week I am sure you were touched. She talked a lot about hard work and grades. She’s right! They mean everything in sports. Coached want players who are as competitive in the classroom as they are on the field. To give you and example: Lindsey Pearce, Ashley Carlisle (who is also on the team from St. Clair County), and myself all graduated in the top fifteen of out classes in high school. All three of us have had classes together and we help each other and push each other to make good grades. We have also all made the president’s list at GSCC. If I would not have played softball at GSCC I would miss out on some of the best friends I will ever have.  Sports are such a big part on mylife and I think everyone should find their talent and go for it. There are so many people who have pushed me to do mybest and I thank everyone for it, but I have to give my biggest thanks to my parents. They have been there for me for nineteen years. They taught me to care about my grades and never give up, whether it is in sports or life. I thank you and love you both and I hope I have made you proud.

–Michele Gulledge