With a new season comes new challenges.
Duane Webster is known to most as a tough coach, a little rough around the edges but loved, well respected and inspirational to students and players who interacted with him throughout his long-term career as Reeltown High School’s football coach.
Especially with the coronavirus pandemic and people being stuck indoors and away from their families and friends for so long, mental health has been something that’s more and more talked about over the course of the last several months.
“There’s nothing good about a goodbye.”
Although region games are what determines playoff futures and standings, it’s some of the non-region games that really stick out for the Dadeville Tigers this year. After having an open week the first week of the season, Dadeville will start out with a longstanding rivalry.
The Alabama State Department of Education said competition will be back this school year.
When Reeltown first started a bass fishing team, Cade Wood immediately knew he wanted to be a member. That was more than six years ago, and now he’s the first member of the Rebels fishing squad to ink a scholarship to fish at the next level.
Around Alabama, football seems to be the main focus during the summer. Fans are excited to see what their favorite teams are going to bring to the gridiron, and most coaches will say games are really won during the offseason.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Reeltown football coach Matt Johnson was confident his players were doing what they were supposed to do. He had sent home workout plans and kept in frequent contact with his players, but admittedly, there was no guarantee.
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It was a week for coaches’ honors throughout the area’s local sports history.
William Bell has his name in the Reeltown history books. He was an all-state running back for the Rebels in 1984 and helped lead the team to a region title and its first appearance in a state championship game.
With athletics getting ready to once again begin for the first time in more than two months across the state, the AHSAA has released a set of “Best Practices” guidelines for return. Those include everything from sanitation guidelines, a set of pre-screening questions and suggestions for main…
Although Lindsey Smith, Jake Adams and I have remained close in the three-plus years since I left Pennsylvania, it’s still hard to get a sense of what’s going on for them on a day-to-day basis.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, countless people, businesses and organizations have been affected. Lives have changed, likely forever.
After a fine career with Benjamin Russell’s boys basketball team, Mike Goggans continued his success at the next level. After playing at then-Alexander City Junior College, Goggans transferred to Birmingham Southern where he played for two seasons.
Four years ago, Reeltown was just resurging its track and field program. But from the very first season, the Rebels proved they were ready to make waves.
When Alana Garrard took on reigniting the Reeltown track and field program four years ago, she made one promise.
What felt like an eternity for sports fans, coaches and players alike finally is coming to an end.
Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. is hosting a “Virtual Senior Night.”
“This is another one of those ultimate ‘not fairs’ due to the coronavirus.”
The sports world may look a little different but things seem to be starting to return to as normal as possible. Alabama state superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey announced Thursday schools could reopen beginning June 1, and the AHSAA followed suit.
Alabama High School Athletic Association member schools may reopen June 1, in accordance with Alabama State Department of Education superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey’s directive announced Thursday.
Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. is hosting a “Virtual Senior Night.”
The AHSAA North-South all-stars are always full of great competition for fans and even better opportunities for players, who are hoping at an extra chance at recruitment.
I knew this time was going to be tough.
Every football coach treats summer a little differently. Some want to focus solely on their squads while others like to get out there and test the waters with 7-on-7s and OTAs.
While there have been so many questions surrounding how football will get played this season and when practice and workouts can begin, teams on the gridiron aren’t the only ones facing the unknowns.
It’s hard enough to be talented at one sport or even two sports, but being a star on three — or even four — sports takes a whole different level of dedication.
The entire AHSAA staff has been hard at work coming up with contingency plans for what high school sports will look like in Alabama moving forward in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. While there is still a bit of waiting game, officials are getting closer to making some set plans.
In a new reclassification cycle, a shakeup is always expected and that was certainly the case for local teams this year. Previously it had been announced Reeltown will be making a jump to Class 3A, changing things up quite drastically, and that continued as the AHSAA recently announced its s…
Sports fanatics are going to have to wait at least a while longer for the return of high school sports in Alabama.
Family has always been more important than football for the Reeltown Rebels.
Over the years, there have been quite a few complaints about the AHSAA North-South All-Star football game and the biggest issue has always been the timing of it.
When most athletes think about trying to accomplish a dream, their first thought is to push themselves as hard as they can.
Given the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic, there’s a lot of uncertainty swirling around what’s going to happen to the high school football season.
Just like the saying, “You can’t always judge a book by its cover,” you also can’t always judge a player by her stats alone.
Sometimes Reeltown’s girls basketball team won by 30 points. Other times, it had to eke out a narrow victory in hard-fought endings. And still other times, the Rebels had to claw back from huge deficits to earn comeback wins.
FIRST TEAM
PJ Eason, Dadeville junior
Just like when a player gets selected for a big all-star game, if a coach is asked to be part of the coaching staff, it provides an ample amount of opportunity.
When someone plays at a small school, it can be hard to get noticed on a statewide stage.
Caleb is once again joined by co-host Lizi to discuss the possible long-term effects on high school sports as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
As the official end of the spring season came Thursday afternoon when schools were closed for the remainder of the school year, there were also a lot of questions that still needed answered.
I’ve managed to get through all my interviews about the coronavirus without shedding a tear.
Benjamin Russell coach Richy Brooks has been in this business a long time. He’s been the head of the Wildcat baseball program for longer than his current players have been alive.
Spring sports for 2020 are officially over for Alabama high schools.
How the postponement of spring sports has affected spring sport athletes due to the coronavirus has been a major focus, and rightfully so.
With most of the sports world still being shut down, Caleb and Lizi turn their attention to the football world.
It’s not just sports games and events that’ve been put on hold by the AHSAA due to the coronavirus outbreak; it’s also practices that’ve been disallowed.
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