Little fun segment that I started a couple of weeks ago as a way to show some appreciation to the efforts of the Varsity Football 🏈🏈🏈 program.

The team is off to a 2-0 start ahead of Friday night when they welcome Galax to The Hill. At the same time that game is being played I will be announcing our Field Hockey 🏑 game down at App State so being there isn’t an option. But the game getting covered isn’t a problem because my Main Man Vern (Allen Worrell) is all over that one.

Possibly the coolest thing about to great start for the 2-0 start is that people are saying Thank You publicly to Vern for his coverage of the program!

Let’s get back to Brayden’s Brother and if you’re not a long time reader that reference won’t mean as much to you but that’s okay.

One of the main focus points of the site is to spread the blanket of coverage and appreciation across the board so everyone can have a moment where they feel that they are as important as the Varsity Quarterback. Being the Big Man on campus doesn’t have a be limited to just one or two people.

The irony of the fact that today is about the Varsity quarterback is not lost on me. But before Bryce Smoot became a Rock Star he was just a hard working Student Athlete that loved his Brother. The fact that I didn’t know that they were twin Brothers was pretty fun as well.

I only use the term Momma in front of two names on our site. We have Momma Smoot and Momma Petty, those terms of endearment come from watching 👀 them live through their children in the manner that they do.

Russell Smoot is a proud parent as well and his passion is off the charts, especially when it comes to his Boys.

I used up my two minute read on Bryce Smoot talking about his twin Brother, his Mamma and his Dad. And the Bryce Smoot that I met years ago wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!

One of the main goals we have in regards to all of the Coaches giving of their time for our youth is to offer them a platform for their programs.

Every Coach has their own mindset in regards to this and that helps explain the swing in the levels of usage from one program to the next.

West Long and I have a great deal in common in regards to the Big Picture 📷 that we call life. The biggest difference between the two of us is Long is a lifer of Carroll County versus my being a short timer of just four years. Other than that we are chasing the same things….

Yes, Long wants to build a Wrestling program that will make our County proud but that is just the Tip of the Iceberg. Coach wants to make a difference in the lives of the people that he comes into contact with, not just while they are in his new Wrestling Room practicing or competing during a match.

Tonight we compared notes 📝 back and forth for just over an hour about his visions and his goals. It’s easy to hear the compassion in his voice and see the vision he has for those that he has in his program.

Why do I consider his job the toughest in the High School system?

1. There is no natural fan base to draw from because of the fact that HS Wrestling is not a mainstream sport.
2. The tougher it is to understand a sport = the harder it is to get people to give up evening Family time and limited resources to attend.
3. I truly believe that every Student Athlete desires to perform in front of their classmates and in the winter time the sport competes against Basketball 🏀. A sport much easier to follow.
4. The schedule is so different because unlike most other sports at this level, Wrestling is not guaranteed a set number of Home Dates.
5. In no other Sport will one of our Athletes have to run five miles and not eat Lunch in hopes of making weight on the day of competition.

I could go on for a while but hopefully I have made my point with this list. Yes, West Long is in for an incredibly long uphill climb with this but he is in it for the Long Haul and my Love 💓 for the underdog means I will be there with him every step of the way !

If this was a political campaign (Thank God its Not), our tag line would be something like A Vote for West Long is for Today and for the next Decade (or two) !

There will be plenty more as we move forward, together!