Leaving Bill Worrell Field in the direction of Food Lion 🦁 to get a gallon of milk and I glanced over to the practice area behind Cavalier Park. Standing there conducting one of his non-stop practices was our Corey Williams. One u-turn later and a soccer ⚽️ conversation broke out.
Evan ( assistant coach and wise beyond his years,) and Corey setting up for the end of practice scrimmage.
Getting a chance to meet Nolon Burnett was an added bonus as Williams tells me that Nolon is currently coaching four youth teams !
This group consists of 3rd and 4th graders that are learning the game at the ideal time for our future Cavaliers !
We have one inning in the books 📚 and the score still remains 0-0
Peyton Spencer on the mound for the Burcham Bunch.
Samantha Reed is on the microphone 🎤 and Bill Worrell Field is full of energetic fans wanting to root, root, root for the home team !
The Highlanders are the opponent tonight, and we are here until the end.
Glenvar goes down 1-2-3 in the top of the second after a nifty 6-3 ground out was followed by a KO and a F7.
Off to the bottom of the 2nd…
Carroll County loaded the bases in the bottom of the second inning, but Glenvar kept the game scoreless with back to back fielder choice ground outs.
Top of the 3rd : Spencer sets them down 1,2,3 again with the bonus being I was able to chase down a foul ball !
Bottom of the 3rd : Highlights include Camden DeHaven sending a frozen rope to deep left field, but the defense was positioned perfectly.
After Blake Reed coaxed a two out walk, Caleb Shaw sent a grounder down the third base line. The call was out in a bang bang play to end the frame
Mr Spencer is flat dealing, and we had another 1,2,3 inning with two more K’s wrapped around a ground ball back to the mound.
Off to the bottom of the 4th (5:38 pm)
Conner Reece was robbed of his second base hit on the day when the Glenvar 3B made a spinning play on his Hart hit grounder.
Off to the top of the 5th inning…
Colby Goad and Chanson Rakes combined for a Sportscenter type play when Goad fielded a hard hit single out in centerfield and fired a laser towards home. Rakes climbed the ladder 🪜 ever so slightly to apply the tag ! Still scoreless, heading to the bottom of the 5th…
#Greatplay
Cavs dent the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning with DeHaven scoring from second base after the Glenvar left fielder bobbled a hard hit single off the bat of Rakes. Five innings in the books 📚 and our Cavaliers lead 1-0.
Spencer is back on the mound for the top of the 6th.
Three groundball outs as the defense continues to shine behind Spencer.
Connor Reece, with a one out single, Eli Worrell now running 🏃♂️ the bases. Pic 📸 of the press box 📦 at Mr Spencer at the plate.
DeHaven just connected on a bases loaded double to the fence in left center, and the score is now 3-0. Two runs still in scoring position with Rakes at the plate.
Carroll County is now three outs away from a Three Rivers District victory !
Spencer back out on the mound in hopes of finishing up what he started.
Camden’s pick on his night 🌙!The Highlanders faithful
Two outs and at 6:25, a third one recorded !
Cavaliers 3, Glenvar 0 (F)
7 strikeouts after the top of the 1st inning for Spencer. I need to check on the top of the first because the game started up a few minutes early. [9 K’s] ➕️ 0 BB
The Cavaliers’ defense played flawlessly behind the right hander and the highlight real play made by Goad and Rakes to cut ✂️ down the Glenvar run at the plate.
That is the link to the story that Girls Soccer coach Adrienne Harris McGuire combined to create about the match played last night 🌙 on The Hill.
There is very little about the story that is commercially appealing because that isn’t what the story is designed to do. It is designed to applaud the efforts of some hard nose 👃 kids and at the same time help an up and coming head coach grow into her role as not only coach but ambassador for her sport.
There is no pull quote or shortcut taken because for those of you who read the article earlier this morning on Casey Burcham, know what the bigger picture looks like.
William Patrick Paine is the editor of The Carroll News, and I have the utmost respect for the job he has to do each and every week. But please 🙏 know that Mr Paine has an obligation to choose what stories make their way into his newspaper 📰 on a daily basis. There has to be a commercial read to those stories.
I have been writing ✍️ for 50 years now and have seen stories that I created appear in roughly 30 publications across the country, so having a byline appear on something that I create, isn’t the goal and hasn’t been for quite some time.
The goal is to read a situation and figure out how, if at all possible, that I can make said situation move in the correct direction. The reason why I don’t attach my name to things that I write is that the story isn’t about me, nor should it be.
I’m just trying hard to take five decades of experience in the sports world at various levels and see 👀 if there is any way to assist someone who is up and coming.
Casey Burcham is operating on an entirely different level right now, and the natural thing to do is twofold. First. Applaud 👏 his efforts, and secondly, use his program as a measuring stick.
Every coach that I interact with is at a completely different point in their careers. Howard Mayo, Cindy Edwards, and Rick Nester have all been around the block, and they are all winding down the back stretch. Others are stop gap position holders that are coaching to fill a void.
Shawn Montgomery and Jon Delp give of themselves 100% and are easy to want to assist in any way possible. They understand their place in the pecking order and just work through it anyway.
Seth Greer is also in a category by himself and does a tremendous job at everything he touches. He does have the distinct advantage of being the Head Coach of the most visible sport on The Hill. But know that his efforts help our student athletes across the board.
Joi Ogle also has a category to herself in that she just appears to be the happiest person alive, and she leads a dedicated group of Cavaliers to State each year.
That leaves three people who want to create a program and are willing to put in the work needed. West Long, Forrest Johnson and Adrienne Harris McGuire. Their challenge is much harder because wrestling and soccer are not America’s pastime.
McGuire has played two matches at home, where both ended in a 1-0 score in the visitors’ favor. Two different types of setbacks, one a gut punch (PCHS) and the other somewhat joyful (Glenvar ).
Both times, she was comfortable enough to take the time to talk about her program in great detail. She is understanding the Big Picture.
Back to the newspaper 📰 portion of this article. Know that Mr Paine has a great deal of responsibility for providing his readers with relevant articles. I am truly grateful for his efforts. But the things that I’m creating are designed to help others, and I’m at peace with that role.
Also, over the Moon 🌙 excited about the students who jump-started the school newspaper ! On my original list of goals when we moved here, #3 was find a way to introduce young ones to writing, marketing, and photography.
To recap : everyone has a roll to fill, and if there’s a way to show support, please do it whenever possible !
On the long list of reasons to be proud of the efforts of Carroll County High School is with the restart of the Girls 👧 Junior Varsity Soccer last year, we currently operate at 100% capacity.
Last night, at Tommy Thompson Field, the Varsity Girls Soccer team played against Three Rivers District foe Glenvar, and that story has been written. But before we turn the page on Soccer Night, let’s acknowledge the team that didn’t get to play.
It’s was fun to read out their names, and on the roster, you can see my notes 📝 on how to correctly say their names. We even snuck one word to describe the five players in attendance, and Coach Brittany Kinney did fairly well for having zero advanced warning ⚠️.
Glenvar not having a JV team in soccer is not the only school in our district to be missing some pieces. Floyd County is missing their JV Softball program, and Martinsville is taking a different path by going just JV and not Varsity in a couple of spring sports.
This creates extra work for the athletic director to either replace the games or leave the schedule light. In the case of Martinsville, because it’s Varsity that is missing, each school has the option of claiming a 1-0 forfeit. Both Glenvar teams we face tonight show a 1-0 victory over Martinsville on their schedule.
The JV Baseball team should be in action tonight up at Glenvar, which leads me to think that there’s something amiss there as well.
Carroll County High School earns the perfect attendance award for the spring as we field all 12 teams !
But let’s get back to why Brittany Kinney and her team not getting to play last night was so important ???
Coach Kinney is working with a new group of players, some with very little experience in the sport. Every opportunity to lace them up and face live action 🎬 is a vital step for getting better, and last night was an opportunity lost.
The team will return to action in roughly 10 days against Radford.
Carroll County High School Baseball coach Casey Burcham is a man with a plan, the knowledge to execute said plan, and is surrounded by people who share the same vision.
It is the perfect combination needed to find long-term success, especially at the high school level. Burcham is just in his second year at the helm of the baseball program, and one doesn’t need to look any further than the number of local banners proudly displayed on the fence at Bill Worrell Field.
Having come up through the ranks as a player, turned star player, and then finding a home at Emory and Henry before returning to The Hill. Once again, Burcham worked his way up the ladder 🪜 and now operates at a level that is simply not the norm at a high school.
The Top 10 Things that set Casey Burcham apart from the rest of the field.
10. Humility – Casey Burcham is just about following his own path, not looking for any ME time. His program is about the players and for the players.
9. Experience – Burcham has spent the majority of his life around the game of baseball ⚾️. He has checked ✔️ every box 📦 along the way and absorbed knowledge from each stop ✋️.
8. The Castle 🏰 ( I add the on The Hill part) – Most times when a new coach takes over a program, especially one as in rich in tradition as Cavalier Baseball, it would be easy to slowly tweak the process. Not so much for Burcham to borrow from Jerry McGuire – you had me at Hello. What a first move !!!
7. Support from Administration – When you are coaching at the high school or college level, one thing that you crave is the feeling that the school has your back. In this case, it was solid gold as Burcham took the keys 🔑 from the man 👨 who now sits in the chair of the athletic director. There is no need to try and explain your needs to Mr Kevin DeHaven when he, too, has spent a fair amount of his life around the game of baseball as a whole and Cavalier baseball in particular.
6. Bill Worrell Field – the history of any program carries weight and adds to the home field advantage for the team. ✔️ that box 📦 as well because Carroll County High School was once led by a legendary coach. Mr Worrell made a lasting impression on everyone who his program reached.
5. Adam Nester – The key to any successful program is the ability to create a farm system or feeder system that is a proven commodity. Adam Nester has taken over the Junior Varsity team without missing a beat. Nester is a coaches son, and that automatically adds to your IQ in a relationship to a sport. The team captured its sixth straight Three Rivers District crown 👑 last season, and year 2 of the Nester Nine is off to another flying start.
4. Steve Combs – Casey & Combs was an easy tag for me from the very first time I watched the duo interact. To succeed in life at the degree that Burcham looks to succeed, one truly needs to have someone matching his drive and determination. Combs is the funnier of the two, but trust me, he bleeds Cavalier Blue.
3. Seth Greer – the value of the relationship between fellow coaches on any given should never be undersold. When someone is as laser focused as Burcham, it helps to have the ear and the work ethic of another no-nonsense leader who is chasing the same goals.
2. Deana Burcham and Her extended family ! Without a doubt, my favorite part of being at Bill Worrell Field is that the entire operation feels like you are at a family Bar-B-Q. The concession stand, the press box, and even Craig Worrell taking photos at a place where his father’s name rests on it and his son currently plays.
The number one reason for the rocket 🚀 like success to the Burcham Bunch is :
A Mother’s Love ❤️
Back to the game preview that I mentioned earlier , Glenvar is coming to The Hill later today for a 5pm Varsity only First Pitch.
The Roster for 2025-2026
While our paths don’t cross that often because of my efforts to assist Shawn Montgomery , Jon Delp, Forrest Johnson, Jeremy Puckett, Adrienne Harris McGuire, Brittany Kinney, Terry Warf and Rick Nester with their programs in the springtime, don’t think for a second that I’m not the biggest fan of Casey Burcham and his Burcham Bunch !
A.S.P.N on The Hill 