Words to Live by, the Special Olympics motto! Making the most of the coloring paper available at Virginia Military Institute on Saturday

” Let me Win, but if I cannot win, Let me be Brave in my attempt.”

Late last night 🌙, shortly after the Florida Gators completed their Season of Comebacks by defeating Houston for the National Championship, the camera 📷 picked up on Gator players trying to console the Cougar players that were on the floor.

It was a Moment that gave me hope, even if it was just for a moment or two. I live on the outskirts of the Town called Winning is Everything. It’s a small community of people that believe that it still matters how you represent oneself.

The past few days have been filled with many a contest that has not gone in the direction of the team that we choose to support but it doesn’t change the level that we support them, not even a little.

Last night, Adrienne Harris and her Girls Soccer ⚽️ team ran into a buzz saw that is Glenvar.

West Virginia Tech University dropped two out of three and the two setbacks were by a wide margin.

Coach Nester and Donna spent Saturday afternoon with Macie Adkins and her teammates at Southwest Virginia Community College. The home team was swept in a double header that day, without scoring a run. I’m sure they all enjoyed each others company just the same.

Jabin Talley was surrounded by Family 👪 on Friday afternoon when he dropped his latest Tennis 🎾 match.

Thursday night, the Carroll County Softball team fell 6-5 at Tazewell High. The walkoff victory for the Bulldogs was the second consecutive setback for the Lady Cavaliers. Not the norm for the program. The JV team lost 9-8 in a game where time was called, ending it early.

My Wife’s College Basketball 🏀 team suffered a loss on Saturday night 🌙 that will be talked about for quite sometime now. Note 📝, my Duke Women’s team gave up a fourth quarter lead in their bid to get to Tampa (Final Four).

We can’t all be like the Nester Nine, now can we ? Head Coach Adam Nester sits at 6-0 heading into their game tonight on The Hill. Five of the six wins have been by shutout. Promo here as the JV Baseball ⚾️ team has The Hill to itself tonight. [Boys 👦 Tennis 🎾 also Home]

Getting back to my framed work of Art and the Special Olympics motto, sportsmanship is or should be the focus each and every time that folks compete with one another. Carroll County earned one victory in a total of four games on Saturday but our Athletes left Lexington knowing that they gave their best efforts.

Sports has always been designed to be an outlet for people. Both the participants and the people that support them, could get away from the real world 🌎 and all of its challenges.

Teams are going to win some, lose some and in some sports, tie 👔 some. Remember to take the time to enjoy the couple of hours that we get to take a break from reality and enjoy the ball game(s).

Especially the parents who are watching their Kiddos compete, there will come a time when they won’t be playing the games they love any longer. Enjoy the opportunity to watch them play while you can and consider it a bonus when the are victorious.

If you see them ask like a Florida Gator did last night, stand up and applaud 👏.

We will end the post 📫 on a happy note 📝 by adding that Natalie Harris and E & H win a game 20-5 on Sunday, a few days after losing one 22-3. My guess is that Marion and Shelia were equally proud after both contests.

Vickey Ritchie wears many a Hats 👒 in her efforts to bring inclusion to our Area 9 Special Olympics Basketball 🏀 teams.

Saturday morning 🌄 the Bus 🚌 left Hillsville Elementary School at 8:30 am. With The Hill in the rear view mirror, Vickey Ritchie turned her focus to the new adventure awaiting her Cavaliers and Sure Shots basketball teams.

The folks who are in charge of the Special Olympics event held each year had extended a first time invitation to Ritchie and our group and the date 📅 was added to the calendar. Then the research and planning process began because Coach Vickey is also the Event Coordinator, Athletic Director and doesn’t leave anything to chance. When a person takes on a roll with the level of responsibility that being in charge brings, one wants to control EVERY controllable possible.

Virginia Milatary Institute is located in picturesque Lexington, Virginia. The area is home to three colleges in VMI, Washington and Lee & Southern Virginia University. The VMI campus is historic and spread out.

The festivities began at Marshall Hall and it was well planned, capped by a kickoff and Pep Rally, highlighted by an Olympic torch 🔦 ceremony.

Following the event kickoff, it was time to follow the Keydets across the Campus to the Hall where the actual contests were to be played. Both the Cavaliers and the Sure Shots were guaranteed two games apiece across the afternoon, so endurance has to be part of the thought process as well

Trying to guage which Athletes would enjoy the trek across the Campus and which ones would be exhausted from the experience. The group headed out, part of them on foot with the Keydets and the remaining ones on the School Bus 🚌.

The reason why getting the team from Point A to Point B is a relevant to the story of the day is that is magnifies the enormous planning that goes into every day that Vickey Ritchie takes her group on their next adventure.

Basketball 🏀 games were played from 1:00 pm until 4:45. Both of our teams played 5 on 5 Full Court while others played 3 on 3 Half Court and even more participants enjoyed the Skills Events.

Moe, the VMI Mascot, was the life of the party 🥳, from start to finish. Moe even survived the Bear Hug of the Day from one of our Athletes.

Following the final game of the afternoon, a few minutes were set aside for the Athletes to remove their shoes 👞 and participate in a dance 💃, something that was perfectly placed to fill the gap until the 5:00 dinner 🍽 at the third and final location.

After a fun filled meal, our Athletes boarded the Bus 🚌 for the trip back to The Hill. Roughly twelve hours from start to finish, by the time everyone unloaded their bags 🎒 back at Hillsville Elementary. The Athletes left the School with their new Medals 🏅 but more importantly, a treasure chest full of memories after their latest day spent with their Teammates, Famalies and the Lady 👩 that puts the ” Special ” in our Special Olympics, Vickey Ritchie.

Thank You to the four playing partners that gave up their Saturday to provide Security and Love for each of the Athletes. Keaton, Zeke, DJ and Dr. Dave.

Thank You to our hosts at VMI and the Special Olympics. They combined to create an atmosphere that would produce lasting memories. Trying to incorporate new guests to an event of this size is more of a challenge than most people could appreciate.

Thank you to every family member who made themselves available 🙏 for a brand new adventure. It made the day everything it could be.

Thank you to the Bus Driver Roger ( and his wife) that always answers the call. The lunch that was provided was a huge asset for our Group.

” Our bus load of folks tremendously enjoyed the meal at the mess Hall, and they had a ball on the way back home,” said Ritchie. ” They all had an absolute ball even, I think what it comes down to is that they all knew that they did their absolute best.”

Cavaliers win the final game over the Sure Shots, 28-22.

It was fitting that the day ended with Carroll County playing against Carroll County. We controlled the narrative and the focus was 1000% about inclusion. It also provided an opportunity for a coaching match-up that rivaled Geno versus Dawn in the just completed Women’s Basketball 🏀 National Championship Game. But no, not really.

It was just one of the most impressive people that I know coaching against a Big Fan of hers. And a kangaroo, you can’t forget the Kangaroo !

Slightly different approach to this story as it will be up to Allen & Vickey if they want to add to it and run with it past it appearing on our site.

Some details about the day will be expanded on if that’s the case. Such as who provided the Sandwiches🥪 and the full name of the Bus 🚌 Driver.

Vickey Ritchie is a Special, Special Lady 👩 that gives at a level that is off the charts. Somewhere she owns a Hulk Statue to prove it !

Thank You Ma’am, for taking a chance by going to Lexington !

Hanging out = Helping out in whatever manner possible !

Welcome to Thursday where a busy, busy Day is hoping to take place for the Cavaliers (weather permitting) ➕ Middle School 🏫 Softball results from Wednesday.

Both of the Boys Soccer ⚽️ teams are set to head up to The Highlands today and the Softball teams are looking to play Tazewell. The Junior Varsity team is set to host a double header at Cavalier Park while the Varsity team takes to the road.

The contest versus Tazewell will be the only stand alone contest for the Lady Cavaliers on their 21 game schedule. The other 10 opponents will be a Home and Home.

If anything changes due to the weather conditions we will share the information as it becomes available.

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The Middle School Softball team took to the Diamond 💎 once again and here is the breakdown, curtosey of Travis Osborne and Game Changer.

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A Tough evening for our CCMS Softballers. Keep working hard Ladies!!! Let’s Go CAVS !!!🥎🥎

Srong Showing From Both Offenses In Carroll County Middle School Loss To Lady Buffs Middle School

By GameChanger Media

Both teams put up a bunch of runs, but Carroll County Middle School fell to Lady Buffs Middle School 29-13 on Wednesday. Lady Buffs Middle School collected 19 hits, while Carroll County Middle School had 10.

Carroll County Middle School got on the board in the first inning after a steal of home scored one run.

Lady Buffs Middle School flipped the game on its head in the top of the second, scoring 22 runs on 15 hits to take the lead, 22-1. The biggest blow in the inning was a single by Kinley D on an 0-2 count that drove in two.

Carroll County Middle School scored seven runs on six hits in the bottom of the second inning. Morgan O drew a walk, scoring one run, Briley M drew a walk, scoring one run, Kate H doubled, scoring two runs, Ashlynn S doubled, scoring two runs, and Maeli P singled, scoring one run.

Lady Buffs Middle School scored seven runs on four hits in the top of the third inning. Kinley D drew a walk, scoring one run, Kayley Y doubled, scoring two runs, Layna G doubled, scoring two runs, London M doubled, scoring one run, and an error scored one run.

Carroll County Middle School scored five runs on three hits in the bottom of the third inning. Lily S drew a walk, scoring one run, Ashlynn S drew a walk, scoring one run, Zari C drew a walk, scoring one run, and Morgan O doubled, scoring two runs.

Ada C started in the circle for Carroll County Middle School. The starter allowed 13 hits and 17 runs over one and two-thirds innings, striking out none and walking five. Dannan W began the game for Lady Buffs Middle School. The starter surrendered one hit and one run over one inning, striking out two and walking three.

Carroll County Middle School amassed 10 hits in the game. Ashlynn S drove the middle of the lineup, leading Carroll County Middle School with three runs batted in. The infielder went 2-for-2 on the day. Maeli P and Ashlynn S each collected two hits for Carroll County Middle School. Briley M paced Carroll County Middle School with two walks. Overall, the team had patience at the plate, tallying 12 walks for the game. Maeli P and Laken L each stole multiple bases for Carroll County Middle School. Carroll County Middle School stole six bases in the game.

Lady Buffs Middle School tallied 19 hits in the game. Sydney C led Lady Buffs Middle School with three hits in three at bats. Kenley D, Layna G, and Kayley Y each drove in three runs for Lady Buffs Middle School. Brooklynn S, London M, Kinley D, and G L each collected multiple hits for Lady Buffs Middle School. Lady Buffs Middle School had a strong eye at the plate, tallying 11 walks for the game. Madison B, Kinley D, and Sydney C led the team with two bases on balls each. Brooklynn S, London M, Madison B, Sydney C, Kayley Y, and G L each stole multiple bases for Lady Buffs Middle School. Lady Buffs Middle School stole 18 bases in the game. Lady Buffs Middle School were sure-handed and didn’t commit a single error. Sydney C made the most plays with five.

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Thank You Travis!

Monday starts the Final Five Days in the pursuit of reaching 600 straight!!

The good news is that there aren’t any scheduled events today, at least none that I’m aware of, so finishing up the second half of the Anthony Barnes season wrapup after Midnight pushes the streak up one more Day !!!

600 is the final obstacle in the chase if you will. The goal was to see 👀 how long one could wake up and try to find away to lift up another person’s Spirit ???

The first red letter # was 365. Jimmy Buffett and Martina McBride sung a duo called Another Trip Around the Sun 🌞 so hitting the 365 mark was a Big Deal for me. Then came 400 and eventually 500 and now 600 is in sight. I promised myself that I would never create a post 📫 just to keep the streak alive and that fact is incredibly important as well.

Got to get up in a bit and take Lin to her next Doctor’s appointment so I will save some of the next stories for later.

It is on a sad note 📝 that Day 600 won’t take place in Tampa, Florida as the Duke University Women’s Basketball team fell just short in their quest to get to the Final Four today against the defending Champion South Carolina

Kara Lawson will lead the Lady 👩 Blue Devils to the Final Four and I hope to join them there for it. Was kinda hoping 🙏 that it would be this week but not so much. Great season 👏 for the team and just like Coach Barnes & Company, just three wins shy. But the Elite Eight is a great finishing spot.

Have yourself a Blessed Monday 🙌

Friday belonged to Rick Nester and Lady 👩 Cavaliers Softball, Saturday belonged to Lawrence Nesselrodt and Golden Bear 🐻 Baseball, Sunday will be a Trifecta of Hoops related events !

What does Vickey Ritchie, Anthony Barnes and Kara Lawson all have in common ? They each coach Basketball 🏀 and today they all have an incredible task ahead of them so from 1pm until roughly 5pm, we will do our Best to assist the Trio in any manner possible.

1:00 – 3:00 – Kara Lawson is the Head Coach of the Duke University Women’s Basketball team, in year five of her stay inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Lawson was one of All-Time greats at Tennessee during her playing days and then spent time on Television 📺 before excepting the job in Durham.

Unlike their Men counterparts, the Ladies won’t be favored to win today as they face the #1 Seed and defending Champion, South Carolina. As a #2 seed, Duke has defeated the #15, #10 & #3 to get here and now they stand one game shy of the Final Four in Tampa, Florida.

Lawson is the real deal with her speech to her team back in 2022 becoming a staple of life for many, around the World 🌎. We were fortunate enough to join her team sweep through the ACC Tournament in Greensboro and be in the building as well when they defeated Lehigh and Oregon in the opening rounds last week.

Of the three tasks today, the Duke angle is the easiest until 1:35 anyway. Just turn on the TV and cheer the Blue Devils on with as much energy 💙 as possible. Knowing that a victory is unlikely but if it were to happen, a Friday trip to Tampa is in the cards !

1:35 is the ✂️off time to leave and get to Hillsville Elementary School 🏫 by 2pm. Vickey Ritchie is holding practice from 2pm to 4pm today. The main focus for today is to get our Special Olympics Athletes ready for the trip up to Lexington (VMI) next Saturday.

The addition of the day long festivities in Lexington is HUGE for our group and the focus for the first hour will be getting prepared for a brand new experience for our Athletes !

The second event will also require a second early departure as the third and final event gets underway at 3:00 with the First United Methodist Church ⛪ hosting the final piece of business for the 2024 – 2025 Boys 👦 Basketball 🏀 season.

While Lawson would love to still be Coaching next weekend and Ritchie will be Coaching next weekend, Barnes will attempt to create the perfect send-off for the final time together as a team.

The story has been well documented and it was fun for me to perform a great deal of the documenting. Making it to the Elite Eight before falling to the eventual State Champs on their home floor but now its time to say Goodbye 👋 to the group as a whole.

Bryce and Brayden Smoot, Ethan Richardson, Cody (I hit a Home Run and pitched Friday night) Reece, Landon Puckett and Jay Burnette have played their last game together. Add in that Assistant Coach Kris Richardson has coached his final Varsity Boys game and one has the making of an emotional Goodbye.

Three different events taking place, each with its own level of importance, taking place on a Sunday afternoon at various places on The Hill. Three different roles to be played here as well.

Pull for Lawson in hopes she can Coach another game next weekend. Assist, with my voice, Vickey as she prepares for our Big Weekend and finally attend my fourth Annual Banquet hosted by Coach Barnes and do my best to paint a picture 📷 of the Love 💘 on display in the room.

Today promises to be a day of emotional moments and we will do our best to add anything we can to each of the proceedings because it is what we do.

Lawson, Ritchie and Barnes, in that order today !

Have yourself a Blessed Day today !