It’s Monday Morning 🌄 and Elvis has left the building but kudos for hanging in there for 10 Days !

Wayne Carter, far right, pictured here with Myself and Louisville Head Women’s Basketball 🏀 Coach Jeff Walz.

   At 8:30 this morning, my 70 year old Brother climbed into his car 🚗 and began his 426 mile drive back to Sellersburg, Indiana. Proud of the fact that he came to town for our Banquet and lasted into the 10th day before needing to head back home 🏡.

Wayne capped his visit off with three hours of Special Olympics Basketball 🏀 practice and visiting briefly with Marion Harris late yesterday afternoon.

  This week will be prepare for our biannual trek down to Hilton Head Island 🗿🏝. We will continue to plug away at the backlog of stories to be written as well as sharing any notes 📝 that come our way.

Godspeed on the journey 🙏 back to Indiana and congrats 👏 on keeping pace for 10 Days !

Stops ✋in a multitude of places and visited with family 👪, old friends and new friends ➕ made some new ones down in Greensboro over those three days.

Welcome 🙏 to Saturday, where we have Carroll County High School Soccer, West Virginia Tech University Baseball ⚾️ and ACC Women’s Basketball 🏀 tournament to follow ! *1pm update added

Made it to Beckley, West Virginia where its 32° and snowing 🌨. Ideal Baseball ⚾️ weather, for sure. Indiana University – Columbus is in town for the weekend set of three games and we couldn’t get a game in yesterday.

Marion Harris is across Lovers Leap with our four HS Soccer ⚽️ teams, including his Daughters Coaching debut.

Down in Greensboro, where I’m sure its warmer, we have UNC- NC State ➕ Duke- Notre Dame in the Women’s semi-finals. The action starts at Noon.

Coach Nester checked in with Monday being Softball team Photo Day !

➕ anything else that makes it to the inbox 📥.

Have yourself a Blessed Day 🙌

________________________________________

Time for the 1pm update :

Soccer ⚽️ Pitch

•••note TIME changes•••
      WVU TECH-IUPUCC
Saturday.   3/7/25

2pm.      -Bat Testing

2:25.    -Tech       In/Out
2:35.    -IUPUC   In/Out
2:45. -Coach/Umpire Meet
2:55- Intro/Anthem
3pm-    First Pitch (1×9)

WVU Tech:
••3rd Base dugout
Uniforms:
••White/White

We have been pushed back to 3pm for 1st Pitch.

UNC looked like they were headed to being run 🏃‍♂️ out of the Coliseum by the Wolf 🐺 Pack but have rallied back.

Marion’s pics from Soccer ⚽️ as our Girls JV squad is back after a brief dormant period !

Plenty more to follow, in the next update.

1:30 – NC State by 17, heading to the 4th

4pm – Duke 47-42 after 3rd quarter, Lions 2-1 after 3rd inning

Golden Bears 🐻 Baseball ⚾️ pulled within 6-5 but fell 14-5 in a game that took 3 hours & 12 minutes to play ▶️

Catching up with Veteran Coach Chris Dodson at his 2024-2025 Trail Blazers game…

Kris Richardson, Chris Dodson and Jerry Carter

  Once a person steps 🚶‍♂️forward and participates in one of our efforts they are a part of who we are going forward. So the ever so long odds of Ethan and Kris Richardson walking through the front door 🚪 of Spotswood High School at the exact moment, were magnified by the fact that both of us ended up by the side of Chris Dodson.

Kris and I will have a bond for eternity as we spent what felt like ten years compiling our Girls 👧 Basketball book 📖 and when it was time to legitimize out efforts I sought out the most respected person I could find to write ✍ the Book Foreword.

Chris Dodson has been coaching High School 🏫 Basketball 🏀 here in the Commonwealth for a long time. Over the years he has a collection of Championship rings 💍 that takes both hands to display. I’m not sure he wouldn’t have one or two more if not for Carroll County and CCHS might have one more if not for Spotswood.

Chris Dodson, Alan Knight and Jerry Carter

Dodson attended Page County High School 🏫 and if that sounds familiar to some folks, it because I spent a decade ➕ trying hard to add sparkle to PCHS. Alan Knight is also a graduate 🎓 of the school and is in his fifth decade Coaching there.

When our Boys drew Spotswood as an opponent for Tuesday night at 7:45, I smiled when I realized that Dodson’s group was playing before hand.

Getting a twofer out of the night was a bonus and having Allen Worrell sitting on the gym floor next to me was icing on the cake 🎂 because he would be using his time adjusting his camera 📷 during the opener so I could end up with a few nice pictures.

Spotswood #20, Macey Myers being guarded by Staunton River High’s Payton Chewning.

During the game itself, Staunton River bolted out to a 9-0 lead and it felt like it might be over before the end of the first quarter. Dodson remained calm and his team pulled within 11-9 by the end of the quarter.

By halftime, the Trail Blazers led 25-22

A roster with just two Senior players, expanded the lead to 36-31 with 8:00 to play after Alana Taylor went 2 of 2 from the charity stripe.

Diving to save a loose ball under the watchful eye 👁 of her Coach.

  Just as Spotswood looked to put game away and advance to the State Semi-final, Staunton River connected on consecutive 3-pointers in which the shooter didn’t call Glass before hand. It turned out that Dodson needed Taylor to go 5 of 8 from the free throw line to finally advance, 47-44.

The reaction moment

One last photo, this one without Dodson in it.

Dennis Zimmerman is the Man 👨 in the middle and Preacher Man and Dodson have a special relationship as well.

Tomorrow night 🌙, Dodson and his team will try and punch 👊 another ticket 🎟 to the Championship Game. Once again they will do it inside of the Trail Blazers gym. The difference between Tuesday and Friday being I won’t be pulling with all of my being for the Boys team to fall in their game.

Northside HS vs Spotswood should be a barn burner of a game and both Kris and I will be pulling for the winner 🏆 of the contest to bring home the State Championship so our amazing Boys run will have included the eventual Title holder.

While I won’t be off US-33 Friday night, I will certainly be pulling for Dodson and his Trail Blazers.

Staunton River   11. 11. 9. 13 – 44

Spotswood High  9   16  11 11- 47