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.

1. The number one reason for the rocket 🚀 like success to the Burcham Bunch is :

Back to the game preview that I mentioned earlier , Glenvar is coming to The Hill later today for a 5pm Varsity only First Pitch.

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 !

Thank you, Coach, for leading by example !

Psalm 7:17 I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.

The Hill – Carroll County High School became more confident with each minute that ticked off the clock ⏰️ Monday night at Tommy Thompson Field as they faced perinatal power Glenvar in Girls Soccer.

With the thought of a nil – nil draw dancing in our heads, Gabby Barba snuck a shot past Alexis Sheffey well inside of the closing two minutes, allowing Glenvar to escape with a 1-0 Three Rivers District victory over Carroll County.

Sheffey, the senior tri-captain, had played the game of her career in keeping the always tough Highlanders off the scoreboard for almost the full 90 minutes. Barba had been the lead instigator for the visitors from start to finish, so it was fitting that if a Highlander player would break the seal on the goal, it would be #2.

Glenvar 🏫 has set the bar for soccer at the high school level for quite some time as other programs in both the District and across the Commonwealth use their matchups against the Highlanders as a measuring stick.

Everything was going in the right direction for the Lady Cavaliers, as the Junior Varsity team was acknowledged prior to the game as they missed out on their opportunity to challenge the Big Dog 🐕 as for the second straight season Glenvar has fielded just one squad.

Former Lady Cavalier and current college player,  Karmen Smith was on the sidelines fulfilling her new role as volunteer assistant coach. The spring break might have lowered the number of fans in the stands, but those who were on The Hill more than made up with their energy.

It’s not the norm to celebrate a nil-nil tie, and I promise you that it could only occur when the opponent is Glenvar soccer.

Savannah Swecker provided the early first-half opportunity for Carroll County with a charge at 31:30, but Maddie Frackelton made the save. Yuleimy Solis added one at 3:20, but everything in between was about Sheffey and the backline defense of the Lady Cavaliers.

Starting the second 40:00, Glenvar turned up the pressure considerably. Six different shots headed towards the net in the opening sixteen minutes. The most intense play of the game took place just under 24:00 minutes remaining, and Sheffey was on the ground inside the box.

  Glenvar rolled the ball towards the empty goal, and everything looked like it was taking place in slow 🐌 motion. As the ball looked to cross the line, it was Aliza Hardy that steeped in to preserve the 0-0 score.

The Highlanders kept attacking, and Sheffey kept them at bay. The visitors sent the ball in the direction of the net fifteen times across the second half.

After the 80:00 minutes of regulation, the teams lined up to play two 5:00 overtime periods. Alisia Torres Lopez recorded a shot on goal for CCHS in the extra frame, and when the game went under the final two minutes for the fourth and final time, the crowd collectively held its breath in hopes of a draw.

Glenvar is the standard berrier for the folks who play soccer ⚽️ on The Hill, and for a night, we closed the gap.

Up at Glenvar tonight, the home team won both matches, 6-4 and 8-0 over our Boys.

Now, here is the match description through the eyes 👀 of Head Coach Adrienne Harris McGuire :

What a night at home for the Varsity Lady Cavaliers against the top team in the district!! The girls took the top team in the district to overtime and it took them 89 minutes to find a goal. The final score will go down as a 1-0 loss but for us it is a huge step in the right direction! For the last couple of years Glenvar has been a game that many were not excited to play. Glenvar has been a power house in our district for quite a few years. Last night our girls stepped up to the challenge and did not back down!! The heart and fight our girls had was amazing to watch.

Alexis Sheffey had an outstanding night in goal. She saw many shots, but she stepped up and had a huge night for us. Our defense stepped up to the challenge as well. I feel like it was the best night of the year for our backline so far. Our defense included Jackie Arellano-Torres, Genesis Harmon, Elena McKenzie, and Aliza Hardy. The defense fought all night long with the speed of Glenvar’s forwards and all the numbers they would bring up into their offense.

    In the second half Aliza Hardy came up with a big save right on our goal line. A ball made it through our defense and past Alexis but Aliza was behind them covering and was able to clear it out right before it rolled over the line. This was a major play for us.

Our midfield and forwards also had major impacts on our game last night. Our midfield did a great job of making sure they came all the way back on defense. Callie Harris and Bibiana Rojas Bautista were key players in the middle of the field for us last night. They did a great job of breaking up Glenvar’s offensive momentum many times before they got to our defense.

      These two also did a great job of getting up and down the field when we had opportunities to push up into our offensive third. Our wing midfielders were Nathaly Contreras, Yeili Urbina, Kristen Dalton, and Yuleimy Solis. All four of these players helped us tremendously defensively. They did a really great job of getting back on defense so that they could be the first defender.

     This allowed our defense to provide extra backup in case the midfield did get beat. We did an amazing job of covering each other on defense last night. Our forwards played a lot more defense than they normally do last night, but they all really stepped up! Our forwards last night were Savannah Swecker, Alisia Torres Lopez, Ithaca Vaught, and Valeria Rosales. All four of these players not only had a few breakaways against a very solid defense, but they also provided us a lot of defensive support into our midfield.   

       There were a couple plays where Savannah and Alisia combined a few passes between each other and were able to get in behind Glenvar’s defense.
Overall, last night was a full team effort from the ones on the field and the ones on the sideline.

       It was a huge step in the right direction for our program. Our girls never backed down and never gave up. That is not easy to do when you are playing defense for almost the entirety of a game. I am so proud of the girls for the heart that they showed and the fight that they all had. I am excited to get back to work at the end of this week to begin preparing for 3 big games next week.

More 2 follow…..