When the players on the Springfield College JV Baseball Team saw 58 year old Larry Hasenfus, some of them thought they were getting a new coach. Instead, however, they were getting a new teammate.
Hasenfus suffers from Dyslexia, a learning disorder which seemed to have doomed his dream of getting a college degree some 40 years ago. "I couldn't do the assignments and I didn't understand why", Hasenfus said. He didn't know why until he was diagnosed with Dyslexia. Hasenfus went on into the work force, got married and is now a father of three. Recently, however, he was laid off from his job due to the recession. He wanted to go back to college to develop some new skills, but also to do something else. "It was always a dream of mine to play college sports", said Hasenfus.
He decided to go out for the Springfield College JV Baseball Team as a pitcher, and lo and behold, he earned a spot on the roster. As his teammates watch him pitch, some see Hasenfus as a blast from the past with his high leg kick and his knuckle ball. He has earned the inspiration and respect of his teammates.
There have been other examples of guys at least 2 decades removed from college age who have come back to "give it the old college try". A few years ago, a 59 year old man made the Sul Ross State Football Team. There has been a 73 year old to make the roster of a college basketball team. These stories just show that you are never to old to learn, play and compete.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Lacrosse Spreading Across America
Once a game concentrated primarily in the Northeast and the New England Region, the game of Lacrosse is growing in popularity all across the country. The game is particularly growing at the high school level.
The traditional collegiate powers are schools like Johns-Hopkins, Duke, Syracuse, Princeton, Virginia, UNC and Maryland. However, more and more schools, particularly small colleges, have started Men's' and Women's' Lacrosse programs. It's an exciting game to watch and probably even more exciting to play. Invented by Native Americans in the northeastern United States and Canada, the game has similarities to Field Hockey and Ice Hockey. Instead of hitting a ball or puck with a stick, the stick has a net at the end of it with which to catch the ball, a rubber ball about the size of a billiards ball.
Earlier today, I was watching a Men's' Lacrosse match between Virginia and Maryland, two of the top teams in the nation. The Cavaliers were ranked #1 and Maryland #5. During the game, Maryland had a beautiful goal started by the Terps goalie flinging an outlet pass to a Midfielder who flicked the ball to his teammate. The teammate faked an overhand shot and ducked under the defender, shooting an underhand shot for a goal. Virginia won the game 10-6, but it was a beautiful sequence of play by Maryland. It reminded me of a fast break in basketball or a counter attack in soccer. For those of you who are familiar with the game and, perhaps, have played it for years, you see this all the time.
Unfortunately, Lacrosse got a bad name in the press a few years ago when several players on the Duke team were charged with rape at a team party. they were all acquitted, but that was how many people not familiar with the sport were introduced to it. However, Lacrosse is not for the timid, faint of heart or the lazy. It requires speed, stamina, power and agility. Many football fans have heard of the name of Jim Brown, the Hall of Fame RB from the Cleveland Browns and, before that, Syracuse University. However, I wonder how many people realize that Brown was also an outstanding Lacrosse player as well. In fact, he was an All-American at Syracuse. Another well-known NFL player who excelled at Lacrosse was former Seattle Sea Hawks and Atlanta Falcons Linebacker Patrick Kearney. Kearney came to Virginia on a Lacrosse scholarship and ended up playing football for the Cavaliers and had an All-American career.
As we get closer to the NCAA Div. l Men's' Tournament, here are the top 10 teams: As mentioned earlier, Virginia occupies the top spot with a 13-1 record followed by North Carolina, Syracuse, Duke and Maryland. Loyola (MD), Hofstra, Stony Brook, Bucknell and Notre Dame round out the top 10. What is interesting is there are schools playing at the Div. l level who at one time would have never though of competing at all, schools such as Presbyterian, Jacksonville and Denver. At one time, the game did not expand south of the state of North Carolina or west of Pennsylvania. But, as mentioned earlier, the sport has grown in popularity in the last 20 years.
Continuing our look at the Men's' College Rankings, NCAA Div. ll looks like this: undefeated Mercyhurst (12-0) is #1 followed by Le Moyne, who is also 12-0 but trails Mercyhurst in the power rating category. Dowling, Limestone and C.W. Post round out the Div. ll top 5. Incidentally, Limestone, a school in Gaffney, SC, barely held on to their #4 national ranking when their goalie, Steve Gartleman, stopped a shot with just seconds left to preserve a 10-9 win in the Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship Game over Belmont Abbey College on Sunday. Belmont Abbey happens to be ranked #15 in the country. The rest of the div. ll top 10 looks like this: Merrimack is at #6 followed by St. Leo, Mars Hill, NYIT and Bentley. Div. lll looks like this: Cortland College from upstate New York is at the top with a record of 11-2. They are followed by Stevenson, Gettysburg, Salisbury and Roanoke. Rounding out the top 10 are Tuffs, Geneseo, Nazareth, Lynchburg and RIT. That is your look at the rankings of NCAA Lacrosse. Many colleges also have teams at the Club level as well.
From what I understand, here are some of the rules of the game. Ten players to a side, there is a 60 second shot clock in which a player must get off a shot before the 60 seconds expire. If he or she is unable to do so, it is a shot clock violation and the ball is turned over to the other team. You obviously cant hit a player in the head with your stick. I'm not sure if there is an offside rule, but there probably is. There is a 2 point arc, much like a three point arc in basketball. The player's feet have to be behind the 2 point arc when they shoot in order to score a 2 point goal. So far, that is all I know. Whoever knows the game is welcome to post a comment on this site as to what other rules are involved.
As mentioned earlier, the sport of Lacrosse has grown at the high school level as well. Like all of Lacrosse, it is most popular in the Northeastern US, but it has spread all the way down to Atlanta, GA and farther south. With the influx of northerners into the Atlanta area, several area high schools have embraced the game and some, like Lassiter High School in Marietta, GA, have produced top notch recruits for colleges. The sport seems to be most popular in the mostly white, upper class communities but some minorities have embraced the sport.
The sport is growing internationally as well. Being that it was invented by the Iroquois Indians of the Northeastern US and Canada, some Canadians play the game. Australia has had a national team in the past. Who knows, maybe Lacrosse will one day become an Olympic sport. Being that there is a lot of scoring and the game is physical, just like Ice Hockey, Lacrosse will only grow in participation and spectatorship here in the United States.
The traditional collegiate powers are schools like Johns-Hopkins, Duke, Syracuse, Princeton, Virginia, UNC and Maryland. However, more and more schools, particularly small colleges, have started Men's' and Women's' Lacrosse programs. It's an exciting game to watch and probably even more exciting to play. Invented by Native Americans in the northeastern United States and Canada, the game has similarities to Field Hockey and Ice Hockey. Instead of hitting a ball or puck with a stick, the stick has a net at the end of it with which to catch the ball, a rubber ball about the size of a billiards ball.
Earlier today, I was watching a Men's' Lacrosse match between Virginia and Maryland, two of the top teams in the nation. The Cavaliers were ranked #1 and Maryland #5. During the game, Maryland had a beautiful goal started by the Terps goalie flinging an outlet pass to a Midfielder who flicked the ball to his teammate. The teammate faked an overhand shot and ducked under the defender, shooting an underhand shot for a goal. Virginia won the game 10-6, but it was a beautiful sequence of play by Maryland. It reminded me of a fast break in basketball or a counter attack in soccer. For those of you who are familiar with the game and, perhaps, have played it for years, you see this all the time.
Unfortunately, Lacrosse got a bad name in the press a few years ago when several players on the Duke team were charged with rape at a team party. they were all acquitted, but that was how many people not familiar with the sport were introduced to it. However, Lacrosse is not for the timid, faint of heart or the lazy. It requires speed, stamina, power and agility. Many football fans have heard of the name of Jim Brown, the Hall of Fame RB from the Cleveland Browns and, before that, Syracuse University. However, I wonder how many people realize that Brown was also an outstanding Lacrosse player as well. In fact, he was an All-American at Syracuse. Another well-known NFL player who excelled at Lacrosse was former Seattle Sea Hawks and Atlanta Falcons Linebacker Patrick Kearney. Kearney came to Virginia on a Lacrosse scholarship and ended up playing football for the Cavaliers and had an All-American career.
As we get closer to the NCAA Div. l Men's' Tournament, here are the top 10 teams: As mentioned earlier, Virginia occupies the top spot with a 13-1 record followed by North Carolina, Syracuse, Duke and Maryland. Loyola (MD), Hofstra, Stony Brook, Bucknell and Notre Dame round out the top 10. What is interesting is there are schools playing at the Div. l level who at one time would have never though of competing at all, schools such as Presbyterian, Jacksonville and Denver. At one time, the game did not expand south of the state of North Carolina or west of Pennsylvania. But, as mentioned earlier, the sport has grown in popularity in the last 20 years.
Continuing our look at the Men's' College Rankings, NCAA Div. ll looks like this: undefeated Mercyhurst (12-0) is #1 followed by Le Moyne, who is also 12-0 but trails Mercyhurst in the power rating category. Dowling, Limestone and C.W. Post round out the Div. ll top 5. Incidentally, Limestone, a school in Gaffney, SC, barely held on to their #4 national ranking when their goalie, Steve Gartleman, stopped a shot with just seconds left to preserve a 10-9 win in the Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship Game over Belmont Abbey College on Sunday. Belmont Abbey happens to be ranked #15 in the country. The rest of the div. ll top 10 looks like this: Merrimack is at #6 followed by St. Leo, Mars Hill, NYIT and Bentley. Div. lll looks like this: Cortland College from upstate New York is at the top with a record of 11-2. They are followed by Stevenson, Gettysburg, Salisbury and Roanoke. Rounding out the top 10 are Tuffs, Geneseo, Nazareth, Lynchburg and RIT. That is your look at the rankings of NCAA Lacrosse. Many colleges also have teams at the Club level as well.
From what I understand, here are some of the rules of the game. Ten players to a side, there is a 60 second shot clock in which a player must get off a shot before the 60 seconds expire. If he or she is unable to do so, it is a shot clock violation and the ball is turned over to the other team. You obviously cant hit a player in the head with your stick. I'm not sure if there is an offside rule, but there probably is. There is a 2 point arc, much like a three point arc in basketball. The player's feet have to be behind the 2 point arc when they shoot in order to score a 2 point goal. So far, that is all I know. Whoever knows the game is welcome to post a comment on this site as to what other rules are involved.
As mentioned earlier, the sport of Lacrosse has grown at the high school level as well. Like all of Lacrosse, it is most popular in the Northeastern US, but it has spread all the way down to Atlanta, GA and farther south. With the influx of northerners into the Atlanta area, several area high schools have embraced the game and some, like Lassiter High School in Marietta, GA, have produced top notch recruits for colleges. The sport seems to be most popular in the mostly white, upper class communities but some minorities have embraced the sport.
The sport is growing internationally as well. Being that it was invented by the Iroquois Indians of the Northeastern US and Canada, some Canadians play the game. Australia has had a national team in the past. Who knows, maybe Lacrosse will one day become an Olympic sport. Being that there is a lot of scoring and the game is physical, just like Ice Hockey, Lacrosse will only grow in participation and spectatorship here in the United States.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Who Is The Greatest All-Time Starting 5 In Bryan History
As an alum of Bryan College, I have always followed their sports teams ever since I came there in 1990 and walked on the Soccer Team. Bryan Athletics wasn't very good back then as far as wins and losses were concerned, but the school had several student-athletes who excelled tremendously both on the field and court as well as in the class room.
I witnessed first hand some of the exploits of the athletes when I was the Public Address Announcer during Bryan Men's Basketball home games from 1992-94. Mark Pack was one of the greatest players wo ever ware a Bryan uniform. He was a two-time NCCAA and NAIA All-American during his three years there on the hill in Dayton, TN. He was a prolific three point shooter. During his last year, he hit 13 in one game. Also during his tenure at Bryan, Pack set College Basketball's all-time record for most three pointers made in one season with 221. That record still stands and is an All-Divisions record, which includes NCAA Div. l.
There were other great players during the early 90s. Clay Causey was a solid point guard for the Lions as well, along with fellow Louisiana native Jason Martinez. One of the greatest moments in my sporting life was doing the PA duties for a game in which Bryan trailed Covenant College by 31 points. Led by the scoring of Pack and Martinez, scoring 31 and 32 points respectively, the Lions scored 78 points in the second half and capped off the dramatic come from behind victory with the winning bucket by Jeremy "Jay Train" Sperring. The final was 101-100, and at that time, it was the second greatest come from behind victory in ALL of college basketball including NCAA Div. l. Sperring happened to have gone to grammar School with me from third grade to sixth grade. I actually played against him in high school. Sperring was an NAIA Scholar Athlete and an NAIA Academic All-American.
Other great players come to mind, such as Travis Dotterer, John Spears, Jeff Van Der Mark and Mitchell Byrd. Of course, these were, are and always will be great friends of mine. There were great Bryan players in the 80s, before my time at BC, players such as Dean Ropp, Dave Zuberer, Ron Cox, Rick Torbit and the Landice brothers. The Landice brothers, along with Ropp and Torbit, have been inducted into the Bryan Hall of Fame. Incidentally, Rick Torbit was the creator of the instructioanl video series called "Better Basketball" which has been endorsed by NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry.
There have been great players after my time at BC. In the late 90s and the early part of this century, Randy Evans and Jason Beschta come to mind. There are great current players as well such as DeMond Craig and Scott Newton.My whole reason for mentioning all this is that I want to pick the best all-time starting 5 and best all-time sixth man in Bryan history. Any of you who played at Bryan or went to the school and were privileged to have watched these great players need to post your comments at the "post a comment" section at the end of this article. I would love to hear your feedback.
I witnessed first hand some of the exploits of the athletes when I was the Public Address Announcer during Bryan Men's Basketball home games from 1992-94. Mark Pack was one of the greatest players wo ever ware a Bryan uniform. He was a two-time NCCAA and NAIA All-American during his three years there on the hill in Dayton, TN. He was a prolific three point shooter. During his last year, he hit 13 in one game. Also during his tenure at Bryan, Pack set College Basketball's all-time record for most three pointers made in one season with 221. That record still stands and is an All-Divisions record, which includes NCAA Div. l.
There were other great players during the early 90s. Clay Causey was a solid point guard for the Lions as well, along with fellow Louisiana native Jason Martinez. One of the greatest moments in my sporting life was doing the PA duties for a game in which Bryan trailed Covenant College by 31 points. Led by the scoring of Pack and Martinez, scoring 31 and 32 points respectively, the Lions scored 78 points in the second half and capped off the dramatic come from behind victory with the winning bucket by Jeremy "Jay Train" Sperring. The final was 101-100, and at that time, it was the second greatest come from behind victory in ALL of college basketball including NCAA Div. l. Sperring happened to have gone to grammar School with me from third grade to sixth grade. I actually played against him in high school. Sperring was an NAIA Scholar Athlete and an NAIA Academic All-American.
Other great players come to mind, such as Travis Dotterer, John Spears, Jeff Van Der Mark and Mitchell Byrd. Of course, these were, are and always will be great friends of mine. There were great Bryan players in the 80s, before my time at BC, players such as Dean Ropp, Dave Zuberer, Ron Cox, Rick Torbit and the Landice brothers. The Landice brothers, along with Ropp and Torbit, have been inducted into the Bryan Hall of Fame. Incidentally, Rick Torbit was the creator of the instructioanl video series called "Better Basketball" which has been endorsed by NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry.
There have been great players after my time at BC. In the late 90s and the early part of this century, Randy Evans and Jason Beschta come to mind. There are great current players as well such as DeMond Craig and Scott Newton.My whole reason for mentioning all this is that I want to pick the best all-time starting 5 and best all-time sixth man in Bryan history. Any of you who played at Bryan or went to the school and were privileged to have watched these great players need to post your comments at the "post a comment" section at the end of this article. I would love to hear your feedback.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Terry Becomes Berry's All-Time Leader In Home Runs
From time to time here at KG's College Athletics, we want to recognize milestones and tremendous individual accomplishments. One of those accomplishments happened Friday night, April 9 in Rome, GA.
Mitch Terry, a Sr. Third Baseman on the Berry College Baseball Team, jacked a three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning to become the school's all-time leading home run hitter with 31 homers in his career. The Vikings went on to beat Auburn-Montgomery (AL) by the score of 13-12. The home run erased a 5-0 deficit and was part of a huge inning for the Vikings as they sent 11 batters to the plate. Terry's teammate Madison Moss started off the inning with a single and accomplished something rare, he got two hits in the same inning.
Terry's good work didn't stop with the milestone home run. In the top of the fifth, the Vikings had the bases loaded with the Woodstock, GA native stepping to the plate. Terry promptly laced a double down the right field line giving the vikings three insurance runs and a 13-6 lead.
The Senators of AUM battled back to within one run, but the Vikings held on for the win. Terry went 3 for 5 in the contest knocking in 6 RBIs. After Friday night's performance, Terry was the team leader in home runs this season (10) and RBIs (41).
In the 2009 season, Terry was a Second Team All-Conference selection. He batted.332, hit 10 home runs and had a .574 slugging percentage. His 39 RBIs during the year were tied for fifth most on the team. Terry had back-to-back three-hit outings against Faulkner (3/28) for his best batting performance of the season. Terry plays Third Base, a very demanding position. At Third Base, Terry posted an .868 fielding percentage.
Terry is just one of the many student-athletes who are competing at the small college level. These are stories most college sports fans don't hear about. These are stories that deserve to be made known, and they will continue to be made known here at kgcollegeathletics.blogspot.com and our Sister blog kgussports.blogspot.com. For more information on this story, the reader can go to www.berry.edu/athletics.
Mitch Terry, a Sr. Third Baseman on the Berry College Baseball Team, jacked a three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning to become the school's all-time leading home run hitter with 31 homers in his career. The Vikings went on to beat Auburn-Montgomery (AL) by the score of 13-12. The home run erased a 5-0 deficit and was part of a huge inning for the Vikings as they sent 11 batters to the plate. Terry's teammate Madison Moss started off the inning with a single and accomplished something rare, he got two hits in the same inning.
Terry's good work didn't stop with the milestone home run. In the top of the fifth, the Vikings had the bases loaded with the Woodstock, GA native stepping to the plate. Terry promptly laced a double down the right field line giving the vikings three insurance runs and a 13-6 lead.
The Senators of AUM battled back to within one run, but the Vikings held on for the win. Terry went 3 for 5 in the contest knocking in 6 RBIs. After Friday night's performance, Terry was the team leader in home runs this season (10) and RBIs (41).
In the 2009 season, Terry was a Second Team All-Conference selection. He batted.332, hit 10 home runs and had a .574 slugging percentage. His 39 RBIs during the year were tied for fifth most on the team. Terry had back-to-back three-hit outings against Faulkner (3/28) for his best batting performance of the season. Terry plays Third Base, a very demanding position. At Third Base, Terry posted an .868 fielding percentage.
Terry is just one of the many student-athletes who are competing at the small college level. These are stories most college sports fans don't hear about. These are stories that deserve to be made known, and they will continue to be made known here at kgcollegeathletics.blogspot.com and our Sister blog kgussports.blogspot.com. For more information on this story, the reader can go to www.berry.edu/athletics.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Baseball Factory In Idaho
When it comes to the subject of College Baseball, schools such as Texas, Georgia Tech, LSU, Oklahoma St. Stanford and Miami (FL) come to mind. They, among others, are the traditional NCAA Div. l powers and seem to make it to the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska almost every year. Also, they have produced many of Major League Baseball's best players.
However, there is a college program in the Pacific Northwest that doesn't get a whole lot of notoriety because they play at a lower level. However, their brand of baseball is anything but low. Lewis & Clark St. College, located in Lewiston, ID, is one of the most successful college baseball programs in the country. The warriors have won 16 NAIA National Titles dating back to 1984. They have produced three NAIA National Players of the Year, 78 All-Americans, and 14 players who have either played in MLB or are currently playing. One of those players was pitcher Keith Foulke, who while with the Chicago White Sox back in 2001, tallied 42 saves on the season, the second most in White Sox history. Another pitcher who hales from LCSC is Steve Reed, who pitched for several Major League clubs, including the Atlanta Braves. Reed pitched 13 straight seasons in the Bigs (1992-2005) and tied the Major League record for appearances with 50 in 13 straight seasons.
Currently, there are only two Lewis & Clark players in the Majors at this time: Carlos Fisher, a pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds and Brendan Ryan, a Shortstop with the St. Louis Cardinals. There are also several former LCSC players playing at all levels of the Minor Leagues.
This year is not much different than most years for the Warriors. They sit at the top spot of the NAIA Top 25 with a record of 28-2. They currently have the nation's best ERA at 2.55. They are #1 in runs scored per game (7.8) and the Warrior hitters rank 10th in the nation with an average of 11.3 hits per game. Coach Ed Cheff has been at the helm for 34 years and, as mentioned earlier, has led the Warriors to 16 national titles. From 1982 to 1992, Cheff guided the Warriors to 11 consecutive national championship games, 8 of which they won. That has not been duplicated at any collegiate sport at any college level. Cheff is currently fourth on the All Division List with most wins. He trails Gordie Gillespie of St. Francis University, Augie Garrido of the University of Texas and Gene Stephenson of Wichita State University. Coming into the 2010 season, Cheff win/loss record was 1,657-425. Over 100 of his former players have gone on to play professional baseball. Cheff was named to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1994 and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2009, Cheff was honored as ABCA's recipient of the Lefty Gomez Award for his lifetime contribution to Armature Baseball. f things keep going as they have been, Cheff may find himself one day in Cooperstown. For more information on Lewis & Clark State College and their baseball program, go to www.lcsc.edu/athletics/Baseball.
However, there is a college program in the Pacific Northwest that doesn't get a whole lot of notoriety because they play at a lower level. However, their brand of baseball is anything but low. Lewis & Clark St. College, located in Lewiston, ID, is one of the most successful college baseball programs in the country. The warriors have won 16 NAIA National Titles dating back to 1984. They have produced three NAIA National Players of the Year, 78 All-Americans, and 14 players who have either played in MLB or are currently playing. One of those players was pitcher Keith Foulke, who while with the Chicago White Sox back in 2001, tallied 42 saves on the season, the second most in White Sox history. Another pitcher who hales from LCSC is Steve Reed, who pitched for several Major League clubs, including the Atlanta Braves. Reed pitched 13 straight seasons in the Bigs (1992-2005) and tied the Major League record for appearances with 50 in 13 straight seasons.
Currently, there are only two Lewis & Clark players in the Majors at this time: Carlos Fisher, a pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds and Brendan Ryan, a Shortstop with the St. Louis Cardinals. There are also several former LCSC players playing at all levels of the Minor Leagues.
This year is not much different than most years for the Warriors. They sit at the top spot of the NAIA Top 25 with a record of 28-2. They currently have the nation's best ERA at 2.55. They are #1 in runs scored per game (7.8) and the Warrior hitters rank 10th in the nation with an average of 11.3 hits per game. Coach Ed Cheff has been at the helm for 34 years and, as mentioned earlier, has led the Warriors to 16 national titles. From 1982 to 1992, Cheff guided the Warriors to 11 consecutive national championship games, 8 of which they won. That has not been duplicated at any collegiate sport at any college level. Cheff is currently fourth on the All Division List with most wins. He trails Gordie Gillespie of St. Francis University, Augie Garrido of the University of Texas and Gene Stephenson of Wichita State University. Coming into the 2010 season, Cheff win/loss record was 1,657-425. Over 100 of his former players have gone on to play professional baseball. Cheff was named to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1994 and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2009, Cheff was honored as ABCA's recipient of the Lefty Gomez Award for his lifetime contribution to Armature Baseball. f things keep going as they have been, Cheff may find himself one day in Cooperstown. For more information on Lewis & Clark State College and their baseball program, go to www.lcsc.edu/athletics/Baseball.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)