05 TWO LOCALS LAND ON TOM SOX ROSTER
scrımmageplay THE CENTRAL VIRGINIA SPORTS AUTHORITY
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It’s called Orienteering and it’s the most interesting sport you’ve never heard of. PAGE 07
VOL 6. ISSUE 20 :: JUNE 30, 2015
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TRULY UNIFIED AHS leads the way in special needs
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THE WAY A look at FUMA’s national champion Orienteering team
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BUILDING THE TOM SOX Locals join startup Valley League squad
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GAME TIME Tom Sox win their first game of the year
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FAR FROM SIDELINED Making the most of an injury
You have no idea
VOL 6 . ISSUE 30 :: JUNE 30, 2015
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vol 6. issue 20 :: June 30, 2015
It’s called Orienteering and it’s the most interesting sport you’ve never heard of. page 13
S TA F F Bart Isley, Creative Director Bob Isley, Infrastructure Director Ryan Yemen, Creative Editor O N T H E COV E R Fork Union’s Clay Ro M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T Local sports are the lifeblood of every community in America, and we’re here to reach beyond the basics and give compelling accounts about Central Virginia athletes to our readers. CO N TAC T U S [ e ] info@scrimmageplay.com [ p ] 434-249-2032
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PREGAME
Tapping the youth The Commonwealth Games field hockey event was held June 27 and 28 at UVa featuring 400 players ranging in age from U14 squads to adult teams. A host of local players from competed in the games as part of the Blue Ridge squads and took on teams from regions throughout the state. Here, a U-14 Blue Ridge player takes on a Tidewater opponent during the Sunday portion of events. ✖ (Photo by Bart Isley)
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Orthopedics
First Quarter
Truly unified
Special Olympics growing in Central Virginia By Bart Isley
S
AHS is one of 27 schools in Virginia that participated in Champions Together this year. (Ashley Thornton)
{ THE DEMAND } Participants in the Special Olympics.
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140 OU D VA . ATH LET ES KTH AR A SAN EL DER K AR A EL DER
27 S CH OO LS IN VIRG IN IA
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pecial Olympics Shenandoah Region director Daniel Leake has a pretty simple goal for the organization’s Champions Together program. One he’s all to happy to try and meet.
“If this guy is a special needs athlete and I’m a student, we’ll sit together and have lunch when they never would’ve done that earlier,” Leake said. This spring, an entirely new group of student athletes got a chance to participate in an Albemarle High School track meet through Champions Together. Three local schools — Albemarle, Western Albemarle and William Monroe, with Charlottesville and Monticello planning to join next year — put together teams of special needs students that ran within the framework of a normal, run-of-the-mill outdoor track meet. But the benefits of those students competing in that meet were anything but run-of-the-mill. “It’s amazing. I have seen more interaction with the regular education students and our students through track this season than I have in the two years that I’ve been at Albemarle,” said Albemarle special education teacher Cara Maloney. “It really has created more of a sense of community around our students.” Maloney worked with Karin Anne Ryan to make Champions Together happen. Ryan was prompted by an email from Albemarle athletic director Deb Tyson to get involved. “Deb Tyson sent an email out and asked if anyone would be interested in taking on this Champions Together project,” Ryan said. “I’d been wanting to get back involved with Special Olympics here so it was a great opportunity to do that.” Champions Together is active in several states and the program jumped out to a roaring success in Virginia as 27 schools put it into action in its first year. Leake said that that number should climb to 50 or 60 next season and likely won’t stop there. Along with the Medford League that
emerged in Central Virginia down in Fluvanna County this year, Champions Together is helping forge opportunities for special needs athletes, who get a chance to compete in Special Olympics events, a chance to compete alongside of regular education students and within the framework of a school event. As Maloney pointed out, that’s a game changer. “They’re so excited to be a part of a team and something in high school that a lot of us take for granted -- being a part of a sports team with their peers that they walk the hallways with,” Maloney said. As is often true in situations like this though, the special needs student athletes aren’t the only ones benefiting from the experience. In addition to many of the regular education students who’ve clearly had their eyes opened by teaming up with their special needs counterparts, a number of coaches and teachers have also been impacted by the program. “The adults and the coaches that have never worked with this population before have just been so moved and inspired by the effort and the energy,” Ryan said. That’s community building at its very essence, as special needs, regular education and faculty members grow closer together through shared experience. It also matches up nicely with one of Special Olympics’ central tenets. “We talk about playing unified and that’s a partner from the school who’s not a special needs athlete and a special needs athlete playing together,” Leake said. “That’s what this program does.” ✖
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College Update
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Former Patriot Carson blossoming at Old Dominion University By Ryan Yemen During her time at Albemarle, Connor Carson was an unstoppable force — an All-American lacrosse standout. Her 267 goals and 335 draw controls stand as school records. And after she poured in 83 goals as a junior to set the single season mark for the Patriots, she bested that as a senior by scoring 93 times. Those two performances made her the West Central Player of the year in back-to-back seasons. As a senior, she led the Patriots to the VHSL Group AAA/AA quarterfinals. Since graduating in 2012, Carson has moved on to Old Dominion University where she is off to a great start in her collegiate career. In 2014, she played in all 16 contests for the Monarchs and started in 14 of them. She scored 13 goals as a freshman and her 12 assists led the team. Against Louisville, she notched her first hat trick. That was just the beginning though, because in 2015 she truly took off for a young
but dangerous ODU squad. Behind a campaign where she put up 46 points between 39 goals and seven assists in 18 games, Carson was a huge factor in helping ODU to a 13-5 record. Carson was third on the Monarchs in both goals, points and shots. She led the Monarchs in caused turnovers with 29 and in draw controls with 58. She was second on the team with 33 ground balls. Those all added up for the former Albemarle star earning first team honors in the Atlantic Sun Conference and also during the Atlantic Sun tournament. Headed into her junior year, Carson will be carry even more of the load as the Monarchs lose one of their top three scorers with graduation of Jessica Liberty (second in both goals and points in 2015). But with the bulk of the Monarchs roster back in the fold, 2016 looks awfully bright. Don’t be surprised if Carson is the one pacing ODU next season in the same way she did for Albemarle. ✖
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THE WAY
STORY BY BART ISLEY >> PHOTOS BY BART ISLEY AND FUMA 07 :: @scrimmageplay
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olin Beverage led me down a clear cut trail wide enough for a car to drive through. About a kilometer down the
path, the Fork Union senior who recently finished 12th in the nation during qualifying for the national orienteering team pointed to the left and said simply, “here’s where we need to go” and we plunged head long into the woods. We trekked up and down hills, scrambled up the walls of ditches, crossed streams and pushed through briars. We found a couple of checkpoints, correctly altered our path after following the incorrect stream for a couple of seconds and stepped over an endless array of stumps, logs, rocks and fallen trees. Even though Beverage knew exactly what was going on, I was suddenly struck by orienteering’s central question... Where in the heck are we?
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“It’s a right of passage to fail. You’ve got to get completely lost out of your mind. You figure out what mistakes you made (in order) to not make mistakes when you’re going out.” — Chiovaro 09 :: @scrimmageplay
Orienteering started as a military training exercise in Sweden, and has become a competitive sport with national and world championships. The sport tests endurance and speed like cross country, but also tests navigation and map-reading skills as competitors are handed a map at the beginning and asked to make their way to a variety of checkpoints in a specific order by any route they choose to navigate with the aid of the map and a compass. “You definitely have to be a quick thinker,” said FUMA orienteer Clay Ro. “Most orienteers will strategically plan out their route two steps ahead of the next point. If you’re trying to get to point three, they’re already thinking of ways to get to point three when they’re going to point two. Those kind of skills make you a better orienteer and definitely cut down your time.” Fork Union’s varsity orienteering team reached one of the sport’s highest heights this spring when the squad of Beverage, Ro, Julian Yescas, Ben Chiovaro and Zimu Li became the national champions of high school orienteering at the national meet in Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley. The competition took place over two days, and operated like most orienteering competitions do with magnetic punch-ins. The team overcame a frustrating day one that left them a couple of points back after Chiovaro forgot to swipe at one of the checkpoints. “I made a stupid error where I was going to a point, I didn’t put the magnetic beeper in the slot,” Chiovaro. “The second day I made up for it.” He definitely did. Chiovaro navigated his way to a fifth place overall finish in the race, just behind Beverage who finished second overall and Yescas who checked in in fourth place. When the dust settled, Fork Union had transformed a two-point deficit into a 15-point victory and the national title. “We knew we had to come back and look over it at night and figure out what we had to focus on so we were prepared for the next day,” Beverage said. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Chiovaro and the team as a whole was able to bounce back. Orienteering is a sport where failure isn’t an option, it’s the only path to getting better. You have to get lost before you find your way. “It’s a right of passage to fail,” Chiovaro said. “You’ve got to get completely lost out of your mind. You figure out what make mistakes you made (in order) to not make mistakes when you’re going out.” Everyone on the team has had a search party sent out to look for them because everyone has a “lost story.” Yescas, said. He doubles as a cross country and track athlete for the Blue Devils’ squad, has emerged as the team’s fastest orienteer and he has a lost story or two. While Beverage is the technical master, Yescas can eat up trails and make up for taking a longer route with his
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No matter where Orange County needed Kendall Bayless on the field this spring, he was there. Bayless played in seven of the nine possible positions for the Hornets as a senior, filling gaps and shifting where he could best help the team. “Kendall has done everything he can do to help his teammates be successful this season,” said Orange County coach David Rabe. “He is a leader both vocally and through doing the extra things such as staying after practice to throw to teammates.” He has also been successful in the classroom where he carries a 4.5 GPA and has set a big-time example for Orange’s baseball squad in that capacity as well. “Kendall’s work ethic in the classroom and on the field, along with his friendliness and morals, are what young boys should strive for,” Rabe said. “Our team, our school, and our community are better because of individuals like Kendall Bayless.” Headed to William and Mary this fall, Bayless will major in finance.
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“I was running the most basic course but to me it was like rocket science. I looked at the map and wondered where in the universe I was. I went off the map and I think it took me an hour and a half to get back.” — Yescas 11 :: @scrimmageplay
own footspeed. Speed can be a double-edged sword in orienteering though. “Being fast is good but if you don’t apply the other skills, you just get lost more quickly,” FUMA head coach Carl Muench said. “You’ve got to be able to associate what’s on the map with what’s there.” Those key skills are developed in a variety of ways. The team worked on distance estimation by spending time on Fork Union’s track, learning how their own pace and gait could help them determine how far they’ve gone and then relate that back to the map. They also do several different special situations on the actual course where they’re given just partial maps or run time trials that force them to think quicker. “I want them to learn to prepare,” Muench said. “For West Point, we had a night operation that helped them prepare. The other skill I want them to get is that after every event we debrief. They get together and talk. Selfassessment and learning from mistakes is critical. These are life skills that (assistant coach) Ed Moore and I see as hugely important.” All those different situations, techniques and skills eventually lead to the thing that makes the biggest difference in orienteering -- experience. Yescas joined the team as a sixth grader and he didn’t have that experience to lean on then. “I was running the most basic course but to me it was like rocket science,” Yescas said. “I looked at the map and wondered where in the universe I was. I went off the map and I think it took me an hour and a half to get back on a 23-minute course.” His mistake was devastatingly simple. “I had taken a right when I should’ve taken a left,” Yescas said. “I found myself going downhill and I was supposed to be going downhill anyway so I was just like I’ll keep going.” That sentence itself rarely ends well in orienteering. Like everyone on the team, Chiovaro has several stories like that. The worst though, perhaps, came in winter, when things get even more complicated for orienteers as snow and the elements can obscure landmarks or, in Chiovaro’s case, just make the environment that much tougher to manage. “I fell in a river when it was snowing and it was 30 degree weather,” Chiovaro said. “That was the worst possible scenario. I thought I was going to die. I didn’t, I made it back.” Sometimes just making it back is challenge enough. “I did not complete the course,” Chiovaro said. “I came back because I thought my hands were going to freeze off. It was...it was an experience.” Those lessons in failure fit into Muench’s desire that orienteering help teach life lessons too, as orienteers are never good out of the gate. It’s something that you’ve got to work for, that you’ve got to struggle at for awhile to achieve success. That translates nicely to the real world.
“The classroom part of it gives you somewhat of an experiential knowledge base, but in a competitive atmosphere it puts it into a whole different world,” said Moore, a West Point alum who first picked up orienteering in his military training. “Having to make quick decisions when you’re tired and maybe your morale is not so good if you’re lost or you’re not quite sure where you are. There are many dimensions to this sort of competition and what it takes to be winners. (This varsity team has) really advanced to a high level.” Beverage, who is the team’s most technical orienteer and is currently training with the U.S. Junior National Team, graduated from Fork Union in May and plans to try and get an orienteering team going at Virginia Tech which he’ll attend next fall. He worked hard to develop the technical skills and has a knack for coming up with a quick route and planning ahead. “It’s more of the map reading,” Beverage said. “You have to have the best route possible to get through the woods as fast as possible. It’s about reading the elevation changes.” The Virginia Beach native got a chance to see a lot of the United States over the years as an orienteer for Fork Union.
“Kentucky was new, Kansas was new and New York was pretty new to me,” Beverage said. For Ro, there’s an added bonus. He came to Fork Union in part because he wanted to go into the Navy and orienteering has helped confirm that path and gives him knowledge he can use out of the gate. “I want to go into the military,” Ro said. “After being exposed to orienteering, I thought this is the best thing to do to prepare myself for my future career.” Orienteering has meant a lot of different things to Fork Union’s national champions, and it has taught them a lot of lessons, giving them an extensive skillset for overcoming obstacles. “Sometimes you’re left without a choice but to go through (a tough portion of the woods), but that’s expected,” Chiavoro said. In particular, it has given them an excellent idea of exactly where they are, even if it’s in the forest guiding a flustered sports writer through briar patches. “You’ve got to get out there and you’ve got to get lost a hundred times,” Chiovaro said. “That’s the truth of it.” That truth sounds a lot like life outside those woods. ✖ www.scrimmageplay.com ::
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BUILDING THE
Story by Luke Nadkarni photos by Bart isley 13 :: @scrimmageplay
One might think that on a local level, the summer means the end of high school and collegiate level baseball in Charlottesville. Monticello’s magical run i s o v e r. T h e p a r a d e f o r t h e University of Virginia’s national title is fading. Baseball seems to be on t h e b a c k b u r n e r. But that ’s not quite the case. The newly founded C h a r l o t t e s v i l l e To m S o x a r e the area’s newest team embracing the sport of the b o y s o f s u m m e r. T h e To m S o x c o m p e t e i n t h e Va l l e y B a s e b a l l League, a wood-bat league featuring teams comprised of college players, many from smaller schools around the region. All but o n e o f t h e V B L’ s t e a m s i s located in Virginia, and the To m S o x a r e t h e n e w e s t o f the bunch.
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“
We’re giving the town something to watch even with college baseball being over.” ± Johnson
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The Tom Sox roster features players from up and down the east coast, ranging from Ewing, N.J. to Miami, Fl. but also has a pair of local players who cut their teeth in the Charlottesville area. Infielder Brett Johnson, who plays at James Madison University, and Joe Burris, of Christopher Newport by way of Virginia Tech, played at St. Anne’s-Belfield and Albemarle, respectively. This summer, they are Tom Sox. “[Brett and Joe] are both phenomenal kids,” Tom Sox manager Mike Goldberg said. “Brett started off slow, he sat for a bit, and I think he handled that with more maturity than a kid of his age should have. He’s just a super positive guy to have in the dugout. And Joe can pitch a little bit — he’s been valuable for us on the mound and in the dugout as well.” Goldberg, an assistant at the University of Richmond, credits the success of the UVa baseball program in the growth of baseball as a popular sport in Charlottesville. “I think it’s piggybacking off the success UVa’s had, we’ve seen a resurgence of baseball here in the community,” Goldberg said. “People here aren’t ready for baseball to be over, even when it ends in a national championship.” That feelining trickles down to the players. “With the success of UVa, Charlottesville’s become a great baseball town,” Johnson said. “We’re giving the town something to watch even with college baseball being over.” Johnson, who at 6-foot-5 is the tallest player on the Tom Sox roster, knows a thing or two about winning championships. In 2011, he was a member of STAB’s VISAA Division I state championship team. Also a standout in basketball for the Saints, he earned three letters in baseball and finished in the top 10 in school history in batting average, home runs and RBIs. He also played American Legion baseball in the summer for Albemarle Post 74 before heading to JMU. Johnson definitely welcomed the news that he would be headed back to his hometown for the summer. “Way back when the coaches were deciding where to send me, they brought up Charlottesville,” Johnson said. “I definitely wanted to be there for the first year. I’ve definitely seen the excitement about having a team in town. We’ve had some great crowds so far.” Johnson, who recently completed his sophomore year for the Dukes, started 41 of 47 games this season and batted .269 with seven
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Joe Burris, an Albemarle alumnus and current Christopher Newport pitcher (above) gives the Tox Sox two local talents on the roster.
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home runs and 40 RBIs on the season. He has started off slowly for the Tom Sox, with no home runs and just five RBIs, but does have four doubles on the season, including two in a 16-2 win over the Winchester Royals on June 17. “Wood bats always take a week or two of adjustment, just because we’re always swinging metal all the time,” Johnson said. “With wood there’s a lot les forgiveness, but once you get used to it it’s pretty similar.” Burris, meanwhile, joined the team on Friday, June 19 and took the mound mere hours later against the Staunton Braves. His only other appearance in his short Tom Sox stint was June 23, when he pitched a scoreless inning in relief during a comeback extra-inning victory over the Waynesboro Generals. Burris appeared in 11 games for Christopher Newport in 2015 after transferring from Virginia Tech. He registered 23 strikeouts in 27.2 innings for the Captains with an opposing batting average of .296. Like Johnson, he relishes the chance to play in the same town where he grew up playing baseball, but also doesn’t forget what he’s trying to get out of this summer. “It’s awesome, it’s a great opportunity to be pitching in Charlottesville,” Burris said. “But above all else I’m trying to improve my game.” In addition to giving the Charlottesville community something to watch on summer nights when the professional sports world is a bit slower compared to other seasons, the Tom Sox have made frequent appearances around the city, such as playing wiffle ball with kids at the Boys and Girls Club and signing autographs at the local Wood Grill Buffet. Such events are catalysts in getting fans out to CVILLE Weekly Ballpark night in and night out. “It’s great having a team here and getting kids out here to come watch,” Burris said. “Baseball’s been on the down-low the past couple years, so it’s good to work with kids and get them interested.” In the near future, the Tom Sox will be joined by two members of the national champion Wahoos, as rising junior pitcher Jack Roberts and rising sophomore outfielder Christian Lowry make their way from Davenport Field to Charlottesville High School fresh off their trip to Omaha. “People come out here and they watch us and it’s awesome for us,” Goldberg said. “But I think it would be unfair if I didn’t point some of that in the direction of the success of the UVa program.” ✖
TEAM SPOTLIGHT MIKE BROWN FOOTBALL CAMP Carolina Panthers wide receiver Mike Brown knows how to give back to the community he came from. Brown, a Monticello graduate, hosted his second annual football camp this June. The free event open to local youths was run by Brown and a handful of fellow Monticllo graduates now playing in college. Keep up the great work Mustangs! Your camp is a great summer staple.
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Game Time Tom Sox 7, Rebels 5 By Luke Nadkarni
The Charlottesville Tom Sox play and practice at Charlottesville High School. (Bart Isley)
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The Charlottesville Tom Sox came from behind to earn their first victory in team history on June 12, coming from behind to defeat the visiting New Market Rebels 7-5 at C-Ville Weekly Ballpark at Charlottesville High School. The Tom Sox used a four-run fifth inning after squandering an early lead to take a 6-5 advantage, aided by a few Rebels errors. Before that, the Tom Sox jumped out to a quick early lead in the bottom of the first when Ryan Hall’s infield single sent home leadoff man Billy Cooke, who had reached on a single up the middle. Following a bloop single from Seth Lancaster, a fielder’s choice, and a flyout from Caleb Robinson, Hall grounded a slow roller to third that he beat out. Charlottesville extended the lead to 2-0 in the second, kickstarted by Chris Clayton’s leadoff single up the middle. Following a sacrifice bunt by Brad McKay, Cole Murphy delivered a triple to right-center to plate Clayton. New Market wasted little time tying the game on Lorenzo Wright’s two-run, two-out double in the top of the third, scoring Kevin Woodall and Storm Edwards. In the fourth, the Rebels forged ahead on a double steal when Clayton overthrew the ball into center field, allowing P.J. DeMeo to come home on the error. Nate Blanchard followed with a double to left to score Zack Callahan and make it 4-2. The Rebels struck again in the fifth on Callahan’s RBI single to right on the first pitch thrown by Tom Sox reliever Drew Scott. Scott was the third Charlottesville pitcher to take the mound following starter Jake McBrearty, who went 3.1 innings, and Zach Cook, who threw 1.2 innings. “I think Drew Scott coming out there,
and that was the time that things have been starting to snowball on us,” Tom Sox manager Mike Goldberg said. “Drew just came out, he executed his pitches, he gave us a chance.” A pair of New Market errors allowed the Sox to take the lead in the bottom half of the decisive fifth. The Sox loaded the bases, then an error on Rebels shortstop Roberto Rivera allowed one run to score. Hall followed with a single to left, plating one run, and on the ensuing throw home, Lancaster’s slide knocked the ball out of the glove of Rebels catcher Conner Gunn, tying the game. Gunn attempted to throw out Davis at third, but his throw sailed into left field and Davis scored. Hall attempted to score as well, but was thrown out at the plate by Callahan. “I was just trying to fight with two outs to get things going, and luckily it fell through,” Hall said. “I kind of overran, one play they made a bad throw, and that got our offense going.” The Tom Sox added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Rivera made his second error of the game, booting a grounder hit by Davis with Lancaster at third. From there, the Sox defense took over, with Scott and Josh Sharik combining to hold the Rebels hitless over the final 4.1 innings. Scott got the win, allowing one hit in 2.1 innings while striking out three and walking one. Sharik retired all six New Market batters he faced over the final two frames. “Our bullpen’s been great all season, although results haven’t been there till now,” Scott said. “We’ve got a lot of guys in the pen and a lot of good starters too, so I think pitching is something we’ll be really good with the rest of the season.” ✖
See a photograph you like? Defensive stand Warriors goalie has more than one trick | By Ryan Yemen
At Scrimmage Play we pride ourselves on offering the best possible graphics Two years ago the Western Albemarle boys to Shin, who doubles as a Junior National Judo soccer team get was fueled its underclassmen medalist, we can our byhands on, in both our but has developed into one of the with sophomores and freshman bearing the area’s most versatile goalkeepers. magazine as well as at our website at brunt of the work load. The netminder has shown he’s capable of Now two years later, forwards Aaron Myers making big saves, particularly in the team’s www.scrimmageplay.com and Alex Nolet, as well as senior defender two ties. In the first game of the season, Tom Rogers are all in their senior seasons and looking to earn a Region II bid, something that Orange County snatched away from them in the Jefferson District semifinals last season. After the first month of play, the Warriors seem to have the defensive side of the equation figured out and junior goalkeeper Kai Shin is a big part of that. Before Western went on its spring break, none of its four opponents were able to score more than once, a testament to the team’s play in the middle of the field, but also a nod
Shin endured wave after wave of Albemarle attack, but stood tall and showed no rust in the 1-1- tie. But while Shin’s on the field because he can make stops, his strong leg has also been of great use as he’s able to easily clear the zone but also spark fast breaks all by himself. The Warriors averaged a little over two goals per contest before the break, but if that average starts to increase, don’t be surprised if it’s because of Shin’s ability to contribute to the transition game. ✖
We want to make sure that our readers have the same opportunity to have these photos. If something catches your eye in either the magazine or on the web, you can order the photograph for yourself.
Whether it’s a 4x6 glossy print or a 13x11 mounted photo, we’ve got a full range of possibilities for you to choose from. Simply visit our smugmug website at
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Western Albemarle’s Kai Shin hauls in a shot during his team’s 1-1 tie with Albemarle that kicked off the soccer season for both squads. (Frank Crocker)
Success stories begin here.
Success Story: Morgan Moses Morgan Moses was a two-time All-State standout at Meadowbrook High in Chesterfield Virginia. He wanted to play for the University of Virginia and he had the talent to do so. To connect the dots, he reached out to Fork Union. In 2009 Moses enrolled at Fork Union where he was able to help better prepare himself for not just the challenges of being a collegiate student, but the even larger task of being a student athlete at a premiere academic institution. With strides in the classroom and more on the gridiron while playing for John Shuman’s celebrated post graduate team, Moses became one of the most sought after talents in the country as he earned a four-star rivals rating and clocked in at number 49 overall on their list. In the end, he got the deal he wanted as he signed a NLI to play for Virginia. In 2010 Moses appeared in 11 of
12 games to earn the first of his four letters during his collegiate career. When he started at tackle at UNC, he became just the seventh true freshman to do so in the country. In his final year for the Cavaliers, Moses moved to left tackle and earned all 12 starts. He was instrumental in giving the Cavaliers their first 1,000 yard runner since 2004. With his performance in practice at the Senior Bowl, Moses didn’t sit on the board long at the 2014 NFL Draft as he was selected 66th overall by the Washington Redskins in the second round. As a rookie he made his NFL debut against the Jaguars on September 14th and got his first start on November 24th against the 49ers. He enters camp in 2015 slated to play a large role. From Chesterfield to Fork Union to Charlottesville to Washington D.C. There aren’t a lot of miles between those four, but the journey has taken Morgan Moses an awful long way.
Fork Union Military Academy is the leading Christian military boarding school for boys in grades 6 - 12 and PG. www.forkunion.com — 1-800-GO-2-FUMA
Overtime
Far from sidelined Western’s Sumpter finds a way to make impact
A
nna Sumpter was directing, yelling and cheering on Western Albemarle during nearly every sequence of the school’s final four run. Whether it was helping her teammates with something she saw or trying to bring some energy to the table from the sideline with encouragement, Sumpter was a noticeable presence throughout the Warriors’ march to the state final. Not in some soft, feel good way either. Sumpter was literally a third coach for Western. “For the first half of halftime she’s giving a speech and she’s motivating kids, she’s telling them what she sees and where they need to be,” said Western Albemarle coach Jacob Desch. “At practice, the same thing, she’s pulling the young ones over and was like ‘here’s what I see, here’s what you can do to get better.’ When kids came off the sideline, they went to her. I don’t think it was just the postseason. I think Anna helped us go to the state final from day one.” Sumpter, who committed to the University of Virginia’s women’s soccer program last fall and is an exemplary student, is undoubtedly one of the area’s most gifted athletes. She earned Scrimmage Play’s newcomer of the year award as a freshman in soccer and was a big contributor in basketball the same year. For the second straight year, she was sidelined during soccer by a knee injury, this time with no promise of coming back as she did late in her sophomore season. Before the Warriors’ season started, Desch approached her with an idea that was phrased more as a command. “At the beginning of the season he and (assistant coach Crickenberger) sort of laid it on the table -- ‘you’re going to be a leader on this team whether you’re playing or not. it’s going to help you in the long run to see the game from a different perspective’,” Sumpter said. Sumpter let Desch and Crickenberger know that it wasn’t always going to be easy for her, that she’s not always the best cheerleader. But she’d earned that right to lead with brilliant play and a relentless work ethic, and she needed to have a role in the Warriors’ potential fortunes. The Warriors also needed her too, as they broke in a talented but inexperienced new roster that needed to lean on a platoon of freshmen to compete. Without Sumpter leading from somewhere, there was a chance it turned into a complete rebuilding year. Since the field wasn’t an option, Sumpter had to figure out how to lead from the sideline. “The girls have a lot of respect for myself and coach Crick but at the end of the day they want to impress Anna the most because she’s a phenomenal player and an excellent leader and everyone knows that,” Desch said. The Warriors stumbled out of the gate, struggling to find a rhythm with so many new faces taking on new roles, and Sumpter could see that it wasn’t exactly coming together. But then in the second match against Albemarle, a deep, seasoned squad that would eventually finish as the Jefferson District champions and hadn’t even been scored on up until that point, the Warriors scratched out a 1-1 tie while playing their way and not simply packing it in. “That team was really cool, I mean honestly I didn’t think we were going to have much success at the beginning of the season, they were kind of a wild card team,” Sumpter said. “We did have a lot of talent, but were very young and one thing I’ve learned as I’ve gone through high school soccer is that experience matters. When we tied (Albemarle) we realized that we were capable of playing with a team that was that well trained and that well-versed.” It was an instant jolt of confidence, and Western looked like a different team most of the season after that tie. By the time the region tournament rolled around, they were adapting on the fly and employing a variety of tactics including an aggressive approach in
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“You’re going to be a leader on this team whether you’re playing or not.” the Region 3A West semifinals that helped them net a state final four berth. Suddenly the young Warriors were arriving ahead of schedule, in part because of Sumpter’s efforts. Make no mistake though, she’d rather be playing. At times it looked like she was working off nervous energy on the sideline. “I’d have killed to be in any of their shoes,” Sumpter said. “I don’t know if it was nervous (energy) or (I was) just jealous.” She let her teammates know that too before the state final according to Desch, telling them how much she wanted to play. “I’m crazy competitive and it doesn’t matter what it is -- school, sports, whatever. I want to be as good as I possibly can be,” Sumpter said. In 2016 she’ll get a chance to unleash that competitiveness again, teaming up with this year’s breakout freshman class to form a formidable roster that could challenge again for a state title. Next year, she won’t have to be jealous. She can just play. ✖
Bart Isley,
CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR
back talk »
Have you seen an injured athlete lead from the sidelines? Contact Bart: bart@scrimmageplay.com
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