Village Living
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January 2012 |
neighborly news & entertainment for Mountain Brook
Steeple Arts-pg 14
MBHS Basketball-
Volume 2 | Issue 10 | January 2012
pg 10
Vlachos proves Saban wrong Village2Village Run returns By WIll HIGHTOWER
Nick Saban was furious. As he paced the Vlachos’ living room, Saban mulled over his situation. He had been hired to coach a disgraced Alabama team back to glory, and he had a specific “process” in mind. And William Vlachos, Saban determined, had no part in it. Saban spoke of grayshirting the 6-foot, one-inch, 294-pound center, whom Mike Shula had recruited but Saban thought was too small. “To be honest, Saban didn’t want him,” Mountain Brook High School football coach Chris Yeager said. “He wanted to figure out a way to get rid of him. When Saban came to visit William at his house, I felt like he really tried to get him to decommit because of his size.” Of course, that was then. This is now. These days, Vlachos is a three-year, allSEC starter for the Crimson Tide, looking to win his second national championship on January 9 vs. LSU. Saban, who did indeed bring Alabama back to glory, has relied heavily on the Mountain Brook graduate to open holes for the likes of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. After New Orleans, Vlachos could become the first Spartan to play in the
January Features Editor’s Note Best of Mountain Brook City Council Kari Kampakis Pointe Ball Village Sports School House Business Spotlight Robert Krauss Dale Wisely Around the Villages Calendar of Events
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By ANNE WOOD
popsicle all over his shirt and he’d hang out with me the whole time. And he would say, ‘I want to play offensive line in the NFL.’ We all laughed at that then. But one thing he’s taught us is that you don’t laugh at people’s goals and dreams.” Throughout junior high and high
The annual Village2Village run weaves through the villages of Mountain Brook every January, but each year introduces a new route. “You never know which hills you are going to have to go up and which ones you are going to get to come down,” said Britt Redden, who has participated in the run twice. “It is always very challenging and always best that I don’t ‘ride’ the course before the race.” This year’s race is set for Jan. 21. Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce President Steven Hydinger said that the pretty yet challenging course brings people from inside and outside of Mountain Brook to spend time in the neighborhoods. “It is a lot of fun to see friends and neighbors challenging each other to do the 10K race,” he said. “The 1-mile Run is great [for kids] as well.” “I love that you are running with so many people that you know and that you pass so many people on the way,”
See VLACHOS | page 10
See V2V | page 11
Alabama center and Mountain Brook graduate William Vlachos directs the Crimson Tide’s offensive line. Photo courtesy of University of Alabama Football.
NFL since Major Ogilvie, especially after the recognition he received as a Rimington Trophy finalist, awarded to the top centers in the nation. Yeager remembered seeing Vlachos as a boy at Mountain Brook football camps: “He would come to our camps; I remember he was only about four feet tall. We would give out popsicles, and he would have red
Supporting Sean Fredella
By RICK WATSON
Blue bows lined mailboxes around Mountain Brook in December to welcome home Sean Fredella—a warrior with an army behind him. The 11 year old has battled cancer since age two and this past year has been fighting a rare tumor. For the past several months he has taken pain in stride while receiving treatments in Houston. “I can’t believe how strong he’s been through it all,” said his mom, Nell. “Still, the unknowns, the fear, and seeing the pain in Sean’s eyes and knowing how sick he is from all the treatments is indescribable.” Before Sean returned home from Houston for Christmas, Laura Niemann and daughters Hannah and Courtney made and sold blue bows and encouraged the community to hang them to show their support for Sean. All proceeds from the bows went to Sean’s medical expenses. “My kids wanted to do this to show Sean encouragement when he got home,” Niemann said. Others from the community pitched in throughout the month to make bows. Smith’s Variety, The Scribbler and The Blue Willow all sold the bows. Some sold for as much as $40 and $50 when people were told that the money was going to the Fredella family.
Sean Fredella gathers with friends from Mountain Brook Elementary after returning to Birmingham from receiving cancer treatments in Houston. Back row: George Terry, Fuller Priestly, Sean, Robert Reed and Paul Tyson. Front row: Price Pewitt, Chip Porter and Patton Browning. Photo by Madoline Markham.
The church family at St. Francis Xavier as well as the students, parents and faculty at Mountain Brook schools have all been incredible, according to Nell.
Emotions grew in her voice as she described all the things they have done for their family.
See SEAN | page 16
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