Volume 6, Issue 4

05 THE KNIGHTS BIG O-LINE

scr覺mmageplay THE CENTRAL VIRGINIA SPORTS AUTHORITY

Moving On Up Fluvanna County volleyball takes the next step PAGE 13

VOL 6. ISSUE 4 :: OCTOBER 14, 2014

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x’s and o’s 21 05 07

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BUILDING A NAME Woodberry soccer pours it on

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IN THE TRENCHES Buckingham’s vaunted offensive line

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THE PROGRAM: FCU Fluvanna volleyball rises above

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FAMILY CORNER The role of communication

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BACKYARD BALL The joys of whipping it around at home

vol 6. issue 4 :: october 14, 2014

Moving On Up VOL 6 . ISSUE 4 :: OCTOBER 14, 2014

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05 The KnighTs Big O-line

Fluvanna County volleyball takes the next step 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 Fluvanna County’s Maddy Kline 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

Slippery It has been a rainy couple of Friday nights the last two weeks. Here Monroe’s Tylek Burley slips through a tackle during a break from the rain in his team’s 31-7 win over Central Woodstock. It was critical win for the Dragons as they bounced back from a loss to Strasburg the week before. The win sets up one of the best rivalries in the area, a road trip for the Dragons to Madison County. ✖ (Photo by Ashley Thornton)

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Orthopedics

First Quarter Building a name Woodberry sets new standard in 2014

By Bart Isley

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Woodberry Forest’s Will Peak is one of three senior captains for the Tigers. (John Berry)

{ THE WEALTH } Woodberry’s goal distribution shows its talent and its depth.

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B.STAEGER

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WILL PEAK

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OTHER

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K AR A EL DER

JOE FOLEY

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oodberry Forest’s soccer program is on a clear mission. “We’re looking to build a program that’s going to be great year in and year out,” said Woodberry coach Len Mills.

“We want to make Woodberry Forest soccer a force to be reckoned with in the state of Virginia. We want to have that every season.”

They’re certainly a force in Mills’ first year as the Tigers’ head coach as Woodberry’s core of seniors and an injection of talented freshmen have Woodberry sitting at No. 2 in the state in the latest VISAA Division I rankings with a 9-1 record and an eight-game win streak going.

The Tigers’ seniors have largely been playing together for several years, which is rarely the case at a boarding school as faces often change during a four-year stint.

But since Mills became a junior varsity coach at Woodberry back in 2011 when the seniors entered, they’ve been lining up together.

“We are an extremely close team and in my time here we’ve had some good camaraderie, but they’re closer than I’ve ever seen a group of boys,” Mills said. “You need to establish that family so you can trust one another.”

That family atmosphere starts with a trio of senior captains, Will Peak, Nolan Day and Graham Tyler. Peak is the squad’s second leading scorer (six goals, three assists) who started the season as a midfielder where he’s played since he arrived at Woodberry four years ago. The Tigers moved him up in the formation though and his ability to make good tactical decisions and his powerful shot have helped enliven the Tigers’ offense.

Day has helped the Tigers dominate in the midfield and takes the lead on most of Woodberry’s corners, leading the team with five assists. Graham has been a leader on defense as

the Tigers’ center back, making an impact since he arrived as a sophomore.

That trio’s familiarity with each other and the fact that there are several other seniors they’ve been playing with for a similar length of time (Zach Merritt, Woody Scruggs, Justin Park and goalie Thomas Wade who all join Graham on defense and reserve defender Kevin Tracy) is a huge piece of the puzzle for Woodberry.

When that experienced group came together with a pair of dynamic freshmen starters, things got interesting quickly for the Tigers. Freshmen Joe Foley and Bradley Staeger have made an immediate impact for Woodberry, with Foley emerging as the team’s leading scorer (11 goals and three assists) while Staeger has given the Tigers a scrappy presence at forward that also continually applies pressure on defense.

The Tigers made a major commitment in the offseason to be in shape and ready to go so they could hit the ground running, and manage to accomplish that despite team members hailing from South Korea, Germany and Canada internationally as well as Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Colorado, South Carolina, Georgia, Connecticut, Florida, and California here in the United States.

“We create environments that are aimed to make players better and get them to work hard,” Mills said. “When you get leaders on the team who accept that, embrace it and encourage the underclassmen, now you have underclassmen who accept what need to be done — that offseason commitment. The cycle builds from there.” ✖

go online »

For more soccer coverage as the postseason draws near, head to www.scrimmageplay.com.

College Update

We’ve gone digital

Western Albemarle alumnus making waves at Sewanee

But you can have it in print too!

By Bart Isley As a senior in 2013, Western Albemarle’s Steven Hearn took a big leap forward and became a physical, aggressive force on both sides of the ball, hauling in passes (819 yards and 13 touchdowns) and coming up with defensive stops as the Warriors put together a 8-1 regular season record and advanced to the second round of the Region 3A West playoffs. Hearn earned first team All-Scrimmage Play and All-Region honors in the process.

He’s picked up right we left off at The University of the South, emerging as a major contributor as just a freshman for Sewanee’s football squad. While the Tigers have stumbled to a 1-5 record (with the lone victory coming against Washington and Lee), Hearn is leading the run-heavy offense in receptions with 10 catches and 176 yards on the year. With the Tigers moving the ball almost entirely on the ground (almost a 4:1 run/pass ratio), opportunities don’t come often, particularly with a run-first signal-caller in the triple option — starting quarterback Cody Daniel is the squad’s leading rusher, averaging 123.3 yards per game.

But Hearn has taken advantage of his chances when he’s gotten them and that’s made him a reliable part of the offense in the very beginning of his career. He’s averaging 17.6 yards per catch and scored a touchdown against DePauw on a 32-yard catch in the season opener. Against Birmingham Southern, he had a 58-yard catch.

Just to get in the lineup he’s likely proved himself to be a reliable blocker as that’s a critical part of the wideout’s role in that system.

The other receivers that Hearn lined up with last year — Chase Stokes and Nic Drapanas — are also playing college sports with Stokes at Washington and Lee as a member of the Generals’ basketball team while Drapanas is at Franklin and Marshall along with former Western quarterback Kent Henry.

Hearn is getting the earliest chance to make an impact though, and so far he’s capitalized, setting an early tone for a productive career for the Tigers. If he can keep things up perhaps Sewanee will start tilting that run/ pass balance a little more in the receiving corps’ favor. ✖

BELOW » Western Albemarle alumnus Steven Hearn, seen here last year, is now leading Sewanee in receiving as just a freshman. (Scrimmage Play file)

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Step 2 :: Click the Buy Print button next to the magazine and follow instructions to order Step 3 :: Wait patiently by your mailbox Step 4 :: When it arrives, take it out and read or stash away to your heart’s delight!

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IN THE TRENCHES STORY BY RYAN YEMEN PHOTOS BY RON LONDEN

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U C K I N G H A M CO U N T Y D O E S N ’ T H I D E I T. T H E R E ’S N O S EC R E T I N T H E K N I G H T S ’ O F F E N S I V E G A M E P L A N . I N FAC T, B U C K I N G H A M H A S B ECO M E S U C H A P RO F I C I E N T R U N N I N G T E A M T H AT E AC H P L AY I T R U N S I S E S S E N T I A L LY A N AC T O F D E F I A N C E . S O M E T I M E S YO U C A N N OT S TO P W H AT ’S CO M I N G E V E N I F YO U K N OW I T ’S CO M I N G W H E N A B I L I T Y A N D S C H E M E CO L L I D E .

THAT ’S THE DILEMMA THAT EACH OPPOSING DEFENSE FACES

WHEN IT LINES UP AGAINST THE KNIGHTS. EVERY SO OFTEN, AN OFFENSIVE LINE GETS BOTH TALENT AND DEPTH AT EACH POSITION. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, YOU GET WHAT BUCKINGHAM HAS — THE ABILIT Y TO SCORE ON SEEMINGLY EVERY SINGLE DRIVE. WITH JACOB SNODDY LEADING THE WAY, THE KNIGHTS HAVE A DISTINCT ADVANTAGE EVERY TIME THEY STEP UP TO THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE. THIS IS AN OFFENSIVE LINE THAT HAS THE PERFECT BLEND OF SIZE AND ATHLETICISM. THIS UNIT PAVED THE WAY FOR KENNETH “PEANUT ” JOHNSON TO RUSH FOR 2,341 YARDS AND 39 TOUCHDOWNS AS THE KNIGHTS EARNED A TRIP TO THE GROUP 2A FINAL FOUR AND PICKED UP A LOT OF EXPERIENCE ALONG THE WAY IN 2013. THE BURNING QUESTION COMING INTO THIS YEAR WAS JUST HOW GOOD WOULD THIS OFFENSIVE LINE LOOK WITHOUT ITS STAR RUNNING BACK. “PEANUT HAD A WAY OF MAKING THE OFFENSIVE LINE LOOK RE ALLY GOOD,” SAID KNIGHTS COACH CRAIG GILL . “SO WE KNEW WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO BE EVEN BETTER UP FRONT THIS YEAR.”

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WE TALK ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME -- IF YOU’RE IN A BATTLE, YOU STAY BEHIND YOUR TANKS. DON’T RUN OUT IN THE OPEN WHEN YOU CAN STAY BEHIND YOUR TANK. -- CRAIG GILL

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Problem solved. As it stands right now, the Knights are almost unstoppable on offense. At 5-1 just over midway through the year and the toughest part of its schedule behind it, Buckingham sits poised to try and make another lengthy playoff run as the offensive line is now its featured talent.

“It’s what’s up front that counts,” Gill said. “If we block, we win. We know that and these kids know that.”

Even in Buckingham’s lone loss on the year, on the road at Goochland, the Knights still found a way to rush for 291 yards. In four of its five first wins the Knights have simply steam-rolled their opponents and in the team’s most recent win, a 33-28 crucial win over Central Lunenburg, the Buckingham offense was overwhelmingly physical in the second half.

“We’ve got two guards that are 300 pounds and move extremely well for big guys,” Gill said. “Connor Christian is one of the best tackles that I’ve ever coached. Dyzhawn Perkins, my center, he’s the best center I’ve ever coached.”

Gill’s been coaching for just shy of four decades. He’s also coached some highly successful teams that have run the ball proficiently. Before Johnson broke school rushing records last year, the Knights saw Maurice Taylor deliver behind an experience line. Right now Gill is breaking in a new running back in sophomore Tariq Gough. At quarterback he has a junior in Leon Ragland that stepped into the position early on last year and proved to be a significant playmaker. Right now, Gough and Ragland represent the most explosive and efficient rushing duo in the area. And the memo to these two right now is simple — don’t try and do it all by yourself, be patient.

“We talk about this all the time — if you’re in a battle, you stay behind your tanks,” Gill said. “Don’t run out in the open when you can stay behind your tank.”

It’s a straight forward concept, but easier said than done. The patience that Gough and Ragland have shown in running this year has been every bit as important as the athletic skill set they tap into after the blocks are set.

Waiting for the line to create the seam and then hitting it has been key and these two have learned that when they let the line do its job, the holes are awfully big.

But an offensive line like this doesn’t just come together by chance. Football in Buckingham starts at the youth level.

This group has played together all the way through up to junior varsity and now here at the varsity level. Linemen have a notoriety for sticking together, and it’s even more so true for this group.

“We’ve been playing together since we’ve been little kids,” Snoddy said. “It’s a small school, small town so (football) is just what you do.”

On top of the overall chemistry this unit has developed by playing together for so long, off season conditioning has pushed them into being even better. For Ragland, it was evident this summer that he and Gough were going to be spoiled rotten.

“They definitely got stronger over the summer,” Ragland said. “They worked hard, kept at it and so now they’re even better than before.”

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Above, Ragland hands off to Tariq Gough with Kayvon Amos laying a block.

But being a great offensive line isn’t just about being more physical, although that certainly helps. With defenses getting more and more complex with stunts and different packages, the line has to have each member on the same page and ready to handle their respective assignment. That’s where Perkins, the group’s vocal leader, really steps in.

“The offensive line just has to communicate,” Perkins said. “That was the thing last year, we communicated, but didn’t start until late.

This year we started out the right way.”

With Snoddy at right guard, Christian at right tackle and Michael Mabry at tight end, the Knights also have a not-so secret weapon. Gill’s “Knight set” is a goalline package that comes out every so often for entire drives. In the second half against Central Lunenburg, the Knights ran exclusively out of that package for long demoralizing marches.

“It’s not our base offense but the kids like it and it’s simple,” Gill said. “I’ve had this ‘Knight set’ in for years and if things aren’t going well the kids go ‘Coach, let’s go Knight set,’ they have confidence in it.”

Of course, while the Knights are and will continue to be a run-first

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team, they also want to capitalize on the man-to-man opportunities they’re seeing, particularly when they run their three-receiver set. So far this year, sophomore Matrice Foster has emerged as the Knights’ deep threat. In a 36-17 win on the road against Amelia, two Ragland touchdown passes went to Foster. It was the first time since 2012 that the Knights had more than one passing touchdown in a game. Against Central Lunenburg, Buckingham scored on its opening drive on a 33-yard pass from Ragland to Foster.

The Knights are taking their shots down field, albeit just a couple of times a game, and doing so out of the play-fake, forcing the offensive line to hold its ground at the line of scrimmage and give Ragland the time he needs to throw. And while the line was spending this summer getting bigger and stronger, Ragland was working on becoming a more polished quarterback, not just a running threat.

“He’s worked hard at becoming a better passer,” Gill said. “We need that and we’ve talked as coaches, that we need to have a

“

THAT’S WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO IN THE TOUGH GAMES -- YOU CAN FALL APART OR COME TOGETHER. -DYZHAWN PERKINS

“

passing game because teams are going to load the box on us. We know that and expect that.”

But at the end of the day, the Knights’ success comes down to one thing — how far up the field can this group get. So far this year both Ragland and Gough have shown a strong desire to run behind the right side of the line with Snoddy, their 6-foot-2 300-pounder, and Christian at tackle getting to the second level of defense and just wreaking havoc.

“We’ve got an all-state lineman in Snoddy so we like to get behind him and run 90 percent of the time,” Gough said. “Leon and I, we know that he, Connor, Dyzhawn and the whole line is always going to get the job done.”

And it’s exactly why this unit calls for Gill to tap into the “Knight

set” when times are tough. Every offensive lineman loves to run block.

It’s when they get to deliver the hits, get to be mean.

“When you line up you find out who’s better than who,”said Athoneee Moore. “You look across the ball and find out.”

Right now, there are few better rushers than Ragland and Gough, and that reflects well on their friends up front. Against Cental Lunenburg, Ragland tallied 145 yards while Gough registered 147. At Goochland the split was 205 for Ragland and 104 for Gough. Those are the two of the toughest opponents Buckingham has faced so far. Time will tell what those numbers look like when the weather turns.

“We want to run the table, we know we can do it,” Perkins said. “But to do it, we’re going to have to stay together as a team. That’s what it comes down to in the tough games — you can fall apart or come together.”

It’s an offensive line that has not only grown up together, but they’ve become an exceptional group as far as school history is concerned. At the current pace, both Gough and Ragland could easily both hit the 2K rushing mark. This is a team that’s started the year the way it finished off the last. Now this group has to wait a few weeks before it gets another chance at making a run to play in Salem. ✖ www.scrimmageplay.com ::

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p r o g r a m

FCU S t o ry by Rya n Y e m e n

Photos by ashley thorton

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fluvanna County WHEN A PROGRAM BECOMES ESTABLISHED, some things are just

predictable. Each and every year, Fluvanna County volleyball is simply always

in the mix. It always has at least one elite talent, sometimes more than that.

At the very worst, the Flucos will be young but scrappy. The bottom line is that when you start playing for this program, there’s a responsibility to at least maintain the status quo.

Right now that status quo is that Fluvanna finds a way to make it through to the regional level of the playoffs. This season has a little different vibe though. In years past, the Flucos were overshadowed a bit by Albemarle or Western Albemarle. Not this year, not at all. With postseason play looming large, Fluvanna County is the class of the Jefferson District this year. Those were the expectations coming in, and so far, they’ve been met with flying colors thanks to a large senior class that wants to make sure its mark is left and is as good or better than any class in recent memory.

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When she gets the ball to everyone our offense just gets that much more dangerous - - - Maddy Kline

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“These guys have all worked so hard to get here,” said Fluvanna coach Christy Harlowe-Garrett. “The chemistry amongst them and the underclassmen has been so fantastic.

To get this many girls together and then have them all get along the way they do, and it’s on and off the court, it’s just a huge bonus for us.”

Maddy Kline, Leslie Walters, Kylee Dixon, Alyssa Robbins and Tiffani Shaheen are all playing in their last high school volleyball season. They’ve grown up together on the court the previous few seasons where the Flucos made a transition after some key losses in 2011. Where once this was an inexperienced team being led by former Jefferson District and Scrimmage Play player of the year in Hannah Miller, this group has spent the last season and a half stepping out of that shadow.

“This year feels a lot different,” Dixon said. “Our sophomore year, we were all so young and I really felt that way about myself on a personal level. So I think to see us each grow and do it all together these past three years, that’s been so great. We’ve all improved, but done it together.”

That shadow, the one cast by former greats at Fluvanna County is hardly a new thing. The Flucos have a long history of great talent, particularly up front at the net. For Kline, who started as a freshman in 2011, getting this team to this point means a lot.

“Even before I started playing, I was always hearing about these hitters here — the Kayla Walkers, my sister Mandy and then of course Hannah Miller,” Kline said. “So it’s really cool now that we have underclassmen that look at our names now in the same way. It’s a big honor and I’m just glad we’ve been able to keep this legacy going.”

Experience matters, and the fact that this core of seniors has made very few positional changes at the varsity level makes a big difference. It also helps that in junior Kate Stutz, the senior hitters have a setter that they are familiar with, and one who’s really coming into her own as well.

“It gives you confidence, knowing exactly what your job is,” Dixon said. “You know where to go, what you’re supposed to be doing and when.”

In Kline and Walters, the Flucos have a hitting tandem that’s going to play in college. Kline is already committed to play at UNC-Wilmington while Walters is close to finalizing her decision.

“I think last year a lot of teams thought that they could beat us pretty easily since (Miller) was gone,” Walters said. “That’s not what happened and so I think (the area) saw that we were pretty good too, that we could do this.”

Versatility is a talking point of Harlowe-Garrett’s each season — she wants variety on offense. After Sammy Toy finished up her career in 2011, Stutz took over as the team’s setter, getting a baptism by fire at first, but settling in nicely, especially as a sophomore last year.

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She’s also efficient and consistent off the court, boasting a 4.6 GPA, while serving as the president of Female Athletes Striving Together (FAST), co-president of Stop One, Save One, a student-led bullying prevention committee and as a member of the National, Math, English and German honors societies.

Last summer she even volunteered at Martha Jefferson and worked as a life guard.

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“We all love Kate, she’s just so nice on and off the court,” Walters said. “She trusts us so that if we say we going to be somewhere she’ll put the ball right there. And so that’s given us a lot of trust in her too. We know she’s going give us a good ball everytime. We count on each other.”

Last year Kline, Walters and Emily Haden were at the forefront of the Fluvanna attack, but with Haden graduating this past spring, it opened up an opportunity. That’s meant more touches for Dixon and Shaheen who’ve stepped up their roles. And so with so many options, Stutz’s distribution is hardly predictable — exactly the way Fluvanna wants it.

“I don’t really know how she (distributes) the ball the way she does,” Kline said. “If you keep setting the same person the other team catches on really quick and no matter how good that one player might be, a team can probably adjust and shut that one player down. When she gets the ball to everyone our offense just gets that much more dangerous.”

So far there haven’t been many teams able to figure the Flucos out, much less keep pace. Fluvanna played its best volleyball late last year, and trying to start the season with that same mojo was the early season goal.

“Coach wanted us to pick it back up right from Regionals,” Shaheen said. “We wanted to start from where we left off.”

Sure enough, the Flucos answered that call by opening the year with a 3-0 win over Waynesboro. Fluvanna won four of its five matches in the Albemarle Invitational, falling only to the host in a best-of-three game. This team avenged that loss 10 days later, taking down the Patriots in a thrilling five set game to open up Jefferson District play. The win over Albemarle was the first for any of the Flucos in their careers.

“We’ve been fighting for a lot of years to be able to beat the teams we are right now,” Dixon said. “It puts it all in perspective for us so we all keep trying hard and try and stay humble.”

Last year, this group picked up a similar signature win when they defeated Western for the first time in their careers.

After beating Albemarle this year, the Flucos didn’t drop a set.

Sweeps over Orange, Monticello, Louisa, Charlottesville and Powhatan set up Fluvanna’s first meeting with Western this year and for the second straight season, the Flucos picked up the win, this one a 3-1 victory. Just two days later, the Flucos had to line up with Albemarle again and just as it was before, it’s was back-and-forth with Fluvanna prevailing once again in five sets.

“I think most of our success comes from the dynamic we have with each other,” Kline said. “We all know each other so well. We know how to push each other and that’s big, that’s really important. We all know what we want this year and that’s to be better than last year.”

One win better than last year puts Fluvanna County in the

Fluco Lineage Group 4A state tournament. They’ve got the tools, the talent and now the experience to get there. Just how far this team goes is up to them. And that’s always a great position to be in — the driver’s seat.

“All we have to do is be prepared,” Robbins said. “We have to work on it in practice, harder serves, better passes. We just have to keep wanting to get better.”

And so as the regular season winds down, the Flucos will continue to look to keep their edges sharp, and hone their craft. It’s something this group has done remarkably well since they all came together as sophomores.

“We saw this kind of potential in these guys two and three years ago,” Harlowe-Garrett said. “Now we’ve watched them grow and steadily progress to get here.”

Now with one month to play, they’re getting ready for one last run and when these seniors do move on, it’ll be up to the classes below to pick up the pieces and keep the winning tradition going. It’s been done before. That’s how programs are built and how they maintain their reputations. It’s always about the next athlete. But for now, the next can wait until this group is done. ✖

In 2007, Lindsey Hurt and Daniel Dike, both seniors, put Fluvanna County into the Jefferson District title game and the Region II tournament. From there in 2009 Kayla Walker and Mandy Kline (2010) led a young Fluco squad to the same result.

The next year, sophomore Hannah Miller took over a team with junior Sammy Toy, the Flucos again qualified for the region.

Miller (2012) led the Flucos the next two years, again putting Fluvanna County into the postseason, and in her senior year, doing it with a good chunk of the current squad getting their feet wet.

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Corner PRESENTED BY

Communication is key ABOVE » After each game, Woodberry Forest coaches, players and parents huddle. It’s a critical part of each Tigers game and offers a chance for all three different roles to bond together.

I’m a little neurotic and I remember as a student trying to think of one piece of positive news, something from practice (a good play, a kind word from a coach) or something from school (a good grade, something funny that happened) to talk to my parents about.

Inevitably, they were going to ask the question that’s asked at every dinner table or in every car. “How was your day?”

I was trying to think of something good to say so that I could garner some approval and then move on quickly to the next thing I wanted to do. In some ways, I’m sure my parents felt like that too, just a way of staying tapped in regularly and making some effort, but the banalities of my day probably didn’t register much more than a blip on their radar.

I wasn’t going to bring up something serious that seemed life-altering during one of those conversations like when I explained to my father that if I didn’t get to two specific colleges after applying to five of them that I intended to take a year off. Those kind of topics always required something different. No

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reason to drop bombs like that in the afternoon or evening when everyone just needed a snack or dinner. I saved those kind of headscratchers for Saturdays.

Maybe we should be striving to go beyond the facts or a recap of the day. Though, frankly I wish my son would be as forthcoming as I felt like I was at this point, so I’d take facts. Maybe I’m not asking the right questions though…or giving particularly thoughtful responses.

As a parent, you’ve got to consider more how you respond to a student when they’re talking about their day. It’s not about being an armchair psychiatrist, but you’ve got to find ways to ask how a scenario made them feel. As a family, it’s important to communicate and deal in a healthy way with emotions.

If you’re processing them in a more productive way, you’re becoming more emotionally mature, and that starts with communicating them with a reasoned approach.

Perhaps even more importantly, that requires a reasoned approach on the parents’

end too. An approach that doesn’t further isolate a student struggling with a problem or a comment that heightens fear or anxiety they already have — that’s not going to help them approach a situation with confidence.

Start by being fully engaged and cutting out distractions for five to 10 minutes or so. Put your phone down or at least mute the television and just talk about whatever your student wants to discuss.

A rough practice, a happy moment, an interaction with another student. If it’s a problem, cut out snap judgments completely and don’t try to immediately find a solution. Let them talk it out.

Make everything fair game and safe, and after awhile maybe you won’t even have to set aside a specific time. Maybe communication that includes emotional growth will become a natural part of your day, even if that seems like a pipe dream for most families.

That’s all it’s about anyway though.

Just finding a way to talk it out in a healthy fashion. As long as you’re being thoughtful and making an effort, you’re helping the cause. ✖ Scrimmage Play and Triple C Camp partner up to cover a variety of player and family topics related to youth and prep sports in Family Corner.

Bart Isley,

CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR

At Blue Ridge School you can choose both.

ALL BOYS • ALL BOARDING • ALL COLLEGE BOUND

Lacrosse

Football

Blue Ridge School’s Baron Scholarship Program offers substantial scholarships to boys applying for the 9th grade who exemplify character and leadership potential. www.BlueRidgeSchool.com/scholarship 434-985-2811

2012 VISAA Div II State Football Champions 2013 VIC Lacrosse Champions

SIDELINED WITH AN INJURY? FULL POTENTIAL PHYSICAL THERAPY CAN HELP GET FULL POTENTIAL PHYSICAL CAN THERE. HELP GET YOU BACK IN THE GAMETHERAPY AND STAY

FULL POTENTIAL PHYSICAL THERAPY CANBACK HELPIN GET YOU BACK INSTAY THE GAME AND KEEP YOU THERE YOU THE GAME AND THERE. OUR UNIQUE PROGRAM OFFERS:

Does An Injury Have You part of the action? We can a part of the action?aWe can Sidelined? help get you back on theget field,you back on the field, TREATMENT - Based on the assessment, an individualized treatment plan is developed help

OUR UNIQUE PROGRAM OFFERS:

ASSESSMENT - You will receive a thorough evaluation of your injury and any issues that IT’S GAME TIME: Why be in ASSESSMENT - You will receive a thorough evaluation of your injury and any issues that IT’S GAME TIME: Why be in may have left you vulnerable to injury such as flexibility, muscle balance, biomechanical the stands when you can be may have left you vulnerable to injury such as flexibility, muscle balance, biomechanical the stands when you can be alignment, technique, and training. alignment, technique, and training.

TREATMENT - Based on the assessment, an individualized treatment plan is developed for you.

for you.

GET BACK IN THE

on the court, or in the pool.

on the court, or in the pool.

Don’t red shirt this season.

EDUCATION - You will receive guidance on injury prevention that will address training Don’t red shirt this season.

GAME THIS EDUCATION - Youaswill receive guidance on injury prevention that SEASON will address training and technique issues needed (i.e. golf swing, soccer kick, tennis swing, throwing Get back in the game! motion, etc.). and technique issues as needed (i.e. golf swing, soccer kick, tennis swing, throwing Get back in the game!

motion, etc.).

ALBERT WONG, PT, CSCS, CLINIC DIRECTOR OVER 20 YEARS OF ORTHOPEDIC EXPERIENCE

CHARLOTTESVILLE 1406 Greenbrier Place, Charlottesville, VA 22901 CHARLOTTESVILLE T: (434) 220-0069 F: (434) 220-0072 www.fullpotentialpt.org 1406 Greenbrier Place, Charlottesville, VA 22901

(434) 220-0069 F: (434) 220-0072 FULLT:POTENTIAL PHYSICAL THERAPY CAN HELP GET www.fullpotentialpt.org YOU BACK IN THE GAME AND STAY THERE.

STUDENTS FIRST OUR UNIQUE PROGRAM OFFERS:

ASSESSMENT - You will receive a thorough evaluation of your injury and any issues that may have left you vulnerable to injury such as flexibility, muscle balance, biomechanical alignment, technique, and training.

IT’S GAME TIME: Why be in

TREATMENT - Based on the assessment, an individualized treatment plan is developed for you.

help get you back on the field,

the stands when you can be a part of the action? We can on the court, or in the pool.

CHAMPIONS NEXT EDUCATION - You will receive guidance on injury prevention that will address training and technique issues as needed (i.e. golf swing, soccer kick, tennis swing, throwing motion, etc.).

Don’t red shirt this season.

Get back in the game!

CHARLOTTESVILLE 1406 Greenbrier Place, Charlottesville, VA 22901 T: (434) 220-0069 F: (434) 220-0072 www.fullpotentialpt.org

THE COVENANT UPPER SCHOOL | Grades 7 through 12 THE COVENANT LOWER SCHOOL | Pre-K through Grade 6 175 Hickory Street Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 434-220-7330 1000 Birdwood Road Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 434-220-8125

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Overtime

Backyard ball Every football careeer begins in the same place

I

miss backyard football desperately. There are a lot of things you miss as you get older or take on more responsibility or just don’t make time for them. But that one sticks out for me.

There’s something so fun about playing sports in an unstructured environment with no fans and no officials against people your own age that’s just…pure.

Organized football from middle school to high school was all about learning your role and executing your role and there are tremendous lessons in that, particularly for linemen who get little of the glory and do so much grunt work without even touching the ball. But in pickup ball, we could all be whoever we wanted to be. I was a tackle or a nose guard or an extremely slow outside linebacker on Fridays, but on a Saturday with friends? I was Brett Favre or Tony Gonzales. I was never a running back or a wideout. I’m not a crazy person, I know my limits.

Backyard football, while great on a sunny, crisp fall day is improved dramatically by the introduction of mud or snow. Playing in those elements is the stuff backyard glory is made of — it adds to the illusion that you’re really accomplishing something even if you’re just burning time on a Saturday.

Unlike the all-business environment of a Friday night too, you get a chance to joke around. I always enjoyed yelling out the X-Box (yeah, the original, I’m old school) button the corresponded to the move I was trying to pull off as it happened. R1 for swim move while rushing the passer was a particular favorite.

Oh, and trick plays? My uncle was the king of trick plays. He all but patented the “I’ve got to go to the bathroom” play where a player ambles off toward the sideline and declares they’ve got to pee. Then they break toward the end zone, in theory uncovered by a defender. Guy ran it all the time.

As we got older we played more full scale games with kids from the neighborhood or even when I was at UVa as a first year and we’d play after it rained in an a field in the Dell that’s now covered by tennis courts. Pickup football seemed to always be there, tapping you back into the soul of the game, the underlying passion that makes it such a tremendous pasttime. It’s a game then, and a tremendously fun one.

I’m not naïve about the business aspects of football that go on at every level. But part of what I love about covering it is that so many people are passionate about the game itself and playing it well. And I’d imagine a great many of those players, coaches and fans built some of that passion without pads, without bands, without coaches guiding your every move.

I’m moving into a stage with my son where that’s what he wants to do all the time — play football in the front yard. That’s why I threw in that qualifier about “people your own age” up top. Playing with my son is a different kind of emotion. I’m now passing on the

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“I’d imagine a great many of those players, coaches and fans built some of that passion without pads, without bands, without coaches guiding your every move.”

game that’s been a huge part of my life and it’s more about his enjoyment when we mix it up outside.

I probably spend too much time trying to teach him too. I’m out there running different play packages and sets and teaching him footwork. He’s five. It’s hard, I can’t really help myself. But I’ve go to ratchet it back and start letting it just be about the flow and the fun of the game.

Because that’s how you fall in love with it. ✖

Bart Isley

CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR

back talk »

What sparked your love of any sport?

Email: bart@scrimmageplay.com

Success stories begin here.

Success Story: John Dorsey Getting knocked down and getting back up is one of the great signs of success. A Fork Union graduate in 1980, John Dorsey went on to start at linebacker at Connecticut before becoming a fourth round pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 1984 NFL Draft. However, a freak injury to his knee while warming up for the Packers’ season opener in 1989 ended his playing days well short of where they should have been.

Dorsey stayed on his path to have a career in the NFL though. He started anew as a college scout for the Packers and within six years was the head of the department.

In 1999 he took the job as Director of Player Personnel for the Seattle Seahawks. A year later he returned to his old post at Green Bay. It was Dorsey who played an instrumental role in landing future star quarterback

Aaron Rodgers with the 24th pick in the 2005 draft. Dorsey built a name for himself by helping on that selection and other notable picks such as Greg Jennings out of Western Michigan, B.J. Raji out of Boston College and USC’s Clay Mathews.

In 2013 Dorsey reunited with Andy Reid who he worked with when he first got started in Green Bay. Dorsey was named the just the sixth General Manager in Kansas City Chiefs history with Reid getting tabbed as the head coach. Together the two made a splash as the Chiefs went from last in the AFC West to qualify for the playoffs in just one season.

It’s been a long road for Dorsey since his time at Fork Union, but through persistence and hard work, his NFL career is still thriving almost 30 years after it began.

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