Coastal Media Kit

SEGA Prep Sports, LLC

shawn@inthegamemagazine.com P.O. Box 2960 Waycross, GA 31502

Shawn Smoak 229.834.9044

Coastal Edition

MEDIA KIT

Who We Are

Player Spotlight

sponsored by:

Chandler Ewaldsen Savannah Christian Preparat ory Scho ol

In the Game High School Sports Magazine is a growing family of monthly high school athletic magazines. Published bi-monthly, our magazine focuses on local high school athletes and athletic programs within the Coastal Area.

Every issue of In the Game is a high quality, glossy, full color publication featuring positive human interest stories with a sports slant. There are four regular monthly features in each issue: Player Spotlight, Academic Athlete, Coach’s Corner, and Rising Star. We include other sports information pertinent to the Coastal Area as well.

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The positive response to In the Game has been overwhelming, and many schools report that parental and community interest has risen as a result of their participation with our publications. High school sports are an integral part of many people’s lives on a year-round basis. Nationwide, more than 7 million students participated in organized high school sports last year, and that number is increasing.

In the Game is the perfect fit for a company desiring to increase product visibility within our markets, as adult and student consumers of all ages enjoy our magazine.

Suh’s father her. She maintacouldn’t be disapp ointed with all while playin ins a 4.0 grade point average g sports year year, Suh round. This achieved past a Coaches cheerleading Award for , Most Valuab country, the Scholar Athlet le Player in cross and for the e Award in past basketball Valuable Player two years, she has been Most in track.

Her coach es, Mike and track) Benne tt (baske and tball country), are Daniel Batten (track and cross really proud one of the of quickest player her, too. “She’s says Benne s I’ve ever tt, adding seen,” that watch was like a ing blur. “She has very quick her play feet.” This is why he hands and reached track for him.

Both Benne out to her to run very surpri tt and Batten sed at her were ability when whim, put her they, she had never in the 4x400 relay event, on a run which before, where state qualify she scored ing a surprised hersel time. She impressed them and f.

They immed iately knew their hands they had . “I knew right a runner on scratching then that we the were only with her,” says surface of what was available Bennett.

They had her runnin g for the in seventh varsity team grade Bennett. “Most , “Which is unhea rd of,” says kids don’t compete at have the ability the varsity to most impre level at that ssive thing age. The about her the first 25 is that within feet of track she can reach She starts out blindin top speed. gly quick.”

Batten says Suh consis him with her tently impre enthus sses iasm to do always asking better. “She’s the right do we do it like that?’” questions, like, ‘Why her sports manship and He speaks highly of of others her encou on ragement to be aroun the team. “She is bubbly, fun d, has a big, vibran and alway t s includes everyone on personality conversation the team in ,” he says.

Suh also likes her coaches. runner himse “Batten is lf, too, so he a you’ll get coach knows es that played . A lot of times currently a before but runner. So, aren’t that is what him. He can I like about actually run to. He’s very with us if we need him intense, and our practic I like that. es Some of knows when will be really hard, but he also we need a break. Then one-mile warm we’ll then play socce up loop, some exerci do the ses, r for the rest knows when of the practic and it e. He day,” she says is time for us to have an easy of Batten.

Suh attend ed the All Ameri Camp this summer where can Cross Country knowledge she broad and learne d strategies ened her apart from the pack in to set her running. The about it for her coaches best thing for three more is that glorious years. they have her too young Suh says she to know what is the rest of she wants her life just to do with interested in studying yet. She is, perhaps, law, but one knows is that thing she wherever she she will take runnin g with her goes. ITG

“I feel extremely proud of my awards an d really ho pe I can upho ld them.”

t Deric Wrigh

Defensive s Impact Player

Memorial Day

Corey Horne

ol

ty High Scho

Coun h Effingham

friends, Hobby: Hanging with fishing, Favorites: water sports, drawing, Junior and playing Xbox Snack: Lunchables /Fullback could play: Steak Football: Linbacker Sport you wish you Healthy Food: Grilled Jersey: #35 Ping-Pong and Salad 190 Height: 6' Weight: Buns and oreos Sport you like to watch most & Nick Smith Junk Food: Honey Coach: Donnie Revell Football TV: on Book: Bible, Sacks: 4, INT: to you: Stats: Tackles: 106, Most influential person Swiss Family Robinson 2, Fumble person 1 Forced Fumbles: There isn’t just one Movie: Warrior per carry, My family and Recovery: 1,7.9 yards Bob that influences me.

TV Show: Sponge l to me Grace TDs: 4 friends are all influentia Team All Musician: Three Days there for Awards: Selected First because they are always College Team: UGA 2012, CWTV me.

Region for football me and supporting Pro Team: Atlanta Falcons the Game, of Player like to meet: Defensive Person you would Pro Player: David Pollack and All Region for Hill Selected First Team Tim Tebow Club Top Place to Travel: Clark baseball, Georgia Dugout Lake Resort areas 100 in the State Righty or Lefty: Righty

Sout

13

ris

Dushad Mor

ol

son High Scho

Sol C. John

Righty or Lefty: Righty Junior Football: Free Safety, Favorites: Defensive Back Snack: oreos Jersey: #23 Healthy Food: oranges 174 Height: 5’10” Weight: Junk Food: Pizza Coach: Thomas Tedder Musician: Future and Michael Moore College Team: Alabama INTs: 3, 92, Tackles: Stats: Crimson Tide 2, Patriots Fumble Recoveries: “our Pro Team: New england Most Memorable Moment: Man Chapel Movie: Think Like a playoff game against first TV Show: Family Guy Hill. It was our school’s and I Subject: Math history in victory playoff Place to Travel: oregon had two interceptions.” n 2011, All-Regio Awards: 2nd Team n 2012 1st Team All-Regio

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School

Favorites: Football: Wide Receiver Snack: Grapes & Free Safety butter Healthy Food: Peanut Jersey: #10 and jelly Nickname: Six Bun Junk Food: Honey Receiver, & Music Sport: Football / Wide Hobby: Art, Video games, Free Safety Book: The Great Gatsby 197 Height: 6’8” Weight: & R&B n Musician: Hip Hop Coach: Michael Thompso College Team: UGA Receptions Stats: 11 games, 37 h Steelers ns, Pro Team: Pittsburg for 485 yards, 5 touchdow Book: Holes 56 Tackles, 2 INTs Gang Gridiron Movie: All State, Awards: All Region, TV Show: Martin Player of the Week Playing in Subject: History re Most Memorable Game: game in Place to travel: everywhe ship the State Champion the 10th grade.

Righty or Lefty: Righty

when not Favorite thing to do out playing Football: Working and then relaxing than Football: Favorite sport other Basketball could play: Sport you wish you Hockey to you: person l Influentia Most he is a Reggie Bush, because the speed hard worker and has that I like. like to meet: Person you would Reggie Bush

Treynearious Savannah

than football: Favorite Sport other Basketball could play: Sport you wish you

Football most on TV: Sport you like to watch Football/Basketball My mom Most influential person: so hard to and dad, they work l, keep us successfu better become to me and push each day. like to meet: Person you would James AJ Green and LeBron

Dillard ol

High Scho

a victory over our touchdown to secure first in 17 years.”

Senior cross-town rival, the Linebacker Sport: Football/ Fullback/ Righty or Lefty: Righty Jersey: #43 Favorites: 190 Height: 5’9” Weight: Snack: Ginger Snaps Broccoli Nickname: June Bug Healthy Food: Steamed Coach: Tim Jordan Junk Food: Skittles Rushing Yards: Stats: Carries: 136 Hobby: Watching Film 7, Catches: 857, Avg: 6.3, TD’s: Book: The Great Gatsby TD’s, Solo 13,Receiving: 258, 2 Musician: Kanye West Tackles: 44, State Tackles: 98, Assisted College Team: Penn 1, FR: 2, FF: 1, Total: 142, INTs: Pro Team: Chargers Tomlinson Sacks: 1 Pro Player: Ladanian of Happiness Awards: Movie: The Pursuit of the Year, Bang Theory Region 1-AAA Player TV Show: The Big News 1st All-Savannah Morning Subject: History n, D.C. offensive Team Defense, WJCL Place to travel: Washingto not when Player of the Week Favorite thing to do “Beach vs.

NFL Live playing football: Watch Most Memorable Moment: clinching game Savannah, I ran the

could play: Sport you wish you Tennis most on TV: Sport you like to watch NFL & Rugby to you: Most Influential Person

My mother Most Memorable game: Johnson High “Homecoming against with less we were down a touchdownWe drove than 2 minutes remaining. tie the game field to from our end of the Then we made and send it to overtime. a blocked field goal, a defensive stop by on the first recovering it and scoring possession.” play of the ensuing like to meet: Adrian Person you would Tomlinson Peterson & Ladanian

Tra' Hardy Vidalia High

School

Favorites: Senior Snack: Chocolate candy Back, Defensive Football: Running Healthy Food: Apples Back Junk Food: oreos Jersey: #2 Hobby: Playing Sports 180 Height: 6’ Weight: Musician: Future Coach: Lee Chomskis 2 for TDs, 99 College Team: UGA Stats: 5 Interceptions, hia eagles 2 sacks, Pro Team: Philadelp tackles, 54 yard return, Vick Pro Player: Michael s, 3 punt 2 fumble recoverie Pigs for Book: Three Little Carries ll returns for TDs, 48 Movie: Love and Basketba 375 yards, 9 TD’s TV Show: Family Guy Most Memorable Moment: Biology Subject: on intercepti My first n Place to travel: Beach Awards: 1st Team All-Regio Athlete of the Year Righty or Lefty: Righty

when not Favorite thing to do out with playing football: Hang friends could play: Sport you wish you Hockey Most memorable game: West Laurens like to meet: Person you would Kevin Durant

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Market Area The Coastal Edition covers schools in Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Chatham, Effingham, Emanual, Evans, Jenkins, Screven, Tattnall, and Tommbs counties. Also the South Carolina Counties of Beaufort and jasper.

Battery Creek High Memorial Day School Beach Metter High Beaufort Academy Pinewood Christian Academy Beaufort High Portal High Benedictine Military Richmond Hill High Bethesda School for Boys Ridgeland Hardeeville High Bible Baptist School Robert Toombs Academy Bluffton High Savannah Arts Academy Bryan County High Savannah Christian Preparatory Bulloch Academy Savannah Country Day Calvary Day School Savannah High Claxton High Screven County High David Emanuel Academy South Effingham High Effingham County High Southeast Bulloch High Emanuel County Institute St. Andrews First Presbyterian Christian St. Vincent’s Groves High Statesboro High Heritage Academy Swainsboro High Hilton Head Christian Academy Tattnall County High Hilton Head Island High Thomas Heyward Academy Hilton Head Preparatory School Toombs County High Islands High Vidalia High Jenkins County High Whale Branch Early College High Jenkins High Windsor Forest High Johnson High Woodville-Tompkins ts or Patrio Pair Anch Impressive am Track Te

otlight

photography

Player Sp

nson

by Jerry Christe

both area, and tes in the vor student-athle what endea impressive ahead, no matter athletics is bright futures . in high school ide track years, have ultimately choose growing trend specialist. For many ers of the Norths on. Both when- they being memb the single-sport whatever they could a lot in comm Aside from . Their fall, Briggs have chosen sports students played arose—football in the ll/ team, Parker and on the hard at their unities aseba talent ely opport their track/b extrem ever developed in the winter, at all uncom- work driven young has further basketball hard work are also very wrestling or Now, it is not . foBriggs and spring and in the pick one sport for that track. Parker golf/tennis is t-athletes to is uncommon mon for studen ‘round. What a variety cus on it year g man with

Academic

n Jr.

by Robert Presto

Players

a talented,

complex youn

science (he

lists

er is ested in . Many is keenly inter ted Christian Tyler Park pursuits. He also a devo

Sydney Harper

Jersey: #10 er, and he is but to Park of interests subject), yet Height: 5’9” in conflict, gs his favorite ities to be place. Thin Nickname: Syd Babe physics as e two qual ng has its Savannah t find thos Christian Preparatory “Everythi Coach: Julie Jones Order and School people migh each other. ys add up. complement numbers alwa points to a Creator they nicely r out. The Senior . “Science Favorite thing to do when not playing el each othe says he .”

Volleyball: ent,” outside always canc erse Hitter pres volleyball: Going to the beach/shopping gn to the univ are always symmetry ide. with friends a definite desi Norths for life after gn. There is Stats: s who have have lofty goals and a desi adults who military familie

Natalie Ourhann

Awards:

Most Memorable Moment: academics.

to specia I didn’t intend states. that way,” he

e all year

Those well ned Parker w, track season have positio this intervie says heFavorites: the time of

by Beth Welch

Righty or Lefty: Righty Favorite sport other than volleyball: Tennis

Sport you wish you could play: Lacrosse Favorite thing to do when not playing your sport: I am on the regional board of my youth organization, so when I am not playing volleyball I am planning, organizing, and participating in events with my friends!

Most Influential person to you: I would have to say my grandmother. She lived with my family for six years.

She came with us when we moved to Georgia and is still giving me helpful advice each and every day. She has shown me how to grow as a person and always has a solution to my problems.I don’t know where I would be without her today.

She also inspires me as she is confined to a wheelchair and has never given up.

Person you would like to meet: Phil Dalhausser, the US olympic beach volleyball player. He is just too perfect at volleyball and I think I would die if I met him, or even better, had a chance to play with him.

Parker out practic season. At Snack: Cucumbersjust for Northside. andworked that one must Vinegar races this Healthytrack season with ranch yet g is a sport dipbegun to run some quick region in son. When Food: Veggies Junk Food: ChocolateRunnin He had not and Snack: Chocolate Chip Ice Cream/ Sunflower seeds covered almonds hopes is no offsea the Book: of miles.

Junk: French Fries d fourth in feels fast to be fast. Theremaintains a steady dietDevil’s Arithmetic Musician: Luke Bryan up as just missed Parker finishe Healthy Food: Carrots & Ranch dressing imes getting Team: UGA Book: The Hunger Games Trilogy two-mile. He year. In 2011, isn’t in, Parker , sometCollege His the state Pro Team: Atlanta Braves third in the Hobby: Drawing and Painting before school eight miles. like to reach up ProtoPlayer: the mile and Chipper Jones Musician: Timeflies often runs 800 and would Movie: Olympus Has Fallen a.m. and logginghe just runs distance, mile and the College Team: UCLA Bruins ing for state, TV Show: cOne early as 4:30 Treehe imes Pro Team: Boston Red Sox Hill qualify a senior, particularly in the routes his best twoSubject: Science workouts vary—somet 4:54, as -specifi is Pro Player: Kerri Walsh meet speed in Place to Travel: best mile Caribbean Subject: Chemistry Islands competes he does more . He also . To date, his Place to travel: New York City other times house five- meters d near his and has a has marke bus area in the Colum road races

te has an inna and run for. She has a lot to watching her hes are Jersey: #10 t to let her s college coac Height: doesn’t wan she 5’101/2” to eed. She know And Coach: Brooke McMillan deployment nds on her. year onea spent left for he left, he South Effingham High School and before January, on.

In ent, n. seas oym the dow depl y for father Senior d was his sixthRightyhelping her get read strength, spee anistan. It Righty or Lefty: Sport: Softball/ Short StopAfgh Sport: Volleyball: Setter and Right Side Briggs, & Catcher t, building on of time with t after sprin sprin re the seas Favorite thing a great deal to do and when not playing softball: befo mile Stats: afterBe around friends pulled him away onto the Stats: They ran mile His she steps SeRVeS: 350-94%, ACeS: 89, DIGS: 50, call to duty time y run I e. ever Batting Average: .361, on Base %: .425, enduranc about Dad. KILLS: 121, ASSISTS: 502 is with her heother Runs Scored: 10, RBIs: 8and Sport off worrying gs says than softball: Lacrosse BrigFavorite mind but my . ed, keep says start Awards: and racing down,” she ining Sport let him 23 t to play: you wish you could track. “Tra Soccer Awards: Player of the Year for Region I don’t wan every day.

All Star Team, 3rd at State for in ourhim division

n Briggs MadisoHenave Young desire to succ

Savannah Christian Preparatory e team depe School the Northsid her father

riggs & T Heaven B

er

yler Park ide High

Norths

School

(a first for Savannah Christian)

Most Memorable Moment:

Most Influential person to you: Parents

Person you would like to meet: Sandra Bullock

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our team is really determined to win the region again and hopefully go to state.

Place to Travel: New York City, because it’s never the same. Every time you go, you find new things to do.

Favorites: Snack: Salt and Vinegar Chips Junk Food: Ice Cream Book: The Great Gatsby College Team: UGA Pro Player: Chipper Jones Movie: Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part II

Goals for this year:

Righty or Lefty: Righty

Going to State my freshman year

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Jacqueline Richtman

Favorites: Healthy Food: Strawberries Hobby: Fishing Musician: Kenny Chesney Pro Team: Braves TV Show: Cake Boss Place to Travel: Florida

Snack: Cheese-Its Junk Food: Ice Cream Book: Harry Potter series College Team: UGA Pro Player: Kerri Walsh Subject: History

Getting to kn ow

Jersey: #3 Height: 5’7” Coach: Jennifer Hall

Megan Family: pare nts, Ron and Simona; brot her, Matthew Favorite: Movie: Forrest Gump • Plac Playlist: A goo e to eat in Colu d mix of Bra mbus: Chill and others • in Stew by Gree Wo from focusing rds to live by: “If you focu n Day, some Rhianna on victory.” s on fear, it stops you Most influent ial person in Athlete that her life: My insp mom Best thing abo ires her: Pole vaulter Kyli e Hutson ut Columbus opportunity Hig to excel in acad h School: It offers stud ents the the same tim emics and be e for a well-rou communityminded at nded approac h.

Most Memorable Moment: “The Region Championship game; we worked so hard all year and we never gave up throughout the whole game. I was so proud of every one of my teammates for working so hard and winning that game. It was the first time my school had ever won region for volleyball."

Favorite thing to do when not playing your sport: Going to concerts with my best friends.

Favorite Sport other than volleyball: Soccer Sport you wish you could play: Tennis Sport you most like to watch on TV: Baseball Most Influential person to you: “My older sister Melanie, because she was the first person I looked up to as I grew up and she is the main reason I got interested in playing volleyball.”

New Duk

L

Jersey: #15 Height: 5’7” Coach: Bobbi Mock

Savannah Country Day School

Sport: Volleyball / outside hitter Stats: 462 Kills, 290 Digs, 52 Aces, and a 92.3% Serving accuracy.

Awards: MVP of Area, MVP for SCDS, All State First team, from Serve theirAttempts: 352, Aces: Favorite sport other than volleyball: Tennis track as 253, ly. both come 83, Kills: Georgia State Coaches award g fairly recent athletes choose to that one317, And Digs: Blocks:to8,Colum Points:bus track. Few 348 Parker loves above anythin moved entire year sport to be their Goals for this year: two Colum te thing s dedica Sporttoyou wish you could play: Basketball family moved If there is one Spotlight feature TyI am looking forward to an amazing season. As a only sport and a freshHe and his team my just that. month’s Player Parker was it’s running. or Lacrosse goals else, when as a senior leader are to win the area championship a activity. This seniors who have done Carolin h the school the most from North and advance into the top five of the state. As an individual halfway throug Northside High Heaven Briggs are among All City andbus I All Region Sophomore Year, enough time to join the arrived about and look to better my game and increase my statistics man. They just Most Influential the person: My teammates especially ler Parker Best of Preps Sophomore gave Parker Year, in aces, which is where I lack the most. list, preferring as year, which andaJunior distance specia the 800 Savannah Morning at He’s News Player time of team. the Week Most little Memorable Moment: track sprintPersonby ile, with a you would “I participated in a national tournament called the es dominated teams. most like to meet: one- and two-m Colorado Misty shorter distanc relayMay Treanor and Kerri Walsh the Crossroads 4x400 my freshman over year on a club team. We were on a of the well, y runs on one cross countr winning streak with the goal of achieving a Junior Parker ran olympic ers. He also cross the and junior, bid for for entrance to more the tournament run that summer. In one of not to As a sopho our final matches I had to climb onto a chair in the year, he chose got in the way our team making it tofall. theThis of 17:52.

Final in the 4 academic schedule robotics and milesof parents to pass one of my teammates “shanks” crowd “My personal best and I and the extra country team. y. I wanted to focus on in track. It kilometer g workouts ing tracksomehow managed to save the play and win the game.” early mornin lize countr for the upcom

Favorites: of cross

Athlete

Megan Clark

A Girl Impact

10

Healthy Food: Strawberries Hobby: Reading Musician: ed Sheeran Pro Team: UGA

Movie: The Dark Knight Rises TV Show: Bones

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ife can be families, bu mor about t the territory.

“When I go to Du That’s the longest I laughs Megan Clark School and a recent The intelligent, signed an athleticarti sch February. This Devils uniform fall sh when she joins for ye the D pole vaulter .

The daughter of a m ten times in 12 school y in August by way of he Clark spent her sophom Point, New York, where telage of a pole vault co her approa ch to the spor “I spent my entire sop habits,” Clark says of he tices.

According to ed her about Clark, her the coaching enhan science o ced her ta “clicked” her junior “I am a natura year. l for track ting started , but I learne d Pole vaultin g is I didn’t really a science, a know that.

I and going with the pole happened. an When I moved had measu rements for every difference,” she says.

The attention to detail paid the Eastern States Pole York State Vau Outdoor Pole New York Vau State placed sevent Indoor Pole h Balance Outdo in the pole v or Track and F

Highest Best vaul

onships and fourth in the Track and Field 2011 National ChampNe Clark has a io host of other complishmen athleti ts earned during letic career her . She began mother, Simon track and a, up for the sport signed Clark and when the family first, it was mov easier to disting didn’t particip uish wh ate in instead of those “I did everyt hing except is pretty long,” throwing she recalls.

The 5’5”, 121-pound athlete eve on pole vaultin tle relay work. g and hurdles. She a As a memb team, she er of the C participates in the pole va

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been playing together since they were in sixth grade.

They are friends, they have chemistry, and they have a purpose. And that makes them formidable.

As important as volleyball is to Ewaldsen, when volleyball season ends, she will only be a third of the way through her senior athletic campaign. She will still have basketball and soccer to go. Last basketball season, Ewaldsen scored 400 points and grabbed 212 rebounds for a Lady Raiders team that, unfortunately, didn’t make the playoffs. This year, she hopes Savannah Christian can return to the postseason and make run through the playoffs.

“We’ve only got three seniors this year, but we’re a really close team. I hope we can make the playoffs. If you can do that, you never know what will happen,” she says.

In the 2013 soccer season, the Lady Raiders finished third in the region and made the playoffs with a new head coach. Ewaldsen scored 10 goals and recorded 12 assists as a center midfielder. “We had a good team last year, but we lost a lot of close games.”

Her goals for the 2014 season are similar to what she would like to accomplish in her other sports: for her team to do their best, get in the postseason, and hopefully make some noise in the state tournament.

Sports have played an enormous role in Ewaldsen’s life, but she has done much more than simply move from one season to the next during her high school years. She is also a dedicated student whose name, it seems, is permanently etched on Savannah Christian’s Honor Roll. She places a strong emphasis on her Christian faith and allows that to guide her in every aspect of her life. Ewaldsen begins and ends each day with a devotion. In between, she fits in school, two and a half hours of practice, and homework/school projects. Maintaining such a schedule is simply a matter of time management and an understanding that no matter how important athletics are, school always comes first. “I have always wanted to be the best at everything I do - in the classroom or on the field. I strive to be a good Christian example to my peers and my teammates,” she says. ITG

During her career, Chandler Ewaldsen has won a host of awards, including All-Region in volleyball, basketball and soccer, and she was named Volleyball Player of the Year by the Savannah Morning News.

Her most significant honor is the Hollis Stacy Award, which is given each year to the most versatile female athlete in Savannah. Hollis Stacy is a former member of the LPGA Tour who grew up in Savannah.

She won several tournaments on the LPGA, including four majors, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The award that bears her name is one of the most prestigious awards a female athlete in the Savannah area can win.

Have Georgia High Schools Adequately Addressed The Issue of Performance Enhancing Drugs?

by Robert Preston, Jr.

I

f there is one thing the last calendar year has taught us, it’s that the issue of performance enhancing drug use in sports is far from dead. Media types refer to “the Steroid Area” in baseball as if it’s in the past.

Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez have shown it is far from over. As I write this, the NFL is still reeling from the Vonn Miller drug testing scandal. And of course we had the ongoing Lance Armstrong saga and a host of other drug-related headlines this year.

These stories all deal with professional athletes. We know many of them choose to use drugs. With millions of dollars on the line, the temptation is just too great for many to resist.

But what about among the amateurs? Are those who don’t get paid to play using performance enhancing drugs?

In a word, absolutely. Over the last couple of years, more and more amateur athletes are failing drug tests. Many of these athletes are older age-group competitors in endurance sports, though there are a few weightlifters who have been caught cheating as well. Probably the most famous, or infamous, is also the most recent – the case of 80-year-old weightlifter Don Ramos. Ramos, who has held several world records throughout his career, was nailed in September for testing positive for steroids. The culprit? Therapeutic testosterone he has been taking for over 20 years. Despite his claims that what he was doing was legal and under a doctor’s supervision (he has a prescription), the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspended Ramos for two years. There is also the curious case of Atlanta age-group triathlete Kevin Moats, one of the best over-50 triathletes in the country, who flunked an out-of-competition test and also received a suspension. These are but two examples of dozens of amateurs who are failing drug tests for various reasons.

But, you might be saying to yourself, these are older men competing later in life who are in many cases taking drugs to help ward off the aging process. That may be true, but it doesn’t explain away the amateur athlete’s desire to succeed, to win, to climb to the top. The stakes have never been higher in high school sports, the media attention never greater. That leads to a dangerous combination of factors that could

lead high school athletes down a dangerous road.

In Florida, officials are already addressing potential drug use among high school athletes.

While the media focused its attention on the professional athletes named in the Biogenesis scandal, there were also several high school athletes whose names showed up on the client list. The Florida High School Athletic Association has guidelines against using performanceenhancing drugs and FHSAA officials have spoken publicly about the dangers – and consequences – of PED use.

Likewise, the Georgia High School Association has a similar policy. In the Special Policies section of the GHSA’s Constitution, the organization devotes Section 4.63 to this very issue: “The Georgia High School Association strongly opposes the abuse of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances by high school student-athletes. The GHSA believes that such usage violates legal, ethical and competitive-equity standards and imposes unreasonable long-term health risks on the user. The GHSA encourages member schools to educate students and coaches about the perils of steroid usage, and the GHSA will distribute educational materials about this issue to member schools.”

A noble policy but one that excludes a major deterrent to PED usage: testing. Admittedly, drug tests are expensive to administer and protocols are detailed and complicated. But does that mean that no testing guidelines should be in place? Not by a long shot.

Not all high school athletes are using performance-enhancers. Most, in fact, are not. But many are. In addition to the negative health effects of PED use, there are the dangers posed to other athletes. PEDs produce bigger, faster, and stronger players, and juiced players are a threat to their clean counterparts. In an era where concussions and other sports-related injuries are being constantly discussed, is there room for one more factor that could contribute to player injuries?

We may not be ready for PED testing just yet, but it needs to be in the discussion. And Georgia needs to lead the nation in making sure its high school athletes play cleanly and safely. ITG

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The following web sites contributed to this story: www.nytimes.com, www.miamiherald.com, www.ironman.com, and www.ghsa.net.

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Benedictine football has certainly made a turnaround. In 2010, the Cadets were a dismal 1-9. Two years later, the Cadets went 8-4 and won a playoff game. As much fun as it was to be a part of that transformation, what happened in the spring was even more fun for Powers. The lefty expected to have a pretty good baseball season for the Cadets. He had no idea just how good pretty good would be.

As a freshman, Powers posted a 3-1 record, mainly as a relief pitcher. His sophomore year, he broke into the starting rotation and finished the season 11-0 with

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tevie Powers also plays basketball at Benedictine. It’s the sport in which he sees the least amount of playing time but the one he calls the most fun. “I enjoy going to the gym each day and playing with my friends. It keeps me in shape and it’s something I’m good at,” he says. Last year, the Cadets' basketball team made the playoffs but suffered the same fate as its football team at the hands of the Laney Wildcats. "We're not the biggest, fastest, or strongest basketball team, but we are the most disciplined. We are very sharp, and we play great defense. Nobody is in better shape than we are.”

Stevie Powers

Benedictine Military School

71 strikeouts and a 2.18 ERA in 70 2/3 innings for a Benedictine team that advanced to the Final Four of the playoffs before losing to eventual state champion Lovett. Powers was named Region 2AA Pitcher of the Year as a result.

His was a season full of big moments. The biggest came in the second game of Benedictine’s Final Four series against Lovett. The Cadets had lost the first game and were facing a do-or-die situation in game two. Powers started and enjoyed a 2-0 lead early on.

Then he gave up a two-run home run to tie the game.

He remained calm and kept Lovett’s offense in check for the remainder of the game. In the meantime, his hitters went to work and managed to score a run to

Powers Ready for Junior Year After Breakout Sophomore Campaign

by Robert Preston Jr.

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he 2012 football season started well enough for then-sophomore quarterback Stevie Powers. The 6’, 165-pounder had been groomed to play quarterback his whole life. On August 31, 2012, he was supposed to take the field as the starting quarterback for the Benedictine Cadets. It was a moment he had been working for since his football career began at age five. Here is where one might expect tales of greatness, of years of preparation finally paying off with a storybook season. In a way, that very thing happened. But not in the manner one would imagine.

The Cadets came out of summer workouts with Powers at the number-one spot on the quarterback depth chart. He thought the job was his, that his work was done. The quarterback’s job is coveted, and there was somebody out there who wanted the position more than Powers - Miles McGinty, one of Powers’s best friends and a talented player in his own right.

McGinty outworked Powers early in the season and earned the starting job under center.

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go up 3-2. In the seventh inning, Powers, who was trying to go the distance, found himself in trouble.

There were two outs but Lovett had runners on base.

Powers, who admits that at times he has trouble staying relaxed on the mound, managed to keep his emotions in check. He worked the count in his favor and was ahead 1-2. He got the call for a high fastball and delivered. The pitch was just too pretty for the batter to resist. He swung mightily but came up empty for the final out of the game. Powers had stopped the rally and forced game three. “The place just went

photography by Tina Helmly “It was tough when I lost the job. I was very disappointed in myself, but I was happy for Miles. We are good friends, and we decided a long time ago that we wouldn’t let football get in the way of our friendship. He wanted the job and worked harder than me to get it.

It pushed me more, and I just kept telling myself that anything could happen,” recalls Powers.

A couple of weeks into the season, something did happen. McGinty went down with an ankle injury in the fourth game of the year against Vidalia. Powers went in and never looked back. He had learned an enormous lesson during his time as the number-two quarterback, and he wasn’t about to let the job slip away again. The Cadets' lost to Vidalia but won their next three straight and finished the regular season winning four out of their last six games, earning a spot in the playoffs, and advancing to the second round after topping Laney 2420 on the road in the first round. Powers had a breakout year under center, completing 92-of-154 passes for 1,502 yards, 11 touchdown passes, two rushing touchdowns, and just six interceptions. He was named

All-State Honorable Mention and staked his claim as the Cadets quarterback for the next two years.

The ankle injury kept McGinty out of the lineup most of last season. He is starting this season as a linebacker.

Powers is a talented young man who, despite his youth, has a keen understanding of the nuances of sport. He works hard, never again taking his starting spot for granted, and he has great understanding of the game. Powers can see the field very well and anticipates developing plays well. It doesn’t hurt that he has a cannon for an arm and is always in fantastic shape. In 2013, he would like to see his team improve each week and remain focused on each game, one at a time. “You win football games after school from Monday to Thursday. We need to take each game week by week and not get ahead of ourselves. Last year, we got ahead of ourselves at times and looked beyond the next game. We have some great things happening at Benedictine, and we need to remain focused,” he says.

crazy,” he remembers.

As Powers’s junior season begins, he and his Benedictine teammates have a bright future ahead of them. The football team is headed in the right direction, and most of last year’s baseball team will be back again for 2014. He would like to one day play either football or baseball (perhaps both) in college.

Powers is already preparing for the day when he will be able to talk to college coaches. He isn’t looking too far ahead, but he is already working on a preliminary map for his future. “I have a list of colleges I would like to attend. I hope a few of them will like me for football, baseball, or maybe even both. Right now, I’m just keeping my eyes and my options open.” ITG

Stevie's Favorites: Subject: History Sport to watch on TV: College/NFL football College team: University of Georgia College player: Aaron Murray Pro team: Atlanta Falcons Pro player: Matt Ryan Musician: Florida-Georgia Line Who would you most like to meet?

Michael Jackson What Sport do you wish you could play? Volleyball Place to travel: europe Superpower: Wings so I could fly.

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Success on the Side In spite of all the titles her teams have amassed and the ‘Coach of the Year’ trophies she’s received, the biggest thrill of all for Wright is watching her girls grow into responsible young women. For her, coaching is about more than just sports. When she is coaching basketball, she is also teaching life lessons the girls can take with them when they leave Central High School. “Sports isn’t something you just do. It should prepare you for life. My job is to prepare my girls to play but also to prepare them for life - be on time, work hard, be accountable. You see how well they learned those lessons when you get to look at the finished product. That’s what it’s all about for me - the finished product,” she says.

Carolyn Wright Central High School 34

Coach Wright Utilizes Basketball, Volleyball To Prepare Her Players For Life

by Robert Preston, Jr.

“C

oming out of high school, I knew that physical education would be the route I wanted to take. I was always very competitive. I also noticed that my PE teachers and coaches seemed to have a lot of fun. That was the kind of career I wanted to pour myself into. My coaches and PE teachers made an enormous impact in my life and I wanted to give back to students who wanted to do their best and go farther,” says Carolyn Wright, head women’s basketball and volleyball coach at Central High School in Phenix City on why she entered the coaching profession.

Wright has led a championship-caliber basketball program for over 20 years at Central even though she never played a minute of basketball in high school or college. When she graduated from Tuskegee Institute High School in Tuskegee, Alabama, the school didn’t have a women’s basketball program.

She played volleyball and cheered, and continued those two sports when she attended Alabama State University in Montgomery. Wright also ran one year of track at ASU. While attending ASU, she obtained two bachelor’s degrees, one in physical education and the other in special education. She also earned a master’s degree in specific learning disabilities. While interning at St. Jude High School in Montgomery, she was tasked with starting a women’s volleyball program. Over the next several years, her career took her to Sparta, Georgia, and then back to Montgomery. Along the way, she coached everything from track, softball and basketball to - of all things - bowling. In 1991, she came to Central High School to coach women’s basketball and track. These days, she coaches volleyball and basketball.

photography by Jerry Christenson

Player Spotlig ht

Under Wright’s leadership, the Central High women’s basketball program has flourished. Though they have yet to win a state title, the Lady Red Devils have been either area champions or runners-up for 16 of her 21 years at Central. They have been region champions once, runners-up three times, sub-region champions numerous times, and they have been to two Final Fours. Wright was named Coach of the Year in her first year a number of times during her years at Central, including her first year.

Of all the teams she has coached, last year’s squad ranks among the best. The 2011-2012 Lady Red Devils went 33-2, won the area, sub-region and region, and advanced to the Final Four. They won three tournaments during the year, and did all of this without a single player over 5’10”.

“They were a quick, hard-working team that bought into what we do. They won more games than any other team in Central history - men or women,” says Wright.

F

Jr.

or most 18-year-old s, six A lot changes between years is a long 18, and most teenagers the ages of 12 aren’t very go looking more than a year or two ahead Glenwood School senior Kyle Rovig, like yesterday. In 2006 se 2006, Rovig and his North Co bus teammates made an improbable the Little League run World Series, eventually thro Japan in the finals defea for the world champions baseball career hip. is filled with big moments but n have surpassed the Little League world title.

“That’s been the biggest highlight opened my eyes of my life to what some great teammates I could accomplish. I h and great friends on t team. When we won the game, and we realized were the best team in the world, I was kid in the world,” the happie Rovig recalls.

Winning a champions hip such as the Little World Series can Leag be like winning the lottery. The can be a mistaken belief that winning guarantees long-term the lotte financial security. exact opposite happens.

Often, th The same can winning a world title as a 12-year-old be said fo , but a worl championship as a sixth-grader doesn’t translate into future necessaril baseball success.

Of the two sports that Wright coaches, the basketball team has been far and away the most successful. But volleyball should be catching up soon. The volleyball team had a disappointing 2012 season but now, after many years, there is a feeder program in place in the middle schools. Several of those younger players are also playing club volleyball, which will significantly strengthen the Central program in the coming years. The future is indeed bright for Central High volleyball.

This year, three of those players are back. It’s a solid foundation, but the 2012-2013 Lady Red Devils still have a lot of work to do, particularly on defense.

“We’ll be very competitive and this team has some big shoes to fill. They’ve got to work harder on defense. We’re still working on that and we’ve got a long way to go,” she says.

To Wright, the key to being successful is getting the athletes to accept Central’s system and play the way she teaches. It sounds like a simple philosophy, but not all players - including the good ones - buy into her system. Wright has had several teams made up of very talented players who didn’t buy in very well.

As a result, they often had disappointing seasons relative to the level of talent of each individual player. She has also had teams that might not have as much individual talent but achieved a great deal of success because they played hard, accepted their roles and gave everything they had to the team. “X’s and O’s are important but if you don’t get the kids to buy in to what you’re doing, you’re not going to be successful,” she says.

One of the most difficult aspects of coaching has not been getting the players to buy in but rather to get male coaches to respect her for the job she does.

When Wright became Central’s basketball coach in 1991, there weren’t a lot of women coaching women’s sports. Many of the male coaches didn’t take her seriously. She had to work very hard to get her male colleagues to understand that not only

Rovig’s St

by Robert Preston

was she determined to coach basketball but she was also putting together a program that could play with anybody in the state. “I had to show them I was serious about coaching basketball as a female. Also, because I didn’t play basketball in college or high school, I had to show people that I was passionate about the game,” she says.

In spite of all the titles her teams have amassed and the ‘Coach of the Year’ trophies she’s received, the biggest thrill of all for Wright is watching her girls grow into responsible young women. For her, coaching is about more than just sports. When she is coaching basketball, she is also teaching life lessons the girls can take with them when they leave Central High School. “Sports isn’t something you just do. It should prepare you for life. My job is to prepare my girls to play but also to prepare them for life - be on time, work hard, be accountable. You see how well they learned those lessons when you get to look at the finished product. That’s what it’s all about for me - the finished product,” she says.

Wright is married to Bobby Wright, now the athletic director at Central High School. When the two married, he was coaching men’s basketball.

Carolyn Wright has a son, Larry, and Bobby Wright has a son, Brandon. She jokes that she didn’t set out to marry the athletic director. “We’ve been married 20 years. He’s only been my athletic director for about 10 or 12 years,” she laughs. ITG

Rovig’s Favorites :

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Kyle Rovig

Glenwood

School

Team: New York Knick Favorite sport to watch Favorite baseball team Pre-game music: Hip h What would you do wit “Buy my parents a new Sport you wish you cou Person you woul d mos