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Hockaday soccer plays in the SPC tournament in 1993, which they went on to win. (PHOTO: JEFF CARVER) W.T. White defenders tackle a runner from W.W. Samuell High School in 1989. (PHOTO: PATRICK O’SULLIVAN)
Hillcrest football players and coach Garry Monty pose for a
photo in 1993. (PHOTO: DAVID WESTAPHER).
A Jesuit player heads the ball in a game against Beaumont
Kelly High School in 1991. (PHOTO: PATRICK O’SULLIVAN)
A Preston Hollow father and son practice batting during
summer 1994. (PHOTO: DAVID WESTAPHER)
FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAMES: MORE THAN JUST SCORES
players and what it would take to get teams into the playoffs.
Since its founding, People Newspapers has been dedicated to the community and placed particular focus on the great unifier: sports.
From Little League baseball to college football, its papers have diligently covered big moments in neighborhood athletics for decades. I recently enjoyed going through archives of Preston Hollow People and North Dallas People, as the paper was once called, to see how coverage has evolved through the years.
Often, the paper was the best place to find game schedules and score reports, especially for high school athletics, and it was common to see the staff’s input on the year’s best recruits before a season started, even creating a “dream team” made up of top PCP_September2021-1x10Banner_Draft2.pdf 1 8/11/2021 12:25:30 AMplayers from the area.
When the paper still came out weekly, readers often saw in-depth analyses of
From December 1989 to June 1990, the paper’s “Teeing Off” column offered golf tips, such as the best way to swing a club or choose which iron to use for a difficult shot. MADDIE STOUT When neighborhood schools prepared for summer sports camps, Preston Hollow People gave parents and students details in time to sign up (Today, the paper’s website – peoplenewspapers.com – has an events calendar, and any organization may visit it and submit details about upcoming activities). When Sam Romano shot a 68 on the golf course for his 82nd birthday in 2000, Preston Hollow People applauded his achievement. Community sports coverage often includes athletic achievements of people of all ages. After the paper transitioned to monthly issues rather than weekly ones, there was less space in print for the detailed game reports of years past. But plenty of games get coverage online, and no issues go to press without a page of sports stories.
Covering community sports often means keeping up with hometown athletes long after graduation.
When North Dallas native Jeff Agoos played for the U.S. national soccer team in 1994, the paper published a detailed article on his progress in the sport since his graduation from J.J. Pearce.
While Jordan Spieth is now a household name across the country, Preston Hollow People has been writing about the golfer since his junior year at Dallas Jesuit when he returned to Austin to defend his 5A state title for the Rangers.
Most recently, sports editor Todd Jorgenson wrote in the July issue about Spieth’s performance at his 10th AT&T Byron Nelson tournament.
However, of all the sports stories I researched during my trip through the archives, my favorite centers around my school. In 1993, Hockaday won the SPC soccer tournament after a grueling game against the Episcopal School of Houston. I loved reading about past Daisies fight for victory, especially watching my classmates play for (and win) the same title in 2020. If you have your own favorite Preston Hollow sports story, I encourage you to tell us about it by emailing editor@peoplenewspapers.com.
Marcos Cisneros celebrates after scoring the winning run for Thomas Jefferson in 1990.
(PHOTO: PATRICK O’SULLIVAN)
Home Run: Decorated Distance Runner Returns to Bears Firth takes over perennial powerhouse Ursuline cross country program
By Todd Jorgenson
People Newspapers
Becky Wade Firth has run marathons around the world, but her serendipitous return to Ursuline Academy finds her covering new ground.
The decorated distance runner will take over as the cross country coach for her alma mater this fall. But it doesn’t mean that she’s retiring from competition.
“I think that the two can coexist very well,” Firth said. “I had always wanted to get involved back at Ursuline, but I didn’t think it would happen like this.”
Firth is scaling back her training and race schedule this year because she’s pregnant, and she already planned to move back to Dallas from Colorado this year with her husband, Will. As soon as the couple put their house on the market, she received a text saying that longtime Ursuline cross country coach Jonathan Moody was stepping down.
Firth, 31, did some informal volunteer coaching after she graduated from Rice University almost a decade ago and saw the Ursuline opening as an opportunity to bring her running career full circle, back to the school that introduced her to the sport in the first place. Firth was a sprinter and hurdler when she
I want to push first joined the track team at them, but in a way Ursuline, but that’s fun. she credits the coaching staff Becky Wade Firth for nurturing her success at longer distances. “That changed everything,” said Firth, whose older sister Rachel also ran for the Bears. “I had such a great experience. It was a great entry into long-distance running.” After becoming an All-American at Rice under coach Jim Bevan, she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012 (in the 3,000-meter steeplechase), 2016 (marathon and steeplechase), and 2020 (marathon). When she’s not running, Firth also is an acclaimed author, most notably of Run the World: My 3,500-Mile Journey Through Running Cultures Around the Globe. She’s also a blogger and contributor to various running publications.
Firth said her coaching duties would work around her training schedule as she plans to ramp up her regimen next year.
Meanwhile, she takes over a powerhouse program — with almost 90 girls on the roster — that has won 15 TAPPS state titles, including five in the past eight years.
“I want to push them, but in a way that’s fun,” she said. “They know what the team has done, and they know what the expectations are. My job is just to guide and channel their energy and potential and foster a team. They’ve been receptive.”
LEFT: Professional marathon champion Becky Wade Firth, who started her running career at Ursuline, is the new cross country coach for the Bears.
(PHOTO: KEVIN MORRIS) RIGHT: Becky Wade Firth also blogs, contributes to running
publications, and authors books, including Run the World: My 3,500-Mile
