Nov/Dec 2013
Your local sports connection
Different Strokes Joking aside, Huntsville’s John Smith is serious about a second straight state title
i4sportsonline.com
Aerobic Engine
Buckhorn’s lean running machine
The Three Musketeers
Longtime managers
assist football team
Iron Bowl Memories
Remembering classic contests
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Nominate a deserving student athlete for Athlete of the Year Our Athlete of the Year program recognizes outstanding student athletes for their athletic, academic and community accomplishments. In May, two student athletes (one male, one female) are selected from the weekly winners as Athletes of the Year and each receive a $1,000 scholarship. For more information, visit huntsvillehospital.org/aoy.
November - December 2013
Features 6 Aerobic Engine PO Box 18951, Huntsville, AL 35804 256-683-3580 info@i4sportsonline.com
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Photography
Amanda Campbell, Gregg Gelmis Lissa Hinely, Chris Jenson Jennifer Johnson, Tom Varnon
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Buckhorn’s Keira Larson is a lean and mean running machine
9 Wet and Wild
Annual ‘Run in the Mud’ is a fun and sloppy mess
10 Kids and Competition
Randolph’s Coach Terwilliger rewarded by his runners’ drive to excel
14 Marathon Makeover?
Rocket City race may have a change of scenery
18 Serious Focus
Huntsville High swimmer keeps it light out of the water
20 Westminster Boys Make Waves School record holders come together to form competitive relay team
22 The Three Musketeers
Managers are the glue of the Crimson Panthers football program
26 Patriot’s Game Nick Holman anchors Bob Jones defense 30 They Call Him Hoss
Big man’s big impact on the field and in life
32 Amazin’ Memory
Member of the 1972 Auburn Amazins recounts an unforgettable season 4 i4sportsonline.com
Departments 12 Health Factor
Proper hydration for the student athlete
17 Jock Doc
Performance-enchancing drugs and teen athletes
25 Sports & Faith
‘Blackout’ brings opposing teams together
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View and join the local sports community at
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28 Training Edge Bulletproof core training
34 Your Sports
Your unique perspectives
On the Cover Chris Jensen works as a professional photographer. He took this issue’s cover shot of John Smith during a recent Huntsville High School swim team practice.
Bonus Photos Digital Exclusives Plus Your Scores and Stories i4sportsonline.com 5
Aerobic Engine
Photo by Gregg Gelmis
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Buckhorn’s Keira Larson is a lean, mean running machine
By Chris Welch
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uckhorn High School cross country coach Bryan Campbell chuckles when he thinks about the conversation he had with a college cross country coach about Buckhorn’s outstanding cross country runner, Keira Larson. It was last year ... when she was an eighth grader. “I was at an indoor meet,” Campbell recalled. “This college coach (we’ll leave out his school to avoid embarrassment) expressed some interest in Keira.” ‘Is she a senior?’ he asked. I said, ‘No, she’s just an eighth grader.’ I think he wanted to get her contact info, but after that he just said, ‘Sorry, I didn’t ask that question.’” It really wasn’t the college coach’s fault. He wasn’t trying to break any NCAA rules regarding contacting high school athletes before their senior year. He just had no idea Keira was just an eighth grader at the time. And, he’s not the only college coach who has been fooled. Yep, she’s that good. Larson, who has been running on Buckhorn’s varsity since seventh grade, has won four races this year with Buckhorn’s cross country team – including the Huntsville Metro Cross Country meet – and set a personal best in last year’s Sectional 5 Cross Country with a time of 19 minutes, 13 seconds. She’s helped Buckhorn qualify for the state cross country meet the last two years – running 19:33 last year, good for 17th place – and was favored to win this year’s sectional Oct. 31 and return to state Nov. 9. If she makes the top 15, Larson will make all-state, pretty rare for a freshman, Campbell said. She’s also a point guard on Buckhorn’s junior varsity team and an honor student. “I’ve had several coaches ask about her,” Campbell said. “They ask, ‘Is she a senior,? and when I tell her she’s a freshman they’re shocked. Of course, they can’t talk to the athletes until they’re upper classmen. “I think it’s just the way she runs,” Campbell said when asked what attracts the coaches’ attention. “She’s confident and likes to go out strong and hold the lead. She’s not scared. Her form is very fluid and economical and she’s not afraid to mix it up with them.” Larson is only 5-foot-2 or 5-foot-3 by her i4sportsonline.com 7
estimation, but she is the equissential lean, mean running machine with textbook form, Campbell said. “She’s like a NASCAR car,” Campbell says. “She’s got a light frame and a big engine ... a big aerobic engine. “She’s very coachable and really buys into the program. “She’s also an incredibly hard worker. She plays three sports – cross country, basketball and runs track – and she’s always practicing something. Running isn’t something she does just to do or get the T-shirt. She loves to compete and run.” And where does Buckhorn’s little hot rod get that extra gear? “I think I just have a voice in the back of my head,” Larson said. “”If I don’t pass a girl, I know I’m going to regret it later. Coach Campbell says ‘kick butt’ and I just go.’ “Several on my team ask me ‘How do you do it?’ and ‘How do you win races?’ I say, ‘I don’t know. It just happens.’ We’ve got good coaches, they train us well and that helps a lot.” It also helps that Larson has been running since she was about 5 years old. That’s when she jumped into a 50-yard dash held at Jacksonville State University, where her dad was finishing up his Masters degree. Her mother, Libby, says she won
the race and then got so startled by the crowd cheering she started crying. “I knew I liked to run,” Larson said. “There were only five or six girls in the race and somebody behind me fell and started crying. I kept going and crossed the finish line, and when my mom hugged me and said ‘good job’ I burst into tears. I didn’t know what to expect. “I think some people are born with it (running). I didn’t know I was born with it; I just liked it.” Donny Barnes, who is on scholarship for Montevallo after being a standout runner at Buckhorn, is also Larson’s
next-door neighbor. He sees great things for the young runner. “She has a huge future ahead of her to do some spectacular things,” Barnes said. “She was only an eighth grader and was on the Top 25 list in the state for high school girls. She’s also an amazing girl personality-wise, too.” Oddly enough, Campbell says Larson’s personality may be her best asset. He recalls this year’s Randolph Classic, one of the few meets she didn’t win, where she showed truly what she’s made of. “She’s very goofy,” Campbell said, laughing. “She’s a silly kid and tries to be humorous, even if she has a bad day. Some kids have a pity party if they lose, but Keira will get back up and cheer on the rest. “In the Randolph Classic she was battling for second place, and on the final water crossing she got stuck in the mud and had a hard time getting out. She was upset for a second, but 10 minutes later she was cheering on the others. She didn’t want to look down for the team. She’s that unselfish.”
Photo by Gregg Gelmis
Mallory Mooring, Keira Larson, Coach Bryan Campbell and Mark Dunn run atop Monte Sano. Photo by Amanda Campbell
Photo by Amanda Campbell
Wet and Wild Randolph’s annual “Run in the Mud” Cross Country Classic was held September 17. This one-of-a-kind cross country event brings about 1,000 high school runners to the UAH campus for a muddy good time. Unique to the race is the challenge of crossing a creek four times. Parents, friends, alumni and other spectators gather to watch runners jump and wade across to the other side. The result is muddy arms and legs, lost shoes, great photo opportunities and lots of laughter.
Photos courtesy of Gregg Gelmis and We Run Huntsville http://werunhuntsville.smugmug.com
Kids and Competition
Randolph has won eight straight state titles, but seeing his runners’ drive to excel is really what the Raiders’ coach enjoys.
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Photo by Chris Jensen
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By Mike Easterling The boys cross country team at Randolph School won a record eight straight state championships heading into this year’s meet, but while that’s an impressive feat, it’s not something coach James “Twig’’ Terwilliger emphasizes to his Raiders each year. “I try not to talk to them about keeping the streak going,’’ he said earlier this season as the team prepared for the Nov. 9 state meet in Moulton. “I don’t want them to feel any success is just part of the streak. I want them to feel it’s their own season.’’ The championship streak is nice, but that’s not at the root of what drives Terwilliger to coach. “It would be easy to say winning state championships is the what I enjoy the most,’’ he said. “ I do admit that of course that’s one of our main goals at the start of the season, but I can’t say it is what I enjoy the most. “I’m a competitor by nature. Competing is what drives me to get out of bed each and every day. I love taking an athlete who really doesn’t have much athletic ability, but has the drive to train and train consistently and develop that person into an athlete who is able to compete at very high level. You work so hard for those brief moments of success with those athletes.’’ Terwilliger found his love of cross country sort of by accident. He started running for his first high school – Waterville Central in New York – he said because his “friends were doing it.’’ As a member of that team, his competitive fire intensified under the guidance of coach Dan Mosney. “Even though the teams he had then were not that strong,’’ Terwilliger said, “he was very motivating and also very firm with his decisions.’’
Terwilliger’s father was transferred to Hamilton in Northwest Alabama midway through his junior year, and after finishing his prep career with the Tigers he moved on to Bevill State Community College under scholarship. While there, he found his second mentor in coach Steve Dudley. “He was so electric and very outspoken,’’ Terwilliger said. “ I remember him screaming at the top of his lungs at me, beating his hands on the ground at the 400 meter to go mark at nationals, screaming ‘We’re doing it! We’re doing it!’ ’’ Twerwilliger later ran for UAH for two years before launching his coaching career. At Randolph, the Raiders started the state championship run in 2005 by winning their first Class 3A-4A title at the Oakville Indian Mounds and followed with 3A-4A crowns in ’06 and ’07. The Raiders then won championships in 3A when the classes were split into separate divisions in ’08, ’09, ’10 and ’11. Even a move up to a 4A classification last season couldn’t interrupt the Raiders’ run as they won again. Randolph obviously has benefitted from a high caliber of runners. “Usually the kids who come to us are very talented,’’ Terwilliger said. “A lot of physical ability. And for the most part they have a pretty good work ethic. That’s the biggest things. “There are always those kids that need nudging or pushing to get going, but you have to have self-discipline to even entertain the idea of trying the sport. The kids in the past have been very motivated.’’ While cross country could easily be classified as a solitary sport, there’s very much a team aspect involved. The squad trains together and that’s where Terwilliger said esprit de corps is built.
“A lot of (motivation) is not necessarily done at the races,’’ he said. “We motivate them at practice and on those long runs. At races they just line up and go. Our sport is ninety percent mental. If they’re not prepared by staying consistent with their work no matter how talented they are they won’t make it through. “They have to stay consistent with workouts. And what we ask them to do we try to make it make sense, have them understand why they’re doing it.’’ The team, Terwilliger said, not only trains together but plays together. That, he said, goes a long way toward shaping the mental makeup of the runners. He added that parents and the student body also play a part in any of the team’s success. “The parents try to make it fun,’’ he said. “Like on Friday night at Randolph football games they’ll tailgate. They do things that keep the spirit up. It comes down to a group effort. It comes down to the kids working together, the student body support, the coaches being consistent and the parents getting behind them and making the season a fun event all the way through.’’ Whether or not the Raiders were able to keep their streak alive this year, Terwilliger will determine the season a success if his runners simply run hard. “It’s the kids and the competition,’’ he said. “Just seeing a kid at the start of a summer go from someone who you initially would think has no real chance of becoming a real competitor, but then after tons of consistent work end up making our state championship team and also really contributing is what coaching is about. “I just get so excited when I get kids that want to get better than they were yesterday.”
I just get so excited when I get kids
that want to get better than they were yesterday.
i4sportsonline.com 11
Health Factor
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By Sam Barr, BS, ACSM s more athletes concern themselves with eating properly to improve their performance, the liquid portion of the diet may be getting overlooked. With so much focus on the quality of food intake, it’s easy to disregard beverage choices and the implications those choices may have on your athletic potential. With hundreds of drink products available, it’s easy to get confused when trying to make healthy choices. However, by informing yourself on what these drinks contain and their effects on the body, you’ll be better prepared to make the right choices. Help yourself and support a well-rounded diet with fluids that will enable you to perform your very best, on and off the field.
Hydration
You’ve probably heard countless times that staying hydrated is important, but have you ever considered, why? The human body is over 60% water, and that water is constantly being used to carry 12 i4sportsonline.com
You Are What You Drink out body processes. Muscle tissue alone is 75% water, so keeping them functioning correctly is significantly dependent on hydration levels. Staying properly hydrated allows the body to continue these processes and function at maximum capacity. Staying hydrated is an ongoing process. By the time you feel thirsty, your body is already dehydrated, and performance levels will begin to drop. Drinking constantly throughout the day, even though you may not feel thirsty, ensures optimal hydration levels are met. You should be urinating at least 3-4 times daily, if not, you may be coming up short on fluid intakes, so drink up! Individuals participating in low to moderate levels of physical activity are encouraged to consume 9-12 cups of fluid daily, but athletes engaging in vigorous or prolonged activity may need to gulp down several times that amount! Fluid needs vary according to individual body size, sweat rates, temperature, exercise duration and intensity, which all affect rates of fluid loss. Hydration levels can be monitored by examining urine color (dark urine is a sign of dehydration), and by noting pre and post exercise weight comparisons.
Proper Hydration for the Student Athlete
Weight lost after a single workout is mostly water weight, and replacing those fluids is crucial to restoring the bodies’ fluid balance. For every 1 pound lost during a single workout, 16-24 oz, (2-3 cups) of fluids should be consumed to compensate fluid losses. Complementing proper food choices with mindful beverage intakes preps the body to reach its full potential when the first whistle blows! Let’s analyze 3 of the most common beverage categories encountered by athletes:
Water As a simple rule of thumb, the shorter the ingredients list, the healthier the beverage. For staying hydrated, your best bet will always be water. In certain circumstances, water alone may not meet your body’s needs, but we’ll discuss that topic shortly. Drinking water constantly throughout the day improves energy levels, revs up metabolism, lubricates joints, regulates body temperature, and removes wastes from the body, to name only a few of its benefits. It provides all the hydration you need, and with zero calories and no added ingredients, it fills you up without slowing you down.
Other fluids can serve as healthy additions to your beverage intake, and provide water along with other beneficial nutrients. Skim or low-fat milk contributes health promoting factors like calcium and Vitamin D for healthy bones, protein for muscle repair and growth, along with a host of other nutrients beneficial to athletes. 100% fruit juices can add vitamins and minerals, but the high levels of sugars in these beverages should be considered. You’re better off eating the fruit, drinking water, and bypassing all the added ingredients, but moderate intakes are okay. These beverages can serve as healthy source of fluids, but should not exclusively replace water. Neither milk nor fruit juice is recommended before physical activity, as the fat or sugars may cause gastrointestinal discomfort. Individual water needs vary significantly, but the simplest recommendations call for a minimum 64 oz. (8 cups) a day. This amount should be exceeded many times over by student athletes, who should consume between 12-15 cups per day. Before practice or competitions, 15-30 minutes prior, you may benefit from drinking an extra 1-2 cups. During exercise, a mixture of water and sports drinks may be warranted depending on intensity, and ½-1 cup of fluids should be consumed roughly every 15 minutes. After exercising, replacing fluid losses becomes vitally important, and a combination of water and sports drinks proves most effective at restoring fluid balance. Carry a water bottle with you and sip regularly throughout the day to have your body fueled and ready to go at game time!
Sports Drinks For those participating in competition lasting longer than 1 hour or intense activities prompting excessive sweating, water alone may not cut it.
Sports drinks contain hydrating water along with electrolytes, sodium and potassium, which are necessary for neural regulation and muscular action. These minerals are lost in the sweat, and if not replaced will cause fatigue and depleted energy stores. Sports drinks also contain appropriate amounts of simple carbohydrates (sugar), which boost waning blood sugar levels and provide quick energy to help sustain high levels of exertion. As stored energy gets used, these easily digestible fuel sources effectively contribute fuel to maintain high levels of exertion. The ingredients found in sports beverages have been proven to restore fluid balances and keep you in the game. Although useful during athletic events, sports beverages are not intended to be casual beverages. The benefits they provide to athletes during prolonged, intense bouts of physical activity are warranted and proven effective, but to individuals not pushing their bodies to the limits, the sugars, sodium, and calories in these same sports drinks will not be quickly used by the body and can eventually be stored as fat. A 20 oz. bottle of Gatorade contains 34 grams of sugar, which can be immediately used to energize the muscles during an hour of soccer practice. However, those same 34 grams of sugar will not be burned if consumed during a sedentary hour of gaming, and is equivalent to snacking on an entire pack of Starburst candies! Keeping sports drinks on the sidelines and minimizing intakes during downtimes will help promote fluid balance and minimize excessive sugar and calorie intake.
Energy Drinks
As the popularity of energy drinks increases, athletes may be swayed to guzzle one down in hopes of obtaining quick, easy energy boosts to power through a workout or perform with extra intensity during competition. In reality,
these sugar-laden concoctions are a poor choice for athletes. Energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster, whose advertisements include well-known athletes, may actually severely hinder athletic performance. They contain copious amounts of sugar (27 grams in one 8 oz. can of Red Bull), high doses of caffeine (up to 200 milligrams or more in some brands- as much as 2-3 cups of coffee!), additional caffeine-like stimulation from unregulated herbal ingredients like guarana, and no nutritional value. The energy source, caffeine, is a stimulant that facilitates an increased heart rate prompting temporary alertness. Energy drinks that claim to use no caffeine use alternative stimulants like guarana (5 hour energy) which is actually a natural source of caffeine. In fact, its seeds contain twice the concentration of caffeine as coffee beans. Caffeine has mild diuretic effects, meaning it dehydrates the body and constricts blood vessels, slowing down blood flow to the working muscles. While the immediate jolt of energy these beverages provide may seem appealing, the unnatural effects they have on the body may hinder performance. The “crash” associated with energy drinks is the body’s response to the subsiding blood sugar after a brief rush. The result is plummeting energy levels, headaches, and irritability, and with all the sugar and additives, these beverages can dehydrate and cause upset stomachs- not what you want heading into a big game. As athletic competition becomes more intense every year, the pressure to maximize physical potential increases. Many athletes are taking steps to improve their dietary intakes, but may be overlooking a crucial element. The foods and liquids you consume (or don’t consume) throughout the day significantly affect your body and could be the difference between winning and losing. Stay informed, make healthy choices, and leave the competition in the dust. Drink well and play hard! i4sportsonline.com 13
Time for a Marathon Makeover? By Chris Welch
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verybody, it seems, is into the extreme makeover thing. On television there’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Restaurant Makeover,” even “The Nanny” to make over your bratty kids. So what about an Extreme Makeover for the Rocket City Marathon, which turns 37 this year and has been on the same basic course through south Huntsville for the last 35 or so years (it currently starts and finishes at the Holiday Inn downtown)? Although the Rocket City Marathon is named the best marathon in the southeast by Running Journal, many runners believe it’s time for some new scenery on the fast, flat but otherwise non-scenic course. The flat course has historically brought in many elite runners trying to qualify for Boston or the U.S. Olympic Trials, but nowadays there are many flat and fast options for runners to choose from. “The Bailey Cove-Green Cove-Chaney Thompson (roads) doldrums need to go,” said Rob Youngren, one of the top local runners who has participated in the Rocket City Marathon as a competitor and pacer, posted on the Facebook site We Run Huntsville. “I don’t mind the early/late neighborhood running though. However it would make a lot of sense to include some more of Huntsville’s attractions: Space & Rocket Center, Botanical Gardens, etc ... since this is the Rocket City Marathon. “Having raced/paced/swept the Rocket City Marathon 11 times, I think it’s time the event had a fresh face lift.” So, how about running past a real rocket at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center? It’s a no-brainer, right? Or cruising past the sights and smells of the Botanical Garden. Winding through the cultural, artsy Five Points District. Going by Maple Hill
14 i4sportsonline.com
Cemetery, where Civil War soldiers and Alabama governors are buried. Passing the beautiful Big Spring Park and Huntsville Art Museum. Then, finishing in the Von Braun Center Arena with a band playing and hundreds cheering you on? Sounds like fun, huh, even if you have to do the 26.2 miles? The Huntsville Track Club and organizers of the Rocket City Marathon think so and want to jazz up the race course and make the field bigger – from 1,500 to 5,000 entrants – while still holding onto its smaller race charm. An announcement is expected to be made at this year’s marathon on Dec. 14 about changes for next year’s marathon, but at press time those details were still being ironed out. “The Rocket City Marathon Committee has been working on a potential new course for the marathon for the last year,” said Rocket City Marathon race director Suzanne Taylor, co-owner of Fleet Feet Running Store. “We would love to include some of the Huntsville landmarks like The Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville Botanical Gardens,
Lowe Mill, Maple Hill and Downtown Huntsville. “We are working closely with the city officials to develop a new course that will be exciting for local marathoners as well as those from out of town. In fact, we believe this will be a huge draw to Huntsville, which will ultimately promote tourism and stimulate our local economy.” Mayor Tommy Battle is all in favor of looking at ways to get more people – including runners – to the city’s landmarks and attractions. The current impact of the Rocket city Marathon on the city is about $200,000, according to Huntsville Track Club president Eric Fritz, and would rise to $1 million to $2 million with 5,000 entrants. “Going out to new, more popular sites is great, we just need to make sure we can fit into traffic schemes and what’s happening during those times,” Battle said. “You know, during holiday times we have to keep the roads open and not close them. “But we want to look at a whole lot of things that make running more fun in Madison County and brings more tourists in the area because they’re such an
asset to our community.” Fritz said the track club has been working with Huntsville Police since March, bouncing off ideas about a new course. HTC and Rocket City Marathon organizers thought they might have to change and re certify the course this year because of the new Gateway Boulevard the city is constructing to get downtown easier. But the road, which when completed will close all entrances to the Holiday Inn back parking lot and make it unusable for a finish line, has been delayed, allowing this year’s marathon to run without problems. “Our thinking is ‘Let’s take a fresh look since we’ve got to redo it all anyway and we can make this course better,’” said Fritz, who added this year’s marathon activities will include music and bands on the course and a kids’ marathon. “One of the things that’s been restrictive is the number of participants. We’ve had to cap it at 1500 and that’s about the amount of people the Holiday Inn can handle at the finish line. We’ve “The Bailey talked
Cove-Green CoveChaney Thompson (roads) doldrums need to go.” - Rob Youngren, 11 time participant
Photo by Gregg Gelmis
We’re trying to make it
a big celebration rather than a small town race
about adding more people because it fills up quickly, and if we do that, we need more room. “My opinion is we live in a day of rock and roll marathons with 10,000 runners,” Fritz said. “They’re put on by a for-profit company and they put on a good event, but they take a lot of the revenue when they leave the city. Our goal, as a nonprofit Huntsville based group, is not to mimic, but emulate what they do and keep the revenue in town and bring more people to Huntsville’s destinations.” The first Rocket City Marathon was held in 1977, starting at the top of Monte Sano at the elementary school, Youngren said. It ran a loop around Panorama Drive, passed through the park and ran down Bankhead Parkway and on out through the University of Alabama in Huntsville, looped around Research Park and finished at UAH, Youngren said. The course Photo by Gregg Gelmis remained that way for two years and then started and ended at So, how do you design a course that Grissom High School, winding through goes out to the Space and Rocket Censouth Huntsville and parts of downtown. ter off (I-565)? After several years, the start/finish was “Clinton Avenue,” Fritz said. “Removed to the Holiday Inn downtown. ally, if you want to go west, one way The courses were designed long in and out of town, and that’s Clinton before I-565 carved a path through Avenue. We’re working with the city Huntsville, and the only reason it can to approve a course where we can do run across Governor’s Drive/U.S. 431 is a loop downtown to the Space and because the Rocket City Marathon was Rocket Center via Clinton Avenue. grandfathered in, Youngren says. Now, We’re also trying to figure out a way “there are major issues with trying to get to go northeast past things like the a race to cross or run along any major old site of the Dallas Mill, Maple highway. It just won’t happen,” Youngren Hill Cemetery, Five Points and other said. spots.” 16 i4sportsonline.com
Many runners are excited about the news. Chrisjen Hayme: “It would be nice to see some rockets since it’s in the name, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless last year.” Kevin Mack: “Definitely should be changed. Heard they might be moving it out near the Space and Rocket Center and Botanical Gardens, that would be cool.” Eric Broyles: I think a point to point course from Huntsville (Bridge Street) to Decatur (Point Mallard) would be pretty epic.” Scott Perry: I could go for a point-to-point from Monte Sano through downtown and finish at the Rocket Center.” Joanna Whisenant, on the other hand, is running the course for the sixth time this year and doesn’t see the need to mess up a good thing. “I love it. I do not see that it needs to be changed.” Fritz has talked to the Madison County convention and visitors bureau, Ralph Stone of the Sports Commission and members of the Huntsville Police Department, but said many details need to be ironed out before the course can be “made over” and before 3,500 or so more runners could be added. “We’re trying to make it a big celebration rather than a small town race,” Fritz said, “but we want to keep the small town detail, the personal hometown touches that (former race directors) Harold and Louise Tinsley brought to the race that people all around the country talk about.”
Performance-enhancing drugs and teen athletes By Mayo Clinic staff
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ews stories abound about famous athletes who admit to having used performance-enhancing drugs. So it’s no surprise that as many as 1 in 20 teenagers reports using steroids to increase muscle mass. If you’re the parent of a teen, make time to talk about the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs. By explaining the consequences of performance-enhancing drugs, including the side effects, you can help your teen steer clear of the dangers.
Common performance-enhancing drugs Creatine is a naturally occurring compound in the body that’s also sold as an over-the-counter supplement. It’s primarily used to enhance recovery after a workout and increase muscle mass and strength. Creatine is popular with athletes who participate in football, gymnastics, hockey and wrestling. Anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of the hormone testosterone, used to build muscle and increase strength. They’re popular with football players and weightlifters. Steroid precursors. Steroid precursors, such as androstenedione (“andro”) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), are substances that the body converts into anabolic steroids. They’re used to increase muscle mass. Most steroid precursors are illegal without a prescription. DHEA, however, is still available in over-the-counter preparations.
Hazards of performance-enhancing drugs Steroids and their precursors can have severe, long-lasting effects on health. The higher the dose, the more severe the effects. Some of these side effects are reversible, while others are not. In growing adolescents one of the major risks of using anabolic steroid precursors is the permanent stunting of height. Other side effects include shrunken testicles and breast growth in boys (gynecomastia), and excess facial hair and deepening voice in girls. Both sexes may also © Mayo Foundation for Medical experience acne and other Education and Research. All rights reserved. health issues, such as Reprinted from the MayoClinic.com aching joints and risk of article “Performance-enhancing tendon injuries, blooddrugs and teen athletes”
Jock Doc
clotting problems, high blood pressure, liver problems and mood swings. Creatine can also cause side effects in adolescents, including weight gain, nausea, muscle cramps and kidney damage.
Take steps to prevent use You can take various steps to prevent your teen from using performance-enhancing drugs or supplements. Discuss ethics and proper training. Remind your teen that using a performance-enhancing drug is similar to cheating and, more importantly, could lead to serious health problems. Explain that a healthy diet and rigorous training are the true keys to athletic performance. Be clear about your expectations. Tell your teen that you expect him or her to avoid performance-enhancing drugs. Set rules and explain the consequences of breaking them. For example, if your teen uses performance-enhancing drugs, he or she has to quit the team. Get involved. Attend games and practices. Encourage your teen’s coaches, school and sports organizations to discourage the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Reassure your teen of your love and support, regardless of his or her competitive performance. Monitor your teen’s purchases. Check the ingredients of any over-the-counter products your teen uses. Watch for performance-enhancing drug paraphernalia, such as vials, resealable plastic bags and hypodermic needles. If you suspect that your teen is using performance-enhancing drugs, talk to him or her. Encourage your teen to be honest with you. If your teen admits to using performance-enhancing drugs, encourage him or her to stop immediately and offer a reminder of the health risks. Make an appointment for your teen to see his or her doctor for a medical evaluation and counseling. Consider informing your teen’s coach, so he or she is aware of the problem. In addition, be sure to tell your teen that you’re disappointed and enforce the consequences that you’ve established — such as quitting the team. Most importantly, emphasize the healthy alternatives to achieving his or her goals. Don’t put off talking with your teen about performanceenhancing drugs. Help your teen understand the risks, as well as healthier ways to support athletic performance and a good body image. i4sportsonline.com 17
Different Strokes John Smith is a funny guy out of the water, but in it he’s serious about leading Huntsville High to a second straight state title
Photo by Lissa Hinely
H By Chris Welch
His name is not Nemo or Marlin, but Huntsville High School senior John Smith definitely reminds you of the clown fish featured in the fun animated movie “Finding Nemo.” He’s funny. And ... he swims like a fish as a member of the Huntsville High School swimming team. For example: When he was in sixth grade at Huntsville Middle School, Smith challenged Michelle Steed, his teacher, to an interesting bet. He bet her his Alabama football team would beat her Auburn team, and the loser had to do 50 pushups in front of the class. “I seem to remember he was a bit of jokester,” Steed said, recalling the bet. “And yes, I got down on the floor and did those 50 pushups in front of the class when I lost.” Yep, he’s funny. For example: Fast forward to his senior year at Huntsville High and Smith is still the jokester. One day in class, Smith was caught 18 i4sportsonline.com
on video by friends like Kate Nunn, whom he took to Huntsville High’s homecoming, singing “I’m a Little Teapot.” So, what’s the story? “I asked my teacher if I could throw a water bottle into a trash can,” Smith said at the Huntsville Natatorium before a recent swim practice. “She said yes, but if I missed I’d have to sing ‘I’m a Little Teapot.’ “ Smith missed but the class scored, hearing Smith rattle off the anthem of tykes everywhere. Yep, he’s funny. For example: Kate Nunn says from time to time Smith will call “Sticky Feet” while friends are with him in the school hallway, typically right after the bell rings. The last one to move wins, and Nunn says Smith is so competitive – and so are his friends – they’ll be out in the hallway waiting for each other to move while classes are starting. “Yeah, I play the class clown a lot,” Smith said, smiling. “I like to have fun at school.” The handsome blonde swimmer – did we mention he had a fan club of young girls when he was younger? – says there
are fun times at the pool and practice. But for the most part, he ditches the clown hat – or is it nose? – and is all fish when drills begin. “Oh, swimming is way more serious when you’re in the water,” Smith said. “There’s not as much joking around because I’m trying to beat my teammates. But we still try to have fun before and after practice.” Smith swims the 100-meter butterfly and has the fastest time in the state (50.6 seconds). That was set last year when Huntsville High School won its first state swimming title since the 1980s, Smith said. Huntsville High and Smith are favored to win another state championship during the state meet Dec. 5-6. “First, John is one of the most sincere and wholehearted people I’ve ever met,” said Allison Brol, his coach at Huntsville High. “He was raised in a faithful family that has Photos by Chris Jensen guided him to become the genuine person he is today. “John has always been a very naturally talented athlete. He was a critical part in Huntsville High winning state last year.” Smith started swimming at Piedmont Pool when he was about 6-7 years old. At the time, he also liked playing football, but he broke his arm and wrist when he was in the third grade and the doctor told him to take some time off. That’s when he took to swimming – yeah, we had to say it – like a fish to water. Well, except for one thing – the flip turn on the walls.
“I started coaching John at age 9, and if you know what a flip turn is, you should know, most 9 year olds should know what it is, and do it,” Brol said. “Well, John would win race after race and never do a flip turn. “It wasn’t until he was 12 that he decided to begin. Most swimmers start their competitive swimming by 9 or 10. John didn’t start until an older 13, and was blessed with natural success in the water. “HSA, the year-round club team where John trains now, takes a break every August. I remember a few summers ago, during the break, John just couldn’t stay out of the water, he just had to get in and swim, lap after lap, obsessed.” Smith said his goals are to win another state championship for HHS and to try to win his events. He hopes to swim collegiately at a big school like Alabama or Auburn, but has yet to take his visits. Until then, he’ll continue to work on swimming and jokes as class clown. John Smith “There’s a mollusk, see? And he walks up to a and Kate Nunn sea, well he doesn’t walk up, he swims up. Well, have been actually the mollusk isn’t moving. He’s in one place and then the sea cucumber, well ...” longtime friends,
growing up at Piedmont Pool.
i4sportsonline.com 19
Westminster boys make waves Joe Hinely
Individual school record holders come together to form a perfect storm Chase Dowling Photos by Lissa Hinely
Isaac DeVaney
Look for the 3A Westminster Boys Swim Team to make a big splash at the AHSAA State Swim Meet in the 200 Medley Relay. Their school record time in the Medley Relay of 145.49, which the boys swam in September, would have won the event in the North Alabama Championship Meet in 2012 and placed them comfortably in the top 8 at the AHSAA State Meet. Looking at the Westminster Christian Academy Record Board, it is easy to see why these boys together are such a perfect storm in the Medley Relay. Each boy holds a WCA school record in the stroke that he swims in the relay. Isaac Devaney holds the 100 Back record, Chase Dowling holds the 100 Fly record, Braxton Conners holds the 100 Breaststroke Record, and Joe Hinely holds the record in the 500 Freestyle. Joe Hinely was home schooled for many years, but came to Westminster to have the opportunity to swim at the high school level. Joe holds 4 school records (3 relay). Braxton Conners is following in the footsteps of his brother Cameron who swims Breaststroke for the University of Alabama. Braxton holds 6 school records (3 relay). Sophomore Isaac DeVaney is new to the Westminster Swim team after waiting a year out, since he swam for Sparkman as an 8th grader. Isaac holds 6 school records (3 relay.) Chase Dowling is a senior and has held nearly every Westminster record at various times during his high school career. He swims club with Madison Swim Association. Chase holds 4 school records (3 relay).
Braxton Conners
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MUSKETEERS THE THREE
Managers are the glue of the Crimson Panthers
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Photos by Jennifer Johnson
By Budd McLaughlin They could be Huntsville High’s version of “The Three Musketeers.” Instead of their loyalty toward the King of France, these three are die-hard loyalists of the Crimson Panther nation. How loyal are they? The veteran, Ben West, has been with the Panthers for 17 years; Jeremy Blair has 15 years of service and Tommy Neupert, the young one, is a 7-year veteran. So, what do these Crimson-blooded guys do? They’re not teachers nor are they coaches, though they do have the best seats in the house at football games. They’re the managers for the football team; the guys in charge of the
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team’s water supply and making sure dry balls are put in play for the offense along with other responsibilities to ensure that everything runs smoothly on the sidelines. And they’re under the charge of Eddie Hyter, the equipment manager who’s also known as “Mr. Huntsville High School.” A Huntsville High grad, he’s been with the program for 30 years. Year in and year out, like the postal worker, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these managers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” So, why do they do this? “We enjoy the game,” said West, the assistant equipment manager and Hyter’s right-hand man. “This is how we can help the team.”
Jeremy Blair, Ben West and Tommy Neupert are long time managers for the Huntville High football team.
Head Coach Scott Sharp emphasized the importance of Hyter, West, Neupert and Blair. “They are the glue of our program,” he said. “Every day, they are the behindthe-scenes guys that take care of all the other things. “From washing clothes to getting equipment out and ready for practice, they are always there.” They were able to take a few minutes during halftime of this year’s
Equipment Manager Eddie Hyter is known as Mr. Huntsville High School.
Homecoming game to talk. It was really the only free time they’ve had in the last few hours. Their jobs may require them to be on the sidelines, but they don’t just stand there. They’re involved in the game – literally. You can see them reacting on every play: pacing, cringing, cheering, high-fiving and fistbumping. They also have their share of the action on the field. West and Neupert alternate running the balls out to the referees after every offensive play for the Panthers. And they don’t jog, either. Since the play clock is running, it’s an all-out sprint for them. So, who’s fastest? “I am,” West said. “I am,” Neupert countered. They take their jobs seriously, too. Like the players, there is no summer vacation. They’re out
there during the two-a-days in the late summer heat and, during the season, they’re at every practice and, of course, every game. “They are willing to come most every day and make the sacrifices to be a part of the program while also holding down other jobs,” Sharp said. “The program means as much to them as anyone.” West is at the field around 1 p.m., six hours before kickoff. Blair and Neupert get there a couple hours later. When West arrives, though, Hyter has already been there for about 4 hours. “My day starts about 9 a.m.,” he said. “I get everything set up for when Ben gets here.” West goes through his routine, checking and double-checking equipment and the players’ gear. When Neupert and Blair arrive, they work like a well-oiled machine.
Ben West has been with the Panthers for 17 years.
i4sportsonline.com 23
Jeremy Blair operates the video equipment for the team.
Tommy Neupert hustles off field after exchanging the ball.
After the final horn, they still have work to do: Making sure the ball-count is accurate, the bottles of water are ready to be cleaned and making sure the equipment is accounted for. “I don’t think any other school does what we do,” West said. “Or together as long as we are.” As long as they’ve been with the program, they also have their share of game memories – good and bad. “We’ve had a bunch of good teams,” Blair said. “I’d have to say the Pell City playoff game – we never gave up.” Neupert said the 2008 quarterfinal win over Hewitt-Trussville was his “best memory. That was a great game.” West agreed. “That got us against Hoover … but we lost.” The referees head back onto the field and the teams are exiting the dressing rooms, so it’s time for the interview to wrap up so the crew can’t get back to what they love: helping the team. Meanwhile, Hyter pauses and offers some simple praise for his crew. “I don’t know what I’d do without them,” he said as he heads back to work. Sharp echoed Hyter’s remarks. “There are not many people around who are willing to give like they are,” he said. “We have always said that when Eddie retires, we all will leave! “He is that valuable to the program.” Well, coach, that may be a while. “How long will I be here?” Hyter said. “As long as the Man above lets me.”
‘Blackout’ brings opposing teams, fans together to support hurt player
Blackout Moment
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We agreed in prayer and said the By Ken Burnett final amen and I opened my eyes to the most beautiful and ironic experience I Today, when football fans hear this word, “blackout,” what comes to mind? have ever witnessed. I opened my eyes to a blackout. Let me explain. Pell City Blackout – means that the team wore black that night as they hosted wants every fan to wear black and make HHS for their Homecoming game. the stadium dark. It is supposed to The Blackout I was seeing with intimidate opponents. my eyes now open was the entire Pell I know on October 11th I experiCity Football Team enced a blackout that and many if not all of was not intimidating at Ken Burnett is the Area DIrector for the Northeast Alabama FCA. all. It was a ploy to get www.northalabamafca.org into my mind but it also (256) 536-7333 got in to my heart, and I will never forget it. The game was Huntsville High at Pell City. The play was simple pass play. The quarterback for Huntsville threw to his receiver and friend Ronnie but the throw was slightly over his head. Ronnie jumped as high as he could for the ball while the defensive back was coming to make the tackle. The defender hit him while he was outstretched for the ball above his head and Ronnie did a half flip in the air then landing on the back of his neck. The fans went quiet and held their breath waiting to see if he would move. Ronnie could only lie on the field motionless. the Coaches who were side by side, After what seemed to be hours but helmets off and standing on the HHS I know was only minutes in reality I hash mark with a look on their faces had the humble privilege of asking the not of intimidation, but of brokenness Huntsville High guys if they wanted to pray together for Ronnie. They definitely and concern for another player of the game they all love. wanted to and began to call each team They walked toward the Huntsmate together on the sideline for prayer. ville team and asked if they could pray The guys called each other in to a together with them for Ronnie. huddle, locked up together with hands Both teams began to walk toward and some their arms, we bowed our each other to “mix it up.” “Mix it heads, closed our eyes (another blackout up”, in this instance, is when guys get experience I will not forget) before God beside and among players of the other and begged Him for mercy and grace team. for Ronnie. We prayed for the medical Then, what happened next didn’t care-givers and for his parents too who bring me to tears – I was once a player must have been overwhelmed with fear.
Sports & Faith and football players don’t cry – but it certainly made my eyeballs sweat. They hugged each other and I heard guys offering words of apology for the fallen teammate on the field. They assured the Huntsville High guys it was not intentional to hurt him or anyone else, and they felt for their teammate. Then, the Fans for Huntsville and Pell City both began to clap, clap, clap as
Photo by Wendy Willcutt
if the gathering together for prayer was the most important play of the game. Ronnie was discharged from the local hospital before the end of the game. He did have a concussion but he was cleared of any neck injury and had a clear CT Scan. So today, if you are paralyzed with fear, or the unknown or if you want to experience something special that you won’t forget and has more power than wearing a black shirt and black pants. I encourage you to bow your head, close your eyes and experience a blackout. Allow God into your mind - God wants you on His team.
i4sportsonline.com 25
Bob Jones’ Nick Holman is standing up as a linebacker
N By Budd McLaughlin
Nick Holman is just your average high school student. That is, if every high school student is 6-foot-2, weighs about 230 pounds, is at the top of national football recruiting lists and has a solid GPA. OK, so, maybe he’s not just an average high school student. But he is one heckuva football player. Holman is a starting linebacker for Bob Jones High School and one of the reasons the Patriots are playoff-bound this season. He’s ranked among the top linebackers in the state and nation. In fact, he was named to the Alabama squad in the annual Alabama-Mississippi AllStar game in December. Ironically, he didn’t start out his high school career as a linebacker. He was a lineman at Class 3A Madison Academy before he transferred to 6A Bob Jones. And the transformation didn’t come easily or quickly. “He had his hand on the ground (as a defensive end at Madison Academy) and he wanted to stand up (as a linebacker),” said Bob Jones head coach Kevin Rose. “It took a little while to get up to speed but he caught on. “Now he’s a Division I linebacker.” But not for Alabama or Auburn. He committed to the University of South Florida. 26 i4sportsonline.com
PATRIOT'S ★
GAME
Photo by Chris Jensen
“When we went to Tampa, it felt like home,” Holman said of a visit there. “I know I’m going to a good university.” Holman made the gamut of visits over the summer. He saw and worked out in as diverse places as Minnesota; Lafayette, La.; Tuscaloosa; Auburn. He also experienced the life of a recruit. “At first it was really exciting,” he said. “Then it gets to a point … there are so many games in the recruiting process. They would say ‘If you come to our camp, we’ll offer.’ “But they don’t.” Holman said it wasn’t all bad, though. He got to see a variety of lifestyles and culture during his travels. “The most fun trips were Minnesota, I saw how different they are there,” he said. “And I liked Louisiana-Lafayette a lot.” But it all came back to USF, which was apparently a quick decision by the school as well. “Coach (Willie) Taggart is known as a guy who can turn a program around,” Holman said. “He’s a really good recruiter.” Holman said he was contacted by USF about a month ago and they talked. He said they needed a middle linebacker because “they have a dude right now (DeDe Lattimore) who’ll be in the league (NFL) next year.” “I’ve always started and I want to play.” He said after the initial contact, it was just a matter of days before the Bulls made an offer. “They saw my film on Tuesday and called Wednesday,” Holman said. “Two weeks later, they offered me. “One of the things that drew me so quick was I’m a guy they really want.”
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But for the last several months, it seemed he was a guy a lot of teams really wanted. “Ever since the beginning of the summer, I was getting contacted,” Holman said. “And everybody knew about it. “There’s good and bad about that, too. Now, if I do something, everybody knows about it.” Rose said the Bulls are not just getting a good player but a quality person, as well. “He’s just a great kid,” he said. “He’s an asset to our program … on the field and off.” And he’s a guy that opposing teams keep their eyes on. Which is just fine for Holman. “I don’t really think about (the attention),” he said. “But that’s fine. I don’t mind being the guy they look for. That will make it easier for the other guys.” And he plans to make it hard for the other guys when he’s on the field for South Florida. Especially if he plays against the teams that didn’t give him a shot – or an offer. “Like Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt and former Madison Academy receiver), I didn’t get a lot of offers,” Holman said. “He’s showing them now and maybe I can, too.” And, no doubt he will. Just like any other student.
Bulletproof
Training Edge
Core Training
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Over the past few years core training has become very popular. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t know that you should “train your core” whether you are a competitive athlete, a weekend warrior, or just someone with a basic and general interest in fitness. With that said, there is a lot of confusion centered around this topic, and that confusion could be something that has you spending more time with a physical therapist fixing your spine, than in the gym working on your “core”. Let’s start with a working definition of the core. I define the core as everything from the hips to sternum. I am willing to bet that definition is in contrast to what you have heard in the past. You see the core works in conjunction with the entire body. It is certainly not just your “abs”. The core also has two “units” - an “inner unit” and an “outer unit.” The Inner unit is made up of: transverse Abdominis (TVA), Multifidis, deep pelvic floor muscles, the diaphragm, and the obliques internus (posterior fibers). The main job of the inner core is to provide segmental stabilization and support for the spine but create little to no movement. The muscle should contract reflexively before the initiation of any movement. The outer core is made up of: Rectus Abdominis (6 pack muscles),
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By Andy McCloy
obliquus internus, obliquus externus, the gluteus muscle groups, the latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, and quadtratus lumborum, as well parts of the adductors and hamstrings. The outer unit certainly works with the inner system to create more stability, but also controls movement and range of motion. Now that we have a working definition of your core and a brief description of its job, lets get into the good stuff. Below I plan to tell you what NOT to do first, then give you three exercises that will ensure you are on your way to developing a bulletproof core.
Crunches are bad for you Let’s get this out of the way first. Crunches and sit ups are not the ideal way to strengthen your core or develop a lean and toned mid section. You cant spot reduce fat so the idea of doing endless crunches to obtain a 6 pack is about as flawed as it gets. The key to having visible abs is to have a solid nutrition plan! Also research has shown that crunches can actually contribute to back pain. Most people have very dysfunctional “inner core” function and this leads to instability and tons of friction at the lumbar spine. Not to mention we live in a very “flexion” based world and that’s the last thing we need more of ! Too
much Spinal flexion, especially in the lumbar spine (low back) will cause back pain. So let go of the crunches!
Bulletproof core training When you train your core you want to think about creating “stability” before movement. Your core training needs to be simple but progressive. If you start too advanced you have nowhere to go and can create more dysfunction. Everyone always wants to jump to the most difficult version of an exercise! I encourage you to do the opposite. At Body Creations Sports Performance we have our big 3 core exercises that all of our athletes begin with. It takes months to create the level of mastery we expect from our clients. The following three exercises can be progressed in many ways but for the sake of this article we will discuss only our level 1 progression.
Planks Planks have become very popular, but quite frankly I’d say 80-90% of people I see performing them do them incorrectly. Our level 1 progression is on your “knees and elbows”. Elbow should be directly under the shoulder, and you should be able to draw a straight line
from hip to knee. When standing above the trainee you can place a dowel rod or stick on his back. If the trainee is in the correct position (neutral spine) the stick should have 3 points of contact: The back of your head, between your shoulder blades, and sacrum (area right above the glutes). I’d recommend 2-3 sets of 30sec-1min
Dead Bugs Lay flat on your back with arms straight above your chest. Start with legs bent and do a “pelvic tilt” which will flatten your low back to the ground. Think about bringing your pelvis and rib cage closer together. By locking the pelvis down and the rib cage you are insuring that you are “zipped up”. This is a term we use that means your core is locked in and you will be utilizing all of the muscles correctly. Once you are locked in bring the knees up to a 90 degree position. We want 90 degrees of flexion at the ankle, knee, and hip. Our level 1 progression is simAndy McCloy provides strength ply holding this position training and performance and combining it with enhancement services with Body Creations, Inc (BCI) diaphragmatic breathwww.andymccloy.com ing. Breathe in through your nose for 4 sec, hold it briefly, then exhale in 6 seconds, hold briefly again before repeating this process. As you inhale your stomach should rise, NOT your chest! A cue that works well for us is to think about breathing through your belly not your chest. We recommend 2-3 sets of 30sec-1min.
Swiss Ball Roll-outs All you need is a 55cm Swiss ball to perform this exercise. Start in a “tall kneeling position” with your arms extended and fingers touching the ball. We cue our clients to “zip up” by squeezing their glutes and locking the rib cage down. From here slowly reach your arms forward. As you “roll out” more and more of your hand, the forearm will come in contact with the ball. You must maintain a neutral spine position and only “roll out” as far as you can while staying “zipped up”. If the low back concaves or you bend at the waist you have gone too far. Some people will use a very short range of motion while others will roll all the way out until the elbows are touching the ball. At this point you reverse the motion and return to the starting position. 2-3 sets of 1min. If you follow this advice and exercises described above you will be well on your way to developing a bullet proof core. The exercises above can be progressed in many different ways. However, you should focus on mastery. Perform the above exercises three times a week to bullet proof your core and improve the form and execution of all other lifts.
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David “Hoss” Johnson is a member of the Crimson Tide’s 1980s All-Decade Team.
Big man makes big impact on field and in life By Kristian Hasse
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ith a nickname like “Hoss,” Huntsville’s David Johnson almost had no choice but to play football. And thanks to his nearly 13-pound birth weight, Johnson had a head start on making a big impact on the field for Butler High and the University of Alabama. A member of the Crimson Tide’s 1980s All-Decade Team as an offensive lineman, Johnson is also known as the last player recruited and signed by then-Alabama coach Bear Bryant. For Johnson, a two-time prep all-state selection, the decision to attend Alabama wasn’t a slam dunk. Schools from all over were trying to lure the 6-3, 255-pounder. “When I was getting recruited, I just got recruited because of my size. There was no real game plan,” Johnson said. “It just happened to me. God blessed me with the ability to play sports and gave me size, which is a good combination.” Johnson enjoyed the process, especially meeting big names like Herschel Walker, Vince Dooley, Pat Dye and Bryant. After eliminating Auburn and Georgia from his list, Johnson was down to Alabama and tiny Liberty (Va.) University, where he had family ties. “Alabama was masters at recruiting,” Johnson said. “You got the creed of Alabama football in the mail. … I got a call once or twice a week from (different coaches on staff ). … We got telegrams. … They sent out postcards. This is all old school now.” Johnson was also impressed by something Bryant did when the legendary coach came to Huntsville to meet with Johnson, his parents and grandmother. “Every time my grandmother left the room and came back in, he stood up,” Johnson said. “He didn’t do it to impress 30 i4sportsonline.com
anybody. It was like clockwork. “Also, I remember him saying to my parents, ‘I’ll be fair to him (Hoss).’ Nobody ever said ‘I’ll be fair.’ That meant a lot to me.” After not signing with anybody on National Signing Day in February 1982 so he could concentrate on playing basketball for Butler in the state tournament, he drove to Tuscaloosa and signed with Alabama on St. Patrick’s Day. Johnson redshirted in what would be Bryant’s last season. While he didn’t suit up for a game in 1982, he practiced during the week on the scout team. The following four seasons, he went on to play 48 games – starting 28 – and took part in three bowl games. During his Tide career, Johnson played in four straight wild Iron Bowl games against Auburn. In 1983, there was a tornado warning during the game, which Auburn won 23-20 thanks to Bo Jackson’s 256 rushing yards. The next season, in a 17-15 win by the Tide, Jackson went the wrong way on a block for a teammate, who was tackled inside the Alabama 5-yard line late in the game, and later Auburn missed a field goal with nine seconds left. Then in 1985, Van Tiffin kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired to give Alabama a 25-23 win in a game that saw four lead changes in the fourth quarter. And finally in 1986, Auburn scored on a reverse with less than a minute left in a 21-17 victory. As one would expect, the preparation to take on your main rival always rockets to a higher level. “That (Iron Bowl) week was very hard,” he said. “The intensity was ratcheted up. … After you got through with the game before the Auburn game … the next day, it was a whole different atmosphere. From everybody – the news, the coaches.
They turned it up big time because of the amount of intensity into that game.” Johnson’s favorite Iron Bowl memory? The 1985 game. The one he always gets asked about. With the Tide down one and just six seconds left in the game. Johnson was on the field when the rest of the kicking team rushed onto the field after a pass play. “Boom! He kicks it,” Johnson remembers. “I blocked down. Then all of a sudden, it’s almost like nobody was in the stadium. I didn’t hear anything. It got quiet for a nanosecond. Then all of a sudden, there’s this roar. You don’t know what the roar is for. … I didn’t have my glasses on. I can’t see 52 yards away. … We start jumping around. It was kind of like a storybook ending, at least for us.” After graduating with a radio/TV broadcasting degree, Johnson signed a free-agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in April 1987, playing one game before getting cut. Later that
season, he played three games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being released and returning home for good. Johnson retired in September from Huntsville’s Parks and Recreation department after 25 years, finishing as the city’s football director. And he’s known to be a master on the grill as he occasionally cooks barbecue for church groups, family reunions and other functions. But the sport continues to be in Johnson’s blood as he’s now the national football director for SCORE International, a sports mission ministry based out of Chattanooga, Tenn. SCORE arranges overseas trips using different sports as a platform to present the gospel to those who attend clinics and games. “I go out to recruit players, coaches and teams from high school, college and pros to go on short-term mission trips,” Johnson said. “Most trips are a week; some are longer than that. … It’s
short-term trips for long-term effects.” Johnson has traveled to Israel, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic and Turkey to teach the fundamentals of football and build relationships. He has plans to visit Japan in two years. So what else is on the horizon for Johnson, who is a member of the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame? Besides continuing his efforts with SCORE, he’s looking forward to attending big college football games like Ohio State-Michigan, Texas-Oklahoma and Florida-Florida State in the upcoming years. “It helps me evaluate how blessed I am to have played in the games I got to play in.”
Hoss Johnson is now the National Football Director for SCORE International, a sports mission ministry.
Steve Wilson was a member of the 1972 Auburn Amazins.
Steve Wilson part of legendary Auburn team
By Mike Easterling
S
teve Wilson was playing for Auburn in the early 1970s when the Tigers upset Alabama in the unforgettable “Punt, Bama, Punt’’ game at Birmingham’s Legion Field. But while that legendary 17-16 win in 1972 certainly holds a high spot in Wilson’s Iron Bowl memories – it was his senior season, after all – a comeback 33-28 victory in ’70 might have provided his proudest moment against Alabama. In that game, an injury-ravaged Auburn erased a 17-0 deficit behind quarterback and future Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan and an explosive offense that also featured AllAmerican receiver Terry Beasley. “We were banged up and only had like 10 or 11 starters left,’’ said Wilson, a local attorney who lettered for the Tigers from ’70-72 in an era when freshmen weren’t eligible to play varsity. “We were down 17 to nothing and Beasley had been knocked out.’’ In ‘70 Auburn, which entered the season unranked despite posting an 8-3 record that included a 49-26 over Alabama the previous year, rose to No. 6 in the Associated Press poll after starting the season 5-0. A 17-9 loss to LSU dropped the Tigers to 12th, but they climbed back to No. 8 after routing both Florida and Mississippi State. A 31-17 loss to unranked Georgia followed, and Auburn limped into the Iron Bowl at No. 11 against the unranked Crimson Tide. “We had gotten upset by LSU, then we started getting a lot of people hurt,’’ said Wilson, a Lee High School graduate who played linebacker. “Georgia knocked us out of the Sugar Bowl. We played a 4-4. I think we had three healthy lineback32 i4sportsonline.com
ers left for the Alabama game.’’ But the Tigers also had an offense that finished with a Southeastern Conference record for most yards in a season at 4,850, breaking the mark set by Georgia in 1942 by 125 yards. And that offense went to work after Alabama went out to that 17-0 lead in the first half. Sullivan, who won the Heisman his senior year of ’71, began moving the Tigers and they moved to within 17-10 before halftime. Auburn pulled even at 17-all midway through the third quarter, and Alabama went back ahead 20-17 early in the fourth before Auburn again tied the game at 20-all. The Tigers went ahead but the Crimson Tide, behind AllAmerican running back Johnny Musso’s 221 rushing yards, scored and was successful on a two-point play to go ahead 28-27. Auburn, however, wouldn’t be denied and forged ahead for good with just under four minutes remaining when Wallace Clark scored on a 3-yard run. “Beasley came back and Sullivan got hot,’’ Wilson said, “him and Beasley and (receiver Dick) Schmalz and all of them.’’ Sullivan finished with 317 passing yards. Auburn went on to defeat Ole Miss, quarterbacked by Archie Manning, 35-28 in the Gator Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 10. Wilson would just as soon forget the ’71 Iron Bowl, the only one his Tigers lost in his four years with the program. The Tigers entered the game undefeated and ranked fifth following a 35-20 win over Georgia, a game that sealed the Heisman for Sullivan, but third-ranked Alabama spoiled things with a numbing 31-7 victory.
Auburn lost 40-22 to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl to cap the season. “We had never seen the wishbone,’’ Wilson said. “We lost to Alabama and Oklahoma and they both ran the wishbone.’’ By the time Auburn and Alabama met for the ’72 Iron Bowl and the Tigers again faced the Tide’s wishbone, Wilson said Tigers defensive assistant Sam Mitchell had “figured it out.’’ Without the likes of Sullivan and Beasley, who had moved on to the NFL, and others in what had been a high-powered offense Auburn entered the season with tempered expectations. But, as Wilson said, the Tigers had “a great defense and a tremendous kicking game.’’ Those two things helped Auburn’s squad earn a revered place in the program’s history, one of its iconic nicknames and another favorite Iron Bowl memory for Wilson. Auburn, despite an 8-1 record blemished only by a 35-7 setback at LSU and a No. 9 ranking, was a heavy underdog to the second-ranked Tide. For three quarters plus it appeared Alabama would survive and possibly play for a national championship. But Auburn, down 16-0 and then 16-3 in the fourth quarter, made Iron Bowl history with two blocked-punt touchdowns that live on in series lore. Bill Newton, along with Wilson one of only 11 seniors on the team and the latter’s roommate on road trips, blocked the first one with David Langer scooping up the ball and scoring from 25 yards out to make it 16-10. In an almost identical replay, Newton blocked another Tide punt and Langer again picked up the loose ball and scored from 20 yards out. Auburn held on for the 17-16 win, went on to defeat Colorado 24-3 in the Gator Bowl and finished 10-1 and ranked No. 5. “We’ve been the Amazins ever since,’’ Wilson said. “That’s the tag that stuck.’’ But for Wilson, that ’70 Iron Bowl has also stuck. “It was a hell of a comeback,’’ he said.
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