Ridger Sports — Spring football is here!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

— Spring is in the air as well as a lot of kicked, thrown and tossed footballs as Coach Tony Travis gathers up his troops for a two week “basic training” before setting off for the 4A-1 football wars this fall.

Though finding victories last season was a tall order for the 2010 Blackhawks, 2011 looks to be a better year for the second year coach. The team of a year ago demonstrated and sported a lot of improvement in a lot of areas with a large number of sophomores that ended up carrying much of the load. Besides the sophomores, there were several other players who had not participated in high school football, leaving the team very short on experience. The trial by fire introduction to high school football last season, however, will pay dividends this fall when Pea Ridge will return the most players with experience that a ’Hawk squad has seen in a long time.

For those that might not know what spring football is, it is a special dispensation granted by the Arkansas Activities Association allowing member schools the right to hold 10 days of football practice in the spring. With the seniors but a memory, it is the first chance for the team and coaches to see what they’ve got for next year.

Not many American schools have spring football as states generally forbid official team practices of a sport outside their regular season. With the recent emphasis in sports on fitness and safety, having a spring football experience can serve as a wake-up call to some erstwhile athletes.

There are always “athletes” who report to fall practice in August overweight, out of shape and woefully unprepared to plunge into an athletic program that works the hardest in the hottest time of the year. They are the ones who kind of disappear a few days into practice.

With Coach Travis being able to size up his team and work with them three months before the official start of the season, he will be able to tell them what they need to be doing before the call goes out in August. There are a lot of kids working out this week with the team and maybe they will all stick. There probably will be others who might go out this fall for the sport but Coach Travis will hang his hat on the bunch sweating this week.

While Travis is building his squad on the north end of the practice area this week, observers can watch another kind of building going on to the south.

With the rains stopped, construction rapidly continues for the new practice facility being built there. It is no coincidence that schools that build indoor practice facilities have an upward swing in their football fortunes. The ability to get in a good practice every day regardless of the weather will be a huge improvement in the football program here.

It’s hard to predict how the ’Hawks will fare this fall, but it’s easy to predict that the ’Hawks will be getting better. They have a good program with good coaches, enthusiastic players and supportive parents and community. They are on the right track.

It’s finally happened

When Arkansas track coach John McDonnell was kind of pushed into retirement a few years ago, I thought “well, that’s that,” meaning that I didn’t think they probably ever win another national title again, and maybe not even another outdoor SEC title again. I was wrong.

The track Hogs came up big in the last few events of the Southeastern Conference Track and Field Championships in Georgia last week to slip past Florida and win the 2011 championship.

Arkansas came in first with 157, besting Florida’s total of 140.

Florida led the Hogs for nearly the whole meet with the score at 128 to 124 after the Hogs took first, second and third in the 800-meter run. Usually one of their strong events, Florida lost the lead in the 200 dash when they were outscored 15-4. Arkansas then iced the meet by placing three men in the 5000, outscoring the Gators 15-3.

Georgia finished a distant third with 98 points.

To put things into perspective, going into the SEC meet, Florida was the number two ranked team in the nation with Louisiana State number three, Arkansas 11, Georgia 14, Mississippi 18, Mississippi State 20 and Auburn 24. The SEC is going away the toughest meet in the United States outside the NCAA nationals. With the SEC at times claiming as much as the top four places at the national meets, the Hogs victory bodes well for the Hogs chances next month.

Not that anyone could ever truly replace a man who won 44 national titles in his coaching career, perhaps the new regime will begin to add back some of the program’s lost luster.

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Editor’s note: John McGee is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].

Sports, Pages 9 on 05/18/2011