"Upon Further Review" by Jim Sacco

The Daily Pooch Punt: 3/19/08

Errors. Errors. More errors.

The Little Giants baseball team, a season removed from its Group AA Final Four appearance, can’t get the hang of something out in the field. Mainly fielding.

Waynesboro put five errors on the board against Charlottesville on Monday but somehow managed to sneak away from the KC with the win. On Tuesday, it committed four miscues against old Valley District foe Spotswood and it came back to bite the Giants. Big time.

“I don’t have a whole lot of comments about it,” said veteran Waynesboro coach Jim Critzer. “But it will be corrected.”

Darn skippy it’s going to be corrected because, and let’s be honest here, if the Giants have any hope of competing in a Southern Valley that may be Stuarts Draft’s to lose, the errors must stop.

Of course, having Critzer as your skipper gives Waynesboro an added advantage. As he said above, “it will be corrected,” and if the years of the Jim Critzer era have proven anything, it’s that he can fix things wrong with a team.

Errors. Errors. More Errors. That’s what wrong with this team right now.

And another thing: Since we just talked about Draft, wasn’t the problem last year with the Cougars hitting? Well, let’s take a look at how well they swung the stick in their 12-7 hammering of Harrisonburg on Tuesday: Ricky Dimitt 2-for-4; Stephen Showalter 3-for-3, two runs scored, two RBI; Zach Marion 2-for-5 with three runs and an RBI; Mickie Holbert 3-for-5 with two doubles.

So, yeah, I don’t think hitting is a problem anymore in Draft.

Speaking of Final Fours: Chris Key scores four goals in Riverheads’ boys soccer win over Parry McCluer. Sure, it was the Blues, not exactly known around these parts as a soccer powerhouse and, sure, it’s only the second game of the season for Dickie Bell’s Gladiators. But did you see who scored four goals? Chris Key. Yep, he was on the team last year. He knows what it’s like to win and head down to Radford.

Let’s go back to Draft: Tielor Detrich and Alex Wood both score hat tricks for the Cougars. The team has 12 seniors left over from a 2007 squad that looked like it was on the cusp of winning the then-Valley district. Now in the Southern Valley, the Cougars could be favorites to win this thing too (you know, kind of like baseball), but leave it to second-year coach Chris Loomis to remind everybody of where the power is still at.

“We’re not assuming anything,” he said. “We are in the same district as Waynesboro.”

Southern Valley soccer fans along the Target Turnpike, you best get your soccer-watching shirts on.

One last thing: Football, futbol. It doesn’t matter to Draft’s Chris Mahanes.

Say What?

Still haven’t heard why Secrett Stubblefield didn’t go to the All District Voting or Regional Voting for that matter. Is anybody going to clue me in?

— Jack

Don’t know what this has to do with her turning around a moribund basketball program and leading the Little Giants to an undefeated district record, the tournament title, the Region III title (including an upset of then-No. 1 Turner Ashby) and an appearance in the Group AA title game. That should make her coach of the year, not attendance at a meeting. Am I wrong? Didn’t think so.

ok.......don’t want to hear anything else about someone from W’boro getting left off the all district team since her coach wasn’t there to take up for her!

Jim, you are wrong here!  Yes, I am still checking in from Yankee country.  I have noticed that there has been quite a stir about Waynesboro’s coach not being named “Coach of the Year”!  Having coached, I attended district and regional votings.  If a coach did not show up for any of those votings, then I would have a hard time voting that person as “Coach of the Year” unless that individual had a very valid reason for not being in attendance.  If the Coach had a valid reason such as the coach, player, or family member was in the hospital and the coach had to miss the meeting then I would understand.  But if that coach did not attend and did not have an emergency, then I don’t care if they won the freaking state championship as the coach should be there for the kids that he/she coaches no matter what. The coach is there to represent his/her players and to fight for them for All-District/Region votes.  I would lose a lot of respect for a coach if they did not attendand did not have a valid reason to fight for their kids.  In addition to that, all this discussion about a girl from Waynesboro not being on an All-District team falls directly at the feet of the coach who was not there at the meetings to fight for her player!

Congratulations to the Little Giants on their accomplishments this year! I also say way to go Devon Brown..fabulous career record setting year(s)!! Not to take nothing away from them because they were good but to have a coach to say some of the remarks Stubblefield said were down right ridiculous!!! She knows good and well without Devon the Giants were not as equally talented as the rest of the girls in that district and prolly wouldnt have made it to the district tournament!!  As for the comment that Diggs is the best defensive guard in the state...are you serious? Put pressure on her means lots of turnovers! As for her ability to coach I really think Waynesboro was desperate for a coach since nobody wanted to put up with the crap that goes along with coaching in that area! So they just scrape the bucket and got her.  And not attending the meeting thats her fault she came but saw tha suigh on the door that read"NO IDIOTS ALLOWED”! enough said because remeber this for next year...HAVE NO MERCY!!

Coach Byars,

Thanks for checking in again.

I wanted an answer and you gave it to me. I thank you for that.

BTW, nice use of “freaking.” Stop stealing my lines!

Jim

Marie,

Thanks for the comment. I do hope people know all opinions are welcome here (as long as you keep them clean.)

And kudos to you for using your (I assume) real name.

Thanks.

Jim

Diggs is not the best guard in the state. Spotswood and TA both have better guards than her. As well does Hidden Valley. All teams that beat them at one point this year, all because they forced turnovers off of the freshman. By her senior year, she could be the best in the state--but only time will tell.

No IDIOTS ALLOWED HUH? I swear some of the people who write to this blog are quite ridiculous and call themselves adults. You ought to be ashamed of yourself Mary. If they scraped the bottom of the bucket and got Secrett Stubblefield then so be it. They got a good one. So I guess you could have done a better job right. No matter what you negative people have to say about her, she exceeded all expectations of everyone for and against her and those girls. I wonder how many of you people who call yourselves adults take the time to read about more important things like the war in iraq or who’s going to be our next president or teen drug abuse and pregnancy. so somewhere and make yourselves useful and get a clue about what life is really all about. because if bashing secrett stubblefield is what makes you feel good about yourself then that is really sad. Have a wonderful day.

and for the record, that is the second threat i have heard toward stubblefield about returning next year. should she be afraid. Is something going to happen to her if she coaches again? Wow folks is it that serious. Maybe the district needs to provide bodyguards. Why don’t you just hang a banner over the school that says ‘Be afraid, be very afraid’. or better yet, apply for assistant coach and show her what she’s doing wrong. Most critics don’t have a solution to problems they just like to make a commotion over nothing. Be gone with you already.

Mr. Sacco keeps bringing up question why players from Waynesboro were left off the all district team and why Stubblefield was not coach of the year. There were points given why these things did not happen.

umm.,Didn’t basketball season end last weekend in waynesboro, can we please move on to whatevers next. Gee wiz