Signing Day

Signing day, especially the middle one in early February, is almost like a holiday for many Southerners who are college football fans.  As a Clemson fan, I know a lot of the top recruits by name.  I know who the targets are, who the five star recruits are.  For the hardcore fan, signing day is the day they look forward to the most once the bowl games end.  The thing that the average fan sometimes forgets, no matter how "sure-fire" the recruit is, how successful they become, or how big of a "bust" they become, right now they are high school students.  They are so excited at this point in their life.  Many are living their dream, and their hard work over the past year, four years, and in most cases much longer, have paid off.

Tomorrow on signing day, I want to honor my students this year, and my three years at Chesnee, who participated in one of the three NCAA signing days.  I have so much respect for these students, because I know the hard work and dedication that it takes to reach that point.  Working with the football team at Gardner-Webb for two years gave me a much better understanding of just what a different level college athletics really is.  So here is a list of my former students, sport, and school.  (Let me know if I forgot any!)

Poly High School

Kara Howard (Softball) University of Kentucky

Cori Reinhardt (Softball) Cal State Monterey Bay

Sara Macias (Water Polo) University of Southern California

Jillian Yocum (Water Polo) Univerisity of California Irvine

Nicole Frank (Soccer) Lamar University

Kenzie Estes (Cross Country) Northern Arizona University

Casey Foster (Soccer) University of California Riverside *{signing in Spring}

Chesnee High School

Haley Gregg (Softball) North Greenville University

Raheem Hughes (Football) North Greenville University

Zack Miller (Football/Track) North Greenville University

Austin High (Cross Country/Track) Lees-McRae University

Stephen Cantrell (Baseball) Wofford

David Jones (Baseball) Southern Wesleyan University

Sierra Wilkinson (Softball) Spartanburg Methodist College

Holly Woodrum (Softball) Lander

Jalen Martin (Basketball) Erskine

Corey Frye (Baseball) Anderson University

Justin Blackwell (Cross Country/Track) Spartanburg Methodist College

Marcus Ovalle (Wrestling) Spartanburg Methodist College

Allyson Brislinger (Volleyball) Huntingdon College

Cedric Proctor (Football) South Carolina State

Josh Jones (Track) University of South Carolina

Gaffney High School
Hillary Key (Softball) North Greenville University
Julie Sarratt (Softball) University of South Carolina
(yeah, I know... I never taught there, but I claim these two also)

There may be a couple more in the spring that I'll be able to add. Sorry if I forgot anyone... just let me know and I'll add them.  I'm so proud of not just these kids, but all of my students who have gotten music, theater, band, cheering, and just regular ol' academic scholarships.  SO PROUD OF ALL OF THEM!

Missing the Beta Life

One of the reasons I absolutely love being a teacher is all of the learning and growing that you get to witness.  As a high school teacher, it still is an amazing sight to see a student have their "ah-ha" moment or accomplish something individually or as a group.  One thing that I think is often neglected is that learning does not just happen in a classroom.  In fact, I believe that some of the best learning experiences occur after school, in the different sports and extracurriculars that are offered.

One thing that I still haven't been able to do is get involved with a club or sport at Poly.  I have been able to attend a lot of different games, but it is not the same as working with those kids day in and day out.  Recently, I've gone to a couple of girls' water polo matches and some soccer games.  However, this time of the year, I cannot help but think about those Beta days.  Countless hours of practices, making props, and preparing for those trips. 

I am still amazed by the talent that those kids displayed, and it always reminds me that all high schoolers have amazing talents, and one of our main jobs as teachers is helping kids find those talents, and develop them so they can have the confidence to display those talents to the world. 

I'll leave you with some examples of just how talented high schoolers can be. 

(A little background... the following videos are the group talents we did the last three years at Chesnee at the Beta Club conventions.  They are seven minute performances, and I think you'll see all the hard work that they put into the performance.  The Lion King performance and the Alice in Wonderland performance won at Nationals.)

The Lion King Group Talent 2008

National Champs

Alice in Wonderland Group Talent 2010

National Champs

The Little Mermaid Group Talent 2009