Sports
B1
Jowers honored as Coach Of The Year
By Chronicle Staff
John lowers is one of three people
who were honored as Coaches Of The
Year in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
by the Winston-Salem Sports Commis
sion last Wednesday at the Stratford
Rotary Club monthly luncheon.
lowers, the honoree in the
youth/volunteer category, was joined by
Jesse Haddock of Wake Forest (college
division) and Dale Ijames of Glenn
High School (prep school division).
The Sports Commission annually
honors individuals who have made a
positive contribution to the young peo
ple in the Winston-Salem/Forgyth
County community. Each wfriner
received a statue which was sculptld by
Winston native Butter Fisher.
Jowers, a familiar figure in the
youth sports arena in Winston, has
enjoyed a very successful year as a bas
ketball coach and the season isn't over
yet. His 13 and Under AAU basketball
team at the Winston Lake YMCA won
this year's state tournament and quali
fied for the AAU nationals which will
f
be played in August in San Antonio,
Tbx. lowers has worked with Winston
Lake's YBA and AAU programs for the
last three years.
The Winston Lake coach doesn't
limit his involvement with youth to
only one sport. For the past 12 years, he
has served as the league representative
for the Tiny Vikings of the Northwest
? Midget Football League. He has also
been active in the Twin City Little
League in baseball during that tipie
period.
"It was really an honor just to be
nominated/' Jowers said, "but 1 never
expected something like this from such
a well-known organization
like the Sports Commission.
But while I'm very pleased to
receive the award, I'm even
more pleased that the commis
sion recognizes volunteers.
There are so many men and
women all over the city who
work with youth and they
don't get paid to do it. And
there are times when you
could even call it a thankless
job."
For Jowers, however,
working with young people
has its own rewards - the kind
of reward that makes it very
worthwhile. "I like to win just
anybody else and I'm just as
competitive as anybody else,"
he said. "Winning and losing isn't the
most important thing. It's about provid
ing kids with some positive avenues.
Sports is one avenue that gives you a
better chance of relating to young peo
ple.
"What I try to do is instill some
kind of values and character in our
youngsters. Hopefully, they'll pick up
those things and be better off because
of that. If I'm able to stop someone
from going astray, then it's worth it."
As a youth coach, Jowers has
encountered a varied sampling of
youngsters who come from vastly dif
ferent backgrounds. In dealing with
youngsters, he often finds himself
assuming multiple roles - as a father
image, big brother, friend and confi
dant.
In Jowers' mind, being straightfor
ward about what he believes is proper,
enables him to better relate to the youth
that he comes in contact with.
"My religious beliefs and spiritual
experience is what I try to relate to
youngsters," he said. "I tell them that
you have to commit yourself to God
because there are problems in the world
that are much bigger than all of us.
You'll always go as far as you can
when you make God a priority in your
life."
I
Young makes his dream come true
Photo by Craig T. Qreenfee
Youna's talents were discovered by Ron Brown, a volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters Inc. Brown was so Impressed with Chris' back yard tumbling that he decided to take the
tXfne^Sto a gym In order to expose him to gymnastics. Young, a two-time national vault champion, has been a regular at the Salem Gymnastics Center ever since.
By CRAIG T. GREENLEE
Chronicle Sports Editor
You'll have to excuse Chris
Young for giving himself a couple
of stiff smacks to the face. After
systematically honing his consider
able gymnastics skills for nearly a
decade. Young's fantasy is now
reality.
The real deal begins tonight
when the 18-year old flips his tassle
as a member of West Forsyth High
School's 1992 graduating class. In
two more weeks, he's headed north
'to attend school on a gymnastics
scholarship at the University of
Minnesota.
Young's rise to prominence has
been almost missile-like. Fact is,
there are times when he still won
ders if everything that's happened to
him is for real.
Nine years ago, Young wouldn't
have bet a rusty nickle that he'd be a
major force in junior gymnastics at
the national level, or that he would
be viewed as a potential Olympian
in the coming years. But success has
a way of changing one's mindset.
For example:
? Won the vault and placed sec
ond overall at the 4 92 USGF nation
als, in spite of having his training
temporarily derailed because of seri
ous knee ligament damage which
required surgery. Missed the overall
gold by .05 points.
After a dismal showing in the
first round of competition, he
returned the next day and recorded
an eye-popping 55.6 out 60 points
in the optional routines, which
proved to be the best mark of the
meet Entering this year's nationals,
he was ranked No. 1 in the country
in the Gass I, 16- 18s division.
? At the '91 nationals, captured
the vault and placed second in the
floor exercise. Also finished fifth in
the pommel horse and sixth in the
parallel bars. Young's finish earned
him a spot on the U.S. junior team.
i
Those feats were enough to con
vince the low-keyed Young that he
can go far in this sport. Just how far
remains to be seea
"When I first started, 1 never
thought Td be in it this long," he
admitted. "But after my first nation
als [in 4 90 as a 15-year old], I fig
ured I could do very well .... well
enough to get a college scholar
ship."
In terms of pure athleticism,
Young has few peers at his level.
And yet it's ironic that because of
his athleticism, he came perilously
close to not being in the position
he's in now.
Please see Page B2