Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Jan. 30, 2020, edition 1 / Page 10
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
B2 January 30, 2020 The Chronicle Tatum From page Bl the expectation level for this season was higher, she said. “My expectations were definitely to get back to the South Region Champion ship,” she continued. “We are doing a little better than I expected, ranked number 9 in the country, so if we can maintain that status, we can possibly be looking at an automatic bid to nationals.” Tatum credits much of her success to her coach ing staff, her ‘sisters’ in the coaching field, and returning players such as Lady Bruins’ success this year, according to Tatum and staff. “One game at a time, that’s what’s got us this far,” said assistant coach Darnell Wallace. “We don’t look ahead and I think that works for us. We have to focus on the current opponent, then we will deal with the next one.” With this being the first time the Lady Bruins have been ranked in the top 10 in the country, confidence is high with the team. Ta tum said she keeps her team grounded by pouring over film to analyze things they could have done bet- Tatum said she likes to play fast, so her teams work a lot on pressing and playing up-tempo. “I think good basket- ball should be entertaining, so we try to coach them up that way,” she elaborated. Another perk to Ta tum’s coaching style is that she is a different coach with every player. She knows which players to be hard on, while others need a more loving hand to get them motivated. “I am whatever they need me to be,” Tatum said about her coaching style.. “One of the things that we do when they first get here is we ask them, La La Land From page Bl must know this is how the NBA is now. Star play ers have more control and power than ever before. Superstar players affect ev erything from team work load, minutes played and even player acquisitions, so it should be no surprise to Clippers’ role players that things are different this season as compared to last year. LeBron has been credited with ushering in this new wave in the NBA with how he controlled things from behind the cur tain in Cleveland and other star players noticed, so they decided to flex their muscle power as well. Even with these chem istry issues, Los Ange les is still sitting pretty in the third seed and we are not even at the All-Star break. The team still has time to fix their chemistry issues and only have to look to last season to see how successful the meth od could be. The Toronto Raptors load managed Leonard’s minutes by giv ing him games off to rest during the regular season and they wound up win ning it all. It would be a shame not to see this team gel to gether to see how far they can go in the playoffs. The Lakers seem to have as similated Anthony Davis with LeBron and company, so I am sure Doc Rivers can do the same with the Clippers. Once everyone is on board, I think the Clip pers will eventually rise to the top of the Western Conference and win the championship. Leonard, George and company are still a tough act when ev eryone is healthy and play ing together, so we will see where the team chemistry is at playoff time, when it really counts. Photo by Timothy Ramsey Tatum stands with assistant coach Darnell Wallace. ‘Ladies Who Love the NFL’ score a touchdown with new social group Malayah Montgomery, Ashley Lane and Zyniah Kesler. Tatum also wanted to build team chemistry by implementing several team activities for her players to enjoy, especially since the PIU campus is so small and thin with activities. Tatum also had high praise for Leonzerrae Grubbs, the team’s leading scorer, and Lexius Houzer. Taking it one game at a time has been key to the BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY THE CHRONICLE The League, spon sored by the Josh Howard Foundation, will be bring ing back its spring league Submitted photo The League will bring its spring league to W.R. Anderson Rec Center, starting April 6. starting April 6. The games will again be played at the W.R. Anderson Recreation Center, with games being played Monday through Thursday at 6 p.m. The League was the brainchild of commis sioner Steve Nivens. Niv ens is an avid basketball player, fan and coach, so he wanted to bring togeth er an adult men’s league that was a cut above what already existed in the area. Over the past few years, The League has continued to grow and garner more attention and notoriety around the Triad area. Teams travel from all over the area and across ^the state for an opportunity ter, even in victories. “Even though we may beat a team by 60 points, we always find a way we can get better,” she said. “Yeah, we beat them by 60, but I like to show them what they can do to get better. We also need to focus in on what we have going on and not every thing around us, because at the end of the day, one loss can change how they feel about our program.” The League is back to show what they have in The League. The competi tion level of The League has grown to a level that warrants a team bringing the best available talent, or risk getting blown out. “This year, we have had a lot more interest and I think we will get a lot more elite teams, so I think it will be on a higher scale,” said Nivens. “I am surprised but not shocked at how The League has taken off, but I have put in the work. You have to put in the work for something you believe in. T am just happy and pray ing to the Lord that it con tinues to work out in my favor and I just have to keep pushing to make it better than where I have it now.” For the summer, The League will move from W.R. Anderson to the CP3 Academy to tean^ up with ‘How do you like to be coached?’” As a female in a male- dominated profession, Tatum is pleased with her quick start in the coaching ranks. She doesn’t like to compare herself to other coaches and lives by the saying, ‘If God calls you to it, he will make room for you.’ them. There has been so much interest with the summer league that they needed a bigger venue. Nivens will be reaching out to NBA veterans and semi-pro teams to gauge their interest. “I think that summer league will take off to where I want it to be and the vision I had when 1 started this,” he said. “I want more people to come out and I think it will happen for the sum mer league and because of the guys I am reaching out to,” he continued. “I just want people to recognize it and come out and have fun.” Sign-ups are open now for the spring league. The deadline to register your team is April 1. For more information on the spring and summer leagues, call 336-391-5952. BY CHRISTY WERTS SUBMITTED ARTICLE Usually in July of ev ery year, the buzz of the upcoming NFL football season begins. When will Washington play Dallas? Will the Panthers make the playoffs? What team will Submitted photo Founders of ‘Ladies Who Love the NFL’ Christy Werts (L) and London McKinney (R) de-throne Tom Brady and the Patriots? Will my team play close enough for me to go see them this year? And with social me dia, the fun has gone to a whole new level. We can now trash talk as much as we want amongst our old friends, new friends, and even strangers. And it’s all centered around one thing ... FOOTBALL! Growing up as a dad dy’s girl in the 70s, my dad was a diehard Washington Redskins fan, but also a lover of the game of foot ball. As the saying goes, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” I also grew up loving football and the Washington Red- skins. I played football in the streets with the boys in the neighborhood and was sitting in front of the tele vision every Sunday after noon in the fall with my dad and brothers. Fast forward to 2019 ... still a Redskins fan, but now I have a whole new group of football fans to socialize with on social media. We go at it hard! I get messages like, “Some body check on Christy,” after a Redskins loss, or “The picture would be nice if you take off that Red- skins shirt!” So I respond, “I know that Cowboys shirt is giving you a rash!” or “That’s why you had to go bald, you wearing that Steeler hat!” It’s all fun and games and no one gets upset. One Sunday morning I F woke up and had a thought. What if we had a women’s football group? We could go to the sports bar and watch football just like the guys. I knew several wom en who also loved football and decided to reach out to my friend, London McK inney. We talked for what seemed to be hours. By the time we got off the tele phone, we had a plan. We would start a group called “Women Who Love the NFL,” we would create a Facebook group and invite other women to join, and we would have our first football gathering for the rivalry game of the Wash ington Redskins and Dal las Cowboys on Sept. 15, 2019. By the time London was done, we had a venue, food, games, and prizes. We expected around 15 women, but ended up with over 30 women! The Red- skins lost to the Cowboys that day, but the event was a huge success. History has proven that great things happen when women come together on one accord. Looking at that room filled with wom en of different professions, talents, nationalities, inter ests, etc., gave us another idea: we can do so much more than just watch foot ball together. We can make a difference in our commu nity. We can also serve as a support system for each other. At this point, we cre ated a planning committee comprised of Tammy Lee, Erica Harrison, Jennifer Jeter, Brenda Bennett, Mellissia Sutton, London McKinney and me. We now had a platform and we planned to use it to make a difference in each other’s lives and the lives of those in our community. We realized we had busi ness owners, healthcare * professionals, health and wellness experts, craft ers, financial advisers, IT professionals, artists, etc. in our group. Why not use these resources? We can have sessions where we talk about finances and credit or have a workout session and talk about the importance of being active and healthy eating. Maybe we can invite our business owners, crafters and artists in to display and sell their products. The possibilities are endless. It’s all about providing a circle of sup port because we realize that if we are better, every thing that is attached to us gets better. In just four short months, we have had four football gatherings, we have collected toys for the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots campaign, we have col laborated with Assistant Coach Jermaine Woods of the WFU women’s bas ketball team and collected toys for the children at Best Choice Center here in Winston-Salem, and we have grown to over 100 women in our Facebook group. As football season gets close to ending, our future plans include continu ing our relationship with Coach Woods and the Best Choice Center, meeting once a month to empower and uplift each other, and be a present help in our community. We are not only a group of women who love football, but we also love our community and want to make a posi tive impact. If you are interested in becoming a part of Ladies Who Love the NFL, please contact Christy Werts at cwerts32@yahoo.com or London McKinney at 336- 480-8746.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 30, 2020, edition 1
10
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75