South Brunswick
BY DOU(J RITTER squash West Brunswick's coura
For 28 minutes Friday night, the geous upset bid on South s home
pesky West Brunswick girls' basket- floor.
ball team hung with the undefeated The 57-43 final score wasn't in
South Brunswick Lady Cougars, dicativc of the game played before a
ranked as the second-best 2-A squad full house in the Cougars' den. West
in North Carolina. led by nine points in the first quarter
But West's girls would probably and held a four-point lead early in
like to forget about the game's final the fourth period before South
four minutes, when South sprinted pulled away.
away from its backyard rival in the "Not having three starters really
Waccamaw 2-A Conference high tells on you," South Brunswick
school battle. Coach Mike Iscnberg said. "Wc
The 16-0 South girls outscorcd weren't a very deep team tonight."
the young Lady Trojans 16-2 in the The Lady Cougars went without
final 3:23 to break a 41-11 tie and starters Stacy Iscnberg, LaTonya
r
I
STAfF PHOTO BY DOUG HUTU*
JENNY FULLWOOD (25) scored 15 points to lead South Bruns
wick to a 57-43 win Friday over West Brunswick. Defending are
Nicole Norris (left) and Heather Cronic.
SPORTING SCENE
Overworked, Underpaid?
Try High School Coaching
Overworked and underpaid. If ever there was a profession created with
this description in mind, it is the job of high school coach.
High school coaches work long hours and, according to my calcula
tions, earn less than minimum wage if they really put their hearts into their
work. On top of that, they often take more bad-mouthing than they deserve.
b Brunswick County, coaching
supplements are based on a pay scale
that rewards the number of years a
coach has been in the school system.
That makes sense. A coach who has
been here ten years should receive
more than one who has been here
three years.
For the sake of argument, let's
use West Brunswick Boys' Basketball
Coach Billy Mims as an example.
Mims, in his fifth year, is paid a coaching supplement of S2,2()5 for the sea
son, which is at least four months long.
Three days per week, Mims tells me his coaching day starts with an af
ter-school study hall. Throw in preparation for practice and the practice it
self, and Mims worics about seven hours per day three days per week.
The Trojans have games the other two days. Mims starts preparing for
the game as soon as school lets out around 3 p.m. The team bus often
doesn't return to school until after midnight. That's a nine- or 10-hour day.
Thai's about 40 hours per week spent on coaching. Remember, Coach
Mims also teaches at the high school. So he holds down a full-Utne job in
addition to his coaching duties.
Basketball season officially starts Nov. 1 and can stretch well into
March if the team wins a few playoff games. Regular-season games usually
begin in early December, and the season ends the first week in March.
So for lour full months, Mims coaches an average of 40 hours per
week. That's about 720 hours during the course of a season. With his sup
plement, Mims earns S3.06 per hour.
I was shocked to learn the other day that the minimum wage has risen to
S4.25 per hour. That's a lot higher than the minimum wage 1 remember. It's
also more than a high school coach can hope to cam in Brunswick County
and mnn other places.
Billy Mims could spend his coaching hours flipping burgers at a fast
food restaurant and earn 39 percent more than he docs as a coach. And those
burgers?unlike players, parents and fans?don't talk back
That doesn't even count weekend practices, which arc essential if a
team is going to be competitive. That doesn't count pre-season "open gym"
practiccs or team camps, which also are essential.
"They really get their money's worth out of me," Mims said "I'm not
in it for the money, that's for sure. I do it because I enjoy it. Pail because I
enjoy it and pan because I'm crazy."
If Mims is fortunate enough to have a team that makes the state play
offs, lie receives no extra pay for the extra work required to prepare that
team for the additional games. It's just more work, albeit exciting work.
West Brunswick Head Football Coach Jim Brett and his assistants?Joe
Noble, Mike Alderson and David Arrowood?didn't receive one dime when
the Trojans made the playoffs last season.
There were no bonuses for winning three straight playol f games on the
road. There was no cash dividend (or winning ihe eastern crown, and noth
ing for capturing the state championship. Basically, it was an extra month of
volunteer work.
All that said, I've never heard one local high school coach complain
about the amount of money they arc paid. They're certainly not coaching for
the money.
Most coaches are in the profession because they believe it is one of the
best ways they can help our children excel and teach them the benefits of
hard work, determination and positive attitude.
The next lime you're tempted to call for a coach's head, try putting
yourself in his or her shoes. Try remembering why ihe coaches do whal they
do. Good high school coaches are precious. We can't afford lo lose even
one.
WINNING STREAK ROLLS ON
Girls Squash Lady
Trojans' Upset Bid
Hankins and Erika Bryant. Iscnbcrg
is recovering from knee surgery, and
Hankins was competing in a pageant
Friday.
Bryant also is nursing a knee in
jur)' and didn't start. However, the
1 ')()2 county player of ihc year came
off the South bench in the first quar
ter to score 10 of her 12 points.
The junior center helped the Lady
Cougars recover from an early 11-2
deficit created by West's intense,
full-court pressure. The Lady Tro
jans scored 11 unanswered points in
a span of 3:08 before South called
timeout.
Iscnbcrg said he instructed his
team during the break to be aggres
sive against the press. The Lady
Cougars listened and reeled off sev
en straight points and 14 of the last
17 in the opening frame.
Tasha Sellers banked in a three
poinier from the top of the key as
the first-quarter buzzer sounded to
give South Brunswick a 16-14 lead.
West's Moniouc King then scored
two straight baskets to give the Lady
Trojans an 18-16 lead with 4:45 left
in the half. But South scored the
quarter's final eight points to lead
24-18 at intermission.
With two minutes left in the third
quarter. West's Kancka Grissctt
nailed a three-pointer to cut the
Lady Cougar lead to 30-29.
The Lady Trojans only trailed 33
31 going into the final period and
took a 35-33 lead on a King basket
with 7:05 remaining.
Grisseu's third three-pointer of
the night gave the Lady Trojans a
38-34 lead with 6:20 to play. West
led 41-39 with 4:18 remaining be
fore South started its comeback.
Jodie Brown tied the score at 41
41 at the 3:46 mark to open a 12-0
South Brunswick run. It was part of
the deciding 16-2 run keyed by
Jenny Fullwood's seven points and
Tamcka Davis' six.
Fullwood, who Coach Iscnbcrg
considers the Lady Cougars' most
consistent player so far this season,
.scored 10 points in the final quarter
and 15 in the game to lead all scorers.
Bryant added 12, and Sellers hit
two key three-pointers and finished
with 11 points for South. For West,
Nicole Norris scorcd 12 points. King
had 11 and Grissctt finished w ith
nine.
The turning point in the game
came with 3:23 remaining and the
score knotted at 41-41. West's top
scorer and defender. King, fouled
out of the game and South's Bryant
returned to the floor.
Bryant had aggravated her injured
knee early in the third period but
showed no ill effects during her
fourth-quarter stint. She grabbed an
offensive rebound and scored to
give South a 45-41 lead with 3:02 to
play.
"I think that really gave us a psy
chological lift when Erika came off
the bench." Iscnbcrg said. "The first
half tonight she played her best of
the year. She played like the old
Erika."
Despite the loss. West Brunswick
Coach Brcnda Council was pleased
with her team's effort.
"I felt like we played real hard. I
felt like we got a couple of bad calls
down the strctch," she said. "We
made some crucial turnovers and got
out-rebounded down the stretch al
so. That's what killed us."
With West visiting Friday night
and South at Whiteville Tuesday,
Isenberg said last week was his
team's toughest week this season.
"Both teams were really up for us,"
he said.
Coach Council said the Lady
Trojans were emotionally ready to
play. "We were up for the game. I
felt like we were ready. We're al
ways big rivals West and South."
South Brunswick's victory was its
16th straight this season, iscnbcrg
said he's trying not to dwell on the
longest girls' basketball winning
streak in school history.
"Wc try not to talk about it," the
coach said. "Our goal is to win the
conference whether wc go unbeaten
or not."
Isenberg said there's special in
centive to win the league champi
onship this season. The top team
gets a first-round bye in the state
playoffs and the possibility of two
playoff games at home.
South Brunswick, 7-0 in the con
ference, was idle Tuesday. The Lady
Cougars will travel to East Bladen
Friday night.
West Brunswick (4-2 conference,
6-8 overall) had a home game
scheduled Tuesday night against
Fairmont's Golden Tornadoes. The
Lady Trojans will visit Whiteville
Friday.
Score By Quarters
West Brunswick 14 4 13 12?43
South Brunswick 16 8 9 24?57
West Brunswick scoring: Morris,
12; King, 11; Grissctt, 9; Bell, 6;
Gause, 3; Morgan, 2.
SouUi Brunswick scoring:
Fullwood, 15; Bryant, 12; T. Sellers,
11; Brown, 8; Davis, 8; Lee, 2;
Smith, 1.
West Girls Stop Bladen
Senior forward Moniquc King
scored 14 points to lead West Bruns
wick to a 56-45 victory over visiting
East Bladen in a Waccamaw 2-A
Conference girls' basketball game
last Tuesday.
Nicolc Norris added 13 points and
Catherine Bell chipped in 11 as the
Lady Trojans won their third
straight league contcst and notched
their fourth victory in the last five
games.
West jumped out to a 13-6, first
quarter lead over the Lady Cougars
and held a 25-18 advantage at half
time. The Lady Trojans ouLscored
East Bladen 17-8 in the third quarter
to pull ahead 42-26.
After losing five of their first six
games. West Brunswick's girls had
won five of their last seven going in
to Friday's contest at South
Brunswick.
East Bladen's Farrah Johnson led
all scorers in the game with 22
points. Dcanna Godfrey added 10
for the Lady Cougars.
Score By Quarters
East Bladen 6 12 8 19-45
West Brunswick 13 12 17 14?56
East Bladen scoring: Johnson, 22;
D. Gofrcy, 10; Godfrey, 6; Burgess,
3; Frush, 2; Puscy, 2.
West Brunswick scoring: King,
14; Norris, 13; Beil, 11; Grisscu, 9;
Gause, 6; Mercer, 2; Cronic, 1.
BCC Spikers Top Rita's Team
Brunswick Community College
upset Rita's Team 15-6, 12-15, 6-4,
last Tuesday in Brunswick County
Co-Rec Volleyball League play at
Shallotte Middle School.
BCC was leading the deciding
game 6-4 when time expired. The
college club improved its season
record to 4-6, good enough for
fourth place in the league standings.
Earlier in the night, Rita's Team
defeated A&A Auto Rentals 12-15,
15-12, 15-2. Rita's entered this
week's play in third place at 7-4.
League-leading Gene's Btxly
Shop continued its winning ways
last week with a 15-12, 15-5, victory
over Roberto's Pizza. Richard Jones
Construction was a 15-10, 15-12,
winner over Kari's Teain.
Co-Rec Volleyball League
Standings As Of Feb. 1
TEAM WINS LOSSES
Gene's Auto Body 9 1
Jones Construction 8 2
Rita's Team 7 4
Brunswick College 4 6
Roberto's Pizza 3 8
A&A Auto Rentals 2 8
Kari's Team 2 8
tzSciundzxi,
Family Optometry
?Comprehensive Eye Examinations
?Ocular Emergencies
?Contact Lenses and Glasses Prescribed
?Diagnosis and Treatment of Diseases of the Eye
Suite 3, Promenade Office Park
143 1 lolden Beach Road, Shallotte
Office hours by appointment.
Evening and Saturday appointments available.
Phone 754-9687
Member American Optometric Association
Cm. IK H?<UNSW>CK ULACON
%
tyfi?
1!
WEST BRUNSWICK'S MON1QUE KING shouts for ih'o of her 11
points Friday night at South Ilrunswick. Also pictured is South's
Jenny Fullwood.
South Splits With Wolfpack
South Brunswick split its Wacca
maw 2-A Conference basketball
games last Tuesday at Whitcvillc,
winning the girls' contest 49-42 but
losing the nightcap 66-64.
Jenny Fullwood scored 14 points
to lead the unbeaten Lady Cougars.
Jodie Brown added 12 points and
Erika Bryant scorcd 10 for South,
which jumped out to 13-5 lead over
the Lady Woltpack in the first quar
ter.
South Brunswick led 25-16 at
halftime. Whiteville's girls trimmed
the South lead to seven points going
into the final quarter but couldn't
complete the comeback bid.
Shannon Register led Whitcvillc
with 14 points. Dawn Threadgill
chippcd in 12 for the Lady Wolfpack.
In the boys' contest, Jablonski
Moore burned the nets for 33 points
as Whitevillc edged the visiting
Cougars 66-64.
Whitcville led 15^9 after one
quarter and held a 35-29 advantage
at halfiime. The Wolfpack extended
its lead to 56-45 going into the
fourth quarter and held off a late ral
ly by the Cougars.
Senior point guard Josh White
sank a trio of three-pointers and
scored 24 points to lead South
Brunswick. Kevin Smith added 16
for the Cougars.
Quinnzell McMillian hit one
three-pointer for Whiteville and fin
ished with 11 points.
Chiropractic Center
of Shallotte/Ocean Isle
Mwy. 179, Occan Isle, 579-3502
Dr. H.J. "Skip" Davis
Therapeutic and full
body massage offered by]
Diane Smith.
Call for appointments.
Most Insurances Accepted
Mon.-Fri. 8:30-12 1:30-5:30, Thurs. 8:30-12
r 199? THE BRUNSWICK Bt ACON
Put Your Tax Refund To Work!
GMAC Low
$
2;984^inx
Financing
1987 MAZDA 323
4 dr., sunroof, fully loaded!
1986 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham-4 dr., white, nice! ? $3,495
1985 Pontiac 6000 LE-4 dr., auto, AC, luggage rack $2,478.
Rick Edwards
Affordable Cars
Bus. Hwy. 17 N? Shallotte
1Mb 754-9909
Or for your new Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac,
Call Rick Edwards Whiteville, 919-642-3163