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THE Chronicle Sportsweeks^ Winston-Salem Greensboro High Point B siction Arm 30, i?9S .... A1 Holland, North Carolina A&T pitcher, following in his father's famous footsteps i By DAMON FORD Tbc Chronicle "Like father-like son" is an old saying to many. But for North Carolina A&T student-athlete A1 Hol land Jr., it is a fact of life. His father, A1 Holland Sr., was a two-sport star at A&T. His accomplishments in foot ball and baseball earned him a spot in the Sports Hall of Fame at A&T. The younger Holland is fin ishing up his senior year on the baseball team at A&T. Just like his father before him, Holland also started his college career playing football and baseball. "Each sport complemented one another as for as building up my strength and stamina, (hit) I think it took its toll on me the first two years because I didn't have the years that I thought I was capable of hav ing (in baseball)," said Holland. He realized a couple of things about the sport of base ball, his first love. "It's a year-round sport, you gotta stay in shape or you will be behind. The first two years I always started the sea son out slow and then I picked up my game a lot near the end of the season," Holland says. The summer after his sec ond year at A&T proved to be a pivotal time in his decision to continue splitting time as a quarterback on the football team and pitcher and short stop on the baseball team. His love for America's game won the battle "After my sophomore year I went to Kansas City to play with the Kansas City Mon archs, which is an ex-negro league team. They had a sum mer league up there (and) we were in the Jayhawk league, which competes against some of the top players (from schools) like LSU, Cal State, Oklahoma State ... the people you see in the (College) World Series," said Holland. After that experience "I pretty much made the decision that I needed to play baseball year-round if I wanted to compete with these guys and try to go to the next level." Holland was determined to see his next two years in base ball get better and better but before that could happen, he had to deal with some changes. "When I came back, I found out we had a new coach," stated Holland. The new coach's name was Keith Shumate and he was ready to do all he could turn the A&T program around, but first he had to get help from one of the teams better players and that wasn't easy.' "At first we had some dif ferences (because) there were a lot of changes being made," See Holland on II At Holland ; History should be Yarns' best teacher ? ? ? ? ? ** fere we go again. I I Another job search is under way by JL A the athletic department at Winston Salem State. With that comes the usual policy of keeping everything secretive that the school has practiced since Alvin Schexnider came to town as the school's chancellor. But why? Does the school have something to hide? WSSU supporters and alumni are expecting a quality coach to fill the gap left when Sam Hanger was fired as the Rams' men's head bas ' ketball coach earlier this month. But the possibility of landing another coach of his ability is nearly impossible. Especial ly considering the Rams' history. The program is standing on shaky ground. It looked like it had gotten itself out of the woods when Hanger was hired three years ago. The program had been rocked with the loss of three coaches in less than two sea sons. Then its best ' player in more than a ; decade, Phenezee Ransom, bolted the ranks. Hanger left a strong Division III program at ' ' Greensboro College to accept the challenge at ; WSSU and that looked like the best move that ; had been made in several years. Under Hanger, the program struggled for a I year, but bounced back with a winning record I and a semifinal berth in the CIAA Tourna ; ment. The Rams came back with a 14-14 record > this past season and again advanced to the \ semifinals of the tournament. WSSU had got * ten the commitment of several outstanding ; players and was in the hunt for several talented > big men. ^ But just when the future began to look ; bright for the Rams, Anne Little, the Rams' < athletics director, went out and dealt the pro . > gram another blow by firing Hanger. * A dumb move you ask? I Without a doubt. The Rams stand to lose * all the talent that Hanger assembled during his ; three-year tenure. To counter that move, Little has asked Hill to stay around and keep all the ; pieces of the Rams' basketball program in r place. * But should Hill stay around to go down with a sinking ship? Will he get a chance to lead the Rams' program into the future? 5T See Rams on 12 * ? a 4 m Jones says Ramsj should remain j loyal to Hanger I Chuck Jonmt Team protests ouster of ; , ?m former coach, asks for meeting with chancellor By Sam Davis " The Chronicle Sports Editor ! # If there is one thing that the Winston-Salem State's basketball team learned from its experi * ences this past season it is to stick together through thick and thin. That's why the unit banded together last Wednesday morning to protest the actions of athletic director Anne Little in her firing of Coach Sam Hanger. The team banded together to request 9 meeting with Chancellor Alvin J. Schexnider when Hanger's firing was first announced. . Schexnider refused to meet with them and deferred them to one of his assistants. Little told the players that she would apprise them of the situation at a mandatory meeting, but the players refused to meet with her. See Hangar on B2 WSSU's Nieson gives maximum effort By Jaeson Pitt The Chronicle Spotts totem Winston-Salem State softball is alive and well, thanks these days to the efforts of a talented roster that included pitcher Vanessa Nieson. With Nieson in the lineup, the Rams have been slowly, but surely making their mark and progressing as one of the more dominant teams in the CIAA. The Rams recently completed play in the CIAA Spring Championships, where they finished runner ups in the Western Division portion of the confer ence tournament. WSSU concluded its season with a 22-6 overall record and 11-3 mark to capture the Western Divi sion regular season championship. The fact that she is a member of the Rams' roster is odd. Nieson was a steal for WSSU, coming down from Detroit, Michigan after no full-scholarship See Nltion on M Four Yellowjackets sign basketball scholarships\ All will be eligible to play next season as freshmen at respective schools By Theresa Davis The Chronicle Sports Editor There were a lot of peaks and valleys in Carver's.varsity basketball season. The Yellowjackets put together a I 10-game winning streak at the end of the season to capture the Pied mont Triad 3-A conference champi onship and advanced to the semifi nals of the Western 3-A Regionals But none of those accomplish ments could come close to the joy See Yalowjockatl on 16 Carver Coach Mcky Hoh p>m wMi four ?f Ms bashsfboi player who signod scholarships, Anthony Nelson, Antione homes, Rashard Davis and Charles Doorman.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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April 30, 1998, edition 1
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