Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Nov. 9, 2017, edition 1 / Page 12
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Coach from page Bl high school football.” “They invited me to some camps while I was coaching with the Winston Salem Greyhounds midget team,” he continued. “In 2010 they said, ‘Hey man why don't you come join our staff?’ and what a blessing that was for me.” He left Carver after the 2013 season and joined the staff at Parkland and became the offensive coor dinator. He says he is real ly passionate about the game of football and is aware of where it could take a young man that has the talent and gives 100 percent. “I'm passionate about the game of football because I know what it has done for me,” Sharp said. “And through football I want to help young men become better men, if that makes sense. Football is a sport where you have to have discipline, you have to have focus, and the other two things I try to instill is integrity and character. “Those things are important particularly in education and the business world,” he said. “I try to use that as a tool to connect with the young people.” Sharp is one of the few coaches who does not work at the school where he coaches. He is a supervisor with the Bud Group, but says coaching the young men at Parkland is his escape. “Our young people are our future, and if I can use football as the tool, vehicle or carrot to dangle in front of them and have a com mon ground to build rela tionships on, I feel like that's why I am here,” he went on to say. “This is how I reach them because we all have something in common and I like to make sure they are staying focused on what the ulti mate goal is.” Ameer Watkins, Parkland quarterback coach, came to the staff the same year as Sharp. He says Sharp has a way to connect with every kid on the team individually. “The biggest thing for me is how he is able to address each kid in his own unique fashion that fits them on their level so he kind of has the hearts and minds of these young men,” Watkins said. “I Photo by Timothy Ramsey Coach Derrick Sharp talks strategy with one of his players during practice last week. have been there for three years along with him and his impact is kind of like a father-son relationship with many of the kids.” “He is the type who likes to make sure your grades are correct and talks to you about life obstacles and how it relates to foot ball instead of football obstacles and how it relates to life,” Watkins continued. For Sharp he says he really enjoys when he runs into old players he has coached throughout his 18 years and see they are doing well. He says that is a very satisfying feeling because he knows he had a part in that. “Sometimes it's kind of hard to gauge the impact you have had on a kid,” he said. “This coaching thing was tun ror me oui now u has become a passion of mine. The best thing for me is to build strong rela tionship with these young men.” Track from page Bl She says she hopes to inspire other young ladies to try racing because she feels girls can do just as well as the boys when it comes to sports. Cassidy Keitt also excelled playing tee ball, but says she loves racing more and would love to see how far she can go in the sport. Ryan Sparks, Cassidy's uncle, is an engineer and does a lot of work on the cart she drives. He says the entire family is competitive and many have a racing background in some way, so it was in her blood to take to the sport. “She didn't do as well as we hoped on her first race, but two or three weeks later, a light switch came on for her,” he said. “I've been around all differ ent kinds of racing and it's really you either get it or you don’t and she seems to get it for sure.” Justin Keitt and Hannah Sparks, Cassidy's parents, say they initially had their reservations about her racing because they were aware of the dan gers the sport can present but with both of them being race fans they were all for her giving it a try. “Initially there was excitement because I love racing and what better sport to have your daughter involved with than racing,” said Justin Keitt. “I was a little hesitant because it is racing and I have seen big crashes before but nonethe less I was anxious for her to get on the track and get things going.” Hannah Sparks added, “I was completely hesitant and not completely for it and I love racing too, but that is my little girl. But her first race I was shaking the entire time and it's very nerve racking but I am very proud of her and I am glad we decided to let her do it.” Her parents say once they saw she could handle herself on the track and began winning consistent ly, that alleviated some of their worries. They said when she did have a wreck where she flipped multiple times, it was a reality check about the dangers but are confident in the equipment keeping her safe. Cassidy's grandfather, Bobby Sparks, a former racer himself, says he is excited for her to take up the sport because racing has been in their family for generations. He says her great-grandfather, who is almost 90 years old, comes to every one of her races. “It's really just amazing because it brings the whole family together,” he said. “She just keeps learning and absorbs everything you tell her. She took to it very quickly and once she got it, she got it good.” Cassidy dominated her division this season, finish ing in the top three of almost all of her races. She even had a seven-race win ning streak during the year. She will move up to a high er division next season and will race against kids as old Cassidy Keitt sits in her new car as her uncle Ryan Sparks, left, and her father, Justin Keitt, make adjustments to the vehicle. as 13. When asked was she nervous to move up in competition, she gave the simple answer of “No, not really.” Bobby Sparks says she always tells them that if they do their job and get the car where it needs to be, she will do her job as the driver. Along with being a standout on the track, Cassidy is a top-notch stu dent with her favorite sub ject being math. She is also very involved with her church and assists her fam ily with volunteer work with Meals on Wheels and Project Hope. Fifteen years from now, Cassidy Keitt could be a household name for racing fans. Cassidy and family say they could not have done all of this without their sponsors: Royal Properties of the Carolinas, Broken Buggy Print Co., Brown's Handyman service, Pit Stops for Hope, Mock South Pole Tire and Automotive, Black Sand Co. and Daatsright Deliveries.' Jorden Zertuche, No. 8 in white, fights for extra yardage as Kenan Moore, No. 5 in blue, tries to wrestle him down. JV Title _ from page Bf own. Mt. Tabor put together their best drive of the night and scored while also converting an extra point to give them a one-point lead. Now the fate of the game rested in the hands of the defense. Dudley drove the ball down the field and had a first > and goal at the four yard line. The Spartan defense held up on first and second down. A bad snap pushed the Panthers further back. On fourth down an incomplete pass in the end zone essentially ended the game, giving the Spartans the win. “We figured out something at halftime and made a couple of adjustments on the offensive side to get the ball to our playmakers,” said Lovelace. “The drive we had after the block punt was the staple that kind of got us going. “We had to dig deep because Dudley has a great foot ball program and it's going to be a war the next three years with Dudley, SW Guilford and Mt. Tabor. Nothing against the other teams, but these three teams are going to have some wars. I told the guys in the huddle that offense wins games but defense wins championships.” Lovelace went on to say he only had three returning players that saw the field on a regular basis from his 10-0 team last year. He says for his team to bounce back after their opening week loss to reel off nine straight victories is tremendous. He said they could not be more proud of his team this year. For Deese, he says he was very proud of his guys because they never gave up and fought hard every game. He credits his defense for keeping the team in games all Photos by Timothy Ramsey Dudley running back Christian Jones, No. 34 in blue, runs off tackle while Jaron Springer, No. 18 in white and Josiah Banks, No. 20 in white give chase. season even though they finished 5-4 overall. “Our defense played lights out all year and I am a defensive coach myself so I was with them all the time getting our guys ready for each week,” he said. “It was mostly freshman doing this and I am so proud of them.” Deese says when his guys were able to push the ball down to the four yard line late in the game, he was confi dent they would win. If not for the bad snap, which pushed them back 10 yards, he felt they could have scored. Even with the loss he is excited to see how his young men develop over the years to come. “My guys showed some real resilience this year,” he continued. “We fought hard and many guys have to go both ways. I give them a hard time and I am hard on them in practice but I am proud of them and they did very well.” Ramsey from page SI lets just hope they do not repeat what happened following their last national championship in 2009, where they failed to make the tournament. I don't think the Heels will fall victim to what happened in the 2009-10 season r? because of the players they have returning, but stranger things have happened. I feel the key for the Heels this season could be the shooting guard position. If either Kenny Williams or Brandon Robinson can step up and give UNC valuable minutes at the two-guard spot, they will find themselves in a good position. , All in all, the Heels will be a talented team, but when it's time to cut down the nets at the championship game, I don't think they have enough to make it there. While this could prove to be a rebuilding year of sorts with the NCAA investigation over and UNC cleared of any wrong doings, those five-star recruits will return to Chapel Hill and they will be back in the Final Four in no time. f «
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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