B2
March 11, 2021
The Chronicle
MOTTO Athletics Top Ten
IK ^Jamaal
Area Football Teams
PICKS BY JAMAAL FOWLER
Points For
Points Against
1. Glenn (2-0)
58
0
2. Reidsville (1-0)
48
14
3. West Forsyth (2-0)
89
21
4. Dudley (2-0)
74
26
5. Mt. Tabor (2-0)
84
21
6. Grimsley (2-0)
54
7
7. Davie County (2-0)
77
21
8. Western Alamance (2-0)
92
14
9. Northern Guilford (2-0)
94
6
10. Walkertown (2-0)
80
8
11. North Forsyth (2-0)
38
2
12. Eastern Alamance (2-0)
70
18
13. Winston-Salem Prep (2-0)
88
33
14. NW Guilford (2-0)
79
18
15. Randleman (1-0)
49
0
Honorable Mention: N. Rowan (2-0), Ledford (2-0), Reagan
(1-1) Oak Grove (1-1), N. Davidson (1-1)
Apparel
From page Bl
er companies once again
and figured out a better
sales strategy.
While doing his home
work on other companies,
James came across Rus
sell Athletics. He says he
remembers having to wear
the Russell Athletics in
college and having to hide
the emblems from other
brands because they were
prohibited from wearing
them and if caught, they
were fined.
“I really wanted to
make a brand for the
CLAA,” he continued.
“You know, something
for the Black colleges and
Black players.”
Through his research,
James noticed that Rus
sell Athletic was making a
lot of their profits through
bulk order uniforms. He
adopted a similar model
to fit his business and has
continued to build the
company in that way.
“That’s when MOTTO
really became what it is
today; we do uniforms and
that’s our niche,” he said.
“I am not doing T-shirts
anymore and we are not
just a printing company,
we are a brand company,
but we specialize in uni
forms.”
James bet on himself
by making the move to
bulk jersey sales. He took
all his previous profits and
to get the consumer to be
lieve it enough.”
Ameer Watkins is the
sales manager for MOT
TO Athletics. As a veteran
salesman with more than
two decades of experi
ence, he connected with
James while James was
coaching at North Forsyth
High School several years
ago. Watkins was eager to
jump on board with James
to bring his expertise in
sales to the business.
“It was just his pas
sion of what he was talk
ing about and how he de
veloped it from scratch,”
said Watkins about why
he connected with James.
“With my sales back
ground, I can kind of see
how I can direct some
things and put some stuff
on the forefront.
“Since we have
coached together, we al
ready have a like mindset.
It’s about competition,
it’s about having fun, it’s
about entertainment, but
at the end of the day, how
can you make this pay for
what you’re doing?”
One of the ways Wat
kins thought he would be
able to bring more atten
tion to the business was to
partner with The Chroni
cle. For the remainder of
the football season, MOT
TO sports will sponsor the
Player of the Week section
of the sports page.
Each week, The
Chronicle will select a
The journey continues for Mt. Tabor’s Fernanders
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
The Chronicle has fol
lowed young O’Shae Fer
nanders throughout his
freshman year as he transi
tioned from middle school
to high school basketball.
Now that he has concluded
his first season on the var
sity level, he shared his
thoughts on the new level
of competition.
Fernanders gained
some valuable experience
playing his first full sea
son on the varsity level,
he said. He knew there
was going to be a learning
curve, but wanted to take
full advantage of every op
portunity he was afforded.
“I did expect to go
in and have to buy in on
defense and I expected a
lot of yelling from Coach
(Andy) Muse, but it was
all for the good,” said
Fernanders. “I just braced
myself for all of that and
I also just went in with a
positive mindset.
“I just thought to my
self that I am one of Coach
Muse’s strongest sopho
mores, so I have to go in
and play like I have been
here for three years. I
knew that I had to buy in
on defense, because the
scoring is going to come.”
Fernanders had a stel
lar freshman season for the
Spartans. He was named to
the 2019 Lash/Chronicle
All-Tournament Team,
along with being voted
The Chronicle’s 2019-20
JV Player of the Year. Fer
nanders set a few goals for
this season and worked
tirelessly to accomplish
them.
“I just wanted to be
more physical and ap
plying myself outside of
playing basketball,” he
said about his goals for
sophomore year. “I wanted
to play a step up from the
level I played last year and
wanted to buy into Coach
Muse’s system.”
To prepare for this sea
son, Fernanders worked
out several times per week
to build up his strength
and stamina. Because of
the pandemic, the amount
of practice time leading
up to the season was cut
short, so Fernanders made
sure his body was in shape
for the rigors of playing
against bigger and stronger
players.
W “I was working out
Submitted photo
O’Shae Fernanders stands with his mother, Nakeeba
Orr, in their Mt. Tabor hoodies.
every morning and then I
transitioned to the Central
Y (YMCA) to work out,”
he said. “It was mostly
working on my footwork
and agility and not really
basketball. It was just me
working on myself. I also
had to work on my muscle
mass, too.”
Fernanders says he
didn’t want to go out on
the court like a deer in
headlights. As a young
player, his goal was to
play beyond his years and
stay composed at all times
when his number was
called by Coach Muse.
“I had to play like I’ve
been there,” he said. “I got
a taste of varsity last year
when I got moved up. I
already knew I was going
to have a strong spot on
the team, so I had to tell
myself every game that I
couldn’t go out there and
underachieve.”
Fernanders had to
make an adjustment this
year moving up to varsity.
On the JV team, he was
one of the main players
that was looked upon to
do a multitude of things,
including much of the
scoring load. Fernanders
logged a lot of minutes on
JV; however, on the var
sity level he had to make
the best of the minutes he
was given.
“I can’t really say it
was hard, it was just an ad
justment that I was ready
for,” he said about his new
role on the varsity team.
“I’m used to somewhat
being a role player on cer
tain teams, so it’s .nothing
new to me. I just went out
there and gave my team all
I could. I didn’t try to be a
hero, but I did want to step
up when coach needed
me.” .
Fernanders’ parents,
Chad Fernanders and Na
keeba Orr, were excited to
see their son compete on
the next level. There were
a lot of nerves for Orr due
to her worrying how her
son was going to transition
playing against the best the
area has to offer.
“This has been a strug
gle for me, because tran
sitioning from being one
of the star players to be
ing a role player and hav
ing a coach that’s verbal
was different,” said Orr.
“Looking at it as a mother
did a lot to me, but I had to
realize that this will make
him stronger on the next
level. I had to put the mom
in me to the side and say to
myself, ‘Coachable play
ers make for more employ
able adults.’
“I know Coach Muse
has been doing this a long
time and he knows what
he is doing and I know he
loves these kids, but out
there it’s a business and
everyone has to play their
role. I think this is making
him mentally stronger.”
Orr stated the pan
demic made it difficult to
enjoy the football season.
Because parents were not
allowed to attend many
games, Orr and Fernanders
had to stream many of the
games on television. Once
parents could attend, they
had to alternate who would
go to the game because of
the limited number of peo
ple allowed.
Mr. Fernanders felt
O’Shae began the season
well, but thought more
playing time would have
bode well for him in his
development as a player.
“It was a trial season
for him and my expecta
tions were for him to score
around 9 or 10 points a
game and to pick up his
defense and rebound, basi
cally become a complete
player,” said Mr. Fer
nanders. “He had a couple
of mishaps and had some
growing pains.
“He had a couple of
good games where he
started to get going, but
for the most part, I am just
glad he kept his compo
sure and didn’t allow the
growing pains to get him
down. All in all, I think
this year made O’Shae
a better player because
he knows he has to keep
working hard.”
Fernanders and his fa
ther both agree that he can
become a little more ag
gressive on the court and
not just when it comes to
scoring.
“I am always on him
about it, because basket-
ball is supposed to be fun
even with the ups and
downs,” Mr. Fernanders
said about his son. “This
is a part of life in general,
so I want him to always
stay aggressive and like I
always tell him, ‘We don’t
have to get ready, if we are
always ready.’
“O’Shae has to do
what he has to do and do
whatever it takes to stay
on the court. He saw what
he went through this year.
Coach Muse is not going
to change, O’Shae has to
change, so it’s all on him.”
Fernanders ' says he
knows there are things he
needs to work on this sum
mer, namely his defense
and his footwork, to be
come a better player. He
feels his role will enhance
next season if he does the
necessary things in the off-
season.
“I am going to make
sure that my head is
wrapped around the fact
that I will have a huge role
next year,” Fernanders
continued. “I’m also do
ing AAU (Amateur Ath
letic Union) ball, so that
will also allow me to be
more comfortable going
out there and playing how
I know how to play.”
Fernanders is also
playing football during
the offseason to help him
work on his toughness. He
hasn’t played organized
football in nearly seven
years, but enjoys the phys
icality of the sport.
Photo by Timothy Ramsey
MOTTO Athletics is a Black-owned sports apparel
company located right here in Winston-Salem.
invested in himself. He
said there was no question
what direction he wanted
to move, so he dove head-
first into his new venture
with no apprehension.
“I didn’t really have
any second thoughts,” he
stated. “I am not worried
about anyone else; it’s a
hundred people that make
uniforms. I am in my own
lane, but I am not worried
about the next man. It’s
enough income for every
body to eat off of. If I’m
worried about someone
else, I’m never going to
make it.
“Nike makes shoes
and it’s a hundred other
people that makes shoes.
You think Nike is going to
stop because someone else
is making shoes?”
James was able to
grow his brand to this lev
el by staying close to the
game. He played semi-pro
football and has coached
for several high schools
around the area.
“Whatever I do, I am
involved in every sport, so
that’s how I’m getting in
there,” he said. “I’ve been
establishing this business
since 2012, so if some
body thinks they can do
something like this, they
have to put the work in.”
For the last few years,
James has set up shop at
his storefront on Hanes
Mall Blvd. He explained
that the store was not be
cause his business was
getting too large, but rath
er because he wanted his
customers to believe in
dreams aS much as he did.
“I never got so big
that I needed this,” he said
about the store. “I made it
real enough that you be
lieve it, because I already
believed it. Whatever I did
with MOT|O Athletics is
player from the game of
the week that was the cata
lyst in leading their team
to victory. MOTTO will
also sponsor the Top Ten
teams in the area in the
section as well. Watkins
says he wanted to connect
with The Chronicle be
cause of the neighborhood
ties the paper has.
“When it comes to
sales, it’s all about driv
ing traffic here,” said Wat
kins. “With me growing
up here, The Chronicle
always had a great sports
page. I just thought we
could get ourselves in the
face of this and kind of
bring back what they used
to do in the day as far as
player of the week.
“We are also giving
gratitude to the kids that
are playing and putting
them in the paper and they
are going to be looking at
it online and the physical
paper. We are also driv
ing traffic here at the same
time.”
Watkins also came up
with the idea of giving
MOTTO apparel to the
player of the week. He fig
ured that would be a phys
ical reminder to show the
players and coaches what
the store has to offer. In
cluded with the apparel is
a discount coupon for the
coaches as well.
As a Black entrepre
neur, James also wants to
give back to those who
have the entrepreneurial
spirit. He has a program
where young people can
work with him as sales
men to learn how to own
your own business.
MOTTO Athletics is
located at 680 Hanes Mall
Blvd. Their phone number
is 336-912-3333.
*
1