Ozark Preps May 2011

May-June 2011

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HEATBRANSONfeaturing

Branson’s Mike Compton

Glendale’s Paul and John Nahon

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Outstanding Membership Offerings. Inquire today about the 2011 Membership Drive.

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LETTERfrom the

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Editor-In-Chief

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PWP r a i r i e Wa r b l e rPubl ishing, LLC

Publisher/Editor-In-ChiefByron Shive

Art Director

Advertising Sales Representative

Ty DeClue

Lisa Rayl

Contributing WritersScott Puryear

Mike Hines

Contributing PhotographersJohn Moore, Deanna Newberry

On the Cover

Ozark Preps Illustrated (OPI) is published monthly by Prai-rie Warbler Publishing LLC. Reproductions in whole or in part without permission are prohibited. OPI is not responsible for the return of unsolicited artwork, photography, or manu-scripts, and will not be responsible for holding fees or similiar charges. All digital submissions and correspondence will be become property of OPI.

Editorial DisclaimerAll rights reserved. For editorial matters, please contact the edi-tors. The views of contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the policies of OPI, nor that of the publisher.

Advertising DisclaimerAll rights reserved. The views and opinions of OPI advertisers do not reflect those of OPI.

OPI has a clear committment to inviting and publishing cor-rections of fact and clarifying errors of context. Corrections of errors and mistakes are a necessity in obtaining credibility in the magazine.

EDITOR

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P.O. Box 777Bolivar, MO 65613

417.770.0003

Printer

Shweiki Media4954 Space Center Dr.San Antonio, TX 78218

[email protected]

Dr. J.P. Simanis

www.ozarkpreps.com

Branson’s Mike Compton pitches in the District semifinal against Ozark.

Well, we at Ozark Preps Illustrated have made it through the 2010-11 school year with this, our final issue before our back-to-school Fall Sports Preview in August. In the meantime, we will be upgrading our website and other social marketing outlets, so look to follow Ozark Preps Illustrated soon on both Facebook and Twit-ter, as we strive to provide the most in-depth coverage of high school sports in the Ozarks.

As excited as we are to be publishing the final issue of the school year (and spring sports season), that ex-citement has been tempered greatly by the tragic events of May 22 in Joplin, where an EF5 tornado ripped through the city just after 6:00 p.m., killing scores, wounding hundreds, and destroying homes, businesses and schools—including Joplin High School. Getting this final issue sent off to the printer has seemed very trivial in the grand scheme of things, as I have spent time praying and hoping for news of more survivors, as plea after emotional plea from loved ones have appeared in newspapers and on TV and radio. The accounts given by survivors of the monster storm have also shed light on the sudden and tragic force of the tornado.

I have been touched by the overwhelming outpouring of support from all of you in the Ozarks, though. Every day since the tornado hit, I have encountered or learned of individuals and groups of people who have either journeyed to Joplin to assist in the aftermath, or who have donated money, belongings or anything else that may be of use to the families who lost everything in the storm. I was particularly touched by a young child’s lemonade stand and its handmade sign which read simply, “All $$$ to Joplin Tornado.”

The stories emerging from the aftermath of the tornado are everywhere. I attended the MSHSAA Class 3 and 4 Boys & Girls Track & Field Championships in Jefferson City on May 27 and learned of an uplifting tale in the face of such tragedy. Mariah Sanders, a junior pole vaulter from Joplin, had qualified for the State meet after a fourth-place finish at the Sectional meet in West Plains on May 21—the day before tragedy struck her hometown. According to reports, Sanders and her family lost their home and belongings—everything really—in the tornado, including her poles and team uniform. Sanders was not going to even make the trip to Jefferson City, and it certainly would have been understandable in light of what she had endured, and will continue to endure in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

However, it was reported that the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association stepped forward and paid for Sand-ers and her parents to make the trip to the State meet, including covering hotel and food costs. It was uplifting to see Mariah mingling with her fellow competitors during the preliminaries—including smiling at times. It is amazing what a little bit of normalcy can do for the human psyche in times of tragedy—even if for just a mo-ment or two. Sanders did not win a state title, but she did persevere. After standing in 13th-place following the first round, Mariah rebounded to finish in 10th-place overall with a vault of 10 feet. Actually, Mariah’s vault nearly got her on the podium, as her vault was the same height as the 8th-place finisher, but it took her an extra attempt to reach that height. Regardless, it was inspiring to watch, and I am sure that Mariah—and her family—heard the roar of the crowd when Mariah successfully cleared the bar early on in the event.

The rebuilding process in Joplin is just beginning, and it will be years before the city has fully recovered. I know that the people of Joplin appreciate all of the love, support, and contributions made by individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses all over the country since May 22. However, let us not forget the people of Joplin in the coming weeks and months. This will not be a one week or one month recovery period. It will take years to fully recover. From what I can tell from the interviews I have seen and stories that I have read, the people of Joplin are resilient, and I have no doubt that they will recover from this—as impossible as it may seem at the present time. However, may we in the Ozarks continue to provide support—physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial—long after the initial outpouring of help from across the country has subsided.

Also, please take time to read Scott Puryear’s remarkable End Zone column in this issue, which focuses on the post-tornado recovery of the Joplin High School athletic program, which lost everything from facilities to uniforms and equipment. The column also includes contact information for Joplin Athletic Director Jeff Stark-weather, should you be interested in helping out with a donation.

Thanks for reading Ozark Preps Illustrated, and we’ll see you in the fall!

Dear Readers,

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Byron Shive

John Moore, Deanna Newberry

Ozark Preps Illustrated (OPI) is published monthly by Prai-rie Warbler Publishing LLC. Reproductions in whole or in part without permission are prohibited. OPI is not responsible for the return of unsolicited artwork, photography, or manu-scripts, and will not be responsible for holding fees or similiar charges. All digital submissions and correspondence will be become property of OPI.

Editorial DisclaimerAll rights reserved. For editorial matters, please contact the edi-tors. The views of contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the policies of OPI, nor that of the publisher.

Advertising DisclaimerAll rights reserved. The views and opinions of OPI advertisers do not reflect those of OPI.

OPI has a clear committment to inviting and publishing cor-rections of fact and clarifying errors of context. Corrections of errors and mistakes are a necessity in obtaining credibility in the magazine.

STARTING LINE UP

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DEPARTMENTS

6 Chalk Talk4 Milestones

Branson Heat

Twice as Nice

Shweiki Media4954 Space Center Dr.San Antonio, TX 78218

8 Time OutRepublic Girls Soccer Coach Mike Hines writes about the challenges for a first year program.

Glendale’s Paul Nahon finished his high school career with a second straight Class 2 state singles title. He also got to play on the same team as his brother, John Nahon.

Branson’s Mike Compton, a right-handed strikeout machine, is headed to Florida State after capping off a standout prep career on the mound for the Pirates.

30 End ZoneScott Puryear writes about the upcoming challenges for the Joplin HIgh School athletic program in the aftermath of the devastating tornado.

12 Photo FinishDr. J.P. Simanis talks about preventing Staph infections.

10 On The DL

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MMMILESTONES

BASEBALLZach Akins, Crane—1st-Team All-SWCL (P); School re-cord for strikeouts in a single game (18) v. Spokane (5/9)Aaron Alexander, Sparta—Honorable Mention All-SWCLSawyer Anderson, Ozark—2nd-Team All-COC Large (OF)Tyler Aschwege, Galena—Honorable Mention All-SWCLBrandon Bates, Spokane—Honorable Mention All-SWCLTyler Beavers, Marion C. Early—Four (4) stolen bases v. Weaubleau (4/5)Treston Birt, Hermitage—Four (4) stolen bases v. Macks Creek (4/12)Spencer Blacksher, Willard—2nd-Team All-COC Large (P)Michael Burgess, Willard—2nd-Team All-COC Large (OF)Jordan Burnett, Clever—2nd-Team All-SWCL (P)Drew Cherry, Forsyth—1st-Team All-SWCL (IF)CLEVER—Class 2 3rd-placeBrandon Cobb, Nixa—2nd-Team All-COC Large (IF)Mike Compton, Branson—1st-Team All-COC Large (P)Levi Cook, Crane—SWCL Player of the Year; 1st-Team All-SWCL (IF); Four (4) stolen bases v. Spokane (3/24)Ranger Curthis, Clever—Honorable Mention All-SWCLTaylor Darting, Forsyth—1st-Team All-SWCL (IF)Billy Dees, Forsyth—1st-Team All-SWCL (P)Dean Deetz, Nixa—2nd-Team All-COC Large (OF)Trey Elliot, Billings—1st-Team All-SWCL (IF)Austin Essick, Billings—1st-Team All-SWCL (C)Robbe Ewing, Stockton—School record for most runs scored in a game (5) (3/24 v. El Dorado Springs); 14 strikeouts v. Pleasant Hope (3/31); 11 strikeouts v. Mari-onville (4/7)Bradley Freeman, Sparta—2nd-Team All-SWCL (P)Colin Gowin, Hermitage—Four (4) stolen bases v. Macks Creek (4/12)Dalton Gulick, Miller—11 strikeouts v. Jasper (5/10)Bobby Hampton, Willard—1st-Team All-COC Large (OF)Dylan Head, Crane—1st-Team All-SWCL (OF)Michael Headlee, Ozark—1st-Team All-COC Large (IF)Cody Holzer, Ozark—1st-Team All-COC Large (OF)Derek Hurst, Forsyth—1st-Team All-SWCL (IF)Gage Jacobs, Bolivar—No-hitter v. Fair Grove in first round of Districts (5/14); 14 strikeouts in seven inningsConnor Jenisch, Billings—1st-Team All-SWCL (P)Josh Jenkins, Sparta—2nd-Team All-SWCL (IF)Kyle Jochems, Ozark—1st-Team All-COC Large (IF)Chase Johnston, Mt. Vernon—Honorable Mention All-Big 8 Conference (SS)Isaac Johnston, Branson—1st-Team All-COC Large (OF)Cody Jones, Blue Eye—2nd-Team All-SWCL (C)Mike Joyce, Fair Grove—Six (6) RBI v. Marionville (4/1)Bruce Kissee, Sparta—2nd-Team All-SWCL (IF)Kyle Lafferty, Sparta—Honorable Mention All-SWCLCody Lee, Mt. Vernon—1st-Team All-Big 8 Conference (P); Honorable Mention (1B)Austin Lenox, Aurora—2nd-Team All-Big 8 Conference (2B)Joel Lewallan, Hillcrest—Hit for the cycle v. Waynesville (4/5)Cody Lumpkin, Crane—Honorable Mention All-SWCLNick Lytle, Hollister—Six (6) RBI v. Blue Eye (5/10)Mitch Marriott, Blue Eye—1st-Team All-SWCL (IF)Blake Martin, Ozark—2nd-Team All-COC Large (IF)Tyler Martin, Clever—Honorable Mention All-SWCLEthan Meeks, Stockton—Three (3) home runs v. Green-field (4/29)Dawson Meyer, Billings—Honorable Mention All-SWCLAustin Mooney, Blue Eye—1st-Team All-SWCL (UT)Cody Moore, Billings—2nd-Team All-SWCL (IF)Cody Mountain, Skyline—Six (6) RBI v. Climax Springs (4/7)Josh Neufeld, Nixa—1st-Team All-COC Large (P)Seth Nilges, Forsyth—2nd-Team All-SWCL (IF)Jed Owen, Willard—1st-Team All-COC Large (IF)

OZARK—Class 4 4th-placeAlex Pate, Forsyth—2nd-Team All-SWCL (C)Luke Paulik, Billings—Honorable Mention All-SWCLDavid Pennewell, Clever—2nd-Team All-SWCL (P)Travis Pennewell, Clever—1st-Team All-SWCL (OF)Sam Perez, Branson—2nd-Team All-COC Large (IF)Jalen Perry, Forsyth—1st-Team All-SWCL (OF)Dallas Peterson, Aurora—Honorable Mention All-Big 8 Conference (UT)Lucas Peterson, Willard—1st-Team All-COC Large (P); Four (4) stolen bases v. McDonald County (3/25)Hunter Quick, Crane—2nd-Team All-SWCL (OF)Dylan Sekscinksi, Crane—2nd-Team All-SWCL (UT)Spencer Shreve, Aurora—Honorable Mention All-Big 8 Conference (3B)Jacob Simpson, Sparta—Honorable Mention All-SWCLNathan Smith, Billings—2nd-Team All-SWCL (OF)Landon Snyder, Ozark—2nd-Team All-COC Large (P)SPRINGFIELD CATHOLIC—Class 3 4th-placeHayden Stancer, Ozark—1st-Team All-COC Large (C)Andrew Standlee, Blue Eye—Honorable Mention All-SWCLLawton Summers, Marshfield—Class 4 District 10 2nd-Team All-District (OF)Taylor Tankersley, Branson—2nd-Team All-COC Large (P)Austin Tribby, Springfield Catholic—No-hitter v. Reeds Spring (4/14)Lane Truman, Billings—2nd-Team All-SWCL (OF)Zach Turner, Spokane—2nd-Team All-SWCL (IF)Riley Veith, Purdy—No-hitter v. Pierce City (3/24); 12 strikeouts in six inningsLee Wagner, Marshfield—Class 4 District 10 2nd-Team All-District (P)Cole Walden, Crane—2nd-Team All-SWCL (OF)Sean Wallace, Marshfield—Class 4 District 10 Honor-able Mention All-District (IF)Dillon Washam, Mt. Vernon—1st-Team All-Big 8 Con-ference (DH)Auston Weldy, Mt. Vernon—1st-Team All-Big 8 Confer-ence (OF)Andy Westfall, Ozark—1st-Team All-COC Large (UT)Chance Wolfe, Clever—1st-Team All-SWCL (C)

BOYS GOLFCLASS 1 (Sedalia Country Club)Andy Godwin, Greenwood—Individual State QualifierAdam Pipenhagen, Marion C. Early—Individual State QualifierPhillip Roller, Purdy—Individual State QualifierGarrett Vest, Hermitage—Individual State QualifierCLASS 2 (Rivercut Golf Course)John Burrus, El Dorado Springs—Individual State QualifierSamuel Cowherd, Mt. Vernon—Team State QualifierBrock Derrick, Fair Grove—Individual State QualifierFranklin Gonzalez, El Dorado Springs—Individual State QualifierTyler Johnson, Springfield Catholic—Individual State QualifierRyan Lacey, Mt. Vernon—Team State QualifierMT. VERNON—4th-place overall (341-335=676)Korey Pryer, Mt. Vernon—Individual/Team State QualifierDavid Rhoden, Mt. Vernon—Individual/Team State QualifierAnthony Schreier, Hollister—Individual State QualifierJeffrey White, Springfield Catholic—Individual State QualifierBenjamin Wiles, Springfield Catholic—Individual State QualifierEric Wilmoth, Mt. Vernon—ALL-STATE, 6th-place (159)CLASS 3 (Silo Ridge Country Club)Beau Allen, Republic—Individual State QualifierAndrew Horton, Logan-Rogersville—Team State QualifierWyatt Humble, Logan-Rogersville—Individual/Team State Qualifier

LOGAN-ROGERSVILLE—4th-place (337-315=652)Robert Mahaffey, Logan-Rogersville—ALL-STATE, 10th-place (158)Clayton Moles, Marshfield—ALL-STATE, 10th-place (158)Davis Palen, Logan-Rogersville—ALL-STATE, 8th-place (156)Brenan Rigby, Logan-Rogersville—Team State QualifierTyler Tran, Bolivar—Individual State QualifierCLASS 4 (Twin Oaks Country Club)Rayvaun Christenson, Glendale—Individual State QualifierJared Cohen, Ozark—Individual/Team State QualifierTaylor Dade, Kickapoo—Individual State QualifierChristian Dyer, Ozark—Team State QualifierKenneth (Ryan) Eady, Nixa—Individual State QualifierPalmer Harrison, Kickapoo—Individual State QualifierBen Hogan, Ozark—Team State QualifierJeremy Liss, Nixa—Individual State QualifierEvan Morrow, Nixa—Individual State QualifierOZARK—7th-place (321-320=641)

BOYS TENNISAlex Belote, Central—6th-place, Class 2 Doubles (w/Alex Ledger)James Borges, Forsyth—Class 1 State Qualifier (singles)Ryan Bunselmeyer, Central—Class 2 State Qualifier (doubles)Connor Frazier, Greenwood—Class 1 State Qualifier (singles)Kelsey Garnett, Central—Class 2 State Qualifier (dou-bles)Alex Ledger, Central—6th-place, Class 2 Doubles (w/Alex Belote)Paul Nahon, Glendale—STATE CHAMPION, Class 2 SinglesMarc Simon, Central—Class 2 State Qualifier (singles)

BOYS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDALISTSCLASS 1Britton Black, Greenfield—8th-place, 200 meter dash (23.77)Joey Brown, Humansville—8th-place, 3200 meter run (10:35.06)Alex Gardner, Osceola—6th-place, 400 meter dash (52.76)HUMANSVILLE—3rd-place, 4x800 meter relay (8:27.87) (Aaron Cross, Joey Brown, Ethan Mason, Da-kota Shoemaker); 5th-place, 4x400 meter relay (3:36.44) (Ethan Mason, Matthew Youngblood, D.J. Davis, Aaron Cross)Dakota Shoemaker, Humansville—5th-place, 3200 me-ter run (10:29.37)CLASS 2ASH GROVE—5th-place, 4x200 meter relay (1:32.77) (Logan Allred, Nick Console, Austin Hurst, Lonnie Miller)Blake Alexander, Strafford—3rd-place, 110 meter hur-dles (15.03); 5th-place, 300 meter hurdles (40.70)Dylan Barnum, Strafford—STATE CHAMPION, 110 meter hurdles (14.32); STATE CHAMPION, 300 meter hurdles (39.30); 7th-place, long jump (20-01.50)Jordan Britton, Hollister—4th-place, long jump (20-07.25); 5th-place, triple jump (42-03.00)Nic Cashio, Ash Grove—4th-place, discus (154-02)Tyler Coonis, Fair Grove—5th-place, 100 meter dash (11.19); 6th-place, long jump (20-06.00); 5th-place, 200 meter dash (22.64); 6th-place, triple jump (42-00.50)Dalton Freeze, Stockton—5th-place, high jump (6-02.00)Justin Hansen, Marionville—STATE CHAMPION, 1600 meter run (4:22.06)Ely Hendricks, Stockton—6th-place, 300 meter hurdles (40.88)Kris Kuoappamaki, Marionville—STATE CHAMPION, triple jump (43-09.50); 2nd-place, long jump (21-01.00)MARIONVILLE—7th-place overall

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Austin Slagle, Ash Grove—5th-place, 1600 meter run (4:29.96); 4th-place, 800 meter run (2:02.52)STOCKTON—5th-place, 4x800 meter relay (8:21.33) (Ely Hendricks, Dustin Pate, Tanner Collins, Dalton Freeze)STRAFFORD—3rd-place overall team; 4th-place, 4x800 meter relay (8:21.19) (Josh Avers, Zach Cobb, Will Lee, Jesse Snow); 5th-place, 4x400 meter relay (3:31.28) (Blake Alexander, Dylan Barnum, Jesse Snow, Josh Avers)CLASS 3Aaron Allphin, Reeds Spring—6th-place, high jump (6-05)BOLIVAR—4th-place, 4x400 meter relay (3:23.45) (Dar-nell Walker, Sterling Roberts, Mitchell Waters, Haryl Starkey); 7th-place, 4x200 meter relay (1:31.16) (Aaron Allen, Haryl Starkey, Levi Miller, Mitchell Waters)Austin Craven, Hillcrest—8th-place, 3200 meter run (9:46.20)Ryan Kulju, Bolivar—4th-place, 300 meter hurdles (39.67)Manny Ofori-Yeboah, Bolivar—6th-place, 110 meter hurdles (15.43)Haryl Starkey, Bolivar—8th-place, 400 meter dash (50.82)CLASS 4Brady Adams, Nixa—4th-place, 200 meter dash (22.35)Daniel Anderson, Ozark—2nd-place, 400 meter dash (48.65)Brandon Brott, Branson—5th-place, 3200 meter run (9:17.06); 7th-place, 1600 meter run (4:15.56) Tyler Calhoun, Ozark—2nd-place, high jump (6-06.00)Cameron Chancey, Branson—5th-place, 110 meter hurdles (14.60)Skyler Frazier, Willard—2nd-place, shot put (57-00.25); 7th-place, discus (153-08)Jordan Kukal, Parkview—3rd-place, discus (169-06)Brady Melugin, Nixa—5th-place, pole vault (14-00)Josh Morgan, Branson—2nd-place, pole vault (15-06)OZARK—8th-place overall team; 3rd-place, 4x400 me-ter relay (3:20.06) (Daniel Anderson, Hunter Tremain, Kramer Patterson, Skyler Verfurth); 8th-place, 4x200 me-ter relay (1:29.87) (Tyler Calhoun, Austin Roberts, Skyler Verfurth, Kramer Patterson)Quintin Smith, Parkview—7th-place, 200 meter dash (22.85)

GIRLS SOCCERKelsey Bartell, Nixa—2nd-Team All-COC Large (F)Jamie Braun, Ozark—1st-Team All-COC Large (M)Keysha Burns, Ozark—1st-Team All-COC Large (D)Carlie Campbell, Republic—2nd-Team All-COC Large (D)Macie Cotter, Willard—1st-Team All-COC Large (F)Miriam Dashtipour, Willard—1st-Team All-COC Large (M)Morgan Davidson, Ozark—1st-Team All-COC Large (F)Brittany Dunn, Willard—1st-Team All-COC Large (GK)Kami Giese, Branson—1st-Team All-COC Large (D)GLENDALE—Class 3 3rd-placeKelsey Haist, Nixa—1st-Team All-COC Large (M)Amanda Hinkle, Branson—2nd-Team All-COC Large (D)Molly Killian, Ozark—2nd-Team All-COC Large (M)Brittany Kirkpatrick, Nixa—1st-Team All-COC Large (M)Sara Marcotte, Republic—1st-Team All-COC Large (F)Kristen Miller, Nixa—1st-Team All-COC Large (GK)Samantha Minor, Republic—2nd-Team All-COC Large (F)Lauren Moats, Nixa—1st-Team All-COC Large (M)Rachel Murphy, Nixa—1st-Team All-COC Large (F)Lindsay Owens, Willard—2nd-Team All-COC Large (F)SPRINGFIELD CATHOLIC—Class 1 STATE CHAMPIONSTorri Thomas, Willard—2nd-Team All-COC Large (D)Jackie Wacha, Ozark—2nd-Team All-COC Large (F)Shelby Zielke, Nixa—2nd-Team All-COC Large (D)

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDALISTSCLASS 1Kellie Bays, Humansville—6th-place, discus (102-06)Olivia Francka, Halfway—STATE CHAMPION, 1600 me-ter run (5:19.26); 2nd-place, 3200 meter run (11:48.79)Emily Lippa, Osceola—6th-place, 100 meter dash (12.95); 6th-place, 200 meter dash (26.64)CLASS 2Taylor Alumbaugh, El Dorado Springs—2nd-place, high jump (5-05.00)ASH GROVE—5th-place, 4x100 meter relay (51.36)

(Sierrah Ballard, Kristen Keene, Kassandra Roberts, Kaile Weinreis)Kaitlyn Barnett, Sparta—8th-place, high jump (5-00.00)EL DORADO SPRINGS—7th-place, 4x200 meter relay (1:48.61) (Taylor Alumbaugh, Amanda Warren, Kate Sib-ley, Kelly Wilkinson)Emilyn Dearman, Stockton—2nd-place, 100 meter hur-dles (15.74); 2nd-place, 300 meter hurdles (46.13)Molly O’Brien, Spokane—8th-place, 300 meter hurdles (48.42)Alexis Smith, Stockton—8th-place, 1600 meter run (5:27.05)STOCKTON—5th-place, 4x800 meter relay (9:55.49) (Emilyn Dearman, Alexis Smith, Arnica Zitting, Rachel Wheeler); 6th-place, 4x400 meter relay (4:11.00) (Josie Pyle, Alexis Smith, Rachel Wheeler, Emilyn Dearman)Kaile Weinreis, Ash Grove—4th-place, high jump (5-04.00); 5th-place, triple jump (34-09.25); 6th-place, long jump (16-03.50)Hannah Wisdom, Skyline—4th-place, 200 meter dash (26.04); 6th-place, 100 meter dash (12.59)CLASS 3Danielle Dean, Reeds Spring—6th-place, high jump (5-02)Sarah Kreul, Republic—7th-place, discus (115-03)Jessica Stepp, Marshfield—5th-place, long jump (16-09.75)CLASS 4Olivia Brand, Glendale—4th-place, discus (133-03)Michaela Dapprich, Branson—3rd-place, discus (134-08)Lucy Givens, Branson—6th-place, pole vault (10-03.00)Liz Reida, Kickapoo—2nd-place, 1600 meter run (4:56.42); 3rd-place, 3200 meter run (10:42.67); 6th-place, 800 meter run (2:15.42)Ruby Stevens, Branson—8th-place, high jump (5-02.00)Rana Thomas, Parkview—5th-place, high jump (5-03.00)

MISCELLANEOUS• The Bolivar boys 4x400 meter relay team rewrote the school record book to close out the season. At the Sec-tional meet on May 21, the Liberator team of freshman Will Thomas, senior Sterling Roberts, junior Mitchell Waters, and sophomore Haryl Starkey took home first-place honors with a time of 3.27.88, which broke the previous school best of 3:29, set in 2005. Junior Darnell Walker joined Roberts, Waters, and Starkey following the end of the baseball season in time for the state meet in Jefferson City. On May 27, the quartet shaved over two seconds off the school record that had stood for a mere six days with a time of 3.25.20. The team knocked nearly two more seconds off the day-old record in the finals, finishing in 4th-place at the MSHSAA Class 3 Boys Track & Field Championships on May 28 with a new school re-cord time of 3.23.45. In a span of just one week, the team obliterated the previous school record by six seconds.• Branson standout Mike Compton tossed a perfect game in a 1-0 victory over Carl Junction in the Pirates’ season opener. Compton, who has signed to play collegiately next season for national powerhouse Florida State, struck out 14 batters in the seven inning game, including seven of the first eight batters he faced.• Branson senior Avery Dingman was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2011 Missouri Challenge after leading the Southwest Team on a dominating three-game steamroll through the third annual all-star competition, as the Southwest team beat its three opponents by an average margin of victory of 29 points. Willard’s Tim Huskisson and Parkview’s Korry Tillery joined Dingman on the All-Tournament Team.• The Clever baseball team attempted to send longtime head coach Marty Little off into retirement with a state championship. The Bluejays entered Districts with a ho-hum 12-11 record, but proceeded to get hot at the right time. Clever avenged a pair of regular season losses with wins over SWCL rivals Spokane and Blue Eye, and then beat Fordland for the District title. The Bluejays avenged another regular season loss with a win over Purdy in the Sectional round, before beating Cabool to advance to the Class 2 Final Four. However, Clever’s Cinderella run ended in the semifinals with a 12-2 loss to Summit Chris-tian Academy on June 1. The Bluejays, who did not have a senior on the roster, beat Charleston in the third-place game to finish their season at 17-13—and give Coach

Little his 300th career victory in his 28th and final season at Clever.• Pleasant Hope’s Lauren McCurry, Spokane’s Molly O’Brien, Stockton’s Chayla Rutledge, and Mt. Vernon’s Kenzie Williams were all named to the All-Tournament Team after guiding the Southwest Team to its first champi-onship in the third-annual Missouri Challenge. The team won the championship game 98-71 over the Kansas City team on May 28, and won its three games by an average of 38 points per contest.• Nixa’s Josh Neufeld has been a strikeout machine on the mound this season. The senior opened the season with a dominating performance, striking out 14 West Plains batters in six innings of work in an 11-0 win on Mar. 21. Neufeld tossed a no-hitter against Glendale on Apr. 2, striking out 12 Falcon batters in the 11-0 victory. More recently, Neufeld battled a powerful Willard line-up, and struck out 15 Tiger batters in Nixa’s 1-0 loss on May 4.• The Nixa girls soccer team captured its first-ever COC Large title with a 2-0 victory over arch-rival and longtime conference nemesis Ozark on May 5 at Nixa. Freshman Paige Townsend and junior Lauren Moats provided the scoring for the Lady Eagles, as Nixa handed the Lady Ti-gers’ their first-ever loss in conference play.• The Parkview girls soccer team won its first-ever Dis-trict title with a 2-0 victory over Joplin on May 19, as sophomore Emily Courtney and senior Kelsey Loderhose scored first half goals for the Lady Vikings.

Spar

ta’s

Josh

Jenk

ins

CT Mike HinesHead Girls Soccer Coach, Republic Tigers

TALKCHALK

When you are starting a first year program, how do you define success?

I am the head soccer coach for the boy’s and girl’s soccer program at Republic High School. This is the first year that Republic has offered soccer at the high school level. Prior to Repub-lic, I was an assistant coach for 18 seasons at Kickapoo High School, which has won mul-tiple District, Sectional and quarterfinal titles and enjoyed success across the state.

Let us begin with the day I walked out of Republic High School in May of 2010 after meeting with students for the first time. I was overflowing with confidence. In my possession were just over 100 signatures for the girl’s pro-gram around 60 for the boy’s program. In real-ity, as my first year starts to wind down, I find myself smiling as I remember the hopes and expectations from 12 months ago. I reflect not because I had a “bad” year, because I actually had a great year, but because of all the things that made it great that had nothing to do with my original expectations.

My hope for anyone embarking on a simi-lar journey of starting any athletic program is to consider the following paragraphs as a road map that if done with energy and consistency, will promote success. But we should first de-fine success. I firmly believe that coaches will have success if their athletes have positive ex-periences.

My purpose in coaching has evolved over the course of several years from what some may consider a mainstream thought of focusing on

winning to a multifaceted process with the in-tent to provide athletes with a safe environment to encourage development of character, think-ing skills and knowledge about themselves with the intent to become productive adults.

With this in mind, I support multi-sport ath-letes in addition to them participating in a wide range of activities. I would much rather see well-rounded athletes leaving high school than one that specializes solely in a particular area. I do see the value of a highly skilled athlete that does specialize, but those are in the minority. A remarkable aspect of our educational process is the opportunities that surround our athletes while in school. Experiences that will assist stu-dents in developing a healthy lifestyle and pro-vide options to avoid the effects of a sedentary lifestyle should be endorsed. Coaches should feel compelled to support activities, provide information, and model appropriate behavior that benefit the mind and body for life.

Demonstrating positive behavior, encourag-ing students’ positive behavior, treating students appropriately, and challenging students both academically, personally, and socially are key components in the implementation process. Challenging students (within reason) benefits everyone, because challenging students makes their grades and efforts more meaningful.

I know that while coaching I will look at a variety of things to evaluate my players. I try to draw from five categories: an athlete’s attitude, a willingness to learn, fitness, character and ac-ademic achievement. Through the course of a

season, athletes often experience a full range of emotions and we have the opportunity to help them navigate these emotions. My expectations will be for my athletes to exhibit characteristics centered on these areas. I strongly believe that behavior in sports often reflects one’s behavior in life and that coaches have the opportunity to help athletes succeed on a multitude of levels.

I believe a requirement of quality coaching is to show commitment, enthusiasm, and most importantly, a readiness to develop personal relationships with my athletes. From this comes an athlete’s willingness to improve motivation, and from the motivation comes an increase in their learning and a more thorough understand-ing of their purpose—both on and off the field.

The last requirement I place on my players is for them to have fun. I often receive interesting looks when I mention this, but I always include a twist. First, I remind my athletes that teams who are successful usually have more fun and I have yet to work with a team that did not have to work hard in order to achieve success. Sec-ond, teams that do not define success or team goals often get lost in their purpose. I have yet to meet anyone that achieved any significant level of success without defining common goals and having an attitude that committed them to their craft. The bottom line is to get your athletes to buy what you are selling while continuously developing positive attitudes and a willingness to put forth the extra effort. This will bring the success your players deserve.

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The CMH Walk-In Clinic is located at 2230 S. Springfield in the Railway Station, Bolivar. For more information, call the clinic at 417-777-4800.

CT Mike HinesHead Girls Soccer Coach, Republic Tigers

TALKCHALK

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“Your Mom!” Facebook Senior Prom. I’d rather play a basketball game and then go to the Prom after party.

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The third “Left Behind” series book

Cap’n Crunch “Funky!” Facebook Senior Prom. I’d just rather play ball.

“The Last Song” Lucky Charms “You go girl!” Google Images Senior Prom, because I’m as dedicated as possible to my sport.

“Dear John”

“Tom Sawyer”

Shredded Wheat I have no idea. Facebook Senior Prom. I’m more involved in sports, so Senior Night is more special to me.

“Shazam!”

Mariah Jennings

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Fruity Pebbles The boat license test site.

Senior Prom. I don’t like getting all fan-cies up.

“Crazy Love” Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch

“Britches!” Facebook Senior Prom, be-cause it’s not spe-cial enough to miss my last basketball game. USA Today says the “show owns the title of World’s Largest Performing Family!”

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USA Today says the “show owns the title of World’s Largest Performing Family!” While the Hughes Brothers Show boasts the largest on-stage family (over 45 and growing) in Branson; the size isn’t what makes this show so memorable. It’s the astonishing scope of entertainment and talent. From their spine tingling harmonies to the amazing production that fills the stage, the Hughes Brothers Show moves your feet, your hands, and your heart! It’s Branson’s Ultimate Entertainment Experience!

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DISABLEDDDLLLISTWhat types of sports injuries are most com-

mon? Are there differences between the most common types of injuries in children and adults?

The most common type of sports injuries are overuse injuries and strains or sprains. Overuse injuries occur when repetitive activities place too much stress on tendons and bones without an adequate period of recovery. With adequate recovery time, the body typically is able to heal damaged tissues. With the current trend of chil-dren and young adults training and competing year around in a single sport, compounding stress to tendons and bones from repetitive activity ulti-mately leads to an injury that causes an athlete to seek medical attention. Strains and sprains, unlike overuse injuries, tend to occur more suddenly but still involve muscles, tendons and bones.

The most common injuries that I see in the of-fice and in the training room are ankle sprains/strains, knee pain (typically from either a condi-tion called patellofemoral pain syndrome or pa-tellar tendinosis), low back pain, elbow pain (typ-ically from tennis or golfer’s elbow), and shoulder injuries. Although the most common injuries may affect the same joints in children and adults, the reason or cause of the pain can be very differ-ent because children’s cartilage is still develop-ing and their growth plates are still open among other things. As a result, the stresses to the body that children experience during sports or activi-ties often affect them differently. For example, hip pain in a child who has not yet reached puberty may be secondary to disrupted blood flow to the upper part of the thigh bone where as in an older child, it may be the result of slippage of the growth plate in the hip. In a young adult, the pain may be from a stress fracture (a kind of fracture that occurs from overuse) and in an older adult, the pain may be from arthritic changes. Although each patient may present with hip pain, each can have a very different reason for the pain, which would require very different management and treatment.

What can you do to prevent sports injuries? Are there precautions parents can take to help pre-vent injuries in their children?

I believe that one of the best things a person can do is to maintain a good base of fitness throughout the year and to avoid abruptly starting a new routine or making significant changes to an already existing routine. Following the “rule of 10%” provides a good general guideline to pre-vent overuse injuries in all ages. The rule suggests that total training (duration, intensity, duration or any combination of these) should not increase more than 10% over a period of time. For ex-ample, if you walk 20 miles every week, it would probably be safe to increase to 22 miles the fol-lowing week if you want to increase your mileage but keep the same pace.

I also strongly advocate well defined periods of rest between set periods of training and to use the down time to cross train (i.e.—taking part in oth-er sports or activities that use and stress different muscles, tendons and bones). There is a reason that all professional sports (MLB, NFL, etc.) have an off season; no one can go 100% in a sport year around without risking injury or reducing their performance. Also, cross training allows a person to maintain a baseline of fitness while reducing the stress to tendons and bones that occur from repetitive activities.

With regards to children, I believe that early sport specialization should be avoided; the focus again should be on general fitness and having fun without too much emphasis on winning. Other guidelines to follow would be to ensure that a child is adequately prepared to play a sport (in other words taking part in activities that are ap-propriate for their age, ability levels and physical characteristics), to use properly fitting and main-tained equipment, to provide adequate supervi-sion of sports/activities by qualified adults, and to avoid overtraining.

Are there certain types of activities in which injuries are more likely to occur? Are there cer-tain times of year when injuries are more likely to occur?

Injuries can occur with any activity in which a person is not adequately prepared to participate. If somebody has spent their spring on the couch watching baseball on TV and then suddenly be-comes inspired to join a local baseball league, mentally they may be prepared to go nine in-nings, steal home or hit the winning home run, but their body on the other hand may argue oth-erwise (and more often than not, win the argu-ment). The point is that you have to plan ahead and prepare adequately and gradually, and be realistic about the level of fitness you are starting from. A person who has been active year around will be able to reach a higher level of activity sooner than someone who has basically taken an entire season completely off. Also, someone who has cross-trained in different activities will more easily adapt to a new activity than someone who has only played a specific sport year round.

This being said, I believe we do tend to see an increase in certain injuries in some sports or activities secondary to this “too much too soon” phenomenon. For instance, in the spring, many people often suddenly become inspired to go from “puff and fluff” to “buff and tough,” often with unintended, painful consequences. This also occurs to a degree with the start of any organized sports season. For example, in college football, athletes who have spent their summer lying by the pool or on the beach have a difficult time ad-justing to the intense training schedule of two-a-day practices with the start of school. Again, the

emphasis should be on year around generalized fitness.

Has the incidence of sports injuries changed over the years?

There does seem to be an increasing trend in the number of younger athletes who are devel-oping overuse injuries. This can be attributed in part, perhaps, to the overall growing number and participation in youth sports across the country, as well as the increasing numbers of school and club programs, summer sport camps and com-petitive leagues. However, there is data to suggest that the increasing numbers of overuse injuries that are occurring in younger and younger ath-letes may also be related to the fact that children today seem to be specializing in one sport at an earlier and earlier age, as well as now training year around. Gone are the days when a kid used to take part in one sport in the fall, another in the spring and perhaps even a third in the summer. The demand to succeed, which I feel is often in part driven by the media coverage of competi-tions as well as the tremendous salaries that a select few athletes command, pressures athletes to train harder and longer hoping to achieve the celebrity status that only a few athletes will ever achieve but all believe they are capable of (in-cluding some parents and coaches).

Do people always recognize when they are in-jured while playing a sport?

No, not always. Without proper medical train-ing, people may either not know what symptoms to even look for with a particular injury (i.e.—a stress fracture of the back or hip from overuse) or they may misinterpret symptoms that they do recognize and chalk it up to something else (“I thought the pain in my knee was just from getting older.”). That is why I believe a person trained and qualified in sports medicine is a valuable asset in helping to accurately recognize, interpret, diag-nose and manage the wide variety of injuries a person or athlete can sustain while taking part in physical activities or participating in sports.

What types of treatments are available for sports injuries?

There is a tremendous variety of treatments available depending on the nature of the injury. It can range from as simple as adjusting an already existing training program to basic physical thera-py (such as adding particular stretching/strength-ening exercises) to using different modalities such as bracing, ultrasound, or injections, to ultimately surgery involving state of the art techniques such as arthroscopy and so forth. A physician trained in sports medicine would be more aware of the great variety of techniques, methods and equip-ment available, but would also better understand which intervention would be most appropriate and effective to use and when.

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16

Staph infection is a problem that many high school athletes are faced with today. Learn more about this bacterium so you can prevent yourself from getting into trouble with MRSA.

What is Staph infection (MRSA)?

Staph infection is an infection caused by the Staphylococcus (or “staph”) bacteria. The rea-son staph infections are a problem is because some staph bacteria can become immune to some commonly used antibiotics thereby mak-ing the infection difficult to cure. Staph infec-tions that develop antibiotic resistance are called MRSA or Methicillin-resistant Staphy-lococcus aureus. It is believed that MRSA due to generations of antibiotic overuse whereby antibiotics were frequently given for conditions such as colds, flus and viral infections that do not respond to antibiotics. As a result, bacteria gradually began to develop defenses against antibiotics leading to antibiotic resistance.

What are the symptoms of Staph infec-tions?

Staph infections can appear as small red bumps on the surface of the skin, similar in ap-pearance to pimples or bug bites. If left untreat-ed, these small bumps can sometimes quite rapidly swell and turn into abscesses that are red, warm to the touch and surprisingly tender or painful. If left untreated, the staph infection

can continue to spread and eventually move into a person’s bloodstream leading to sepsis. The signs and symptoms that suggest blood-stream infection/sepsis can include fever, shak-ing chills, night sweats, difficulty breathing, diffuse muscle aches and an overall worsening ill feeling. It is important to know that a blood infection/sepsis is a very serious medical condi-tion and requires urgent medical attention and if it is left untreated, can result in death.

How do you get Staph?

MRSA infections that occur in the general community outside of a hospital setting are contracted either by skin-to-skin contact with someone who already has an infection or by coming into contact with items that carry the bacteria on them such as the locker room floor or towels, gym/sporting equipment, etc. The bacteria gain access into the body often through a small break or tear in the skin.

How do you prevent a Staph infection?

First of all, if you have a cut, sore or have break in the skin, keep it clean with regular soap and water and cover it with a dry dressing or bandage. Secondly, avoid sharing personal items such as towels, socks, razors, deodorant, etc. There have been reports of a MRSA out-break among football teams because towels were shared in the locker room.

Other suggestions include wearing shower

shoes around the locker room as MRSA can be picked up off the locker room floors; however, it is also important to clean/disinfect your shower shoes weekly to prevent the accumulation of bacteria on them. It is also recommended that you wash your hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer, frequently wash your towels/sheets and disinfect your gear.

How do you treat Staph?

If you think you have a staph infection, you should seek medical attention for further evalu-ation. If the infection is caught early, the health-care provider may simply suggest applying lo-cal warm moist heat to the area several times a day; if the infection does not improve over the next one to two days or becomes progressively worse, the healthcare provider may then pre-scribe a particular kind of antibiotic to which the infection is still sensitive. If the infection, however, progresses and develops into an ab-scess, then it may be necessary to incise and drain the abscess as well as pack it with a spe-cial dressing that would require the patient to return to his/her provider on a regular basis to have the packing changed until the abscess re-solves, which could take several days to weeks. The most serious situation is when the infection gets into the bloodstream and develops into sepsis, which could potentially require hospital admission and treatment with IV antibiotics.

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417.335.8080 • JimStafford.com • 3440 W Hwy 76 • Branson MO 65616

00121 STAF Ozarks Prep Full 3/2/11 10:02 AM Page 1

DL

DISABLEDDDLLLISTWhat types of sports injuries are most com-

mon? Are there differences between the most common types of injuries in children and adults?

The most common type of sports injuries are overuse injuries and strains or sprains. Overuse injuries occur when repetitive activities place too much stress on tendons and bones without an adequate period of recovery. With adequate recovery time, the body typically is able to heal damaged tissues. With the current trend of chil-dren and young adults training and competing year around in a single sport, compounding stress to tendons and bones from repetitive activity ulti-mately leads to an injury that causes an athlete to seek medical attention. Strains and sprains, unlike overuse injuries, tend to occur more suddenly but still involve muscles, tendons and bones.

The most common injuries that I see in the of-fice and in the training room are ankle sprains/strains, knee pain (typically from either a condi-tion called patellofemoral pain syndrome or pa-tellar tendinosis), low back pain, elbow pain (typ-ically from tennis or golfer’s elbow), and shoulder injuries. Although the most common injuries may affect the same joints in children and adults, the reason or cause of the pain can be very differ-ent because children’s cartilage is still develop-ing and their growth plates are still open among other things. As a result, the stresses to the body that children experience during sports or activi-ties often affect them differently. For example, hip pain in a child who has not yet reached puberty may be secondary to disrupted blood flow to the upper part of the thigh bone where as in an older child, it may be the result of slippage of the growth plate in the hip. In a young adult, the pain may be from a stress fracture (a kind of fracture that occurs from overuse) and in an older adult, the pain may be from arthritic changes. Although each patient may present with hip pain, each can have a very different reason for the pain, which would require very different management and treatment.

What can you do to prevent sports injuries? Are there precautions parents can take to help pre-vent injuries in their children?

I believe that one of the best things a person can do is to maintain a good base of fitness throughout the year and to avoid abruptly starting a new routine or making significant changes to an already existing routine. Following the “rule of 10%” provides a good general guideline to pre-vent overuse injuries in all ages. The rule suggests that total training (duration, intensity, duration or any combination of these) should not increase more than 10% over a period of time. For ex-ample, if you walk 20 miles every week, it would probably be safe to increase to 22 miles the fol-lowing week if you want to increase your mileage but keep the same pace.

I also strongly advocate well defined periods of rest between set periods of training and to use the down time to cross train (i.e.—taking part in oth-er sports or activities that use and stress different muscles, tendons and bones). There is a reason that all professional sports (MLB, NFL, etc.) have an off season; no one can go 100% in a sport year around without risking injury or reducing their performance. Also, cross training allows a person to maintain a baseline of fitness while reducing the stress to tendons and bones that occur from repetitive activities.

With regards to children, I believe that early sport specialization should be avoided; the focus again should be on general fitness and having fun without too much emphasis on winning. Other guidelines to follow would be to ensure that a child is adequately prepared to play a sport (in other words taking part in activities that are ap-propriate for their age, ability levels and physical characteristics), to use properly fitting and main-tained equipment, to provide adequate supervi-sion of sports/activities by qualified adults, and to avoid overtraining.

Are there certain types of activities in which injuries are more likely to occur? Are there cer-tain times of year when injuries are more likely to occur?

Injuries can occur with any activity in which a person is not adequately prepared to participate. If somebody has spent their spring on the couch watching baseball on TV and then suddenly be-comes inspired to join a local baseball league, mentally they may be prepared to go nine in-nings, steal home or hit the winning home run, but their body on the other hand may argue oth-erwise (and more often than not, win the argu-ment). The point is that you have to plan ahead and prepare adequately and gradually, and be realistic about the level of fitness you are starting from. A person who has been active year around will be able to reach a higher level of activity sooner than someone who has basically taken an entire season completely off. Also, someone who has cross-trained in different activities will more easily adapt to a new activity than someone who has only played a specific sport year round.

This being said, I believe we do tend to see an increase in certain injuries in some sports or activities secondary to this “too much too soon” phenomenon. For instance, in the spring, many people often suddenly become inspired to go from “puff and fluff” to “buff and tough,” often with unintended, painful consequences. This also occurs to a degree with the start of any organized sports season. For example, in college football, athletes who have spent their summer lying by the pool or on the beach have a difficult time ad-justing to the intense training schedule of two-a-day practices with the start of school. Again, the

emphasis should be on year around generalized fitness.

Has the incidence of sports injuries changed over the years?

There does seem to be an increasing trend in the number of younger athletes who are devel-oping overuse injuries. This can be attributed in part, perhaps, to the overall growing number and participation in youth sports across the country, as well as the increasing numbers of school and club programs, summer sport camps and com-petitive leagues. However, there is data to suggest that the increasing numbers of overuse injuries that are occurring in younger and younger ath-letes may also be related to the fact that children today seem to be specializing in one sport at an earlier and earlier age, as well as now training year around. Gone are the days when a kid used to take part in one sport in the fall, another in the spring and perhaps even a third in the summer. The demand to succeed, which I feel is often in part driven by the media coverage of competi-tions as well as the tremendous salaries that a select few athletes command, pressures athletes to train harder and longer hoping to achieve the celebrity status that only a few athletes will ever achieve but all believe they are capable of (in-cluding some parents and coaches).

Do people always recognize when they are in-jured while playing a sport?

No, not always. Without proper medical train-ing, people may either not know what symptoms to even look for with a particular injury (i.e.—a stress fracture of the back or hip from overuse) or they may misinterpret symptoms that they do recognize and chalk it up to something else (“I thought the pain in my knee was just from getting older.”). That is why I believe a person trained and qualified in sports medicine is a valuable asset in helping to accurately recognize, interpret, diag-nose and manage the wide variety of injuries a person or athlete can sustain while taking part in physical activities or participating in sports.

What types of treatments are available for sports injuries?

There is a tremendous variety of treatments available depending on the nature of the injury. It can range from as simple as adjusting an already existing training program to basic physical thera-py (such as adding particular stretching/strength-ening exercises) to using different modalities such as bracing, ultrasound, or injections, to ultimately surgery involving state of the art techniques such as arthroscopy and so forth. A physician trained in sports medicine would be more aware of the great variety of techniques, methods and equip-ment available, but would also better understand which intervention would be most appropriate and effective to use and when.

Dr. J.P. SimanisM.D., MPH, MSPH


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PPFFAsh Grove’s Kaile Weinreis high jumps at the Strafford Invita-tional meet on Apr. 19. The standout senior athlete finished in second-place in the event with a leap of 5’2”. The standout senior finished in 4th-place in the high jump at the Class 2 MSHSAA Girls Track & Field Championships on May 21, and also medaled in three other events. (Staff Photo)

Fair Grove Tyler Coonis competes in the long jump at the Strafford Invitational on Apr. 19. The senior took home 1st-place honors in the event with a leap of 20’3”, and is the school record holder in the event with a jump of 21’10”. Coonis finished in 6th-place in the long jump at the Class 2 Boys Track and Field Champi-onships on May 21 in Jefferson City (Staff Photo)

Springfield Catholic’s Dylan Love follows through on a double to the right centerfield gap that gave the Fightin’ Irish a 3-2 lead over Mt. Vernon in a Class 3 Sectional game on May 24. Trailing 2-0 entering the top of the seventh, Springfield Catholic rallied for five two-out runs to advance to the state quarterfinals. Catholic eventually advanced to the Class 3 Final Four, and fin-ished in 4th-place. (Staff Photo)

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PPFFClever’s Brandon Laney returns a shot in his #2 singles match against a Monett opponent in a match played at Clever on Apr. 2. (Staff Photo)

Logan-Rogersville’s Emily Price (#8) face plants the Harrisonville goalkeeper as the two battle for a loose ball in Rogersville’s 3-0 loss in Sectional play on May 24. (Staff Photo)

Clever pitcher Jordan Burnett (#23) puts the tag on Galena’s Joey Elder (#30) in the Bears’ 5-4 victory at Clever on Apr. 12. (Staff Photo)

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Glendale’s Trey Watson (#3) throws over to first base-man Major Venable (#12) in an attempt to pick off Ozark’s diving Andy Westfall in the Tigers’ 8-1 victory in the first round of District play at Neil Pittman Field at Kickapoo High School. Ozark would capture a District title three days later with a 7-6 victory over top-seeded Kickapoo. (Staff Photo)

Parkview shortstop Tyler Nemmers makes the throw to first base to record a groundout in the Vikings’ 3-1 loss to Nixa in first round play of the Class 4 District 11 tour-nament on May 14 at Neil Pittman Field at Kickapoo High School. (Staff Photo)

Reeds Spring’s Shannon Allen edges out a Joplin runner at the finish line to give the Lady Wolves’ a 7th-place finish in the finals of the 4x100m relay on Apr. 26 at the 89th annual Aldo Sebben Missouri State Relays at Plaster Sports Complex on the campus of Missouri State University. Allen qualified for the Class 3 Girls Track & Field Champion-ships in the 400 meter dash. (Staff Photo)

Logan-Rogersville’s Wyatt Humble putts on the #2 green at Silo Ridge Country Club during first round action at the Class 3 MSH-SAA Boys Golf Championships on May 16. Humble posted a two-day total of 161—good for 22nd-place overall—and helped lead the Wildcats to a 4th-place team finish. (Staff Photo)

PF PF

Marshfield’s Clayton Moles launches a drive on #10 at Silo Ridge Country Club during first round action at the Class 3 MSHSAA Boys Golf Championships on May 16. Moles garnered All-State honors after posting a two-day total of 158—good for a seven-way tie for 10th-place overall. (Staff Photo)

Mt. Vernon third baseman Skylar Phillips (#12) throws to first to record an out in the Mt’Neers’ heartbreaking 5-3 loss to Spring-field Catholic in a Class 3 Sectional on May 24. Mt. Vernon took a 2-0 lead to the sev-enth inning, but surrendered five two-out runs to the Fightin’ Irish. The Mt’Neers ral-lied in the bottom of the seventh, and after scoring one run had runners at first and sec-ond with one out but could do not get the tying runs home. Mt. Vernon finished the season with a 16-11 record. (Staff Photo)

Branson’s Josh Farley (L) prepares to slam home a return shot, as doubles partner Brandon Zacarias (R) looks on in the Pi-rates’ 7-2 loss to Glendale on Apr. 20. (Staff Photo)

16

PF PF

Mt. Vernon third baseman Skylar Phillips (#12) throws to first to record an out in the Mt’Neers’ heartbreaking 5-3 loss to Spring-field Catholic in a Class 3 Sectional on May 24. Mt. Vernon took a 2-0 lead to the sev-enth inning, but surrendered five two-out runs to the Fightin’ Irish. The Mt’Neers ral-lied in the bottom of the seventh, and after scoring one run had runners at first and sec-ond with one out but could do not get the tying runs home. Mt. Vernon finished the season with a 16-11 record. (Staff Photo)

Kickapoo’s Stausha Spicer competes in the preliminaries of the 100m high hur-dles at the Nixa Invitational on Apr. 12. (Staff Photo)

Branson’s Josh Farley (L) prepares to slam home a return shot, as doubles partner Brandon Zacarias (R) looks on in the Pi-rates’ 7-2 loss to Glendale on Apr. 20. (Staff Photo)

Glendale’s Becca Bur-ton (#19) and Parkview’s Emma Chilton (#2) race after a loose ball in the Lady Falcons’ 7-0 win over the Lady Vikings in the Sectional round of the Class 3 state tourna-ment. Glendale upped its record to 20-1 on the season with the win, and advanced to the state quarterfinals to face Rock Bridge. Parkview finished its season at 12-10, and captured the school’s first-ever District champi-onship. (Staff Photo)

Logan-Rogersville’s Kyle Guison competes in the shot put at the Bolivar Invitational meet on Apr. 14. (Staff Photo)

PF PF

Purdy’s Riley Veith (#3) pitches to the plate in the Eagles’ 5-3 victory over Miller in the semifinals of the Class 2 District 12 tournament on May 16 at the newly-dedicated Rick Creed Field at Ash Grove High School. Purdy defeated Diamond 5-1 on May 17 to capture the Dis-trict championship. (Staff Photo)

Spokane second baseman Randal Bolin (#00) receives the throw as Straf-ford’s Tanner Davis (#8) slides into second base on a steal attempt in the Indians’ 9-0 victory over the Owls during round robin play of the South-west Missouri Wood Bat Classic on Apr. 19 at Strafford. (Staff Photo)

Republic’s Sarah Kreul slings the discus during preliminary action at the Bolivar Invitational on Apr. 11. Kreul qualified for the Class 3 Girls Track & Field Championships with a second-place finish at the Sectional meet on May 21. (Staff Photo)

PF PFRepublic’s Beau Allen reads the green prior to putting on the #12 green at Silo Ridge Country Club during action at the Bolivar Invitational on Apr. 11. The Bolivar In-vite served as a scouting mission for Allen, as he recorded an 8th-place finish at the Sectional tournament on May 4 at Marshfield Country Club to advance to the Class 3 State Meet—also played at Silo Ridge Country Club. (Staff Photo)

Central’s Kaitlin Toelke (#12) beats Hillcrest’s Elise Tuttle (R) to the ball in the Lady Bulldogs’ 4-1 victory over the Lady Hornets in the consolation game of the Willard Invitational Tournament on Apr. 30. (Staff Photo

Ozark’s Landon Snyder hurls a pitch to the plate in the Tigers’ 4-3 victory over Branson in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 11 tournament on May 16 at Neil Pittman Field at Kickapoo High School. The junior pitched a gem, scattering five hits and two runs over 6 1/3 innings of work to advance Ozark to the District title game, where the Tigers defeated top-seeded Kickapoo 7-6. Snyder also shut down a high-powered Webb City attack in the Sectional, and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, as Ozark advanced to the state quarterfinals with a 9-1 victory over the Cardinals. (Staff Photo)

PF PF – Coach Morgan Wootten,

Willard’s Spencer Blacksher fires a pitch to the plate in the Tigers’ dramatic 6-5 victory over Branson on May 3 at Willard. (Staff Photo)

Nixa senior Courtney Frerichs (Red) screens Republic’s Kailey Mathis (L) from the ball as the Lady Tigers’ goalkeeper, Aman-da Snider looks on in the Lady Eagles’ 8-0 victory on May 3 at Republic. Nixa lost a heartbreaking 2-0 game to Glendale in the Class 3 District 11 championship game on May 20. Republic finished its inaugural soccer campaign with a 3-9 overall record, which included a 3-0 victory over Neosho on May 4 in the first-ever “Kick Autism” soccer match, which raised over $5,800 for “Autism Speaks.” (Staff Photo)

Spokane senior Molly O’Brien high jumps during the Straf-ford Invitational on Apr. 19. O’Brien won the event with a jump of 5’2”. (Staff Photo)

PF PF – Coach Morgan Wootten,

Nixa’s Jeremy Liss blasts out of a greenside bunker on the #12 hole at Silo Ridge Country Club during the Bolivar Invi-tational on Apr. 11. Liss notched a 6th-place individual finish at the Sectional meet on May 4 at A.L. Gustin Golf Course in Columbia to advance to the State meet. (Staff Photo)

ComptonHEATBRANSON

BY BYRON SHIVE

After posting some gaudy stats and gar-nering numerous post-season honors in 2010, the bar was set pretty high entering the 2011 baseball season for Branson senior pitcher Mike Compton, a flame throwing strikeout ma-chine.

HEATBRANSON

Compton posted an 8-1 record and a ridicu-lous 0.93 ERA on the mound in 2010, while striking out 80 batters in just 60 innings of work. For his efforts, Compton was named 1st-Team All-State, as well as the Central Ozarks Conference Large Division Player of the Year.

Perhaps just to show everyone that last season’s numbers were not a fluke, Compton started the 2011 campaign in typical dominat-ing fashion. The powerful right hander tossed a perfect game in the season opener, a 1-0 win over Carl Junction to open the Lead Off Tourna-ment. Compton struck out 14 Bulldog batters, including seven of the first eight he faced.

Compton has been pounding the strike zone since he first entered Branson’s halls, when he became one of the few freshmen to play for the varsity in head coach Steve Lael’s 24 years at the helm of the Pirates’ baseball program.

“He pitched well for us as a freshman,” said Lael, who retired at the end of this season after winning 407 games in his 24 years as Branson’s coach. “I could tell at that time that he was go-ing to be special. He wasn’t fazed by anything. He doesn’t get rattled on the mound.”

“He’s a tremendous competitor and a gifted athlete,” added Lael. “He’s always competing. He throws nothing but strikes on the mound. He pounds the strike zone. He’s an outstand-ing leader, and also has great character.” Compton, who evolved from more of a finesse pitcher into a straight power pitcher prior to his junior season, has a repertoire of pitches that includes a fastball that reaches into the low-90s, as well as a changeup, curve and slider.

Compton arrived in Branson prior to enter-ing seventh grade after moving from St. Peters-burg, Fla., where he had lived most of his life. “It was tough at first and a big change,” said Compton of the move. “It was an adjustment I had to make, but it was a great move.”

The 6-foot-1 190-pound right hander will be returning to the Sunshine State in the fall, though, after signing a National Letter of In-tent during the early signing period in Novem-ber to play collegiately for perennial power-house Florida State. After Compton attended a weeklong showcase event last summer in Tal-lahassee, the FSU coaching staff offered him a scholarship. The signing of the NLI made it official, but Compton had been verbally com-mitted to Florida State since his official visit to the school in September.

“They have a great baseball program, and it was an excellent school for my major (Law),” said Compton of FSU. “Playing at Florida State will help me thrive and challenge me to take my game up a notch. It’s a winning program, which was also important to me. It’s a great atmosphere and a great coaching staff.”

Although he is committed to Florida State, there is the possibility that Compton will forego the college route if he is drafted high enough in the Major League Baseball draft June 6-8. “It (the draft) is definitely in the back of my mind,” said Compton. “But I really want to go to college. Hopefully, I can keep improving in college and my draft stock will keep going up. Missing college is not something I will be willing to do, unless I would go in the top 10 (rounds) or something.”

Compton loves to play baseball and has played as much as the weather would allow in the past few years, with a side effect being that

he was noticed by college recruiters and pro scouts. He played in a summer league in Flor-ida the past two summers, and has attended as many showcase events and baseball camps that his schedule would allow, including the showcase event at Florida State last summer that led to his scholarship offer.

It goes without saying that Compton’s par-ents, Mike and Jannine, are very proud of their son. Mike and Jannine also have an older son who will be graduating from Florida Interna-tional University soon. “He is a very mature, focused young man—on and off the field,” said Jannine of Mike. “What you see is what you get. He is very down-to-earth and humble.” Compton’s father is also very proud of his son. “I’m proud of my boys,” he said. “I’d feel the same way even if he wasn’t a baseball player and heading off to college with a scholarship. No matter if he hits a homerun or strikes out, I’m still proud of him.”

Compton’s Branson teammates appreci-ate his talents and friendship. “We’re lucky to have him here,” said fellow senior pitcher Tay-lor Tankersley. “He has taught he to hit your spots and throw lots of strikes.” Tankersley de-scribed Compton as “one of the quietest guys I know,” and added that Compton is not the best driver around, citing a couple of fender benders as proof. Paul Stevens, the Pirates’ senior right fielder, likes to argue sports with Compton. “He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen,” said Stevens of Compton. “As the team’s right fielder, I know I’m going to get a lot of action that day. You have to be on your toes when he’s pitching.”

In Compton’s first trip back to the mound fol-lowing the perfect game, he struck out 13 bat-ters in six innings of work to pick up the win in Branson’s 6-2 victory over state-ranked Logan-Rogersville in the final game of the Lead Off Tournament. Compton tossed a one-hitter in his third start, a 5-1 victory over Harrison in which he registered another 16 strikeouts. Compton ran his re-cord to 4-0 for the sea-son in a 12-2 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in the semifinals of the Dan Furst Memorial Tournament.

The storybook sea-son unfolding took a different turn, though, in an Apr. 14 game against Ozark. Comp-ton took the mound in the first inning, but left the game before the inning was com-plete with soreness in his right shoulder. He would not pitch again until May 10, although he did con-tribute at the plate and in the field at first base for the Pirates.

Compton returned to the mound in time for Districts, and took

the ball for Branson’s semifinal match-up against Ozark. Compton settled into a pitch-er’s duel with the Tigers’ Landon Snyder. Ozark held a slim 1-0 lead until the sixth inning when the Tigers tacked on three more runs. Branson rallied in the top of the seventh, but fell one run short in a disappointing 4-3 loss, which ended the Pirates’ season at 17-7.

For the season, Compton posted a 4-1 re-cord with a 1.14 ERA. He struck out nearly two batters for every inning he pitched this season, as he recorded 67 strikeouts in just 36 2/3 in-nings of work. Compton only gave up 15 hits all season. Perhaps the most impressive stat—and one that Lael and other coaches certainly appreciate—is that Compton only walked two batters the entire season. For good measure, he also recorded a pair of saves for the Pirates in relief. Compton has already been named 1st-Team All-COC, and will be in contention for further postseason honors in the near future.

Branson has had some incredible talent come through its baseball program over the years, and Compton ranks with the best, with impressive career numbers to back up that proclamation. Lael, who has seen plenty of area talent over the years, has said on at least one occasion that Compton is as good as any-one he has seen in his 24 years coaching at Branson. Compton posted a 21-8 record in his four-year varsity career, with 243 strikeouts and just 40 walks in 195 innings pitched and a 1.76 career ERA. Compton was also a .349 career hitter with 87 RBI and 87 doubles. He helped lead Branson to District titles in 2008 and 2010.

With the book on a standout prep career now closed, Compton now has his sights set on making his mark at the collegiate level, with professional baseball a realizable goal on the horizon.

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asIs it better to be the hunter or the hunted? Is it better to be the one going after the top dog, or the one playing with a tar-get on your back? Glendale standout Paul Nahon knows the answer to both of these questions.

By Byron Shive

Glendale’s Paul Nahon

Nahon, who recently graduated from Glen-dale, began his prep career as the hunter, an-nouncing his presence on the Class 2 state singles scene his freshman year with a state runner-up finish in 2008. He followed that up with a loss in the 2009 state semifinals to the eventual state champion, Christian Brothers College’s Matt Kuelker. Nahon won his next match to finish in third-place.

Nahon avenged the semifinal loss to Kuelker in 2009 by defeating him last season 7-5, 6-2 for the state championship. “I’ve won bigger tournaments, but this was a bigger deal,” said Nahon, who has been one of the top-ranked junior players on the USTA circuit since an early age. “It was pretty emotional. There were about 150-200 people there, and a lot of them were family and friends. Getting into the last points of the match was pretty nerve-wracking. It was great to finally break through, though, because I knew I had the potential.”

This season, Nahon was the one with the target on his back. That didn’t matter, though, because Nahon capped off a perfect senior season with a dominating march through the Class 2 state singles bracket, winning his sec-ond straight state championship with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Rock Bridge’s Braford Zitsch on May 28 at the Cooper Tennis Complex.

“It was my goal to go out here and perform my best,” said Nahon. “I knew going in that if I played my best, it was going to be my match.”

The state championship victory capped off a perfect 31-0 season for Nahon, who did not drop a single set during state tournament play. In fact, Nahon lost only one match during the final two years of his high school career, which came last season to Zitsch, so for Nahon, beat-ing his Rock Bridge nemesis to cap off his prep career was icing on the cake. Nahon finished his career with a singles record of 118-7, an all-time MSHSAA record for career singles wins.

“That’s probably the best way you could fin-ish,” said Nahon of winning a state title in his final high school match. “It’s a little sad, but I definitely made the most out of my high school career.”

Nahon earned a scholarship to the Univer-sity of Richmond, where he will begin compet-ing next season. Richmond became interested in Nahon after he performed well at a large Su-per National clay court tournament in Florida last summer. After taking official visits to both Richmond and Davidson, Nahon signed with the Spiders.

“It was a tough process, especially for an American player,” said Nahon of his college re-cruitment. “There’s a heavy international pres-ence in the college ranks. I wanted to choose a school with strong academics that also had a Division I program. They (Richmond) have a new coach, and they haven’t been as strong as they’ve been in the past, but they have four strong recruits coming in. I look forward to making a name for myself there.”

Paul Nahon has not been the only Nahon rocketing serves and smashing backhands for the Falcons, though, as his little brother, John,

has also been competing for Glendale. John, who just completed his sophomore year, won the #2 singles flight at the Ozark Conference tournament this year, which upped his singles record to 18-3 for the season at the time. John also teamed with Luke Hansen to capture a District doubles title.

“He’s certainly more aggressive with his shots than I am,” said Paul of John’s game. “He likes to charge the net, but not necessarily at the right times.” “You’re probably right about that,” interjected John with a laugh. “Paul’s re-ally dedicated to the sport. He goes for it, but he can also drop back and play a consistent game.”

One person who knows both Paul and John’s games well is longtime Glendale head coach Bob Cooper. “There’s a lot of personal drive in an individual sport like tennis,” said Cooper. “In order to be successful, you have to start early and get good early training. Some kids have a will to compete, and he (Paul) has that nature in him. He accepts the challenge. The thing that he (Paul) did right before his junior year is that he made the extra commitment off the court to get bigger, stronger, and faster. He’s now getting to balls earlier, and that goes back to his off-court conduct.

“I was little concerned with John coming in, because he was a really good track athlete in middle school,” said Cooper of John, who was the All-City high jump champion in eighth grade. “With his athleticism and the way he moves, he gets to a lot of tennis balls. He’s very good on his feet. He’s a tough person to beat, because he has the same com-petitive attitude as his brother. It must be because they’re both part of the same genetic code.”

That genetic code was provided, in part, by Paul and John’s father, John Nahon, Sr., who played tennis col-legiately for South-west Missouri State, as well at the semi-pro level. “Paul has a good all court game,” said the father of his son. “He has a very well rounded game that is geared toward college and the pro-fessional level. He has a great head on

his shoulders.“John is not as

advanced from a technical side,” said Paul, Sr., of his younger son. “He’s not as seasoned

from a tournament perspective. He likes to compete, hit the ball hard, and have a good time.”

Paul, Jr., has been playing tennis since he was two-years-old. Although he played other sports early on, such as soccer, basketball and golf, he dropped those endeavors to concentrate on his first love. “I got serious about tennis when I was about 9 or 10,” he said. “I dropped the other sports and focused on tennis and made it my passion. I love the competitive nature of it. It feels like home to me. Everything else goes away when I’m on the court.”

While his big brother will be playing colle-giately with pro aspirations beyond that, John harbors no such illusions for himself and ten-nis. “I’ll play tennis competitively until the end of high school,” said John, “but I’ll still play tennis for the rest of my life. You get a good workout and it’s a great way to stay in shape. I’m the smarter one of the two of us.”

All kidding aside, both Nahons have ex-celled in the classroom, in addition to their success on the court. “I’m just as proud of them for the work they do in the classroom as they do on the tennis court,” said Cooper. “They both take the ‘student’ part of ‘student-athlete’ very seriously.”

With Paul off to Richmond in the fall, the days of a double dose of Nahons on the tennis court for Glendale have ended, but the memo-ries will live on forever. “I have a lot of friends on the team,” said John, “but it was really fun to do this with my brother here.”

Glendale’s Paul Nahon

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EEZZScott Puryear

Co-Host, The Sports Reporters (JOCK 98.7)

Scott Puryear has been a part of the Springfield media scene since 1985 as both a sports writer/columnist for the Springfield News-Leader and in his current role as co-host of The Sports Report-ers Mondays through Fridays from 9 to 11 a.m. on JOCK 98.7 FM.

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00170 TODD Ozarks Prep full Rev 4/7/11 11:33 AM Page 1

There are certain, often mundane tasks that come with the territory of being a high school athletic di-rector. Meeting with unhappy parents. Balancing the budget. Monitoring the eligibility of student-athletes. These are a few that come to mind.

Virtually starting over with your school’s athletic program, after the deadliest tornado in recent U.S. history nearly wiped it out, is not one of them.

That’s the daunting task ahead for Joplin High School athletic director Jeff Starkweather, after an EF5 tornado ripped through the southwest Missouri town of 50,000 on May 22 and left a path of destruc-tion that claimed more than 130 lives and left large chunks of the town beyond recognition.

Taking a direct hit was Joplin High School, its buildings and adjacent sports fields for the most part destroyed, with very little left to salvage. The gymna-sium, home to the Eagles’ basketball and volleyball teams? Destroyed. Same for the weight room and training area for all of the JHS teams. The baseball, softball and soccer fields, and football practice fields? Scoreboards and fences blown away, dugouts ripped out of the ground…all damaged beyond repair.

As for all of the athletic equipment stored in the school…well, no one can be sure just yet. As of this writing, Starkweather and other JHS personnel were not yet allowed back into the rubble to survey what might be saved for the rapidly approaching 2011-12 season, a warning issued from emergency workers who’d yet to deem the crumbled building and its re-maining foundation safe for entry.

All of this mayhem dawned on Starkweather a few days after the tornado, with his initial focus naturally on making sure his coaching staff and athletes were safe and accounted for…which amazingly, all were. Many lost homes or had them damaged, but some-how, no lives were taken in the JHS athletic family.

Starkweather himself felt blessed that—though a brother had his home and business “trashed”—he and his family were spared the devastation. Living on the north side of town, they had just returned from the JHS graduation held at Missouri Southern State Uni-versity a few minutes before the storm sirens sounded. Like many away from its path, they didn’t know the extent of the tornado and the damage it had done un-til the next few hours later.

“You almost feel guilty,” Starkweather recalls now, “because we didn’t lose power, didn’t lose electric-ity…didn’t lose anything.”

But as word circulated of the storm’s destruction, Starkweather’s cell phone began to light up with a stream of text messages. Many came from his friends and co-workers in town, as Starkweather—a lifelong Joplinite—is deeply rooted in the community.

But, to his amazement, a flood of texts poured in from his AD peers and coaching buddies from throughout the Ozarks, specifically from surround-ing schools and the more widespread Ozark Confer-ence, of which the Eagles are members along with the

Springfield schools, as well as Waynesville, Camden-ton, Lebanon, Rolla and West Plains.

The underlying theme of every message sent to the sixth-year Joplin AD and former Eagles basketball coach seemed to be, “we are here for you…what can we do to help?” For Starkweather, that was nearly as overwhelming as the storm itself.

“That just tells you that in athletics, it is like a fam-ily,” he said. “Yes, we want to beat each other, and yes we’re competitive when we’re playing, but it’s also great to see that if there’s a need, people care because we all really do like one another. The human spirit clearly is alive and well in the way everyone has stepped up and showed such compassion.”

That became apparent on much more than just a local basis, as everyone from the state’s two starting NFL quarterbacks—Matt Cassel of the Chiefs and Sam Bradford of the Rams—to new Mizzou coach Frank Haith and other state sports dignitaries made their way to Joplin to do what they could to help.

Several organizations offered financial donations, including the Springfield Cardinals and the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, which presented Starkweather and Joplin principal Kerry Sachetta with a check for $2,500 raised through a silent auc-tion and gate receipts at their MBCA Challenge over Memorial Day weekend at the O’Reilly Family Event Center, after former basketball coach and Springfield R-12 athletic director Mark Fisher, MBCA Executive Director David Fox and others scrambled to come up with fundraising items all week to help their struggling neighbors.

“Their support has been unbelievable,” said Stark-weather. “He (Fox) said ‘we just want you to know this is just the beginning, we want to continue to help. It’s just a sense of pride from a great group of guys and gals (coaches) pulling together and wanting to help.”

The storm had barely left town before Starkweather received messages from athletic directors John Rode-rique of Webb City and Jessie Wall of Carl Junction, as well as word from officials at Missouri Southern, all willing to do whatever they could to assist in terms of offering their fields and gyms for temporary homes. And all, no doubt, will be pivotal in that regard over the next few months as Starkweather and the JHS ad-ministration attempt to put together a rebuilding plan for the school that includes athletic facilities.

For now, it appears JHS will be reconstructed on its current site off 20th Street, where it was once land-locked by surrounding neighborhoods, and might be presented with more opportunities for campus expan-sion should others choose to sell their property and rebuild elsewhere. That said, it will be interesting to see how the tragedy affects Joplin’s enrollment in the near future, with some of the displaced families pos-sibly choosing to move elsewhere with the upcom-ing school year fast approaching and no permanent place to stay—and unfortunately, in some cases, with no jobs to stay around for after several places of em-

ployment in town were destroyed.But that’s all trivial speculation for well down the

road. A more pressing nature for Starkweather is try-ing to get Joplin and its student-athletes back to some sense of normalcy, and to put a plan in place for the Eagles to be ready to practice and compete once the fall sports seasons arrive in just a couple of months.

“They’ve all been through a very traumatic experi-ence,” he added. “The quicker we can get back to normal summer activities, the better off the kids are going to be.”

Joplin’s football program lost a practice field, but was largely spared since the Eagles play their home games across town at Junge Stadium, which was not damaged. The football team had practiced a couple of days a week at Junge in the past and stored much of its equipment there, making for a somewhat smoother transition in at least one sport for the Eagles.

Otherwise, fans throughout the Ozarks can expect to visit some neutral venues for their contests with the Eagles when their local teams play at Joplin this coming year. Expect, perhaps, some basketball and volleyball games at Missouri Southern and baseball and softball at other surrounding parks…just about everything seemingly a little off-kilter as a wounded town attempts to move forward from an unfathom-able disaster. Thankfully, most of the middle school fa-cilities were spared damage, so the feeder system for JHS Athletics will go on without a major disruption.

Coming up with new equipment and uniforms for the teams who had them stored in JHS will be a monumental task in itself. Starkweather says he will seek donations from companies and organizations to help that cause, as Joplin doesn’t have time to wait for insurance payments, surveys and inventories of the damaged goods before the next school year and a full slate of sports seasons arrive in August. (For those wanting to assist in this area, Starkweather can be reached at (417) 625-5242, or by e-mail at [email protected]).

“People are clearly ready to help and wanting to help…but right now, it’s just a matter of really identify-ing those needs,” he said, adding that JHS is operat-ing under the expectation that it will need to replace virtually everything for several of its sports teams. “But we’ve got to get moving.”

You see it all the time around our great country—communities survive a disaster together, only to unite and become stronger as a result. After all, there ex-ists few greater avenues for pulling folks together with pride and a sense of community than, say, a Friday night high school football game against a rival.

And Starkweather predicts the Eagles will follow suit and fly with their heads held high this coming school year as they do their part to help a city heal, move forward and persevere.

“I believe that our kids will be resilient enough to bounce back, to band together and say, ‘if we can do this, we can do anything,’” he says.

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