It’s been a while since the JCHS football program was able to claim a college signee from their ranks, but considering the sheer athletic talent of this year’s group of graduating seniors, it was no surprise when two members of the Longhorn’s team announced their intentions to carry their football careers to the next level.
“It’s been a long time,” said Head Coach Mike Atwood. “This year we actually had two. Chase Kleine and River Cazire both signed letters of intent to go play football at other schools, and they will get some football money to go to that school. It’s a good thing; it’s a good thing for this program as a whole.” More...
Having lost just one match during the entire regular season and then going on to claim the award for tennis conference player of the year while also becoming the first district champion from Johnson County since 2000, it is easy to see why Milligan College was very interested in pulling Timmy Bellamy into their program. Yet, the one thing that appealed most to Bellamy’s coaches, both in high school and now on a college level, is that the senior player accomplished all of these things largely out of pure, raw, talent.
“Timmy has never had a private tennis lesson, which says a lot about his tremendous work ethic,” said the Longhorn’s head coach, Steve Nave. “Everybody we play, that’s our big disadvantage, most of them have had private lessons since they were five or six and for us to catch up is difficult. For him to win district says a lot about his ability. He is more athletic than most of the people he plays and now he has figured out how to use that. As far as groundstrokes and serves, he’s not the best tennis player, but he figures out ways to win and I think that’s actually more important than just being a great player. He just figures out how to win.”
Even Milligan’s head coach, Ryan Reynolds, made a point to mention Bellamy’s huge potential growth as a tennis player. “I had wanted him when he came back in the winter,” Reynolds said. “But I definitely see a lot of potential and I think he is just starting to break into that. He’s got a lot of raw talent that hasn’t been polished off yet as far as tennis goes, his tennis skills. That’s what we’re looking for, what were hoping to develop. He’s quick, he gets to it a lot, he’s got great hand eye coordination, but tennis is one of those sports where finesse and time are a lot more of a factor than just raw power.” More...
JCHS tennis has strong showing in district tourney
The JCHS tennis team wrapped up their season with a strong run in the district tournament earlier this month. A two-day event that took place in Elizabethton, the Longhorns had several competitors on the courts both in singles matches and in doubles. Playing against some of the toughest competition in the conference, Johnson County held its own, winning several sets and almost gaining an all Longhorn finals match.
Senior Ryan Whitener pulled out a close win on his first match to move on against Unicoi’s top seed, Conley Shultz. Whitener put up a good fight and had a solid chance to move into the finals, but was cut short in his second set against Shultz. Fellow senior Timmy Bellamy was able to avenge Whitener’s defeat in the final round Friday morning by pulling off a huge upset against Shultz that ultimately gave Johnson County the championship. More...
