From the notebook...........>>It would be hard to argue that this isn’t the busiest time of the year for those who cover and follow MAIS athletics. With the four week post season basketball tournament stretch, the start of baseball and the boys soccer championships taking place it can be overwhelming. With that being said, web traffic to Southern Sports & Travel has increased 150% compared to this time last year and with the huge spike in viewership comes the opportunity to make improvements to Southern Sports & Travel.
>>Technology has been an important ingredient in obtaining the necessary growth to maintain Southern Sports & Travel. Twitter and Facebook have been critical in reaching new visitors and connecting to MAIS followers who otherwise would not have known about the website.
Another sign of the advancement of technology is the increase in portable devices that are used to visit the website. While most traffic is originated from a home or business nearly 25% comes from IPhones, Androids, iPads or other mobile devices.
>>Southern Sports & Travel will provide full coverage of the Overall semi-finals and finals games on Friday and Saturday. Twenty seven games have been covered and written about over the past eleven days.
>>It's noteworthy to mention that the Class AA boys and girls finals on Saturday included coaches with a combined 34 state championship wins. Leake's Doyle Wolverton (15), Marshall's Craig Dailey (11) and Brookhaven's Dale Watts (8).
>>I would be remiss if I didn’t give a big “Shout Out” to Kirk Academy for the tremendous job they did in hosting last week’s Class AA State Tournament. Kirk Academy not only did a fantastic job in hosting the tournament, they also did a great job in showcasing their beautifully renovated gymnasium.
>>I had the opportunity to visit the Class A State Tournament at Delta Academy in Marks, Mississippi last Thursday. It was my first visit to Delta and it took no more than ten seconds once I entered their facility to appreciate the history and atmosphere. On top of that, the place was packed!
>>Soon after basketball is done time will be spent uploading tons of game photos to the Southern Sports & Travel Facebook page.
>>A big “Thank You” to a new Southern Sports & Travel sponsor, The Bank of Holly Springs.
>>Please continue to send in signing photos of MAIS players who will be furthering their athletic endeavors at the next level. All of the photos shown on Southern Sports & Travel are sent directly to me and while I occasionally hear from a coach about a particular player who has or is signing sometimes I never receive a signing photo.
