”The
older you get the faster time goes by”
is an old saying that I had heard for years and honestly never put much
thought into until now and yes, it’s true. The 2012/13 MAIS athletic season is
remarkably almost complete and it has been one of great stories and
achievements.
August
17th seems to have been just yesterday but that was Southern Sports
& Travel’s kickoff to the 2012 football season with coverage of defending
Class AA champion Simpson traveling to Madden to battle Leake. A mini capsule of
the 2012/13 season will be posted soon.
>>The
official countdown to the 2013 MAIS football season has officially been
launched and fans can expect to see changes in the Class AA & Class A
playoff formats. The MAIS has approved a 16 team system that eliminates the
north and south formats and puts into place a seeding based on powerpoints
system.
>>Coaching
changes are an expected event each year but this has been one of many. Some go
unnoticed but others are an exception such as Hall of Fame basketball coach Dale
Watts, Simpson football coach Billy Wayne Hankins and Silliman track coach
Sharon Kline. One of the strangest was that of Central Private head basketball
coach Henry Gantz who guided his boys’ team to the schools’ first ever Overall
Championship. Central Private and Gantz quietly parted ways without any
explanation.
>>The
Southern Sports & Travel Baseball Player of the Year is expected to be
announced next week unless a delay occurs in gathering much needed information.
>>Re-alignment
kicks in beginning in the fall and some traditional Class AA mainstays are
moving. Columbia makes its’ way to Class AAA Division-II while Marshall moves
to Class A.
Questions
accompanied some of the changes with concerns that Southern Sports & Travel
would no longer provide coverage of those two schools but the recent two year
trend has demonstrated a wider coverage of MAIS schools that encompassed all
three classifications. The wider coverage has been fruitful as web traffic and sponsors
have both increased.
>>As
Southern Sports & Travel continues to grow each year so too does the news
and announcements that come by way of school representatives to the site. This
has been a useful tool for many different parties who have been frustrated for
many years in the area of information gathering. In the age of social media all
areas can serve a useful purpose, hence the use of Facebook and Twitter in providing
information as quickly as possible.
>>In
the fall Southern Sports & Travel will begin its’ sixth year of providing
MAIS athletic coverage and I’m pleased to say that each year has shown growth,
even the brief hiccup that was the shortened 2011 year. This past year I was
pleased to go out of the box and do an automobile seat belt series that included
the stories of three young people who each had eye-opening experiences.
>>Summer
provides a time to perform a necessary task and while it is one I don’t enjoy
it is a vital necessity to the continued growth of Southern Sports & Travel
and the coverage it offers. Renewing sponsorships and seeking out new
supporters interesting in contributing is a must and that endeavor will begin
soon so as to not infringe on the start of the 2013 MAIS football season. If
your school doesn’t support Southern Sports & Travel through a sponsorship
ad please encouragement them to do so by contacting me at aafandaman@yahoo.com or phone/text 985-750-3455.
