• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2013-02-22_Vol78_No12_A06

AG February 22, 2013 SPORTS The Western Carolinian Catamounts sign 23 new players. Ryan Michaud Sports Editor Western Carolina University took its first major football step of the off season on Feb. 6, when head football coach Mark Speir and his staff. . announced the signing of the upcoming student athletes for the fall 2013 season. WCU signed 23 National Letters of Intent for the young ath- letes to play Catamount football in the fall. Speir addressed Cata- mount Nation on Nation- al Signing Day. We're excited to welcome these football players to the Catamount Nation today, said Speir. We feel like we addressed a lot of our football teams needs on both sides of the ball with quality student- athletes. Today is the culmination of a lot of hard work not only by our coaching staff, but also the efforts of our Catamount Club, the staff across our campus and our administration. Speir and his staff did not look too far to find talented players to put on purple and gold. Of the 23 players signed, 13 come from North Caro- lina, eight from Georgia, and two from South Carolina. Coming off a one-win season, WCU has work to do. Speir and his staff hit the road hard looking for a balanced set of players. They came out with five offensive linemen, three wide receivers, two tight ends, two running backs, four paces oman five defensive linemen, and two defensive backs. No quarterbacks were signed, indicating the team will continue to . work with current quar- terbacks Eddie Sullivan and Troy Mitchell. The Catamounts made a splash on the defense, as new defensive coor- dinator Shawn Quinn stated at the National Signing Day reception. We lost some valu-. able linebackers to graduation so we had some work to do. We are moving to the 4-3 defense so we looked for speed on the outside. We are especially excited about Tyson Dickson who has tremendous speed and strength on the outside, said Quinn. WCU hosted a National Signing Day reception in the Ramsey Genter on Feb. 11. Catamount fans from all over the south- east drove to attend the event. Catamount alumni and fan David Earay, who graduated from WCU in 1972 drove up from Greenville, S.C. Me and my buddy drove up last year, and we decided to make it an annual event. Iam . excited as to where the team is going. I think it is moving in the right direction, and 1 think we have a great staff to lead them there, said Earay. Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Daniel Hooker opened the reception with a word of welcome and introduced Susan Belcher, who introduced Speir. Speir began his epee with welcoming the new coaches on staff which included defen- | sive coordinator Shawn Quin, running backs coach DeRail Simms, and strength and con- ditioning coordinator Evan Barr. Speir also confirmed that the team has signed former NFL receiver David Patten as a wide receivers coach. Patten played college football at WCU but was a few hours short from graduating. Patten will finish his degree at WCU while coaching alongside Speir. Patten won three Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots while catching passes from Tom Brady and fol- lowing orders from Bill Belichick. We're very excited . that David Patten is joining our football coaching staff for the 2013 season, said Speir. David will bring a lot of energy, knowledge and passion to our program. Having someone like ' David with 12 years of NFL experience and three Super Bowlrings | around our players and coaches will be a tremendous asset and boost to our program. He knows what it takes ~ to compete at a high level and its awesome to | be able tohaveaguyon . staff that came through our program at Western Carolina and excelled on the highest stage. WCU football and Catamount Nation await the next season with anticipation and excite- ment. Speir and his staff . will open spring training March 15. GE Re REREAD lb Dean nh A uO Na COR a ee A ME Cc) te Rms Gh Nhs ssl GUNN haa iv Gata osc MREGAT ( Mamewea eaters Mabare sy nSE Case ARN AR BOARNR AK EE SNA RNA ESL MCF ECRYON PROC ROMEMNAR ERE NASH EGEaECE SOCAL RSUNGIN )RORIYLARARVUAN Nyc? MILA? AE RCN cE OME RAD UNS USS AP A CRG AES S RA Ts apt ot _ Allison Adkins Sports writer On July 8, 2009, the Western Carolina Uni- versity community lost . a significant member of its Catamount fam- ily. JaQuavian Smalls passed away while participating in a volun- tary pre-season football workout. Smalls had a blood disorder called sickle cell trait, which is expressed as having one sickle cell _ gene from one parent and one normal gene from the other parent, as defined JaQuavian _ by the Center for Disease Control. Smalls family filed a ~ lawsuit against five WCU officials in the Athletic Department. They filed for negli- gence and breach of duty to Smalls. Although Western Car- - Olina University denied the accusations, they ended up paying $600,000 in total to the Smalls family in a settlement outside of the courtroom. Mary Ann Lochner, the general counsel for Western Carolina said, Sometimes after the - "parties discuss things earnestly enough, it is _ felt by both sides that it is _in both parties best inter- est that they dont go into a judgment. Most schools did not screen for sickle cell trait up to this time because there was a disagreement in the medical commu- nity whether or not it would prevent death .. . It made it hard to develop procedures without a uniform belief in the medical community, said Lochner. Approximately a year after Smalls death, the NCAA puti in require- ments for Division 1 schools to adhere to for those athletes with sickle cell. The requirements . have been put into place - as to prevent the possibil- ity of serious injury or death due to the disease. Some of the requirements are as follow: Stop activ- ity immediately upon struggling or experienc- ing symptoms such as muscle pain, abnormal weakness, undue fatigue or breathlessness. Build up their intensity slowly while training. Not be urged to perform all-out Sich oti any Seog be- yond two to three min- utes without a breather. Now every athlete is screened for sickle cell, and precautions are made adhering to the NCAA rules here at West- ern Carolina University. ' Smalls was regarded well here at Western Carolina. Mr. Smalls was a great student. Everyone thought he was a fine young man! The folks in athletics thought well of him. There was a close relationship between the coaches and the family $ lawsuit settled of Mr. Smalls. ae did honor Mr. Smalls during -a football game, and his family did attend. Under these circumstances [the lawsuit], it was good to have them here, Loch- ner said. As to the death of a stu- dent. of Western Carolina, Lochner said, A wrong- ful death lawsuit of a stu- dent is perhaps the worst - thing a University could deal with. Having it con- cluded is a good result. We hope the Smalls can move forward. Iam glad the settlement allowed us to bring closure to it. Ryan Michaud Sports Editor If you have driven by the baseball field lately on a Cullowhee after- ~ noon, you probably. have seen the Western Carolina Universitys baseball team on the diamond getting ready for the upcoming sea-: sony i. On Saturday, Jan. 26, the Catamounts opened up the season by kick- ing off practice for 2013. All offseason the Catamounts have been working both mentally and physically to pre- pare for the season. The ' team have performed strength and condition- -Ing since November. WCU also kicked off 2013 with lifting and ', conditioning beginning at 6:30 a.m. Coming off a 32-24 sea- son, 16-14 in conference play, WCU fell short in. the end as they fell to. Samford and Furman in _the playoffs. We had a good year . last year. We hada strong team. We beat Duke, we swept Clem- son, but we just were not able to finish in the championships, stated head coach Bobby Mo- randa. Moranda, whois entering his 6th year as a head coach, hopes to improve off oflast | season and learn from : mistakes. ie Moranda summed up the teams outlook and ~ goal for the season in four words. . Win the Socon champi- onship, he said. Moranda and his team. are driven with a pas- | sion to win the cham- pionship and bringa trophy back toCullo- whee. We got to finish this year if we want it, he . continued. Moranda believes the teams primary strength is experience. Just two years ago, we were a very young team. This year, we have seasoned veterans on the mound and on the plate, Morsnde . said. The: Garareuit roster consists of seven se- niors, nine juniors, seven sophomores and 10 freshmen. Leading: the well-balanced team are four captains: right- Hneaded vehiever Preston _ Hatcher, left-handed starter Morgan McKin-, ney, first-baseman Tyler White and outfielder Cody Jones. Hatcher, who is playing his final season as a Catamount, was named to the Louis- ville Slugger Preseason All-America team. The Catamounts lost infielder Ross Hef: _ fley, who was also an All-American player. Heffely graduated and. . Is now with the Atlanta _ Braves organization af- ter being drafted in the 18th round of the 2012 i MLB draft. _ Alongside the veter- ans, Moranda trusts that the team will come together if the young Players step up and play - alongside the veterans. With the team losing seven key players after . the season, Moranda looks to remain as an experienced team. We definitely need the younger players to step up and play their best. With the younger players, we are always a little unsure of what exactly they can do, but we need them to step up and compete, Moranda said. ~ Moranda said before and he will say it again; and virtually every coach at Western Caro- lina will agree. The SoCon conference is competitive and if you want to win, you have to play the best. Along with playing the SoCon Juggernauts such as Ap- palachian State, Sam- ford and Davidson, they will be tested when they match up against Wake Forest, Michigan State, Clemson and Georgia. The Catamounts open their season in Cullo- whee with a three game series against Washing- ton State. : Aen Obes rade ts Matr e ghel ui ths tay see atop ee pas Sa HE Seman G OPA AY RE du ras Lei svds asi ba asuadv on ayadtesbutavsudue sage illauehsdceed\\ aon reastgudags dondltlasavalereWorecddeenell ees viuibeysolekviuted WCU's group exercises Allison Adkins Staff Writer An underused resource atWestern Carolina Uni- versitys Campus Recre- ation Center is its Group X classes. There are a multitude of various classes offered at convenient times for all college students. This . semester they are offer- ing the following courses: 821 Jump, Ab Attack, Aqua Combo, Butts & Guts, Cycle + Abs, Pilates, PiYo Strength, | Power. Pump, Power . Yoga, Shape Up Satur- days, Step, Sunrise Cycle, Trim N Tone, Turbo- kick, Warrior Workout, Yoga, Xpress Cycle + Abs and Zumba. There are distinct cat- egories of classes offered to focus on a certain section of your body or a certain type of workout. These courses are not just for those already in shape. The Group X classes are designed with every fitness level in mind. Mandy Dockendorf, an assistant director for fitness and wellness at the CRC, said, The group exercise classes are designed for anyone. of any body type or of any activity level. Each class provides modifications for individuals to work at- their own level and chal- lenge themselves each time they ttend. Each individual par- ticipating in the exercise class could be in there for different purposes from getting healthy, toning muscle, losing weight or because they enjoy exer- cising. The CRC wants to help enable students to reach their goals through the Group X classes. Instructors of Group X classes are trained and equipped to offer a good workout and class. Dockendorf said, In- structors must have prior ~ group exercise instruction experience, a group exer- cise certification or attend . the Group Exercise In- structor Training course held at the CRC to apply for an open position. Kathryn Beaver, a sophomore at Western Carolina and Zumba instructor for the CRC, describes her experience with the CRC and Group X program as exceptional. Adding on to my amazing work experi- ence, [am so privileged to be able to teach Zumba where I can work out, have fun and meet new friends at the same time, said Beaver. Like any course offered in any school setting, it is important that you have passionate and enthusias- tic instructors, which the CRC claims to have. Users of the Group X classes and programs said they enjoy the experience and are supportive of the programs offered. Molly Lancaster, a fresh- man, said, It was really fun, and I was getting a good workout at the same time. I didnt like that the class was not an hour long. The classes are short. Group X Jam is a: sampling of the Group X classes offered at the CRC. It is an event that is at the beginning of each semester to allow students to sample the variety of classes offered. Katy Kryzwick, a second year grad student and the assistant resident director - of Central Drive Residence Hall, said, Group X Jam was really fun anda great way to work out while sampling the different types of classes offered A the CRC! If you would like to: see the exact description of each class and have a copy of the schedule, swing by the Campus Recreation Center next to the UC and ask for a copy of their Spring 2013 Group X Schedule. A Tribute CONTINUED FROM PAGE A4 didnt matter what the problem was, he would use every ounce of his charisma to help others. When asked about McConnell, Ginger Fulbright said, He was : a big man with a bigger , .| heart, and he was always looking for a way to help others. When he found a project, he put his whole heart into it and recruit- ed the help and attained the resources needed to get the job done without any fanfare. McConnell was a won- derful influence on the . young people of Jackson County. His life was an inspiration that great- ness can be achieved if you work for it. With his passing, there is a hole in the backbone of Jack- son County. His loss is not just felt by those who were close to him but by all. Many may not have known him directly, but his influence and warmth has reached throughout the community. As Messer said, You couldnt say no to him. There aren't 10 people in this world that can line up . and fill his shoes. He was everywhere doing things to better this community. No one can ever replace Charles Candler McConnell, Jr., but there is a need in this - county. There is a need to help others. We can only hope that people can hear about his life and his heart - and take it upon them- selves to reach out and , help others. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to New Century Scholars, 447 College Dr., Sylva, NC 28779; Jackson Neighbors in Need/Mountain Proj- ects, 25 Schulman St., Sylva, NC 28779; or to the First Baptist Church of Sylva New Kitchen Fund, 669 West Main St., Sylva, NC 28779.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
  • Text
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2013-02-22
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 12
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2013-02-22_Vol78_No12
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library