Go Tigers!

Spring has been a winning season for Darlington athletics with eight of our varsity teams making it to the state playoffs! This means that as of today, Darlington is No. 2 in the Georgia Athletic Directors Association Director’s Cup standings. This award is presented annually to the top athletic programs in each of the five GHSA classifications. Programs are graded with an accumulative point system that tabulates the accomplishments of each individual sport on the region and state levels. This is exciting news for us, and it speaks very well of our entire athletic program.

Let’s take a minute to look back on some of the things our student-athletes and their coaches have achieved athletically this year. Sixteen of our varsity teams competed at the state level. Twelve of these teams also won region. One student is a state champion in wrestling, another broke five school records in swimming, another was the top scorer in the state for Class A basketball, and a longtime member of our coaching staff was inducted into the Rome-Floyd Sports Hall of Fame. But the accolades don’t stop at the varsity level. In fact, in Middle School athletics our girls’ soccer team went undefeated for the fourth consecutive year, and the boys’ and girls’ cross country team celebrated their fourth consecutive area championship.

I also want to recognize our Coach of the Year recipients, who were selected by their fellow varsity head coaches. Please join me in congratulating track coach Kevin Hunt as the girls’ team Coach of the Year and baseball coach Chad Woods as the boys’ team Coach of the Year for 2008-09. Each of these men led their teams to outstanding performances in the state championships, with the girls’ track team earning second place last Saturday and the baseball team finishing their run at state in round three after facing some grueling competitors this week.

As our athletic director, Bob Stinchcomb, finishes up his first year here at Darlington, I must say that he and his entire coaching staff have done a superb job. They have worked hard every day to teach our student-athletes the meaning of leadership, teamwork, sportsmanship, discipline and character, and I am grateful to their dedicated service as both role models and mentors.

Just yesterday, Bob expressed the following sentiment, which I wanted to share with you. He said, “When other athletic directors ask me to describe Darlington, the first thing I tell them is how professional our faculty and staff members are, and how much they care for our students. It is these characteristics that help our student-athletes shine in their sports as well as in the classroom. I am proud of our student-athletes and our coaches for all their hard work this year, and I know that we couldn’t have achieved all the successes we have without the support of our wonderful parents.”

I hope you and your family enjoy some rest and relaxation during this beautiful Memorial Day weekend. Go Tigers!

Tom