NewsAthleticsPre-K to 8
Summer proves winning season for dedicated athletes
Sep 27, 2001 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
Some students spend their summers in front of the television. Others spend their time by a pool. Perhaps some might even admit to having enjoyed their summer reading selections. For two Darlington Middle School students, summertime meant the continue pursuit and dedication to playing –playing a sport. And playing it well.
Sixth-grader Jennifer Watford is passionate about softball. So passionate that she spent her summer vacation practicing and playing fast-pitch softball as catcher and third baser for the Cedartown Thrashers, Cedartown, Ga. She was one of 15 players chosen from the Cedartown softball leagues for the 10-and-under Cedartown all-stars, helping her team place second in the Georgia recreation and Park Association State Championship. The all-star team practiced together for six weeks before competing for the district and state championship titles.
This is Watford’s third consecutive year to play on the all-star team. According to Jennifer’s mother Donna Watford (who works with Darlington admission), Jennifer works hard to achieve success on the field. “Jennifer is currently taking weekly pitching lessons from Deb Sonnenberg, Kennesaw State pitching coach and a former Canada Olympic team pitcher in 1996. Donna Watford explained. “She practices her pitching drills everyday.”
Another dedicated athlete, eighth-grader Will Davis, spent an impressive summer with glove, bat, and ball –a baseball. Davis plays baseball almost year-round. In January 2001 he traveled to play in the Dominican Republic, then Cuba in July to play several teams in the Havana area. The season ended in August when his team, the East Cobb Astros, won the AAU National Championship for 13-year-olds in Sherwood, Ark.
The Astros won nine straight games to take the championship and became the only undefeated team in a field of 28 teams from across the United States. Davis’ primary position is pitcher but he sometimes pays right or left field.
Sixth-grader Jennifer Watford is passionate about softball. So passionate that she spent her summer vacation practicing and playing fast-pitch softball as catcher and third baser for the Cedartown Thrashers, Cedartown, Ga. She was one of 15 players chosen from the Cedartown softball leagues for the 10-and-under Cedartown all-stars, helping her team place second in the Georgia recreation and Park Association State Championship. The all-star team practiced together for six weeks before competing for the district and state championship titles.
This is Watford’s third consecutive year to play on the all-star team. According to Jennifer’s mother Donna Watford (who works with Darlington admission), Jennifer works hard to achieve success on the field. “Jennifer is currently taking weekly pitching lessons from Deb Sonnenberg, Kennesaw State pitching coach and a former Canada Olympic team pitcher in 1996. Donna Watford explained. “She practices her pitching drills everyday.”
Another dedicated athlete, eighth-grader Will Davis, spent an impressive summer with glove, bat, and ball –a baseball. Davis plays baseball almost year-round. In January 2001 he traveled to play in the Dominican Republic, then Cuba in July to play several teams in the Havana area. The season ended in August when his team, the East Cobb Astros, won the AAU National Championship for 13-year-olds in Sherwood, Ark.
The Astros won nine straight games to take the championship and became the only undefeated team in a field of 28 teams from across the United States. Davis’ primary position is pitcher but he sometimes pays right or left field.
