Glenwood Gators embrace high expectations for 2011 football season

In 2010, Glenwood head football coach Jason Allen led the Gators to a 6-5 record and a berth in the playoffs. Not bad for Allen’s first year on the job at the Phenix City private school, especially considering that he inherited a team that finished 1-9 in 2009.

“We laid the foundation for where we want our program to be in the coming years. We established that,” said Coach Allen. “We emphasized work ethic and how we wanted to practice and how we wanted to finish everything. Finish drills, finish practice and finish games. We emphasized finishing.”

Glenwood's Jason Allen believes the Gators could
go all the way in 2011.

The Gators started strong in 2010, pushing their record to 5-1, before stumbling down the home stretch to finish the regular season 6-4. They lost in the first round of the Region 3A playoffs to Bessemer, 31-28. Glenwood competes in the Alabama Independent Schools Association.

Allen said one of the biggest wins of the season was beating rival Lee-Scott Academy 28-27 at home. “That got the ball rolling for us, gave us some confidence,” he said. “We realized we could have a pretty good team if we played hard and didn’t make mistakes.” Another huge victory for Glenwood was beating 2AA defending state champions Edgewood, 13-12, in the ninth game of the season.

The Gators have 13 seniors returning for the 2011 season, including leading rusher Will Allison (6’0/170), who ran for more than 1,200 yards as a junior. “He’s a hard runner and very fast,” said Allen. “When he gets in the open field, he doesn’t get caught.”

Joining Allison in the backfield is senior Deion Goshay (5’7/160), who rushed for more than 800 yards last season. Allen said both Goshay and Allen are duo-threats as rushers and receivers in Glenwood’s high-power spread offense, which scored 69 points in a win over Ward Military Academy. “They both catch the ball well,” said Allen.

The Gators’ top returning wide receiver is senior Chase Silvani (6’0/175). “He is a deep threat. He is really fast. He is has extremely good hands,” assessed Allen. Throwing the ball to Silvani will be junior quarterback Brandon Dailey (5’11/165).

The offensive line will be anchored by four seniors—Kyle Langston (6’2/245), Wesley Bowers (5’11/170), Eric Lynn (5’11/170) and center Tip Lynch (6,0/230). Allen said Lynch did a good job of snapping the ball in the shotgun formation last season. “His snaps were good. Center is a very important position for us. His blocking got better as the year went on,” said Allen.

Glenwood’s defense should be stout this season with senior defensive linemen Jesse Hill (6’3/225) and Cole Knight (6’1/280), senior linebackers Judson Neel (6’0/180) and Markel Smith (6’0/232), and senior cornerback Adaam Wilson (5’8/160).

Coach Allen does not shy away from saying he wants to win a state championship this season. “We feel like this is the best chance that Glenwood has had to win a state championship in a long time,” said the coach. “We’re not going to beat around the bush. We have good kids, good talent and a good team. That is a recipe for championship contenders. That is our No. 1 goal. Anything else is a failure.”

In the Glenwood clubhouse, Allen has worked hard to transform the facilities into championship form. He installed theater-style seating in the film room. He built new oak lockers in the locker room, where he also installed new carpet, lighting and three flat-screen televisions for watching football. He hung motivational signs in the weight room. Everything has a fresh coat of orange and green paint.

“We know we are going to have a good, athletic team,” said Allen. “We want to embrace expectations. Every day they are out there throwing up, we talk about what it’s going to feel like to win a state championship, how the hard work will be worth it.”

By John Carroll

IN THE GAME HIGH SCHOOL MAGAZINE

http://columbusvalley.inthegamemagazine.com/

Glenwood Gators

AISA, Region 3A East

Head Coach: Jason Allen

Team Colors: Orange and White

2010 Record: 6-5, Region: 3-3

Points Scored: 354

Points Allowed: 276

New Football Coach Rebuilds Pacelli From Ground Zero

St. Anne-Pacelli in Columbus is coming off a dismal 2010 football season that saw the Vikings go 0-10. The Catholic school hired a new football coach, Randy Grace, with hopes that a change in leadership will spark a change in direction for the Class A football program that competes in Region 4.

Grace is no stranger to Pacelli. He was the defensive coordinator for the Vikings for three seasons under former head coach Kevin Pettis (2002, 2003, 2004). The Vikings won back-to-back region titles in 2003 and 2004, and finished both regular seasons a perfect 10-0. Grace said he is excited about returning to the school where he has a lot of good memories.

“I get a chance to come back to the school that I loved more than any place I’ve been throughout my career,” said the 36-year-old coach. “I love Pacelli and I missed it ever since I left. It has a great family atmosphere. There is a lot of tradition at the school. It’s a place where kids come to be successful. It’s a good fit for me and I was very excited to get the opportunity to come back.”

Grace knows his job of restoring football at Pacelli to a higher level will take time and require a lot of hard work. But he’s not backing down from the challenge. The coach said his players are lifting weights or conditioning five days a week on Monday-Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Friday mornings from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

New Pacelli football coach Randy Grace and senior captain
Drew Spikes hope to turn around the program in 2011.

“Right now we have to build it from the ground up,” said Grace. “We’re having to start at ground zero. The first thing we did is get the weight room back going and get weight clubs started.”

At spring practice in May, 43 kids showed up to play football, 23 of them freshman. “The way I look at it that’s 23 seniors four years from now. We’ve been beating the bushes, trying to build it young,” said Grace.

The Vikings coach hung a sign in the Pacelli weight room that reads: Tradition Never Graduates. “Each team every year has the responsibility to uphold the tradition of our school. We are trying to bring that back,” Grace said. “We want to have fun and play at full speed all of the time and honor the tradition of our school.”

Grace pointed to the legacy of great football coaches at Pacelli like Nathan Rustin and Kevin Pettis, and the tradition of great football players like Calvin Baker, Matt Dunham, Russell Harris, Mark LeGree, Jaquez Terry, and Taylor Moss.

The coach is also emphasizing “to finish” in everything the team does. “Finish our play. Finish our drill. Finish the game,” said Grace. “We got to learn to finish and finish strong. That is one of our main goals. It is most important.”

Another important goal said Grace is to beat cross-town rival Brookstone. The Cougars have won six in a row in the series and 12 of the last 15 games. When Grace was an assistant coach at Pacelli for three years, the Vikings never lost to the Cougars. “When I was here we beat Brookstone three in a row—48-0, 50-0, 38-0,” said Grace. “They have a great system and one of the best programs in the city. Pacelli hasn’t been very competitive with Brookstone the last few years.”

As far as Pacelli football players, Grace said everything starts with his senior captain Drew Spikes (5’8/165). Last year, Spikes played an entire game with a broken back. “In 16 years of coaching he probably has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen,” said Grace. “He has a heart as big as a tractor-trailer. I’m looking for big things out of Drew from a leadership standpoint. He is a great leader.”

Another player Grace expects to emerge as a team leader is senior linebacker and fullback Anthony Huff (5’11/235). “He has not had a chance to come into his own yet. He was injured a lot last year,” said Grace. “But he is really looking good and I am expecting big things from him.”

Other players to watch, per Grace:

Seniors: Jake Braley, DB/RB, (6’1/175); Justin Gaus, OL/DL, (5’9/180).

Juniors: Jay Dawahare, QB/K, (6’1/175); Daniel King, QB, (5’10/165), Brice Morpeth, C, (6’1/245); Mitchell Torbert, OL, (6’2/250); Daniel Solomon, OL, (6’2/255); Alex Fernandez, OL-LB, (5’10/155).

Sophomores: Noah Forhand, RB, (5’5/165); Darrell Smith, WR, (5-10/175); K.T. Walls, DB/RB, (5’7/140)

Freshman: Eric Hughes, QB, (5’10/140); T.J. Brascomb, DE, (6’2/257); Chris Rehak, TE/DE, (6’2/240); Keandre Ashley, RB/LB, (5’9/165); Charlie Oliver, RB/LB, (5’9/140); Thomas Russell, RB/LB, (5’9/160); Kevin Jacobs, K, (5’8/135).

St. Anne Pacelli Vikings

GHSA, Class A, Region 4

Head Coach: Randy Grace

Colors: Red & White

2010 Results

Record: 0-10, Region: 0-10

Points for: 201

Points allowed: 463


By JOHN CARROLL
IN THE GAME HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE
http://columbusvalley.inthegamemagazine.com/

Brookstone Golfers Repeat As State Champions

Four seniors lead Cougars to second straight state golf title

  It was a Brookstone birdie-fest at the 2011 Class A boys golf state championship held May 2 at Green Island Country Club in Columbus, Ga.

  Led by tournament medalist Robert Mize, who shot 2-under-par 69, the Brookstone Cougars golf team romped to a 12-stroke victory to repeat as Georgia High School Association state champions.

2011 Brookstone state championship golf team: From left, Carter Mize,
Coach Marty Durden, Thomas Mitchell, Robert Mize, Robert Swift,
Parker Derby, and James Clark.

  “This is awesome,” said Mize, a senior who is the son of pro golfer Larry Mize. “I don’t think there’s any better way to go out.”

  Mize is one of four seniors on the Brookstone golf team to win back-to-back state championships. The last time the private high school accomplished such a feat was 1986-1987. The other seniors and their respective scores from the state tournament are Carter Mize (74), Thomas Mitchell (77), and Robert Swift (78). Sophomore Parker Derby shot 75 and freshman James Clark shot 81.

  Brookstone’s team score of 295 was 12 strokes better than runner-up Savannah Christian, which shot 307. Rounding out the top 5 were Savannah Country Day (316), First Presbyterian Day (316), and Holy Innocents (320).

  Brookstone golf coach Marty Durden said his players battled to keep it together on a golf course that was playing hard and fast. He expressed pride in the way his players handled adversity and grinded it out to the very last putt.

  “It was a hard fought match out there,” said Durden. “It was tough to score. The putting was tough. Almost every player had a high number. The thing that I’m proud of the most out of our guys is that everyone had an opportunity to quit but never gave up.”

Masterful Mize Saves Best For Last

  Medalist Robert Mize got off to a hot start with birdies on four of the first six holes he played at 1, 3, 5, and 6. He shot 3-under-par 32 on the front nine and parred the first four holes on the back nine.

  But on the par-5 14^th hole, Mize’s tee shot bounced out of bounds and he had to scramble to save bogey. He responded on 15, a short par 4, by getting up and down from the greenside bunker for birdie 3.

  On the par-3 16^th hole, Mize mishit his tee shot and his golf ball landed in the pond guarding the green. He responded with a great up-and-down to save bogey and kept his solid round alive. Coming home, the senior golfer made challenging putts on 17 and 18 to save pars and signed his scorecard for a tournament low 69. Mize was the only golfer in the field of 113 high school golfers to shoot under par.

Robert Mize drove his tee shot into the greenside bunker on the short
par-4 15th hole, where he got up-and-down for birdie. He shot
2-under 69 and was low medalist at the Class A state tournament.

  “It was a little nerve-wracking, but I think I closed it out pretty well,” said Mize, who will play college golf at Furman University. “This has been one of my goals. All of the hard work is paying off.”

  Mize’s father, Larry, who won the Masters in 1987 and currently plays on the Champions Tour, followed his son for the entire round.

  “I really am proud of him. He’s been working really hard on his golf game and the work paid off,” said Mize. “He went out there today and played a really good round. You could tell he felt comfortable out there, felt confident. He played really well and it was fun watching him.”

  The elder Mize also played on the Brookstone golf team when he was in high school in the late 1970s, but never had the team success that Robert has experienced.

  “I never won a state championship and now he’s won two,” exclaimed the former Masters champion with a chuckle.

  Coach Durden said Robert Mize has worked hard to improve his golf game and has developed into a special player.

  “Robert had a good day on the golf course and I’m not at all surprised that he was the low medalist,” said Durden, who secured his second state championship in 11 years as the Brookstone golf coach. “He kept getting better and better as the year went on. Robert fell in love with golf late in his high school career. Since last summer he has really improved and played well. He has still a lot of untapped potential. In my opinion, he has the potential to be a really good player and maybe a guy who could play the rest of his life and make a living playing golf.”

Tripped Up By Triple Bogeys

  Even though Brookstone was playing on a golf course in their backyard, Coach Durden said winning another state championship was not as easy as the final scores indicated.

Senior golfer Carter Mize shot 74.

  “Every player had at least one bad hole, but they kept on playing and fighting,” said the golf coach. “It was like a championship boxing match. You take a body blow and get back up and keep fighting.”

  Durden pointed to seniors Thomas Mitchell and Carter Mize and sophomore Parker Derby, who all took triple bogeys, but battled to the finish to post scores of 77, 74, and 75, respectively.

  Mitchell’s trouble hole came on 12, when he dumped his approach shot into the greenside bunker and then blasted his sand shot over the green. He took a 7 on the short par-4 hole.

  “He would tell you that he didn’t play particularly well today, but he hung in there,” said Durden. “He ended up with a 77 and that’s one of the better scores on the scoreboard.”

  Durden was very proud of the way Mitchell finished his round by making a birdie 3 on the par-4 18^th hole.

  “It’s so apropos that he finished with a birdie. He never quit scrapping,” said Durden. “It came down to the last hole and he was still trying to get his score down. He never gave up.”

  Durden said Mitchell is nicknamed “Tank” because of his prodigious length off the tee. “He can hit it a country mile,” said the golf coach.

  Mitchell said the pace of play slowed down at the turn and he made the mistake of letting it bother him.

  “I shot 1-over on the front, but got to the back and there were just a bunch of delays,” said Mitchell. “It was so slow, it really affected my play and I finally got it back together on the last several holes.

  The birdie on 18 was a nice way to finish off the round, said Mitchell, who will play golf in the fall at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala.

  “It was about a 15-footer straight back down the hill and going a hair to the right,” described the golfer. “I just hit it great.”

  Winning another state championship was the ultimate goal for the Brookstone golf team, said Mitchell, who was the medalist at the Region 4-A tournament in Hawkinsville by shooting 4-under, 68.

  “It just couldn’t be any better,” he said. “This is what we wanted to do and we did it.”

Team Victory Abates Controversy

  Fellow senior Carter Mize (oddly no relation to Robert Mize) said he was truly elated to win another state championship in front of the hometown crowd in Columbus.

  “It’s a feeling that is unexplainable. I couldn’t be happier,” said Mize, who had four birdies on holes 5, 7, 14 and 15. “I could not have asked for a better ending to a golf career. I’m not playing in college so this is the way to go out.”

  Coach Durden said he had no doubt that Carter Mize would bring his A-game to state.

  “The word for Carter is steady, consistent,” said Coach Durden. “If he were a guy shooting a gun at a target, he would have the closest pattern. He’s very consistent in his life and in his golf game.”

  The golf coach said Mize also has a gift for responding with poise when faced with adversity as he did on the 18^th hole. “When things get tough Carter seems to always be able to give his best effort,” said Durden.

  Mize was even par through 17 and hit his tee shot on 18 in the middle of the fairway. But when he got to where his golf ball should have been, he could not find it. Another golfer from First Presbyterian Day playing the adjacent ninth hole was suspected of mistakenly hitting Mize’s ball. Rules officials asked the player to check his golf balls in his bag to see if he had hit the wrong ball, but Mize’s ball was still not found.

  The Brookstone golfer was assessed a two-stroke penalty and had to return to the 18^th tee to play another ball. As a result, Mize made a controversial triple-bogey 7 on the last hole that had players, parents and Coach Durden upset.

  “He got a terrible break on 18. He took a triple on 18 that I think should have been a par,” said Coach Durden. “He still shot 74, but that should have been a 71.”

  Mize said repeating as state champions wiped away the anger and frustration that he felt from the unfortunate incident on 18. “It’s all about the team first,” said Mize. “As long as we win I’m happy.”

  The red-haired senior golfer said playing for the state championship at Green Island in Columbus was beneficial for the Brookstone players, but he believes they would have won on any golf course in Georgia.

  “We could have won anywhere. We have all the talent in the world,” said Mize. “Home course is not a big deal. You still have to play your own game. You still have to hit fairways and greens and make putts.”

  Fellow senior golfer Robert Swift agreed with his teammate.

  “Definitely could have won anywhere else,” said Swift, co-captain of the Brookstone golf team with Robert Mize. “It doesn’t matter what golf course. We have such a strong team.”

  Swift will attend college at Wofford, where he will attempt to walk on the golf team.

  “We are lucky that we have so much talent together in this high school,” said Swift, who shot 74 at Region.

 

Future Bright For Brookstone Golf

  Coach Durden said it will be difficult to part ways with his four seniors—all of whom he has known since he taught them P.E. in the second grade.

  “I will miss these seniors so bad. It’s going to leave a personal hole,” said Durden. “I’ve known all of these seniors since they were little biddy boys. They’ve all been like sons to me and I’m going to miss them. They grow up in front of your eyes. They sure have had good golf careers.”

  Despite losing four seniors, Durden said Brookstone will field another talented golf team next year, led by sophomore Parker Derby and freshmen brothers James and Mercer Clark.

  “I think the Lord for the privilege of being the Brookstone golf coach,” said Durden, reflecting on back-to-back state championships. “If you look in the record books, repeating is the hardest thing to do in sports, but we did it. God has given us his blessing.”

  As far as the future of the Brookstone golf team, Derby did not shy away from talking about another state championship.

  “I think we have a chance to win it the next two years,” said Derby. “We are going to be good next year and we’ll be just as good my senior year, if not better.”

By John Carroll

IN THE GAME High School Sports Magazine

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18 holes of lawyering

Personal injury lawyer Michael Regas has found teeing off can be a good way to do business  By John Carroll, Special to the Daily Report

Michael G. Regas II, right, with law partner Bradley Houck, holds the Contingency Cup, a trophy given to the winning law firm in their annual team-oriented golf match with another plaintiffs' firm. (Zachary D. Porter/Daily Report) Personal injury lawyer Michael G. Regas II enjoys playing golf for pleasure, but he says it's often good for his business. He even once settled a case after playing a round with his opposing counsel. "It's easier dealing with somebody when you have played golf with them," explained Regas, a 45-year-old name partner at Houck, Ilardi & Regas. "It takes the edge off. You develop a rapport with them that is more than just business. It makes it easier to pick up the phone and call them." Regas recalled the time when he settled a case involving a crosswalk death. He said his opposing counsel called and suggested a round of golf together might lead to a settlement. So the two lawyers met at Druid Hills Golf Club, where Regas is a member, and played 18 holes. "He had the authority to settle and suggested if we spent a day on the golf course that we could work something out," said Regas. "We did a lot of posturing on the golf course and shared a lot of conversation. Afterward, we had a beer in the clubhouse and sat there for an hour, got serious and then got the case resolved." As a 7.2-handicap golfer, Regas annually plays in a handful of golf tournaments and charity golf outings. He is president of the Buckhead Lions Club and past-chairman of the organization's annual golf outing that raises money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Last year, the club gave $35,000 to the pediatric hospital. This year's tournament on May 23 will generate another large financial gift for the hospital, said Regas. "This is our primary fundraiser, and it's nice to make such a generous donation each year," Regas said. "I was chairman of the tournament for four years. We always have a super turnout, and it's for a great cause." Contingency Cup Also on the lawyer's golf radar is the third annual Contingency Cup, a team-oriented golf match set for May 26 pitting Regas' law firm against rival firm Cash, Krugler & Fredericks. "We call it the Contingency Cup because we are all plaintiffs' lawyers," said Regas. "We compete for cases with these guys, but the golf course has given us a great forum to become friends." Regas and his law partners—S. Bradley Houck and Frank A. Ilardi—won the Contingency Cup last year and have the hardware to prove it. A 2-foot-high trophy is on display in the lobby of the firm's Dunwoody office. "It is appropriately ostentatious," said Regas. To round out the foursomes in the Contingency Cup, each law firm chooses a defense attorney for their team. Thomas E. "Ted" Lavender III plays with Houck, Ilardi & Regas, and Daniel J. Huff plays with Cash, Krugler & Fredericks. Hooked in college A 1991 graduate of Georgia State University College of Law, Regas took up golf with a passion while attending the University of Georgia in the mid-1980s. A Lambda Chi fraternity brother, William C. "Chip" Collins Jr., invited him to play golf one day, and Regas said he "immediately fell in love with the game." The two friends played golf as often as they could in college, which included regular rounds at the University of Georgia Golf Course. "We ventured out to every golf course within a 60-mile radius of Athens," said Regas. "We had the most fun." The attorney said he and Collins, now a lawyer at Burr & Forman, still play golf together and are teaming up for the Druid Hills member-guest golf tournament in June. Regas said he has played in several member-guest and member-member golf tournaments over the last two decades. He teamed with attorney Michael D. Flint of Flint & Adler to win two member-guests—one at Druid Hills, the other at Capital City Club, where Flint is a member. Regas also won the Druid Hills member-guest in 1995 while playing with his father-in-law, Harry Lockwood. "That solidified our relationship," joked Regas, who married Lockwood's daughter, Mary, in 1993. Masters moment As a long-time Georgia resident, Regas said he has always been a big fan of the Masters Tournament played annually in Augusta. In April, the lawyer took his son, Joe, to the Masters for his 13th birthday. "We were gone from sunup to sundown," said Regas. "It was a very memorable experience, being able to take my son and spend the day with him at the Masters. We had a ball." Father and son were sitting at the 16th hole and saw eventual-winner Charl Schwartzel make birdies on 15 and 16. "We saw a lot of golf," said Regas. "The guys were grinding hard. You could see it in all of their faces." While taking in the golf action, Regas said Joe was telling him what club he would hit on every hole. "He asked me if I could get us on the golf course. It was priceless." Regas said the 2011 Masters was the most exciting tournament since the 1986 Masters, when Jack Nicklaus won his last major championship in dramatic fashion. "I was at the '86 masters," recalled Regas. "I was there on Friday and Saturday. I watched it on TV on Sunday. The whole fraternity house watched it in the TV room. It was awesome. People were going crazy. Jack was big back then. People were huge fans of Nicklaus and definitely our crowd was."

18 holes of lawyering

Win it for Hawks fans and players from the '70s

Fast Eddie Johnson, aka EJ, was one of several great guards that played on the Atlanta Hawks teams of the '70s.

Dan Roundfield
was a hard-nosed
rebounder.

I've been a Hawks fan since the early '70s. I vividly remember the 1979 playoff series vs. the Washington Bullets in which the Hawks battled the defending NBA Champions to 7 games. My father waited in a long line down at the Omni box office to buy playoff tickets for us. I was a 13-year-old avid basketball player and Hawks fan, and my Dad and I were stricken with major Hawks fever. That was a scrappy, tough Hawks team with hard-nosed players like Eddie Johnson, Armond Hill, Dan Roundfield, Tree Rollins, Tom McMillen, and the sensational Terry Furlow (RIP). The Big E--Elvin Hayes--was unstoppable in that series, but the '79 Hawks left everything on the court. The '79 Hawks were feisty and gritty and didn't back down to anybody. Three decades later, I'd love to see this current Hawks team play with the same purpose and passion, and win a big series for long-time Hawks fans like me. You gotta believe!!

Lawyers at the Masters

Georgia lawyers took some time off to enjoy the Super Bowl of golf
By John Carroll, Special to the Daily Report

It is only fitting that the legal community was well represented in the galleries of the Masters. The tournament was founded by the late Atlanta attorney and golf legend Bobby Jones. Below are a few anecdotes from lawyers and a judge who attended the Masters earlier this month.

Judge Jackson and son, Isadore, on the first hole.

Judge and son do the Masters

Atlanta Municipal Court Judge Gary E. Jackson enjoyed the Masters this year with his 12-year-old son, Isadore. The two golf fans took in the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday and witnessed tournament action on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

"We had a blast," said Jackson. "It was the most exciting Masters I can remember in years—what a finish!"

The Jacksons sat at the 18th green Sunday and watched South African Charl Schwartzel birdie the final hole to win the 2011 Masters. They then stayed for the awards ceremony after the tournament and saw 2010 Masters champion Phil Mickelson present Schwartzel with the green jacket.

Other highlights from the week, per Jackson:

• At the Par 3 Contest, Isadore stood in the autograph section behind the 9th green and collected more than 50 autographs from golfers on a Masters replica flag.

• Father and son ate lunch Friday on the clubhouse lawn under an umbrella table.

• They saw every golfer. The judge's favorite moment was seeing Jack Fleck playing the Par 3 Contest. His favorite memory was watching his son "scarfing down" pimento cheese sandwiches.

This was Jackson's 26th consecutive year attending the Masters. His first Masters in 1986 is still his "all-time best Masters memory." That was the year Jack Nicklaus won in dramatic fashion.

Looking thru the pines at No. 13.

Local attorney entertains friends

Raymond J. Doumar lives two miles from Augusta National Golf Club. He usually rents his house during the week of the Masters and skips town for vacation with the family. Doumar is pretty sure that there is "not a lot of law being practiced in Augusta during the Masters."

This year the plaintiffs' attorney opted to not rent his house and returned early from vacation so he could attend the Masters with his 8-year-old son, Jackson, on Saturday.

"It was his first Masters," said Doumar. "He did well. He got a little tired. It was hot and humid."

Father and son enjoyed sitting at the 14th tee so they could see golfers play 13 and hit their drives on 14.

"Bubba Watson bombed it," said Doumar. "Tiger hit 3-wood on 14. His swing looks under control."

A former collegiate golfer at Clemson, Doumar had friends in town from Florida for the weekend and entertained them at the Masters on Sunday. The group was positioned at hole 16 when Tiger Woods made a charge on the front nine.

"The roars were pretty loud when Tiger was making his move," said Doumar. "You could hear it from the back nine what he was doing on the front nine. I thought he was going to go low on the back."

Doumar and friends left the tournament around 5 p.m. so they could watch the finishing holes on TV at his nearby house. "It gets really crowded the last two hours," he said. "We had a good time."

Love is in the grass

John A. Ernst Jr. and wife Monica L. Vining, both Atlanta attorneys, attended their first Masters together this year. They went on Saturday for the tournament's third round of play.

The couple enjoyed seeing Woods, Matt Kuchar, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson. They saw eventual-winner Schwartzel play through on hole 2.

At hole 7, the couple saw Mickelson tee off and then reach over the ropes to high-five his daughter.

Ernst said attending his first Masters brought out the "little kid" in him. When he saw turtles in the pond at 16, he exclaimed, "Look, turtles!"

"I had no idea they had turtles in the pond at 16," said Ernst. "I thought that was cool."

The couple was impressed by the beauty of the golf course.

"It's high-level horticulture," said Ernst. "I've never seen any grass any greener."

"The azaleas were gorgeous colors," said Vining. "John tried to find a weed, but couldn't do it."

The most unusual thing they saw occurred at Amen Corner, the section of the golf course at holes 11, 12 and 13. They were sitting in the stands there when they witnessed a marriage proposal in the nearby grass.

"She said yes," said Vining. "A lot of people were around and started clapping."

Super Bowl of golf

Athens attorney Kevin G. Sweat was sitting in the bleachers at No. 16 on Sunday when the score was posted for what McIlroy made on No. 10: Seven.

"Everybody in the stands was taken aback," said Sweat, an associate at Cook Noell Tolley & Bates. "Nobody could believe he made a triple bogey on 10. Then to see him fall further, my heart went out to him. He was playing as hard as he could, but was unable to hold it together."

McIlroy started the final round with a four-shot lead, but stumbled under the pressure and fell out of contention on the back nine.

As a 14 handicap, Sweat said he plays golf in Athens at the University of Georgia Golf Course and Lane Creek Golf Club. This year was his fourth time attending the Masters. He went with a friend who had badges. "It's one of the hardest tickets to get in sports," said Sweat. "I compare it to going to the Super Bowl."

The most memorable shot he witnessed this year was Adam Scott's "near ace" on 16 in the final round. He also saw Woods miss a short eagle putt on 15.

"You could tell that took the wind out of his sails," said Sweat. "He was still dejected as he played 16. If he would have made that eagle, I think he would have charged to the finish. That was a crucial putt. He needed to make 3 there if he was going to win."
This article was originally printed in the Daily Report on April 22, 2011.

Farewell, Drew Hill. We will always have 1978 in Athens.

Long before Calvin Johnson roamed Grant Field, there was little Drew Hill, a scrawny receiver from Newnan with suction cups as hands and shifty, sneaky speed for returning kick-offs. Drew Hill was a member of the Pepper Power GT gang from the 1970s along with Eddie Lee Ivery, Bucky Shamburger, Lawrence "Sweet N" Lowe, Don Bessillieu, Kent Hill, Ben Utt, and Ivey Stokes.

They were a blue-collar, colorful group, and tough enough and talented enough to beat South Carolina, Miami, Auburn, and Florida in 1978... in consecutive games no less.

They were Gods to me as a wide-eyed 12-year-old mesmerized by these fearless men who wore the White and Gold and ran on to Grant Field chasing the Ramblin' Wreck.

Drew Hill was 5'9" and 170 pounds, but he ran precision routes and rarely dropped a ball. He had four quarterbacks during his playing years at Tech from 1975 to 1978 (Mike Kelley '78, Gary Lanier '76-77, Danny Myers '75, Rudy Allen '75). He made the Tech record books in several categories, including T-15th for receiving yards in a season with 708 in 1978.

When I was at Tech in the mid-80s, I remember seeing Drew Hill and Kent Hill (O-line, Rams) working out together on campus during the spring and summer, preparing for the upcoming NFL season. They would often lift weights together at SAC (Student Activity Center), where the Phi Delts used to play pick-up basketball with the football players and other fraternities. 

Although drafted in the 12th round in 1979, Drew Hill played 14 seasons in the NFL, with the Rams, Oilers and Falcons.

One of my all-time favorite plays in Georgia Tech history involved Drew Hill. It happened at the 1978 Georgia Tech-Georgia game in Athens. Georgia's Scott Woerner had just returned his second punt for a touchdown and the Dawgs took a 21-20 lead late in the third quarter. I was sitting in the upper deck at Stanford Stadium in a sea of raucous red. I was the only Tech fan in the entire section. My parents were sitting one section over using a pair of tickets. I got stuck with the solo. To make matters worse, I was wearing my "Pepper Power" gold-and-white long-sleeve T-shirt and I had a large, velvet and yellow GT cowboy hat on my head that Georgia fans kept knocking off of me.

When Woerner scored his second TD, I felt exposed and vulnerable as the stadium rocked back and forth from the deafening noise. I stood with the crowd and watched the ensuing kick off that landed in Drew Hill's hands 1-yard deep in the endzone. I held my breath as he followed his blockers up the sideline and then cut back into the middle and raced for daylight and glory. I screamed, I screamed, I screamed, I screamed. "Drew Hill! Drew Hill! Touchdown Drew Hill! 101 yards! Drew Hill! I love Drew Hill!"

Today was a solemn day on the campus of Georgia Tech as friends and former players gathered to say good-bye to Drew Hill. Dead at 54, struck down by two massive strokes.

I will never, ever forget you, Drew Hill. You are one of my favorite Georgia Tech players of all time. Thanks for the moment in Athens when I was 12. We will always have that… Rest in peace, buddy.

The beach or Habitat for Humanity?

Lessons in Communication from a Professional Storyteller

  Donald Davis regularly engages in the purest and oldest form of communication. He is a professional storyteller.
  Davis, 66, gets paid to tell his original stories to audiences nationwide. For 43 years, the North Carolina native has traveled around the U.S. entertaining listeners at schools, churches, civic clubs and festivals.
  In 2010, he spent 294 days on the road sharing his true tales from childhood and beyond with people of all ages. His audiences vary in size from less than 25 in a classroom setting to more than 10,000 at an outdoor amphitheater in Orem, Utah.
  On Monday, Davis was in Columbus, Ga., telling stories to an intimate group of students and teachers at Columbus Technical College. With his dapper looks and folksy style, Davis relayed a tale about the time his little brother broke his collar bone playing football in the yard with the neighborhood kids. They called his little brother "chicken boy" to make him mad and play football with abandon. But when "chicken boy" snapped his collar bone, their father said, "No more football."

Dapper Donald Davis delivers dynamic stories.

  A few months later, the family was packing to go on vacation and little brother's collar bone had healed. While their father was finishing packing, the boys decided to run off and play football.
  "Chicken boy" got tackled by big brother and another large boy, and hit the ground hard. When he got up the other boys noticed that one of his shoulders was pointing straight down in a very unnatural position. Little brother had broken his other collar bone.
  The trip got cancelled.
  Although not funny at the time, Davis had his collegiate audience smiling and laughing as he delivered the story with spirited enthusiasm, multiple voices and animated body language.
  At one point, Davis dramatically tilted his shoulders, slumped his body and agonized his facial expression in a humorous portrayal of his little brother with a broken collar bone. The audience howled.
  During a break, Davis encouraged the audience to find the time to learn the stories about their own families.

"Family stories are very important," he said. "If the stories get lost, there is nothing left. Family stories are the most valuable thing that we can pass on to our children. They enable children to learn more about their parents and grandparents."

  After the show, I spent some time with Davis and asked him several questions about the art of storytelling. Davis described five basic tenets of great storytelling, which also apply to any form of communication related to marketing, advertising, public relations, fund-raising, and social media.

1. Be audience-centered. Davis said he spends time analyzing his audience before and during each performance and selects stories to tell based on the make up of the people. Are they young or old? Blue collar or white collar? Rural, urban or suburban? Church audience or college crowd? "You have to know your audience," he said.
2. Keep the plot simple. "If your plot is too heavy, you will lose your audience," said Davis. In marketing and design vernacular that translates to KISS, keep it simple stupid.
3. Be very visual. This comes from a guy whose career relies on words and language. But Davis  said the visual effects of storytelling are just as important. He enhances his stories with facial expressions, body language, animated behavior, hand and arms movements, and by displaying palpable emotions of joy, fear and sorrow.
4. Adjust as you go along. Davis said a storyteller has to be nimble and quick, and able to adapt to the mood and feedback of the audience. Likewise, today's marketing and PR professionals rely on speed and real-time technology to respond to market trends and news, and to meet the needs of the shifting buying habits of consumers.
5. Engage the audience. Davis said the engagement experience is like playing tug-of-war with the audience. "They pick up the other end of the rope and pull it tight. The story is walking back and forth on the rope," he said. "You're playing the audience." This sounds like the battle cry of social media advocates. Engage, converse, connect, inspire!

  Davis said his favorite audience is a mixed-generational crowd. 
  "It's an enjoyable audience when you have grandparents, parents and kids all together," he said. "You try and find material that they have in common or bridges the age span. You plant some conversational seeds that the kids will catch on to."
  The storyteller and author recently published his 18th book, "Tales From a Free-Range Childhood." The book is a compilation of 20 short stories from Davis' childhood. All of his books and CDs can be purchased at his website. The road warrior performs next at the Azalea Storytelling Festival in LaGrange, Georgia, on March 4-6.

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