Athletics News

Addy McCoy displayed something this past week that a coach only dreams about. All players struggle from time to time.  Sometimes for long periods of time. Addy has been nominated not for some great skill, although she has had a solid week hitting and has helped out our offense, she is nominated as Indian of the week for overcoming the adversity in her mind. Many players don't have the mental strength and therefore can't make the mental adjustment to overcome a lack of self-confidence. Addy went from struggling with her serve for the past few matches to being the best server we had in our tournament over the weekend. Not only was she the best server but she so changed her outlook on herself and what she could bring to her team that she brought the most amount of energy over the weekend and provided energy when the rest of us were struggling. She never lost her energy, hope, or confidence all weekend. Addy overcame adversity and added greatness to her team. -coach Matt Heyl

Sophomore Jackson Shadburn ran a 5k personal record 20:57.85 to place 30th of 89 at the seven-team Athens Academy XC Invite. Since the season began, Jackson has trained with purpose and persistence, and those double-run days are showing up in better fitness and races. He is "en fuego" right now and is training smart to be a varsity member at the region and state meet. -coach Scott Neal

The Indian of the Week is 8th grader Jessica Cook. Jessica has shown dramatic improvement since day one of tryouts. She currently plays at the #1 girls doubles line and is a first-year tennis player. She serves consistently and is becoming very skilled on her returns. Jessica is always excited to practice and works very hard to improve. She listens intently to coaching and makes an effort to apply that instruction to her game. When training is over, she is one of those players who is disappointed she has to stop. "We are so proud of her work ethic and her drive to improve, which is one of the character traits we look for and encourage in student-athletes at TFS," assistant coach Jennifer Cox said. -coach Jennifer Cox

Gavin Dodd had a dandy week of cross country races. He bettered his two-mile time at the Tri State conference meet at Highlands on Tuesday, then came back on Thursday to drop his 3k personal record by 21 seconds. He moved up to the TFS #4 runner to help TFS win at Highlands and place fourth at Athens Academy amongst a larger field of runners. Gavin is training with focus, with goals, and with exponential growth and development! -coach Scott Neal