|
|
 |
Thursday
March 18, 2010 Since 1922 |
Lee coaches expect no easies in 4A
By Nathan Hague
The Baytown Sun Published February 5, 2010 Does dropping to Class 4A mean Lee High School will become a powerhouse again?
While some of the school’s sports coaches say the competition may get a little easier than it’s been recently in 5A, but no one expects it to get a lot easier because there aren’t a lot of easies in District 19-4A.
“There are some good teams in that district,” girls basketball coach Terry Gray said. “It’s going to be tough going to an eight-team district where we add four more district games.
“Some people think moving to 4A will make it easier but I don’t think that’s a good way to look at it. Whether it’s 2A, 4A or 5A, everybody wants to win.”
Gray said he looks forward to developing a new rivalry with Goose Creek Memorial.
The Lady Ganders are already somewhat familiar with some of the teams in their new district.
“Four of the teams are teams we’ve played against in tournaments,” Gray said. “We’ve got to work to get better at what we do.”
Even though Lee High School will remain a 5A school for the remainder of this school year, coaches of spring sports are preparing their players for this year while looking down the road to next year as well.
“We’re going to attend a meet at Barbers Hill to show the kids what it’s going to be like next year,” girls track coach Shalesha Lowe said. “We’re made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores right now so it should be a smooth process. It will be nice for them to get a good feel for what it’s going to be like.
“The playing field should be evened out a lot more, so I think it will be good for us.”
Boys track coach Charles Southall thinks it will be easier for his kids to compete.
“There are so many kids in 5A,” he said. “It’s so hard to keep up when some schools outnumber you 3-1, and that’s just a benefit of being a big school.
“This will help us to compete on our own level a little bit more.”
Baseball coach David Hackney also welcomes the change to 4A.
“Are you kidding me?” he said. “It will definitely be a lot less traveling. We’re talking about Barbers Hill, Crosby and C.E. King. Dayton is a good location too, and of course, we’ll play here in town against Goose Creek (Memorial). We love it.”
Boys basketball coach Trent Manuel believes it will be a good change considering the enrollment numbers, but it will take time to adjust.
“It will be tough no matter what,” Manuel said.“ We’ll have some real competitive games. It’ll be quite a different challenge.”
Manuel said he has tried to prepare his team for the change this year by playing teams who will be in Lee’s district next year.
“We played Barbers Hill, Goose Creek Memorial, Crosby and we went to the Barbers Hill tournament and saw C.E King,” he said. “We scheduled those games so that we could have an idea of what the teams are like.”
Lee head football coach Marvin Sedberry welcomes the move to 4A.
“Everybody is excited about us going down to 4A, but it’s still going to be a great challenge competing against schools who either just hired a big-name coach or have big traditions. I feel like our district is still going to be a good district with good competition. It’s going to be fun.”
Lee high school will replace Kingwood Park in District 19-4A.
The Baytown Sun Published February 5, 2010 Does dropping to Class 4A mean Lee High School will become a powerhouse again?
While some of the school’s sports coaches say the competition may get a little easier than it’s been recently in 5A, but no one expects it to get a lot easier because there aren’t a lot of easies in District 19-4A.
“There are some good teams in that district,” girls basketball coach Terry Gray said. “It’s going to be tough going to an eight-team district where we add four more district games.
“Some people think moving to 4A will make it easier but I don’t think that’s a good way to look at it. Whether it’s 2A, 4A or 5A, everybody wants to win.”
Gray said he looks forward to developing a new rivalry with Goose Creek Memorial.
The Lady Ganders are already somewhat familiar with some of the teams in their new district.
“Four of the teams are teams we’ve played against in tournaments,” Gray said. “We’ve got to work to get better at what we do.”
Even though Lee High School will remain a 5A school for the remainder of this school year, coaches of spring sports are preparing their players for this year while looking down the road to next year as well.
“We’re going to attend a meet at Barbers Hill to show the kids what it’s going to be like next year,” girls track coach Shalesha Lowe said. “We’re made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores right now so it should be a smooth process. It will be nice for them to get a good feel for what it’s going to be like.
“The playing field should be evened out a lot more, so I think it will be good for us.”
Boys track coach Charles Southall thinks it will be easier for his kids to compete.
“There are so many kids in 5A,” he said. “It’s so hard to keep up when some schools outnumber you 3-1, and that’s just a benefit of being a big school.
“This will help us to compete on our own level a little bit more.”
Baseball coach David Hackney also welcomes the change to 4A.
“Are you kidding me?” he said. “It will definitely be a lot less traveling. We’re talking about Barbers Hill, Crosby and C.E. King. Dayton is a good location too, and of course, we’ll play here in town against Goose Creek (Memorial). We love it.”
Boys basketball coach Trent Manuel believes it will be a good change considering the enrollment numbers, but it will take time to adjust.
“It will be tough no matter what,” Manuel said.“ We’ll have some real competitive games. It’ll be quite a different challenge.”
Manuel said he has tried to prepare his team for the change this year by playing teams who will be in Lee’s district next year.
“We played Barbers Hill, Goose Creek Memorial, Crosby and we went to the Barbers Hill tournament and saw C.E King,” he said. “We scheduled those games so that we could have an idea of what the teams are like.”
Lee head football coach Marvin Sedberry welcomes the move to 4A.
“Everybody is excited about us going down to 4A, but it’s still going to be a great challenge competing against schools who either just hired a big-name coach or have big traditions. I feel like our district is still going to be a good district with good competition. It’s going to be fun.”
Lee high school will replace Kingwood Park in District 19-4A.