2 play by play spring/summer 2007playbyplayonline.net/files/pbpspring07web_1_.pdf · 2014-02-07 ·...

2 PLAY BY PLAY SPRING/SUMMER 2007

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PlaybookArticlesLocal Lacrosse Popularity Stems from Roanoke College ...............4Catherine White Would Love to Chat but She’s Gotta Run ..........5Play by Play’s Golf Package ............................................................6-10Botetourt Athletic Complex Will be a Boon for the Region .......11Fisherman John Crews Seems Destined for Stardom ..................12

OpinionsJohn A. Montgomery ............................................................................14Mike Ashley .............................................................................................15

ExtrasQuestion for the Doctor ........................................................................3 From the Bookshelf ..............................................................................13

Golfing opportunities in the region begin on page 6

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SPRING/SUMMER 2007 PLAY BY PLAY 3

After a good season of riding last year, the couple rides I’ve done outside this winter have really hurt my knees. I’ve gone to spin classes and done some work on the trainer, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. What’s wrong?

It really depends on what you want from your riding: general conditioning vs. improve-ment. Short of continuing to ride outside at the same distances and intensity through the win-ter, there is no way you can expect to be in the same condition (legs and overall) in the spring as at the end of the summer. That’s probably a good thing. It’s very difficult to maintain the same level of fitness for months on end. Divid-ing the year into cycles of base building/maximum conditioning/recov-ery will allow better effort during the “maximum” periods while avoiding injury. If you have used the off season to work on spin technique, address any muscle imbalance, and improve core strength while maintaining a basic aerobic fitness level, you should see rapid progress to and past last season’s fitness level when you get to the maximum condition phase. Try to be patient. Too much load too fast will result in patellar irritation or tendonitis. Don’t expect to ride the same gear early in the year as you did at the end of last year. Gradually shift from “inside” cycling and fitness to being back on the road. Try to resist the urge to push big gears early in the season and work on technique and build back into road shape. It will take six to eight weeks of consistent riding, but it should be worth it.

Question forthe DoctorThis month’s question answered by Thomas K. Miller, M.D.

Players in this Issue Publisher/Editor John A. Montgomery

Graphic Design Donna Earwood

Contributors Mike Ashley Robert Blades Rod Carter Sam Lazzaro Gene Marrano Joyce Montgomery Christian Moody Dan Smith Bob Teitlebaum

©Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. No part of Play by Play may be reproduced by any means or in any form without written permission from the publisher.

This special edition of Play by Play is designed as a guide for athletic participants and spectators visiting the Roanoke Valley during the spring and summer of 2007.

Play by Play regularly publishes every fourth Monday. The cover date of the next issue will be April 16.

Dr. Thomas K. Miller

Roanoke OrthopaedicCenter

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P.O. Box 3285, Roanoke, VA 24015 (540) 761-6751 • E-mail: [email protected] the Web: www.playbyplayonline.net

Cover photograph courtesy of Roanoke College

In this issue...E ACH APRIL, PLAY BY PLAY PUBLISHES A SPECIAL edition highlighting warm-weather sports opportunities within our region. This issue is designed to be of interest for visitors to the area — those in town for a softball or basketball tournament or some other type of sports venture — guests who perhaps have been introduced for the first time to the amenities of one of the most scenic sports venues on earth. Play by Play publishes 15 times a year, but this issue is different. It’s designed to enhance your stay, no matter how brief it may be. If you have a day off from competition, perhaps you’ll want to sample one of the two dozen daily-fee golf courses in the region; course descriptions and direc-tions start on page 6. You may be interested in the background on the sparkling new Botetourt Sports Complex (page 11) or how the city of Salem has become a national model for hosting sports competitions of all types (page 14). You may be interested in such articles as the local popularity of lacrosse (page 4), or the notable accomplishments of Northside High School track star Catherine White (page 5) or professional fisher-man John Crews (page 12). Or, you may have just a few minutes to relax between games and be looking for something of interest to read. Enjoy your visit — and please come back.

John A. MontgomeryPublisher


B ILL PILAT STILL RECRUITS his share of players from la-crosse hotbeds in the north-

east and Mid-Atlantic States, but the veteran Roanoke College head coach says the net he casts “has widened out” in recent years.

LACROSSE IN THE ROANOKE VALLEY

A booming sport Now the Maroons roster boasts players from Oregon, Ohio and Michigan. There’s more competition among colleges for the best ath-letes and more tournaments for him to scout. Call that a good

problem. “I get more e-mails and letters than ever before,” Pilat says. Roanoke College’s tradition and reputation for success may have something to do with that, as does perhaps this observation from Pilat: “Lacrosse is so much bigger now.” That statement holds true to some extent here in the valley, where there are varsity high school teams for boys and girls, club-lev-el squads and lacrosse recreation leagues. Salem and Patrick Henry are the only two public schools with varsity programs while North Cross and Roanoke Catholic field private school teams. Former Sa-lem High player Billy Cameron is now on the Roanoke College ros-ter, the only homegrown Maroon. At the club level there are com-bined Cave Spring-Hidden Valley squads (boys and girls) that play other junior varsity and varsity high school teams. The Hidden Valley Youth Sports Association fields recreation teams below the high school level in hopes of creating a talent pipe-line. The HV rec teams are playing clubs from Salem, Roanoke City, Lynchburg and several other lo-calities that have developed simi-lar programs, according to Pilat. Salem High School has just built a new stadium, Spartan Field (see related column on page 14), com-plete with artificial FieldTurf, for its varsity lacrosse and soccer teams. “It looks nice. I can’t wait to get ours,” says Pilat, alluding to the fact that Roanoke College is build-ing a new field of its own for la-crosse, due to open any day on the site of the old practice facility. He would like to see Cave Spring and/or Hidden Valley add lacrosse as a high school varsity sport, something that could become more feasible this spring when FieldTurf replaces what’s left of the grass at Bogle Stadium in South-west Roanoke County. (This topic was addressed in a Play by Play ar-ticle in the Feb. 19 edition.) “We just have to persuade the [school] administration — that’s what happened up north. It has just exploded …and is the fastest growing sport in the country,” Pi-lat says.

Pilat helps coach Southwest Ro-anoke County recreation league teams when he has time. His son, Will, plays lacrosse and basket-ball, another sport Pilat has helped coach as well. Bill Pilat has certainly done what he can to make Division III Roanoke College a destination for local lacrosse players to seek after high school. He had won matches at a .663 clip heading into his 19th season as head coach at Roanoke, the school where he also starred as a three-time All-American goal-tender in the 1980s. Since taking over as Maroons coach, the New Jersey native has been voted Old Dominion Athletic Conference coach of the year sev-en times while leading his team to a Top 10 ranking on 13 occasions. All that from a man who was head coach at age 26, just four years after the end of his playing career. Roanoke College has ended the season in the top five on sev-eral occasions and has made it to the NCAA postseason six times, advancing to the championship game in 1992. (In 1978, pre-Pilat, the Maroons won the Division II national title.) Pilat has coached 57 All-Ameri-cans prior to the 2007 campaign. Last year’s team had 11 seniors and “real good chemistry,” says Pilat, advancing to the national semifinals for the second year in a row. His current squad is young but promising. Lynchburg, Hamp-den-Sydney and Washington & Lee have been other top teams in recent ODAC seasons. Pilat has branched out and runs summer camps in several states, including his well-regarded goalie school. He has also marketed an

See LACROSSE, Page 13

by Gene Marrano

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Bill Pilat has won two-thirds of his games at Roanoke College the last 18 years

Billy Cameron learned lacrosse at Salem High School

Billy Cameron learned lacrosse at Salem High School


TRACK AND FIELD

She’d love to chat but she’s gotta runby Bob Teitlebaum

FOR CATHERINE WHITE, the decision to give up high school volleyball and soccer

has produced extraordinary re-sults in a third sport. White gave up the two sports to concentrate on running, and what a fortuitous choice it was. White was named the 2005-2006 Virgin-ia Gatorade Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year. This past year, she finished fifth in the National Foot Locker two-mile (3,200 meters) event. During her Northside High School career in cross-country, indoor and out-door track, she has won no less than a dozen state titles — with her senior outdoor track season still to come. After looking at a number of prominent collegiate track pro-grams, White accepted a scholar-ship to the University of Arkansas in November. In her early years, White showed promise in other sports. “I’ve always been involved in soccer,” says White, who once

played for the Roanoke Star. “My siblings play and my father is the coach of a club team.” John White is also an assistant men’s soccer coach at Roanoke College, a program that produces some of the strongest Division III and Old Dominion Athletic Con-ference teams each year. White says her father doesn’t mind that she changed the direc-tion of her sports emphasis. “He likes running a lot,” she says with a smile. Until White came along, former Glenvar runner Trish Nervo had been the standard bearer for high school girl runners around Roa-noke, as during the mid-1990s she won four consecutive state cross-country titles plus numerous other track titles on her way to a national ranking and a full scholarship at North Carolina. Nervo’s state achievements came in the Group A classifica-tion where the competition was not nearly as strong as the runners White has beaten. White became involved in run-ning almost by accident.

“I never thought about run-ning,” she says. “Then when I was a freshman, I couldn’t play vol-leyball. It interfered with my travel soccer club schedule. The cross-country coaches and some of the kids came to me and suggested I try run-ning. Now I like track the best. I like training for it more than I do soccer.” How tough was the running competition? As a sophomore, White had to settle for second place in the state out-door track meet behind Fauquier County’s Sarah Bowman in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter events. Bowman is now running track at Tennessee, so there is a good chance the two will meet again in college in a Southeastern Conference meet. It really doesn’t faze White that she won only two state

cross-country outdoor titles while Nervo won four.

“It’s not that frustrat-ing when you’ve done your best,” she says. “I ran as fast as I could.” Then again,

Nervo didn’t have a nem-esis like Bowman in Group A. In fact Nervo was the one to beat for

other runners in that classification. There is one other difference between

White and Nervo. When Nervo ran for Glen-var, the state meets in those days were held on one day for both Group

A and AA classifications. Now those meets are held over two days.

Because of the changes, White was able to run the 800-, 1600- and 3,200-meter events. Nervo never was able

to run the 800. “It’s definitely testing on your

body when you run the triple;

See WHITE, Page 11

Catherine White was honored by the Roanoke County School Board on March 26

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Course Location Phone Web Site Holes Par Cost to ride

Ashley Plantation Daleville 540-992-4653 ashleyplantation.com 18 73 $33 M-Th, $35 F, $48 Sa, Su Weekend rates drop at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. & 5 p.m.

Auburn Hills Riner 540-381-4995 auburnhillsgc.com 18 72 $33 M-Th, $42 F-Su Rates drop after 3 p.m.

Blacksburg Municipal Blacksburg 540-961-1137 blacksburg.gov/ 9 36 $24 M-F, $26 Sa, Su recreation/golf for 18 holes

Blue Hills Golf Club Roanoke 540-344-7848 bluehillsgc.com 18 71 $35 M-Th, $38 F-Su

Botetourt Country Club Fincastle 540-992-1451 botetourtcc.com 18 71 $38 M-Th, $43 F, $48 Sa, Su

Brookside Par 3 Roanoke 540-366-6059 9 27 $9 M-F, $10 Sa, Su Walkers only

Castle Rock Golf Club Pembroke 540-626-5450 18 71 $28 M-Th, $32 F-Su.

Colonial Hills Forest 434-525-3954 colonialhillsgolf.com 18 71 $30 M-F, $35 Sa, Su Rates drop to $22 at Noon M-F, 2 p.m. Sa, Su

Countryside Roanoke 540-563-0391 18 71 $31.50 M-F, $36.50 Sa, Su Rates drop after 1 p.m.

Draper Valley Draper 540-980-4653 drapervalleygolf.com 18 72 $41 M-Th, $49 F-Su 866-980-4653 Rates drop after Noon and again after 3:30 p.m.

Hanging Rock Salem 540-389-7275 hangingrockgolf.com 18 72 $38 M-F, $50 Sa, Su 800-277-7497

Ivy Hill Forest 434-525-2680 ivyhillgc.com 18 72 $35 M-F, $40 Sa, Su

London Downs New London 434-525-4653 londondownsgolf.com 18 72 $37 M-F, $42 Sa, Su

Mariners Landing Huddleston 540-297-7888 marinerslandinggolf.com 18 72 $34-39 M-F, $37-45 Sa, Su 888-297-7888 Rates change by the month

The Meadows Christiansburg 540-382-3732 meadowsgolfcc.com 18 70 $25 M-F, $31 Sa, Su

Oakwood Country Club Lynchburg 434-384-8777 9 35 $30 M-F ($20 for 9) $35 Sa, Su ($25 for 9)

Ole Monterey Roanoke 540-563-0400 18 71 $30 M-F, $38 Sa, Su Rates drop after 1 p.m. Sa, Su

The Pete Dye River Course Fairlawn 540-633-6732 rivercoursegolf.com 18 72 $49 M-Th, $62 F, $70 Sa, Su at Virginia Tech Rates drop after 3 p.m.

Poplar Forest Forest 434-534-9418 9 36 $24 M-F ($16 for 9) $27 Sa, Su ($18 for 9)

Poplar Grove Amherst 434-946-9933 poplargrovegolf.com 18 72 $45 M-Th, $60 F-Su

Salem Municipal Salem 540-387-9802 9 34 $9 M-F, $10 Sa, Su No carts

Sycamore Ridge Goodview 540-297-6490 18 71 $20 M-Th, $24 F-Su

Vista Links Buena Vista 540-261-4653 thevistalinks.com 18 72 $37 M-F, $42 Sa, Su

Westlake Golf & Hardy 540-721-4214 golfthewestlake.com 18 72 $37 M-F, $47 Sa, Su Country Club 800-296-7277

Research by Christian Moody; Chart by Donna Earwood

Daily-fee golf courses in the Roanoke, Lynchburg and New River Valley regions


Castle RockGolf ClubPar 71 / Daily-feeYardages—Blue, 6,096; White, 5,475; Red, 4,853Castle Rock is a semi-private club that has been purchased by Giles County. The course wanders through an old forest and over rolling hills. Courses that are not terribly long tend to be tight and Castle Rock is no exception. The fairways will pinch in here and there, discouraging the wayward driver. Several of the holes bend around the trees and others rise and fall with the land. It’s an enjoyable play for mid- to high-handicappers looking for a diff erent place to play. The skilled golfer will fi nd a challenge, as well. While it’s close to the New River, the course does not bring the river into play. In fact, the course is atop a plateau quite a bit higher than the river, typical of Giles County geography.Local knowledge: Shorter and straighter is better than longer and wild off the tee. Take elevation changes into account with club selection.Directions: Take U.S. 460 West through Blacksburg, to Pembroke. Turn left on Castle Avenue. Course is straight ahead.

Draper Valley Golf ClubPar 72 / Daily-feeYardage— Blue, 7,070 yards; White 6,412; Gold 5,467; Red 4,683Draper Valley was voted among Golf Magazine’s top 50 courses under$50 for a reason: It’s a great course in a rural setting. Draper Valley is knownas being forgiving to golfers who might not be completely straight off the tee. The course tends toward long, but its open design allows players to go for distance with the driver without being overly punishing. The greens are approachable from several angles and there are not so many trees as to isolate individual holes. Mid- to high-handicappers enjoy Draper Valley because scoring on the course is possible even if every shot isn’t something to make Butch Harmon proud. Built on the upslope of a long ridge in western Pulaski County, the fairways change elevation but not so dramatically that club selection becomes the hardest part of the day. Cleverly designed by Harold Louthern, the ninth hole itself is worth the trip. A par-5 with a distinct landing area for both the tee shot and second shot, driver-short iron-short iron is a safe play. Getting cute and going for the green in two is so risky that a sign along the fairway even warns against it. The course is built on an old farm—accounting for the lack of heavy woodland—and some of the original structures were retained, adding a charming atmosphere to the golf course.Local knowledge: Very golfer-friendly yet very challenging, especially from the back tees. Shots to an uphill target usually play to actual yardage. Shots to a level, or downhill target will play anywhere from 1 to 2 clubs less. You also have to factor in the wind especially on the Par 3 7th hole, a downhill tee shot that will play anywhere from 120 to 200+ yards. Putting can be tricky; watch your speed and play a little more break than normal. Directions: I-81 South to exit 89B. Go a half-mile and take a left on Honaker Road. Proceed about two miles and the golf club is on the right.

Auburn Hills Golf ClubPar 72 / Daily-feeYardage—Blue, 6,534; White, 6,057; Gold, 5,597;Red, 4,807Auburn Hills Golf Club is a great course for those who are confi dent with the putter. The greens are huge and undulating, rewarding not only good putters, but those who are accurate with their approach shots. It’s not uncommon for a shot to be a club or two diff erent depending on pin placements. This is especially true on the 17th, a downhill par-3 where the green is laid out at an angle from the tee box—if the pin is close, there’s very little green to work with, guarded at the front by water and the back by a bunker. The fat part of the green is 20-30 yards farther away. Speaking of bunkers, bring the wedges because Auburn Hills will test everyone’s sand play. Some bunkers are so large they are hazards on more than one hole, separating fairways. This unique layout traverses both woodlands and open Montgomery County farmland, rising and falling dramatically tee to green. A true Virginia golf experience, Auburn Hills is not to be missed.Local knowledge: Play a lot of break in the greens. Be sure to account for wind and pin placement in club selection. Holes in the back or front of greens can be a club diff erent from what the yardage markers on the fairway would indicate.Directions: I-81 to Exit 114 in Christiansburg. Take Va. 8 south toward Riner for 3.5 miles. Course is on the left.

Blacksburg MunicipalGolf CoursePar 36 / PublicYardage—Blue, 2,731 yards; White 2,621; Red, 2,439The Blacksburg Municipal Golf Course is known as “The Hill.” Driving to the course makes evident the accuracy of the name, as Graves Street climbs the hill while running adjacent to the ninth fairway. With the clubhouse on top of the hill, the fi rst two holes drop away. The course then climbs the hill again on the third hole. It fl attens slightly as several holes are laid out on another corner of the course, but the eighth drops to the lowest corner, then the nine-hole track heads for home up the steepest part of the hill, leaving a blind shot to a green substantially higher than the fairway. Like a true muni, The Hill has little trouble with a few bunkers and no water. It’s old and mature, so the native hardwoods provide some hazard for wayward shots, but the course is designed to be a friendly place to play, not a challenging test of super golf skill.Local knowledge: Remember to take elevation changes into account with club selection; shots on the fi rst and ninth holes can be two clubs shorter or longer than typical of the distances from the greens.Directions: Follow U.S. 460 to Blacksburg, then take the South Main Street exit. Turn right onto Graves Street about a half-mile past a business area with shopping centers on each side of the street. Follow Graves Street to the end.

RADFORD

GILES

MONTGOMERY

PULASKI

Footnotes: Only courses that elected to participate are included.

Research by Christian Moody; Layout by Donna Earwood

New River Valley AreaGolf Courses


Hanging RockGolf ClubPar 72 / Daily-feeYardage — Black, 6,828 yards; White,6,007 yards; Gold, 5,425; Red, 4,519Hanging Rock was carved out of the forest on the side of Fort Lewis Mountain, but trees were left in between adjacent fairways to preserve the feeling of playing on isolated holes. While the course would be tough to walk, only a few holes have dramatic elevation changes. One of those holes, No. 5, is famous for having two greens. Each plays the same distance from the tee boxes, but one is on a peninsula in a pond on the right, while the green straight ahead is uphill and more challenging as a sloped putting surface. Each nine at The Rock opens with a par-5. The fi nishing hole was originally a par-4, but now plays almost exclusively as a par-3 where the green is about 60 feet lower than the tee box.Local knowledge: Best bet is to hit 3- or 5-wood off fi rst tee, plus there is a bunker that’s hard to see about 85 yards from the green, so best to lay up and avoid it. Smart shots stay left on most of the course, especially on Nos. 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12. No. 18 plays up to four clubs diff erently from front of green to the back.Directions: I-81 to exit 140. Go left at end of ramp, away from Salem, for about a tenth of a mile then left on Mountain Heights Drive. Take an immediate left onto Edgebrook Road. Go one mile to Red Lane, then take a right and immediate left to the course.

Blue Hills Golf ClubPar 71 / Semi-privateYardage—Blue, 6,436 yards; White, 5,888; Gold, 5,500; Red 5,137Blue Hills is a favorite among Roanoke area golfers. Impeccably maintainedand well-designed, Blue Hills is at the base of Read Mountain. The rolling hills areobvious on the fi rst hole as the fairway drops away from the tee box, then climbs to the green on this perfect starting hole. A pond crosses the fi fth fairway, giving players a choice of club—a gonzo drive is probably wet, so standing on the tee a decision must be made about risk versus the reward of a shorter second shot to an elevated green. Blue Hills is one of the few tracks that does not return to the clubhouse at the turn. In true out-and-back fashion, the 10th hole is at the furthest point of the course from the clubhouse. Built in 1957, the course is mature—stately trees separate the fairways and provide their own hazards for wayward tee shots, although the course is friendly enough that the occasional stray shot won’t be lost. Simple but eminently enjoyable, Blue Hills wins golfers who appreciate well-maintained tee boxes, close fairways and mowed rough leading to healthy greens that roll true.Directions: U.S. 460 (Orange Avenue) to Blue Hills Drive about fi ve miles east of I-581. Turn north on Blue Hills Drive. Take a right when the road comes to a T. Course is on the left.

BOTETOURT

FRANKLIN

ROANOKE

SALEM

ROANOKE

Westlake Golf and Country ClubPar 72 / Semi-privateYardage—Blue, 6,511 yards; White, 5,878; Gold, 5,169; Red,4,582The Westlake Golf and Country Club is Smith Mountain Lake’s premier public golf course. The Westlake is cut out of the woods and a green that sits by one of Smith Mountain Lake’s many peaceful coves and inlets. The Westlake includes a beautifully restored farmhouse that features a pro shop and a delightful restaurant. The Westlake carries the trademark touch of Russell Breeden, a Virginia native with nearly 100 course designs to his credit. The 6,511-yard course is challenging for players of all levels.Local knowledge: Whether you are just starting out or play every day, you’ll fi nd that The Westlake is an enjoyable test of golf. The greens, even though they have some undulation, putt straighter than they look (they will not break as much as you think). The par-5s are a little shorter, to give everyone a chance to improve their scores. The par-4s are a mixture of risk/reward holes and holes where playing conservatively is your best bet. The par-3s are a test of using irons or fairway clubs, fi nishing with No. 16, which has a view that will rival all views around Southwest Virginia.Directions: From Roanoke, follow U.S. 220 South to Wirtz Road (Va. 697) just south of Boones Mill. East on Wirtz Road to U.S. 122; take left onto U.S. 122 North, driving about 12 miles to Westlake Village Center. Left onto Va. 616 prior to reaching the traffi c light. Follow Va. 616 for about a mile and course is on left.

Ole Monterey Golf ClubPar 71 / Daily-feeYardage—Blue, 6,623 yards; White, 6,264; Gold,5,503; Red, 5,170For those who have not been to Ole Monterey lately,the place is diff erent. Really diff erent. The old club-house—and “old” is an apt description—is now just the snack bar. The pro shop is in new digs that are modern and comfortable. The best news, however, is that the golf course is now a place to play and enjoy. The greens at Ole Monterey have long been known for being well-kept and smooth. The rest of the course, venerable as it is, is back to being a classic track. With groomed fairways and tee boxes, as well as accurate yardage markers on each hole, the new look to Ole Monterey is popular among locals. Originally Ole Monterey was a 10-hole course. That’s right, 10 holes. To this day the front is 10 holes and the back is eight. The design is very forgiving to players whose ball wanders left. Slicers have a bit more diffi culty with woods or OB to the right of most holes. Still, little water and few hazards make Ole Monterey friendly to golfers of all handicaps.Directions: Follow U.S. 460 to Hollins Road, about a half-mile east of I-581. Turn north on Hollins Road, proceeding to the second traffi c light. Turn right onto Old Mountain Road, then an immediate right onto Tinker Drive. Clubhouse is at the end of the road.

Roanoke AreaGolf Courses

Brookside Par 3Par 27 / PublicYardage — 840 yardsFor those who want a diff erent type of golf,Brookside Par 3 could be the answer. Built in1962, this short course is great for those wanting to work on their short game, golfers who don’t want to spend four-plus hours on the course, or anyone who wants to have some fun while walking in a park. The longest of the nine holes is 130 yards; the shortest is 70 yards. The greens are small and the tee areas are matted. Brookside is a great place to learn the game, and for those who are not regular golfers with their own clubs, the course rents clubs and sells golf balls for 60 cents. A round could take as little as 45 minutes, and don’t worry about getting in before the sun sets—Brookside is lighted for night play. The course is strictly for walkers—a stroll of about a mile-and-a-quarter through nine holes.Local knowledge: Small greens favor shots that drop fast and roll little. The single set of tees allows couples to play together.Directions: I-581 to Peters Creek Road (Va. 117) east. Follow to the road T’s at Williamson Road (U.S. 11), take a right. Go about ¾ of a mile to traffi c light at Clubhouse Drive. Take a left, course is on the right.


Vista Links Golf ClubPar 72 / Daily-feeYardages—Black, 6,855; Blue, 6,447; White, 6,057; Gold, 5,466; Red, 4,924Vista Links has two qualities that are diffi cult to believe. First, it’s only in itsthird full year of operation. The course seems more mature. Second is the really stunning fact: this is a muni. Sure enough, Vista Links is owned and operated by the city of Buena Vista, tucking into its vast and beautiful Glen Maury Park. And when Buena Vista decided to build a municipal course, city offi cials decided to do it right. Designer Rick Jacobson used the natural topography of the southern Shenandoah Valley to his advantage. The course rises and falls through the park — a farm house and a couple of old barns are the only buildings that dot the property. The greens are vast, but well-kept and fair. Five tee boxes mean golfers of all skill levels will be able to fi nd a level that challenges them but is not punishing.Local knowledge: Be able to hit every club in your bag. The greens are still new and have more bounce than older greens, so a pitch and roll might be a good alternative to fi ring at the pin.Directions: Take I-81 to Exit 188A, onto U.S. 60 East toward Buena Vista. Go approximately three miles to a stoplight; continue through the light down the hill. Then turn right on Vista Links Drive at the bottom of the hill. Follow Vista Links Drive up to the clubhouse parking area.

Botetourt Country ClubPar 71 / Semi-privateYardage—Blue, 6,060 yards; White, 5,751; Red, 4,940A favorite among golfers in the Roanoke region, BotetourtCountry Club is one of the most scenic golf courses in Virginia.Set on the eastern slope of a wide valley, the broad vista opening to thewest makes for breath-taking panoramas from several locations on thecourse. The front nine opens with a great par-5 that tumbles downhillfrom the clubhouse before rising to a guarded green. From there the fi rst nine off ers a variety of challenges, including an intermediate par-3 third hole where the red tees are well behind the blues, counting as a par-4 for the ladies. The two-tiered green at the fi fth makes it a tough par-3 despite being short on the scorecard. Another par-3 starts the back nine, followed by a long, climbing par-5 with four short but challenging par-4s coming next. Botetourt is a fair course with no long forced carries—only two holes cross any signifi cant water, and well-hit tee shots are in no danger. The beauty of the course and its setting, along with the design that’s friendly yet challenging to players of all handicaps make it a popular place to play.Directions: I-81 to Exit 150B, 220 North. Follow 220N for fi ve miles, turn left onto Country Club Drive (Va. 665); follow Country Club Drive for about four miles, entrance is on the right.

Ashley Plantation Golf ClubPar 73 / Daily-feeYardage—Blue, 6,915 yards; White, 6,292; Gold, 5,225; Red,4,690How many golf courses feature a par-6? In Western Virginia, theanswer is one. Ashley Plantation has a hole that requires good use ofa fairway wood, the 14th hole that plays a casual 721 yards from the back tees. It’s a drop from the tee box to the fi rst landing area, then a climb up to the green. For those who think a par-6 is just a long, open gimmick hole, beware of the pond at the right and the bunkers lining the left side. This hole is an excellent challenge. It’s characteristic of Ashley Plantation, where long holes wind among huge new homes in an upscale development. There are few fl at holes on this layout. Several fairways fall away from the tee boxes, so keep the ball straight to get a little extra roll. Be aware of club selection, especially when looking at an elevated green. Ashley Plantation is fairly open, but there is plenty of OB. The front nine will be adjusted this year, removing a short par-3 at No. 4 and adding a new No. 9, also a par-3.Directions: I-81 to exit 150B. Follow U.S. 220 North about 3.5 miles to Greenfi eld Street. Turn right and follow road to clubhouse on left. This is a new entrance, so look for the sign.

Blue Hills Golf ClubPar 71 / Semi-privateYardage—Blue, 6,436 yards; White, 5,888; Gold, 5,500; Red 5,137Blue Hills is a favorite among Roanoke area golfers. Impeccably maintainedand well-designed, Blue Hills is at the base of Read Mountain. The rolling hills areobvious on the fi rst hole as the fairway drops away from the tee box, then climbs to the green on this perfect starting hole. A pond crosses the fi fth fairway, giving players a choice of club—a gonzo drive is probably wet, so standing on the tee a decision must be made about risk versus the reward of a shorter second shot to an elevated green. Blue Hills is one of the few tracks that does not return to the clubhouse at the turn. In true out-and-back fashion, the 10th hole is at the furthest point of the course from the clubhouse. Built in 1957, the course is mature—stately trees separate the fairways and provide their own hazards for wayward tee shots, although the course is friendly enough that the occasional stray shot won’t be lost. Simple but eminently enjoyable, Blue Hills wins golfers who appreciate well-maintained tee boxes, close fairways and mowed rough leading to healthy greens that roll true.Directions: U.S. 460 (Orange Avenue) to Blue Hills Drive about fi ve miles east of I-581. Turn north on Blue Hills Drive. Take a right when the road comes to a T. Course is on the left.

BOTETOURT

BEDFORD

Par 72 / Semi-privateYardages—Black, 7,155 yards; Blue, 6,775; White, 6,270; Gold, 5,940;Red, 5,170Mariners Landing maintains the quality of a top-notch private course, but it’sopen to the public. Located next to Smith Mountain Lake, No. 5 is a par-3 to a peninsulagreen jutting into the lake itself, although that’s the only hole where SML comes into play. Not to say there’s no water. Holes 10, 12 and 16 have marsh areas with natural habitat. Rolling hills were used to make elevated greens, but blind shots are a rarity. Trees line most holes, so keep the ball straight.Local knowledge: Big hitters can reach the green on No. 8 in two, but it takes a well-placed tee shot. Missing will lead to bogey or worse. Staying to the right on No. 13 will shorten this hole.Directions: Take Va. 24 East. Turn right on U.S. 122 South. In Moneta, turn left on Va. 608. Proceed six miles then turn right on Va. 626 and proceed a quarter-mile to entrance on left.

Mariners Landing Golf & Country Club



ROCKBRIDGE


Ivy Hill Golf ClubPar 72 / Daily-feeYardages—Black, 7,037; Blue, 6,780; White, 6,250; Gold, 5,503; Red, 4,780Ivy Hill was built just east of the Blue Ridge, taking advantage of an undulatingtopography typical of a region where fl atlands meet mountains. This course would be tough to walk, so take the elevation changes into account when making a club selection. Take water into account, as well. Ivy has two well-known holes (Nos. 7 and 16) where a tee shot must be laid up, but the second shot is lengthy. No. 7 is its signature hole — the pro says he hits 2-iron, 2-iron into the green. Like No. 7, a well-struck driver will get wet on No. 16 from every tee box except maybe the black. Ivy Hill will require every club in the bag and a good knowledge of how to hit from lies of all angles. Hitting the greens at Ivy Hills doesn’t mean an easy putt awaits. There is a premium on getting the ball close to the hole on approach.Local knowledge: Scout the landing areas on Nos. 7 and 16. Playing from the white tees will mean a tee shot on 16 will be only 160 or so yards.Directions: Take U.S. 221 to Forest. Turn north on Va. 663 (Perrowville Road). Course is 2.5 miles on the right.


LYNCHBURG

AMHERST

BEDFORD CAMPBELL

Oakwood Country ClubPar 35 / Semi-privateYardage—Blue, 2,901 yards. This is the only measurement currently calculatedVenerable old Oakwood Country Club in Lynchburg got a complete make-over recently. The old, 18-hole course was so short and cramped, it was made into a comfortable nine-hole loop with a driving range when there was a change in ownership. The course also opened its doors to daily-fee players. The only par-5, No. 1, bends along Lynchburg’s Link Road, so don’t slice or there could be problems with traffi c. The renovations also changed the course’s postage-stamp greens into large, roomy putting surfaces. So roomy, in fact, that most have two tiers, or at least large humps. All nine greens and tee boxes are a year old, having opened last spring. A small creek comes into play on two holes, but otherwise there is no water.Local knowledge: A well-placed drive on No. 1 makes it reachable in two. The second hole is straight and not terribly long, but it’s vital that the tee shot is straight. The landing area is narrow and problems lie both to the right and left.Directions: Take U.S. 221 to Lynchburg. Follow 221 into Lynchburg about fi ve miles to Link Road. Take a left onto Link Road. Follow to Rivermont Avenue. Turn right onto Rivermont, course is on the right at the intersection of Link and Rivermont.

London DownsGolf ClubPar 72 / Daily-feeYardage—Blue, 6,938 yards; White, 6,347; Gold, 5,624; Red, 4,953Located in New London just west of Lynchburg, London Downs is a popular course laid onto the hills of Bedford County. From the fi rst hole, where the fairway tumbles downhill, the course uses elevation changes and water to its advantage. Not only is it a fair challenge, it’s beautiful. The hardwoods native to the area were allowed to remain throughout the course, and a couple of small creeks were dammed to create lakes expertly used to add both challenge and character to the course. The sixth hole, a short par-3, features the only true island green in the region. London Downs uses water on three of its four par-3s to create memorable holes. For those who have played London Downs, be aware the nines have been reversed. It’s now the 10th with a lake just beyond the landing area before jogging to the right in a classic dogleg. Local knowledge: The greens have a bit more break than it appears. Their subtlety is tricky for the fi rst-time player, so take time to study the break.Directions: Take U.S. 460 to New London, about fi ve miles west of Lynchburg. Turn south on New London Road — there is a stoplight there — and the course is less than a mile on the left.

Poplar Forest Golf ClubPar 36 / Daily-feeYardage—Blue, 3,310; White, 3,145; Gold,2,820; Red, 2,770Poplar Forest is the course every region needs — inexpensive, walker-friendly and a great place to learn the game. The nine holes will require every club, but there are few hazards and no water in play. The greens are large and experienced players have a chance to reach the par-5s in two. In fact, the short 325-yard par-4 No. 5 is reachable off the tee if the wind is right, given that the approach to the green is downhill and will allow a long drive to roll. No. 7 is a 450-yard par-4 with a fairway bunker in the landing area, so it provides the course’s toughest test.Local knowledge: A good drive on No. 2 will leave a player with a downhill lie for an uphill shot to a narrow green. Be sure to stick it. No. 3 is a short, downhill par-3, but because of the slope of the green it is far better to be short than long.Directions: Take U.S. 460 to Lynchburg. Take fi rst Lynchburg Exit to U.S. 460 Business. Take left at fi rst major intersection onto Waterlick Road. Follow to end of road and turn right at stoplight. Take fi rst right, then immediate left onto Bateman Bridge Road. Turn right onto Ramblewood Road. Course is on the right.


Poplar Grove Golf CoursePar 72 / Daily-feeYardage — Black, 7,059; Blue, 6,557; White 6,101; Gold 5,640; Red 4,980Poplar Grove is an outstanding new course in Central Virginia. The lastcourse designed by Sam Snead, it spares no expense to be a gem. From the GPS-equipped carts, curbed cart paths and expertly restored plantation house that serves as its restaurant, Poplar Grove is a masterpiece. The course is just as good. Laying on the rolling terrain of Amherst County, Snead used the up and down as a way to challenge and reward golfers of all handicaps. With fi ve tee boxes, the course will fi t any length hitter. The natural hardwoods were allowed to remain along the holes, so most play in splendid isolation from the rest of the course. Small lakes were built to add scenery and challenge, but are not unfair. They are in play, but nothing that cannot be carried with a confi dent shot. Despite being relatively new, the course appears mature. It’s a testament to creativity and natural beauty, a joy to play.Directions: Take U.S. 460 to Lynchburg. Follow to U.S. 29 North. Go north 13 miles to U.S. 60 East. Go east on 60 for only an eighth of a mile. Turn right onto Dulwich. Drive one-fourth of a mile until the road ends at a T. Turn left onto Union Hill. Drive one mile. Turn right onto Ebenezer Drive. Drive a mile and a half. Turn right onto London Lane to the entrance to the club.

Lynchburg Area Golf Courses

Colonial Hills Golf ClubPar 70 / 72/Daily-feeYardages — Blue, 6,339; White, 5,939; Red, 4,638This Bedford County course was laid onto a gorgeous tract with fantasticviews of the Blue Ridge and the Peaks of Otter. The course is a fair test of golffor all levels of skill. Water comes into play on fi ve holes, four of which require tee shots over ponds, but they are nearer the tees than the landing areas, so there are no lengthy forced carries. Colonial Hills has its share of woodlands on the back nine, so losing a golf ball is not impossible, but the area between holes is clear of undergrowth and open, so golfers with a tendency to spray the ball will not be heavily penalized. Bring a good sand game — while bunkers are not particularly numerous, they are well-placed and challenging, requiring thought in club selection, particularly on the back nine. Colonial Hills is a great value and an enjoyable round, well worth a drive to play. Local knowledge: Flying the fairway bunker on the fi rst hole puts you closer to the green, but a shorter tee shot to the right of the bunker will stay out of trouble and still leave a short iron to the green. Short is better than long on the par-3 13th, where you do not want to be above the hole. The tee shot on No. 14 looks daunting because of a pond guarding the green, but a shorter shot to the right is a safe play.Directions: Take U.S. 221 to Forest. Turn north on Gum Tree Road. Go about two miles. Course is on the left.


New complex will be boon for regionby Christian Moody

that’s for sure,” says White. In one-day invitational meets, White gives up running the 800 because no runner is allowed to run all three events in one day. White likes all three events. “The 800 is really fast, the mile is much more tactical and in the two-mile we have eight laps so my coach calls out my splits and I try to be consistent,” she explains. Nevertheless, White wasn’t the favorite to win a triple at the state meet last spring. Blacksburg’s Ariel Burbey had a qualifying time of 2:13.29 in the 800 com-pared to White’s 2:19.65. “I really don’t like the 800 very much,” White told The Roanoke Times. “So I was a little hesitant going into it. I figured if I could run another race, I’d go for it. “I had nothing to lose. It was my last race and it wouldn’t take me

out of anything.” So White improved to 2:16.93 and beat Burbey who slowed to 2:20.93. Of course, White’s life is as hec-tic as her running. One day she’ll be running at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia where she placed third in the 3,000 meters last spring. The Penn Relays (for both college and high school runners) is one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious events. After running in Philadelphia, White hustled home to set meet records in the 1,600- and 3,200-meet events of the Cosmopolitan Relays, one of the state’s oldest invitational meets that annually matches the best athletes from schools in and around the Roa-noke Valley. The Cosmopolitan has always run into scheduling conflicts over the years. Sometimes students must take SATs before running in

afternoon events. There are always the junior-senior proms that cause other scheduling difficulties. So after running in Philadelphia and in Salem (where the Cosmo is held), White didn’t have time talk to the press. She was on the way to dinner with her date for the prom and answered questions about the meet on a cell phone. White could use a travel agent. Her Foot Locker meets are held in San Diego and she has also run in a national indoor meet in New York City. She truly is a coast-to- coast runner. As for Arkansas, White has no idea what events she’ll run. “I’ll probably major in some-thing bio-medical. I’ve considered pre-med,” she says. The demands of a medical ca-reer include dedication, disci-pline and stamina — all qualities that White displays on a daily ba-sis.

WhiteFrom Page 5

Opening ceremonies for the Botetourt Sports Complex are scheduled for June 16

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T HERE WAS A TIME WHEN some Botetourt County resi-

dents were opposed to develop-ment in the Greenfield area, north of Daleville. Given what the county has done with that location, it’s hard to imagine much complaint. A new elementary school is a gem, and now a new sports complex is about to open that will not only give residents a park to enjoy, but will showcase the natural beauty of the county to visiting teams and families. Imagine four softball fields. Look out over — and through — the out-field fence at the scenery. Behind one field is Catawba Mountain. As the sun sets, that mountain will have a deepening glow on its crest. A little to the right, to the north-west and a little farther away, is Caldwell Mountain. At the peak of summer, the sun will drop behind that mountain as night falls. To the east is the pastoral coun-tryside of Botetourt County, with the Blue Ridge in the distance. That’s the scene at the Botetourt Sports Complex. In order to maxi-mize the view, the outfield fences will be the standard cyclone vari-ety. No wind screens or anything else to cover the distant moun-tains. For scenery alone, this com-plex will be one of the finest in the state. Add in all the amenities and the Botetourt Sports Complex be-comes a magnet attracting players, teams and money to the county. Botetourt will now be able to play host to big events that draw hundreds of teams to the area. Those players and families will leave dollars in the tills of restau-rants, hotels, retail and service providers within the county and the region. Complex Manager Jim Farm-er says the complex is on time and on budget, about $4 million. The opening ceremonies will be June 16, when dozens of teams will march in to commemorate the event. Salem was not the first locality to show that quality sports ven-ues attract tourism and economic development dollars (see relat-ed story on page 14). But Salem did show it could be done in this part of Virginia, when the James I. Moyer Sports Complex opened 15 years ago. Since then, Salem

has attracted dozens of top-flight tournaments each year. Some of the events have grown so large that other fields are needed, so the events become a cooperative effort among Roanoke Valley lo-calities, providing fields wherever they can be found. Botetourt officials want the Roa-noke Valley to extend to Fincastle. And why not? Whether it’s a smaller event that can be played entirely on site, or part of a huge tournament with the Roanoke Valley Sports Committee, the re-sult will bring people to Botetourt and let them enjoy one of the most scenic spots in Virginia. The Botetourt Sports Complex features a tower in the center of four fields radiating outward in all directions. Originally conceived as a two-story structure, it’s now a three-level building with rest-rooms and concessions on the

bottom. Game administration will be on one of the upper levels, and the other will offer seating and of-fice space, although which floor will serve which function has yet to be determined. The dugouts are wide, deep and feature restrooms and water foun-tains. Each field has a 550-seat grandstand. The concourse has covering be-tween grandstands facing adjoin-ing fields. This will protect com-plex visitors from the occasional foul ball or sudden rain. That rain won’t bother the fields too much. Head groundskeeper Chad Kropff is more worried about keeping them wet than dry. The infields were laid with assistance from experts at Virginia Tech. There are blankets separating the clay bed, a 12-inch layer of gravel and an eight-inch layer of infield soil, a sandy mix designed to stay

dry and smooth. The outfields are ir-rigated with a state-of-the-art Toro system. The first state championship tour-naments will be the weekend of July 13-16 when the top 12 teams in the Belles and Debs Dixie Soft-ball leagues will be

crowned. An estimated 90 teams will be on the diamonds the next weekend, July 21-22, when a por-tion of the NSA Coventry Com-monwealth Games of Virginia Youth Girls’ Fastpitch tourna-ment will be held there. The really busy time comes Aug. 30-Sept. 3, when the com-plex will again be part of a tourna-ment played all over the valley, the ASA Men’s Class D (East) National Championship, attracting teams from 25 states. While the softball fields are the centerpiece of the complex, adjoining soccer fields will also be improved. There are currently two, but that number will jump to five and a concession stand will be added among those fields. A walking track will circle the softball complex, hiking trails are in the area and a playground will give the little ones a distraction.


FISHING

Signs say stardom is angler’s destinyby Christian Moody

T HERE’S A REASON JOHN Crews is making a nice living catching fish and you’re not.

He’s better at it than you. Face it, Tiger Woods is better at golf than you are, or else you’d be out there earning giant checks playing golf. But Tiger Woods is better than everybody. How about Matt Kuchar? Yep, Matt Kuchar is better at golf than you. John Crews is a better angler than Matt Kuchar is a golfer. He’s Stewart Cink. He’s Clint Bowyer. Bowyer is a better driver than you are, evidenced by the fact that he drives in the nation’s top racing circuit for a living and does quite well — even if he’s not a regular in Victory Lane — and you don’t. He’s well-known, respected and all signs say he’s going to be a star. Clint Bowyer is a better driver than you are, and John Crews is a better angler. Crews is a rare breed among people who love to cast a line into the water — he’s a professional. He can catch fish anywhere, anytime — in theory. Despite the bravado that was the last 150-or-so-words, Crews is no braggart. He’s a rising star on the top tier of professional fishing, the Bassmaster Elite Tour, but he’s as down-to-earth as a guy who carries a canoe on an old pick-up. Don’t go looking for Crews to put a canoe on an old pick-up. He has a new pick-up. A really big, cus-tom-painted pick-up courtesy of his sponsors. Since Crews lives in Salem (the result of his recent marriage), there’s a good chance you can see the truck when he’s in town. Being a professional an-gler, however, means he’s rarely in town. And he doesn’t float around in a canoe, either. His boat of choice is a BassCat, clearly emblazoned with “Advance Auto” and its red-and-yellow scheme, pushed along with a giant Mercury outboard motor. This rig will really move. But none of that matters if the person holding the rod and reel has no more idea of how to catch a fish than a first-year Cub Scout. Crews understands the intri-cacies of how to bring a bass on board. He knows where fish will be based on variables such as wa-ter temperature, clarity and depth. He knows how to factor the pre-vailing weather conditions into

the formula. Once that’s figured out, there’s the issue of bait. There’s no way to sum up everything Crews considers when he’s in a tournament other than to employ a phrase he uses to explain it: “The pros know how to catch fish.” Many weekend an-glers jaunt around the water catching nothing more than tree limbs and blue gill, cast af-ter cast, while the good fishermen seem to know how to bring in the cita-tion-sized bass.

Part of that comes from the ed-iting of televised fishing. Squeez-ing the exploits of a group of an-glers fishing for many hours into 44 minutes of tape for a Sunday-morning show means dropping footage of all those pros getting nothing — or pulling in 10-inch fish after 10-inch fish that are re-turned to the water. “I’ve caught a lot more 12-inch bass than 15-inch bass, that’s for sure,” Crews says. And while fishing for bass, he’s pulled in crappie, bluegill, walleye, pike, you name it. Still, Crews has put his share of big bass in his live well. His per-sonal best is an 11-pound monster he pulled out of a lake in Florida. It must have been some lake be-cause he didn’t even get “big fish” that day. On the Santee-Cooper reservoir in South Carolina, Crews once had a two-day stretch where he pulled in 29 pounds each day — also a

personal best — and he only man-aged to place ninth in the tourna-ment. Take nothing away from ninth. Among 100-plus anglers heading out onto the water each week, a top-10 finish means good money. The top 50 in a tournament earn at least $10,000. From there, the purses increase. In a four-day event, the entire field fishes the first two days. The top 30 get to return for the third day, and the top 12 return for the fourth. Crews has never won an event — his best finish is third — but he expects to win one this year. “I had to learn how to win,” he says. “I had to learn what it takes to win. In the past year or so, I’ve figured out how to win. It’s just a matter of time.” Crews says fishing is mostly mental, “especially the winning.” Says Crews: “Part of it is just experience, being around people who win and seeing what goes on in their heads.” Respect for competitors is also a big part of it. Crews says profes-sional anglers have more camara-derie than most major sports. He says they will help each other, so long as they play by the rules, writ-ten and unwritten. The unwritten rules of fishing are fluid, Crews says. Consider courtesy. All Bassmaster Elite tournaments are on public water, so no law says competitors cannot be four feet apart fishing the same water. Professional courtesy, how-

ever, strongly discourages such actions. If a guy had a good day in a par-ticular cove one day, he might not expect to arrive there the next day and find a competitor casting about “his water.” Crews says courtesy and boat-ing safety are the top priorities in the unwritten rules. “I would say the sport is self-regulating. If someone gets a bad name, sooner or later he will be ostracized,” Crews says. Angling is the most individual of all individual sports. Golfers have caddies. Tennis players have coaches. Professional anglers don’t even have someone to help launch the boat. “It’s a one man show,” accord-ing to Crews. Often he has others on board — a businessman from Japan flew over in February to be an amateur competitor during a tournament in Texas — but he is not allowed to get help from anyone else on the boat. Sometimes the on-board com-panions are cameramen shooting for fishing shows. Crews has been on outdoor shows on ESPN2 nu-merous times. His profile is rising in the sport, which is good for his sponsors and, ultimately, better for him. Look for him on television. Or better yet, go to Smith Moun-tain Lake June 4-10 when the Bass-master Elite Tour is there and look for him in person. With that boat, he won’t be hard to spot.

John Crews, 28, is a three-time qualifier in the Bassmaster Classic, pro-fessional fishing’s premier event. He knows how to catch fish

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LacrosseFrom Page 4

From theBookshelf

by Bob Teitlebaum

An entertainment avalanche

instructional video for goalten-ders that was put together with help from fellow Roanoke College alumnus and lacrosse standout Steve Mason, selling several thou-sand over the past few years. “I know it’s helped a lot of peo-ple,” says Pilat, who has seen for-mer Maroons assistant coaches and players he mentored go on to take top jobs at colleges around the country. Roanoke College has not en-joyed the same success or stabil-ity with its women’s team, where Mary Schwartz is in her third sea-son as head coach. Last year she led the Maroons to a 10-8 overall mark. Schwartz came to Roanoke College after serving as the head women’s la-crosse coach at Division I David-son in North Carolina. Mike Rowe oversees the Hidden Valley Youth Sports Association lacrosse program that ranges from the combined high school teams with Cave Spring to younger-aged

boys’ teams in three age groups. Playing fields are so scarce that the south county clubs do not play at home — they practice at the American Legion field in Salem and play their games at Green Hill Park in West Roanoke County. Rowe, who played high school lacrosse in Connecticut, says the HVYSA youth teams might start practicing in the Cave Spring area soon, after negotiating with Roanoke County Parks and Rec-reation. Between the high school teams and the youth clubs, more than 100 lacrosse players are reg-istered in the HVYSA program. Rowe foresees high school varsity lacrosse down the road, “especial-ly since we have focused on creat-ing a solid youth program.” Pilat also believes lacrosse will continue to grow in popularity across the Roanoke Valley. “It’ll come. There are a lot of kids that want to play. We’re just having trouble finding coaches and fields to play on — and finding athletic directors that want to add another sport. But they will.”

American League”), Wallop sought an outlet for his frustrations. So he retold the Faust Legend. He developed the character Joe Boyd, a middle-aged real-estate salesman, glued to the television in the summer watching his be-loved Senators implode while the Yankees kept on winning. Boyd is fed up and says he’d be willing to sell his soul if only Washington could win a pennant. Presto, a man named Apple-gate appears at Boyd’s door ready to accommodate his wishes. He produces fire by snapping his fin-gers. (If you haven’t figured it out, Applegate is the Devil.) Boyd is ready to negotiate, al-though he’s more than a bit hesi-tant to go to Hell just so the Sena-tors can win the American League. Applegate offers an escape clause. By a certain time and date Boyd can withdraw from a deal where he’ll become Joe Hardy who will lead Washington to victory. It sounds easy, but the plot

“The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant,” by Douglass Wallop. W.W. Norton and Company, 1955. 250 pp. Generally available on-line as a used book for about $10. This baseball novel, a must for all New York Yankee baseball-hat-ers or Boston Red Sox fans, is still timely today in spite of the fact it was written 50-plus years ago. Wallop, a Washington, D.C., native who toiled for the Associ-ated Press, United Press Interna-tional and NBC and died in 1985, probably was fed up watching the machine known as the New York Yankees dominate the Ameri-can League in the Joe DiMaggio-Mickey Mantle era. Finally, after New York had won five consecutive World Champi-onships from 1949-’53 (more at the direct expense of the Red Sox than the Washington Senators, who prompted the slogan: “First in War, First in Peace and Last in the

thickens quickly when we learn that Applegate is a Yankees fan and has no intention of his team losing the pennant or in losing Joe Boyd’s soul. I won’t spoil the ending, but Wallop uses Lola, a seductress to keep Boyd/Hardy from recogniz-ing the treachery afoot until it is too late to use the escape clause. Wallop hits the jackpot with this book. Not only does it remain timely even today, but it was pro-duced into a Tony Award-winning Broadway play (Damn Yankees) soon after the book was published. Hollywood loved it and turned the play into a 1958 movie. Wallop was one of the film’s screen-writers. The play was hugely popular and had a long run on Broadway. The main song, “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets,” was performed by the Devil’s as-sistant (Gwen Verdon, a 1950s sexpot) to entice Boyd/Hardy to forget about making an escape. I’ve seen the Broadway play twice, once when it was on tour and the original version in New York. Other than The Music Man, it’s my favorite musical. Hardy’s past is exposed when an ambitious reporter disproves

Applegate’s claim that his protégé is from Hannibal, Mo., an area that never had produced a base-ball phenom. This leads to the song, “Shoe-less Joe from Hannibal, Mo.” This is a take-off on Shoeless Joe Jack-son, a legendary baseball player banned from the game because of his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, hinting that he might have sold his soul. The real Joe Jackson, who came from South Carolina, is regarded as one of the game’s great players but who was banned from the National Base-

ball Hall of Fame. By the time Hardy becomes a Senator, the players are com-pletely dispirited. Yet hope is eternal in baseball, so the Sena-tors come up with another song, “You’ve Got to Have Heart.”

I always find it ludicrous yet en-tertaining to see a bunch of players in baseball uniforms dancing and singing around the locker room. I have a CD of the songs as well as a videotape of the movie. I’m ad-dicted to this piece of fiction that sums up nearly 90 years of Ameri-can League legend, dating back to when Babe Ruth made the Yan-kees a baseball power that people either love or hate. (As a matter of disclosure, I’m a Yankees fan.)


S ALEM HIGH SCHOOL’S fight song includes these un-forgettable lyrics: “I’m Salem

born and Salem bred; and when I die I’ll be Salem dead.” Granted, the words may not be of Stephen Sondheim quality. But they do stick with you. Salem High School has been in existence for 30 years, but the song’s a lot older than that. It was part of the Andrew Lewis High School mantra, and Lewis, now a middle school, was built during the 1930s. Heck, those words might have been uttered by Andrew Lewis him-self. Except that Lewis, a Revolutionary War hero, died in 1781 and Salem wasn’t founded until 1802. Whatever. You get the point. The pride of Salem (a title, coincidentally, adopted by the current high school’s marching band) has a lengthy heritage. And for good reason. The school system is excellent. The government is strong. The environment is pristine. Oh, and did I mention the community’s athletic tradition? That’s not bad, either. Forget that the only successful professional sports franchise in the Roanoke Valley right now is the Salem Avalanche baseball team. Put aside the fact that the Salem High School football team has won six state championships since 1996. Never mind that Salem has hosted (or will host) well over 40 Division II and III national collegiate champion-ships — in football, basketball, softball, volleyball and, coming this spring, lacrosse — since the early ’90s. Salem’s recreational sports program thrives at another level, too.

John Shaner, Salem’s parks and rec-reation director for the past 18 months or so, understands that a high level of excellence has been established and he’s taking the necessary steps to raise the bar. Shaner, 37, is a SHS and Mar-shall University graduate. He’s closing in on 13 years of professional sports facility management experience in Sa-lem. He assumed his current post when Charlie Hammersley announced his retirement near the end of 2005. Prior to his most recent promotion, Sha-ner had overseen the James I. Moyer Sports Complex for eight years. Moyer was un-veiled as a state-of the-art softball venue 15

years ago, and continues to draw rave reviews. It will host tournaments every weekend throughout the summer, involving thousands of partici-pants. Moyer was inducted into the National Softball Association’s Hall of Fame last year; it is one of only three facilities nationally to be so hon-ored.

The new Moyer Sports Complex manag-er is Brad Epperley, who also is responsi-ble for the Kiwanis Baseball Field. Kiwanis Field formerly was home to the Salem pro-fessional baseball team for decades un-til Memorial Stadium was constructed in 1995. Since that time Kiwanis Field has not only been preserved, it has been groomed and manicured for heavy use by high school and other amateur competition. Epperley, 32, is a Blacksburg native and Radford Uni-versity graduate whose college ma-

jor concentrated on outdoor recreational management. He interned with Salem Parks and Rec in the late ’90s, came to work full-time after graduation and then, af-ter a brief interlude working in another locality, came back to Salem. “It doesn’t take long when

John Shaner

Salem’s reputation won’t rest on laurelsone leaves Salem to realize just how good it is,” Epperley says. With Epperley comfortable in his spot, Shaner’s attention has been turned to the new Spartan Field at Salem High School, which will host the NCAA Division II women’s lacrosse championships in May. At press time, two colleges (Ferrum and Washington & Jefferson) had already hosted lacrosse games on the field, “and even though both games were played in the rain, the field was spectacular,” Shaner says. “Nobody slipped.” Sha-ner is particularly proud of the FieldTurf, a highly touted artificial sur-face. In addition to soccer and la-crosse, Spartan Field will host another event this summer. From June 28-30 the school’s most prominent football alum-nus, Dennis Haley, will con-duct a football

camp for youth between the ages of 7 and 17. Advance registration costs $100. Haley, 25, is a 2000 graduate of SHS who enjoyed a stellar athletic career for the Spartans. He scored an eye-popping total of 63 career touchdowns (over four years), helping Salem win three Group AA state championships. Haley also led the basketball team to a Group AA state championship in the winter of 1999. After completing his college career at

the University of Virginia, Haley found a spot in the National Football League. The 6-foot-1, 245-pounder signed with the New York Jets in 2005, and then four games into that season, caught on with the Baltimore Ra-vens as a backup linebacker. Most of his playing time with the Ravens has been on special teams, and in 2006, Haley played in nine games. In a mid season game against the Tennessee Titans, Haley participated in 50 snaps and was involved in 10 tackles. Haley hopes to bring in several Raven teammates for the camp, includ-ing outside linebacker Bart Scott, defensive end Terrell Suggs, defensive back Jamaine Winborne and running back Musa Smith. “I might even be able to get (All-Pro linebacker) Ray Lewis,” Haley says with a smile. “And I’m also good friends with (former Raven DB) Deion Sanders.” Shaner thinks it’s significant that Haley, who now lives in Christians-burg, has chosen to hold his signature camp in the town where he grew up — not Baltimore, Charlottesville or the New River Valley. Haley has great fondness for his college head coaches George Welsh (“the first person that told me I had the potential to play in the NFL”) and Al Groh (“Whenever I go through Charlottesville, I make an attempt to talk to him and ask for his advice”), but Haley’s football roots are in

Salem. He has only glowing praise for his high school coach, the now-retired Willis White, as well as the current Spartans’ coach, Steve Magenbauer. “Steve’s a close friend,” Haley says. “He coached me in eighth grade.” It’s ironic that someone who scored 63 high school touchdowns now plays defense. “At this level, I’d rath-er be doing the hitting than getting hit,” Haley says. And then he winks. “But I can still run the ball.” Salem hasn’t forgotten.

Brad Epperley

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Dennis Haley was an offensive machine in high school (left) before switching to defense in college

Moyer Sports Complex


HELLO SPORTS FANS AND welcome to the Roanoke Val-ley.

We here in and around the Star City love the lifestyle and hope you will, too, however long your stay. Roanoke, of course, is a Na-tive American word which means “folding pro sports team.” In the last calendar year or so, we’ve said good-bye to the Roanoke Vipers hockey team, the Roanoke Dazzle basketball team, local ownership of the Salem Avalanche baseball team and heck, just for good measure, we tore down our historic football stadium. That football field, by the way, affectionately known as Victory Sta-dium, was built shortly after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, I believe, and featured much of that original architecture. In later years, it was used mostly for fun outdoor concerts, a series of ill-fated semi-professional football teams and often to house large portions of the Roanoke River. Still, we’re a nostalgic lot here in Roanoke and there was much debate over whether to: (a) refurbish the structure, (b) build some sort of local amphitheater for Lord of the Dance to come back to, (c) build small-er fields for the local high school football teams, (d) find more space to build another local Wal-Mart, (e) all of the above, or (f) none of the above. In the end, Roanoke City Council, I believe, set aside money to somehow make roads leading into and around Valley View Mall more confusing and harder to navigate during heaviest-traffic times. I know, I know, it doesn’t sound like the best use of local funds, but we’ve been busy around here. We’ve been in an uproar since we lost our monkey out of the Mill Mountain Zoo last summer. He was appropri-ately named “Oops,” and we had the whole ding-dang country in a tizzy until we corralled the wayward chimp late one night on a stool at the Texas Tavern. He was trying to order a “hot with, walking,” and he actually blended into the crowd (10 of them) in the Tavern at the time. Ultimately, his use of a napkin gave him away. Turns out a lot of animals get corralled at the Texas Tavern late at night. That’s a favorite Roanoke dining spot, for you out-of-towners, offering real local flavor. Make sure you order the French fries. Me, I’ve absorbed a little too much local flavor over the years and that’s why I should be out and about this spring and summer playing softball or hiking or biking or canoeing or jogging or any of those other fun athletic things you can do around these parts that I never seem to do anymore. Roanoke has a plethora of parks and rivers and nearby lakes. Salem has more softball fields than Britney Spears has rehab check-ins and if there’s a better view over the outfield fences than at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium, I have yet to see it. By the way, Memorial is where the Salem Avalanche plays, the name

obviously a tip of the cap to the great skiing and winter sports here in the valley. Wait a minute. We don’t have skiing or many other winter sports here. We do have a team named the Avalanche, though, and I’m told some Salem hooligans once made a pretty large snowball and rolled it down Twelve O’Clock Knob, if you want to count that. No, seriously, our baseball team was once affiliated with the Colorado Rockies and somebody somewhere thought Avalanche would be a good name for a team in Salem, Va. Hey, you think that’s bad, they called our local National Basketball Developmental League team the Dazzle. I can’t say that name directly led to that franchise folding, but would you go see something called the Dazzle if you were anything other than a 12-year-old girl? Our baseball team has played like 12-year-old girls often in their his-tory except for a few uprisings here and there. We won our last Carolina League pennant on Sept. 10, 2001, so we didn’t get to celebrate very long

at all. Our last — but hopefully not our final — hockey team was called the Vipers, of all things. The previous one was called the Ex-press, but that was OK. We have a proud his-tory here in Roanoke with railroads and that name made some sense. They called our Roanoke Civic Center the “Roundhouse” back then and the whole railroad thing was cool and local. Now the Roanoke Civic Center has tractor pulls and gun and boats shows but no teams to really make anyone go there. They should expand and let the Ro-anoke City high schools play football there instead of playing home games in Franklin County, home of the Moonshiners, a profes-sional brewing team. In fact, for all those so nostalgic about Vic-tory Stadium, start returning the bricks you collected and we’ll use them for more civic center expansion. Hey, I’m an idea guy. The valley, specifically Salem, also annu-

ally plays host to many Division II and III college championship events, including the football title games called the Stagg Bowl, so called because you don’t have to bring a date if you don’t want to. I kid the Stagg Bowl, but that’s what people of my ilk do. But I also dream of the day we’re a big enough sports city that we can have local teams that actually end in the plural “s” again, like the old, old Roanoke Buckskins, the Salem Pirates and the Roanoke Valley Rebels. I’m not sure those were the greatest nicknames but that’s what we had when I was a kid, and we liked it. I’ve never been one to complain about even semi-competitive pro sports in these parts. I like having live sports-viewing options and I love short concession lines. And I’ve also got a great name to draw national interest: The Roanoke Lost Monkeys. Thank heavens he wasn’t loose on Mill Mountain during avalanche season.

By any name Roanoke sports smell sweetSIDELINESby Mike Ashley

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Let’s return theVictory Stadiumbricks so we can build anotherstructure cheaply

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