Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 16 UCW JANUARY 26, 2022 - FEBRUARY 1, 2022 EDUCATION FTCC Trojans are ready to play ball this spring by JACLYN SHAMBAUGH e Fayetteville Technical Com- munity College athletics program is heading into an exciting spring base- ball and softball action season. e Trojans welcome new head coaches Nic Love and John Newman to steer baseball and softball, respec- tively. ey have made plans to build a softball field next to the college's home baseball facility, J.P. Riddle Stadium, on Legion Road. e spring sports season begins in February. Interested parties can find the complete baseball and softball schedules, as well as the latest up- dates on all FTCC Athletics programs at faytechcc.edu/athletics. Love leads baseball program Nic Love has taken charge of the baseball program, joining the Trojans in August. His new role is the first head coaching job for Love, who also holds an FTCC academic advisor po- sition. Love comes to FTCC from fel- low NJCAA Region 10 program Paul D. Camp CC. He was on the Hurri- canes' staff for two years, becoming the team's associate head coach and recruiting coordinator in his final year there. Love said that on trips to Fayetteville Tech and J.P. Riddle Stadium, he could see the kinds of opportunities FTCC offers. "From the outside looking in, Fayetteville Tech always seemed like a gold mine," Love said. "It's got a really great facility, and the school looks like it can really draw prospec- tive athletes in. I think Fayetteville and the area has a lot to offer, and it's something really easy to sell the kids." Love has already made strides implementing his team pillars, including a high standard of aca- demic excellence. For the Fall 2021 semester, the baseball team posted a combined team GPA of 3.27. Newman takes over the softball program Veteran softball coach John New- man has taken over the Trojan soft- ball program. Newman, who started at FTCC in July, brings nearly 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Trojans' program, including two stints on staff at Methodist University. "I think this is a perfect fit," New- man said. "I can work with a player for two years and get her an oppor- tunity that wasn't there for her as a senior in high school. ey can get some structure, and in two years, move on to either a four-year pro- gram or to having a life and job." Newman emphasizes classroom success for his athletes. Shortly after his hiring, four FTCC softball players earned academic recognition from the National Fastpitch Coaches Asso- ciation for the 2020-21 school year. Alea'ah Graham, Jaylynn Faughn, Faith Squire and Chelsey Wilkes were named Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes, a designation for players with a 3.5 GPA or higher. New softball facility FTCC has announced plans to build a softball field next to the col- lege's J.P. Riddle Stadium on Legion Road. e college has budgeted $1.5 mil- lion for the project, which would be completed in two phases. e project's first phase would con- sist of the softball field itself, score- board and lights built on just over an acre of land in the west corner of the J.P. Riddle parking lot next to Legion Road. e second phase would include building a new locker room next to the existing locker room facility at J.P. Riddle Stadium. e FTCC softball program will continue to use Honeycutt Park at Ki- wanis Recreation Center as its home field until the new field is game-ready. JACLYN SHAMBAUGH, FTCC Comments? Editor@upandcomingweek- ly.com. 910-484-6200. Fayetteville Technical Community College Trojan players line up in a dugout. (Photo courtesy of Fayettevile Technical Community College.) A new wave in the Seltzer Category 8 2 % Alcohol grams carbs Gluten Free 12Pack 12oz cans 16oz cans YOUR LOCAL Beer-Seltzer-Ciders-Wine Distributor