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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JUNE 27-JULY 3, 2018 UCW 25 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Mike Paroli Nikai Butler County needs alternative to grade penalty for athletes by EARL VAUGHAN JR. e road back to the football success of Douglas Byrd in the late 1990s has been a rocky one for third-year head coach Mike Paroli. Paroli, the son of legendary Eagle head coach Bob Paroli, is still looking for his first win as head coach after being hired in 2016. e Eagles have posted back-to-back 0-11 seasons in the Patriot Athletic Conference. Paroli would like to turn the corner this season, but challenges to improvement still remain follow- ing the recent conclusion of spring workouts. "We haven't gotten as much accomplished in the spring as we would have,'' Paroli said. "e weight room has been more of a focus. We're trying to get as strong as we possibly could and worry more about the helmets and shoulder pads things for June.'' ere will be some new faces in the Eagle program this fall, but Paroli declined to elaborate on just who those faces are. "We have some kids who haven't played here before that we are trying to bring along slowly and find out if they are going to stay with us," he said. e biggest problem for the Eagles headed into the official start of practice in August will be re- building a secondary from scratch. Another challenge will be trying to continue a philosophy started last year that Paroli admits didn't work very well, trying to avoid playing any players on offense and defense. He said they particularly want to keep from doing it early in the season. "at's going to be a difficult task for us right now,'' he said. One thing that has been a plus for the Eagles is a new Cumberland County policy that allows eighth graders to be on the high school campus once Easter break is over. "We are hoping that translates into having a junior varsity team," Paroli said. Paroli said he'd like to avoid using any of those incom- ing freshmen in the secondary, but he added that may have to happen because the situation there is desperate. One player the Eagles will definitely be using a lot is Nikai Butler, a 6-foot-2-inch, 245-pound senior who has been in the Byrd program since he was a freshman. Pa- roli said colleges are already talking to Butler, who plays linebacker, defensive line, offensive guard, tight end and just about any other position the Eagles need him. "He's had a tremendous offseason,'' Paroli said. "He's a straight-A kid, top ten of his class and a won- derful young man. We'll look at him to play in all those different spots plus be the positive school and team leader he is.'' Like his coach, Butler realizes there's no easy solution to turning the Byrd program around. "We just have to continue to work, no matter the circum- stances,'' he said. Asked if he thinks the Eagles can return to the glory years they enjoyed when Bob Paroli was head coach, Butler quickly replied yes. "I've got faith,'' he said. "We just have to have dedication and people wanting to play.'' As Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr. begins his official role as the new superintendent of Cumberland County Schools, I'm hopeful he'll review a policy left over from his predecessor and consider changing it. Dr. Frank Till first got the CC Board of Education to establish a rule that said no students in the county could participate in extracurricular activities if they did not maintain at least a C-average. As a college graduate who earned both summa cum laude as well as honors while attending UNC- Wilmington, I fully support the push for requiring better grades. School is about learning, and athletes need to know that just being stars on the playing field isn't enough. ey'll be in the game of life a lot longer than they'll be playing their favorite sport, and the better educated you are, the better your chance for later success. But I think the CC policy as it stands now is too restrictive and gives our young people and their coaches an unlevel playing field for battle. When you remove the chance to play completely, for many of these young people you're taking away one of the main incentives to be in school and stay engaged. ere's a greater risk of them giving up and dropping out completely. Our coaches and their teammates are being hurt because some of these youngsters are good athletes who aren't being allowed to compete, robbing their teams the benefit of their talents. is especially shows in a sport like football, where numbers are crucial to success. Our county football has shown a sharp decline in recent years, with only Cape Fear advancing to a state champion- ship game in recent memory. ere was a time we had a team in the finals almost every season. I'm not suggesting we don't hold athletes ac- countable. e North Carolina High School Athletic Association has a standard they must meet, and while somewhat low, it does hold them to a certain level of performance. All I'm asking be changed is removing them from the team. We can still require those who are not maintaining a C-average to attend tutoring sessions led by faculty members willing to volunteer. I think it's worth a try and would be a great way to kick off the 2018-19 school year on a positive note. • We welcome two new head coaches in varsity sports at CC Schools. Travis Lemanski, former coach at North Brunswick and St. Pauls, is the new boys bas- ketball coach at South View, replacing Wendell Wise. At Gray's Creek, Nicholas Lewis replaces Anissa Little as girls basketball coach. Lewis comes from Pine Forest Middle School. • Congratulations to Andrew McCarthy, soccer coach at Fayetteville Academy, who has been named the school's assistant athletic director. • A reminder that the annual CC Football Jamboree will be Aug. 8-9. To learn about sponsorship opportu- nities, call Vernon Aldridge at 910-678-2300. Here is the schedule for this year's jamboree: Aug. 8 at Pine Forest: 6 p.m. - Farmville Central vs. Westover, Rolesville vs. Overhills. 7 p.m. - Union Pines vs. E.E. Smith, Triton vs. Terry Sanford. 8 p.m. - Scotland vs. Cape Fear, Lumberton vs. Pine Forest Aug. 9 at Jack Britt: 6 p.m. - St. Pauls vs. Douglas Byrd, West Bladen vs. Gray's Creek. 7 p.m. - East Montgomery vs. Hoke County, Eastern Wayne vs. South View. 8 p.m. - Lee County vs. Seventy-First, Apex Friendship vs. Jack Britt. HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS Douglas Byrd trying to turn corner under Paroli by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Athlete of the Month for the School Year 2017-2018: August - Xeaiver Bullock (E.E. Smith) September - Justice Gallaway-Velazquez (Cape Fear) October - Christian Jayne (Terry Sanford) November - Justice Gallaway-Velazquez (Cape Fear) January - Alexandria Scruggs (E.E. Smith) February - Daniel Peede (Pine Forest) Michael Vernagallo (Cape Fear) Dallas Wilson (Cape Fear) March - Justin Ebert (Terry Sanford) April - Andrew Jayne (Terry Sanford) May - Carlie Myrtle - Jack Britt (Softball) 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 50 MONDAY & BRINGING YOU THE BEST IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS 6-8pm