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Local Sports

Local sports in the Panhandle are not just a game, they are a lifestyle. Our community eats, sleeps and breathes cheering on our local athletes.
News13 is On Your “Sidelines” bringing you more than the score.
News13’s Stephen Gunter is committed to giving you stories of the Panhandle’s top athletes, intriguing match-ups and unusual sports you may not even know exist.
sgunter@wmbb.com

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Getting Ready for Nationals

MARIANNA- “Some of the things that I took from last year are the preparation aspect of having your team prepared to play deep into the tournament. It’s easy to get them prepared for the first couple of games, but as you get to that final four and that championship game, kids start to take it for granted and coaches do as well,” said Chipola head coach Greg Heiar.

It’s one thing the Chipola Indian basketball team will have plenty of going into next weeks national tournament, preparation.

Coach Greg Heiar and his practices remain intense for a reason.

They get harder. Every season they get harder. You are preparing to play five games in four days. You’ve gotta be in great shape and we’ve only got four practices to prepare,” said Heiar.

“He tries to make our practices as hard as possible, so when we get into the game it will be fairly easy,” said freshman forward Gary Flowers.

It seems like the games have been fairly easy for the Indians this season. They boast a 32-1 record, and the players credit Heiar and his fiery attitude at practices for the success.

“All we’re doing is basically staying in the gym, working hard and trying to listen and do everything that coach tells us to do. We’ve been doing it all year and we’ve been winning, so we’re not going to stop now,” said sophomore guard Malik Alvin.

“He says the way you practice is going to be the way you play, it always leads over to the court and that’s true,” Flowers said.

“I believe that at this time of year, it’s important that their bodies are ready to play but their mentality is that of a lion or a tiger, they’ve got that killer instinct, but their fresh so they can go and get their prey,” said Heiar.

The team feels it has that eye of the tiger Coach Heiar is looking for, and can deliver a national title.

“We’ve got the heart and determination and we’ve got the will and we can will our way through certain situations that most teams couldn’t. We’re together, we’re a unit, we’re one fist. We feed off each others energy and that’s always a good thing for a team,” said Flower.

“I’m pretty sure that everybody that is playing for the other team is going to bring their all. So we’ve gotta do what we’ve been doing. Play as a team. No selfishness on the team and we should be good,” said Alvin.

Chipola takes on Seward County Community College out of Kansas in the first round of the national tournament.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCORES

Mosley 1
Bay 3

Rutherford 10
Chiles 8

Altha 11
Graceville 1

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