Rocky Mount Sports Facilities

I am not only an announcer on the Stretchlon Sports Show but I am also the producer on shows in which I take part. Real television when the credits roll at the end of the show when it list who the stars are and those behind the scene the word producer will pass at some point in the scrolling. All a producer is the person who provides everything needed in a show. A chair to sit in in case there is no press box. The biggest part of any show is what will be on the show? The producer lines up the guest, the events. That's my part as producer what game will you see?

We did a live show last Sunday night which we featured the senior soccer players from Rocky Mount High who are the winningest class in school history. This Sunday we will have the Nash Central Cross Country team's seniors who four straight years finished in the top ten in the state four times.

Live shows are a celebration most of the time of teams that won State Championships. We had several shows on the little league state tournament held here in July. The Nash County Volley Ball Tournament held in August. We had planned to carry the Big East soccer Semifinals and Finals but rain killed that idea. We were caught short on taped shows when fall sports were done waiting for winter sports to kick in. Thus two live shows in a row.

Basketball is cranking up and you can expect the round ball on several times in the next three months. There is one sports that doesn't get a lot of play but because of the Harrison Family YMCA can be shown is swimming. The Rocky Mount YMCA is connected just enough to the sports complex that visitors think it is part of the complex. Swimming is treated just like cross country and the Big East has a weekly swim meet where all the conference members bring their teams to the same meet.

Swimming is hard to cover because the swimmers don't have a number and no team has a roster that you purchase as you walk in to see who is on the team. A race starts every team puts a swimmer in that race and off they go. As soon as that race ends another group get up to the starting line and off they go. There is no break for a commercial or a chance to go to the concession stand, if there were you would miss a race or two.

Most people pay attention to their light bill more than the facilities that we have in Rocky Mount. We have the use of a Olympic Size swimming pool. Baseball and softball has a facility hardly no one else in the state can match. I hear this past weekend there was a major little league tournament moved here when Charlotte canceled out as the site.

Even in swimming when a conference meet is held the city gets a few dollars from those that eat before they go home or buy gas to get back home. Who knows they just might stop and buy something at the mall before they leave. Once the Gryphons move to their new football home I think it would be wise for the city when it takes over the stadium to enlarge the visitors side. I could see the football Stadium hosting the Eastern Finals in football just like Greenville has hosted basketball for the past several years.

If there is one thing this city has been progressive in is sports. Why stop with what we have now let's become the sports capitol of North Carolina. I think you can already calls us the little league and softball capitol why stop there?