How Small Is This World Really

Next Thursday Cousin Lauren Doughtie will be in the first group to tee off at the Women's U S Open Golf Championships at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs Colorado. She very well might be the first player to hit a ball in the tournament. She qualified by tying for first in her sectional in Pinehurst three weeks ago.  Since then the Futures tour had a tournament last week and one going on this week in which Lauren decided to pass up in order to practice for the OPEN.

So far in seven events this year on the Futures Tour Lauren has had pay checks totalling a tad more than $3,600.  If Next Thursday and Friday she can muster two of the best rounds of her life and just make the cut she will make more than she has in now two years on the Futures tour.  Teeing off at 7.00am there is no way we will get to see her on TV unless she shoots one of those rounds that when TV does start they show her high lights.

This is her second US Open as she qualified in 2008 as a rising senior at N C State.  That year she played a practice round with Annika Sorenstam.  It is the dream of every player whether it is golf, football baseball basketball you name the sport and every athlete has been in the back yard living out that dream of making the final putt to win the open or make the winning basket.  Lauren's  golf career as a pro has just hit the two year mark as she turned pro after graduating from State in 2009.  I think everyone in the family right now dreams just to see her play well and earn a few dollars to keep her alive on the Futures Tour.  But wouldn't it be something just to see her hit a few shots on TV on that final Sunday.

Lauren's  Cousin Brooks has been in Colorado Springs since Monday getting his first view of what it is like coaching world class athletes.  He is at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Two Cousins who have completely different jobs find themselves down the street from each other 1,800 miles from home.

Brooks told me something very interesting tonight about why runners train in the mountains of Colorado.  You see at 10,000 feet above sea level when runners train at that height their red blood cells contract  and as they get in condition to run at that height and then they go run a race say in New York City which is at sea level their  blood vessels expand and they can perform about 8% better. You hear all the time about basketball teams that play in elevation the opposite occurs and those teams from sea level are not  use  to the elevation and their capacity is worse.

One wanting to hit a  little ball three and a half miles  and take 70 shots or less to do it. The other wanting to learn what drives premiere athletes.  What do they have within themselves that make  the top long distance runners in the country.  As a coach of one sport trying to learn what it takes to make a person great in their sport, wouldn't it be something  that if Brooks finds what he is looking for that it could in turn help Lauren find hers.

I will not blog again until after the Legion game Sunday night as Post 58 opens the 2011 playoffs at home against New  Bern.  Game time is 7.00pm

Thirty Days Before High School Football

Here we are rolling into July and before you know it high school football players will be hard at work preparing for the 2011 high school season.  Things have changed so much during the years.  Today all schools are participating in seven on seven and there never seems to be no end to practice.  It is the same for all sports today as basketball players are playing AAU and baseball is full of travel leagues.  It is hard to find a multi sport player any more with all the pressure to be good in one sport.

Benton Moss has added another to his list of All American teams he has made from his baseball season at Rocky Mount High.  Baseball America has  Benton as one of the 15 best high school pitchers in the country.  The recent MLB draft Benton was rated 68th best pitcher coming out of high school and the 3rd best overall player from North Carolina. 

Winner of the Cain-Morehead scholarship to the University of North Carolina major league teams  stayed clear of drafting Benton once they learned his intentions to go to College first and see later where baseball will be in his life three or four years from now.  Benton currently is serving an internship in the state of Wyoming as part of the Morehead scholarship enrichment program.

Xavier Macklin is doing about as well as you can expect any rookie to do two weeks in his job as a professional baseball player.  He is hitting 357 which is the fifth best average in the New York Penn Rookie League.  He has only had about forty at bats so far and a two hit night or a no hit night can either raise your average 30 points or drop in 30.  Once he gets to 100 we will get a good idea of how quickly X will move up with the A's.  If his early pace continues he might be on a single A team by the end of the NY-Penn League season.

I have not heard anything new on Brian Goodwin and as far  as I know has not signed with the Washington Nationals.  One problem for any high pick in any draft is everyone waits to see how much money the #1 guys gets and then the dominoes start falling into place.  Why would any player want to sign the first offer  and in Brian's case as the 34th pick in the draft and what ever offer has been made to him sign it and find out later the the 40th pick got more. 

Xavier Macklin's case as a twelfth round draft pick there is not a lot of wiggle room in negotiations.  You take what a 12th rounder would get or stay in school.  A bargaining chip for a 12th round draft selection is getting them to pay for the remainer of  your college education  during the off season. X  signed with the A's after his third year of college so he is not yet ready for his cap and gown at North Carolina A&T.  Sounds as if he still wants it in the future.

There is a process that all high draft  players follow and they have until mid August to get signed or they will  have to go back to college.  Brian's case college next year would be to the  two time defending champion Gamecocks of South Carolina.  My thoughts would be that  risk against reward that you will see Brian signed  this summer.  Injury, a slump could cause him to fall in the draft while there is only 33 positions that he can improve if he has a great season at South Carolina next year.  My advise take the money.