Sports

Sports

Practice

Begins

By SHARON KILPATRICK

Rappahannock Ncwi Staff Writer

Practice for most spring sports got underway last week as coaches and players tried to get into shape and make plans for coming competition.

Soccer practice did not begin until this week, but track, baseball and spftball teams got a head start. At the beginning of the week everyone was working out in the gym. Then the 'softball team moved to its field, and fhe track team moved to the parking lot of the elementary school. . With most of the seniors away on the senior class trip, coaches were still Waiting to put thfeir teams together.

_ This year, for the first time, Rappahannock will field a junior varsity soccer team. The other three spring sports feature only varsity competition, but plans are to field junior varsity teams in baseball and softball next spring, v; , On Friday the track team was back in the gym. Coach David van de Graaff put the squad through various exercises: skipping, high stepping, bounding, and sprinting from foul line to four line as well as running around the gym.

He said the various exercises are designed to develop leg strength which will pay off for jumpers and throwers as well as runners. “It is totfil conditioning for everybody, even me,” he said.

There are fewer boys out this year than in the past, and Mr. van de Graaff. He said that is because they must select only one spring sport this year. In the past some boys have combined track with baseball or soccer. Mr. van de Graff said with no track of its own the track team does not have much visibility in school. “Once we get our own track, we will attract more kids,” he said.

Nonetheless he expects some solid successes this year. Senior Willie Shanks could compete at the state level in sprints. He also expects success from Jason Carter and Dawn Havstad jn the discus, Emily Sims in distance events, Fran Overdorf in high jumping and his four by 100 and four by 400 relay teams.