posted by:
Bass, Joseph A - MNPS at Aug 13, 2012 9:38:00 AM
 |
|
Board Member &
Sports Fan Mark North
|
Alumni Alert – USA Olympic Basketball Coach
Did you know that Hillsboro High School graduate Marynell Meadors is an assistant coach for the 2012 US Olympic Women’s Basketball Team? That’s right, the gold medal winning US team – perhaps the best women’s basketball team ever assembled – benefited from the leadership of an MNPS legend. Coach Meadors is also the General Manager and Head Coach of the Atlanta Storm of the WNBA. Burro Bob is beside himself with pride. Congratulations to Olympic Champion Coach Meadors!
Sparkle Cats – Unique Student-Athletes Help Fans Get with the Program
No need for the North Sports Report to search far for inspiration, it met me at the gate, selling programs for the game. As I entered Nick Coutras Stadium at Overton High School Saturday night, I was greeted by The Sparkle Cats selling the game program with the roster of all four teams playing in that night’s jamboree. The Sparkle Cats is a pep squad of special needs students who train and perform with the Overton Cheerleaders. Principal Shuler Pelham and Cheerleading sponsor Donna Merchant explained that the Sparkle Cats go to cheerleading camp, perform at pep rallies, and help the cheerleaders with selected cheers at the games.
Every now and then, we need a reminder of the beauty and grace of public education and the true meaning of school spirit. Also, sometimes we need a game program with the teams’ rosters. The Sparkle Cats was just what the North Sports Report needed.
History…Isaac Litton High School
Isaac Litton High School closed forty years ago, but its history of athletic excellence is deep and rich. From Bonnie Sloan, the first deaf player in the NFL, to Bobby Hillman, a major league catcher who caught two no-hitters in his career, to the famous Marching 100+ marching band that performed in the 1964 Tournament of Roses Parade, to John Gordy, Detroit Lions great – the feats of Litton students are legendary. Litton alumnus and war hero Kenneth Duke played college football at SMU, left SMU to join the Navy, and was killed in Korea. The bridge on Briley Parkway over the Cumberland River near Litton is named in his honor. Friends and alumni gathered last week to dedicate the renovated gymnasium and alumni area. If you have any interest in the history of Nashville, Nashville schools, or high school athletics, you must visit the Litton alumni room.
 |
| The Isaac Litton Alumni room (The Lion’s Den) includes memorabilia from the marching band’s appearance at The Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California in 1964. |
| |
 |
| Reflecting on the past: The Litton football jersey of war hero Kenneth Duke hangs in the Lion’s Den at the newly renovated Litton Gymnasium. |
Football Starts this Friday…They call it Week Zero
The jamborees packed all thirteen MNPS football teams into three nights at three locations. The North Sports Report enjoyed the hospitality, excitement and great football at Maplewood, Cane Ridge, and Overton last week.
The regular season starts this Friday, August 17 at 7:00pm:
- Hunters Lane Warriors travel to the neighboring Maplewood Panthers in what they call the Dickerson Road Bowl;
- Cane Ridge Ravens host Pearl-Cohn Firebirds;
- Hillwood Hilltoppers travel to face Hillsboro Burros to see which of the Hills is king of the mountain;
- Antioch Bears host LaVergne;
- Glencliff Colts welcome Sycamore;
- McGavock Raiders travel to Tullahoma;
- Overton Bobcats head down the road to take on Father Ryan;
- Stratford Spartans head to Sumner County to challenge JPII; and
- Whites Creek Cobras drive up I 24 to Clarksville to face Rossview
The MNPS home games are: at Maplewood; at Cane Ridge; at Hillsboro; at Antioch; and at Glencliff. It is a great time to start a Friday night tradition. Take your family to a game! It is a great family night, for the great families of Nashville.
-- Mark North
MNPS: The First Choice for the Beauty and Grace of Public Education
