Orange High School

When she was named Orange volleyball coach in June 2018, Kelly Young make her goal clear.

“We’re coming for Chapel Hill,” she said.

Back then, there was no way Young could have imagined the circumstances surrounding the Lady Panthers’ first win over Chapel Hill, the defending 3A State Champions, in five years.

On Thursday night, Orange defeated Chapel Hill 3-1 on scores of 26-24, 25-17, 10-25 and 25-19.

It was Orange’s first victory over Chapel Hill since September 17, 2015.

Ordinarily such a result would lead to Orange’s student section, and several adults, rushing the floor. The fact that it came during a pandemic, reducing the crowd to only junior varsity players and assorted Orange staff, didn’t seem to matter.

Neither did the fact that it was the Lady Panthers’ first game of the year. While the Big 8 Conference’s other teams had played at least four contests, Orange had only a forfeit victory over Vance County on its record.

Nor did it seem to matter that the Lady Panthers have barely practiced the past two weeks. Though no one on the team has tested positive for COVID-19, there were potential exposures that caused a match against East Chapel Hill to be delayed twice. One Lady Panther had shingles.

“COVID is rough to plan around, for sure,” Young said. “I know a lot of people are really pushing other sports to get playing, but when you start doing it it’s really hard. They are so many moving pieces. There are so many different circumstances and situations for you athletes to work around. You have to be super flexible this year. You might miss two weeks of practice, have to reschedule and then play three games in one week. Like this week.”

“You’re worried about your girls being prepared,” Young said. “We lost practices, so I was worried we didn’t get enough time like everyone else. But we’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Young has a different health matter to worry about. She’s nine months pregnant with her first son due next week. Sitting on a chair for most of the game, Young said neither she nor her husband have figured out a name yet.

“We’re waiting to see what he looks like first,” Young said.

The opening set had seven lead changes. Behind several kills from junior Kaya Monrose, the Tigers built a 19-13 lead. Orange mounted a rally behind the serve of junior Avery Miller, who delivered consecutive aces and a kill during an 8-1 run to finish the set. Ella Van Tiem’s slam over the hands of two Tigers, assisted by Erin Jordan-Cornell, earned set point as the Panthers won 26-24.

The second set opened 7-7 before Orange went on a 6-2 run. With senior Chloe Riley serving, Jordan-Cornell had two kills to push Orange ahead 12-9. Junior Lottie Scully served three straight aces. The Lady Panthers finished with a 10-2 spurt that included two blocks from Allie Wilkerson and two aces from Jordan-Cornell. Aubri Wright finished the set with a kill as Orange won 25-17 to go ahead 2-0.

Chapel Hill cruised through the third set 25-10 behind sophomore Carly Sciborski, who had four aces in the frame. Senior Ellen Zwikker, daughter of former UNC basketball star Serge Zwikker, had three kills and one block in the third.

The Tigers had a 7-5 lead in the fourth before Orange reeled off seven consecutive points, which included two aces from libero Sadye Porter. A kill by Jordan-Cornell, assisted by sophomore Caitlin Carden, put Orange ahead 14-11. Carden later recorded an ace.

With Orange leading 23-19, Chapel Hill had a serve go wide. Miller delivered another winner on match point to deliver Orange an elusive victory against a cross-county rival.

It wasn’t lost on the Orange players that they were not the first team from Hillsborough to beat Chapel Hill this unusual season. Cedar Ridge did it two weeks ago. The Red Wolves and the Lady Panthers will meet at Cedar Ridge on Friday.

“Whenever you beat a good team in your conference, it’s always exciting,” Young said. “They’re still a solid team to contend with. We have to play them a second time, but I think this is a year where it’s anyone’s game.”

“We still have some other teams to contend against.”

For the first time since 2015, the Orange volleyball team has defeated Chapel Hill. The Lady Panthers, playing its first game of the season on December 1, topped the Tigers 3-1 on Tuesday night in a Panther Gymnasium limited to only junior varsity players and Orange staff. Sophomore middle blocker Erin Jordan-Cornell had several huge kills during the third set, including back-to-back finishes that evened the sore at 10. From there, Orange never trailed again in the match. Senior outside hitter Chloe Riley, a co-captain, started and had several important kills in the first set, which saw seven lead changes before Orange rallied from a 23-20 deficit to win 26-25. Orange will host Southern Durham on Thursday before traveling to undefeated Cedar Ridge for Hillsborough Heat on Friday night.

The Rodcast is back! Our guest is New York Times Bestselling author Jeff Pearlman, the author of the new book “Three Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty.” Jeff spent three years on this project, and just as he was finishing work, Kobe Bryant tragically died in January. In this interview, Jeff discusses what Kobe’s relationship with Shaquille O’Neal, how Phil Jackson handled the big egos to win three consecutive championships from 2001-2003, and how Shaquille related to his teammates. If you’re an NBA fan or a fan of books about complicated relationships among people in the public eye, you’ll want to check out “Three Ring Circus.”

The summer of 2000 will be a time that no UNC fan will ever forget…no matter how hard they try. On this edition of the Rodcast, we’re joined by Dave Glenn of the ACC Sports Journal and the Athletic. Dave is one of the foremost insiders about ACC Sports and covered Bill Guthridge’s resignation in late June 2000. Dave discusses why Roy Williams turned down the UNC job in 2000, how much friction that caused between Roy and the UNC basketball family, Larry Brown’s infamous interview, the pursuit of George Karl and why UNC ended up with Matt Doherty. Dave gives lots of inside information about this search. You can check out Dave’s work at the Athletic.com and ACCsports.com. Thanks to Dave Glenn for being so generous with his time for this comprehensive look at a memorable time in ACC history.

On this edition of the Rodcast, we step away from sports to discuss music. Martin Popoff is one of the most esteemed writers in hard rock and heavy metal. His latest book is “Anthem,” which focuses on Rush in the 1970s. In this discussion, Martin talks about the early days of the band, Neil Peart joining as drummer in 1974 and how it changed the band forever, their breakthrough album “2112” and whether 1970s Rush is the best era of the band. You can order your own copy of “Anthem,” as well as dozens of other books from Martin, by going to martinpopoff.com. If you’re a Rush fan or a fan of rock history, this is a great discussion for you to enjoy. It was an honor to have Martin on the show!

Dayne Watkins had plenty in store for his senior season for the Orange baseball team. In his third year on the varsity squad, Dayne had been a routine starter at first base and designated hitter for Orange teams that had made the state playoffs. Unfortunately, Dayne’s season ended prematurely, along with the rest of his teammates, because of the corona virus pandemic. On Monday night, Orange’s seniors gathered one final team for an impromptu senior night ceremony. Surrounded by family and friends, the lights stayed on at each of Orange’s athletic fields to honor senior baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis and soccer seniors. As for Dayne, he plans to attend Durham Tech this fall (presumably) for a career in mechanics.

By Jon Franklin:

On Friday, April 24, 2020 at approximately 2:00 pm, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) formally canceled all outstanding sporting events that had been previously postponed. The basketball state championship games and all spring sports were caught in the crossfire after Governor Roy Cooper canceled all in-house classroom activities.

Since the March 15th announcement from Governor Cooper and the NCHSAA / NCISAA that postponed all activities until May 15th, I began to see that all of the remaining athletic competitions were facing a very grim situation. Even if sports started the following day on Saturday, May 16th, there would be almost no time to acclimate the athletes to season form, play a modified season, and then play a modified form of state playoffs. Even the basketball state finalists would have scurried to find a way to return to top form, just to complete their quest for a state championship.

The problem with all of this was not figuring out how to stay in shape, how to learn electronically, receive e-mails of plays, or to balance all of that with all of the craziness we’ve seen in the news.

The problem was the WAIT.

To paraphrase the line used by the late Gloria Stuart (portraying Rose Dawson Calvert, the elder Rose) in the 1997 film “Titanic” – student-athletes, coaches, and fans had nothing to do but wait. Wait to play, wait to practice, wait for an absolution that would never come.”

My issues during this period of abeyance was that it appears that no guidance or direction was issued by the NCHSAA about any potential ideas on how to resume. While we all realize that the COVID-19 situation has been very fluid and ever changing, one would have thought that there would be been some hints about how these events could have resumed.

Nick Stevens, managing editor of HighSchoolOT.com, on the other hand, was very proactive in suggesting ideas on how the NCHSAA could resume activities once an order was issued or rescinded. Perhaps the NCHSAA administration could have utilized some of his plans to at least have people prepared.

Imagine if you’re head coach Allen Byrd and the players and assistant coaches making up the Cedar Ridge softball team. You’re poised for some great things. Last season, you won the Big Eight Conference championship, won two state playoff games, and ended the season to the eventual state champions in the third round. This season, you’re 3-1, batting a sterling .450 average, churning out a tremendous .711 slugging percentage, six of eleven recorded batters are averaging over .350, Takia Nichols has crushed five home runs in four games (one damaging the scoreboard), and a new scoreboard was installed.

Now enter the world of COVID-19, and all activities are suspended.

What is a student-athlete, coach, or an athletic director to do? You can’t play or practice, meetings now are by Face Time or Zoom, and any ideas of independent activities are shot due to governmental rules & regulations. So for now, it’s a wait and see situation to see if any future high school athletic competition will resume.

So how can a student-athlete use this period of inactivity to their advantage? Here’s a few ideas.

1) INSTRUCTION

Since the suspension of in-house scholastic instruction, online education has flourished. If all academics is now online, coaching can be performed the same way.

One tool that has helped athletes remain in shape is MaxPreps. This site, more known to finding out schedules, scores, and stats, has been a home to finding ways to stay in the groove from certified trainer Katerina Kountouris. Each workout also gives a link to Kountouris’ personal website where she offers encouragement as well as meal guides for proper nutrition. Best yet, it’s all free.

Another free coaching option is Class Central. This site offers tutorials in sports management, coaching, nutrition, and psychology.

I can’t speak for all student-athletes, but if I’m going stir-crazy in my house, I got to do something to keep myself occupied. What a better way to keep active that to learn ways to stay fit, eat clean, and even learn some things you didn’t know.

2) INSULATION

What I mean by this point is taking time off to let an athlete’s body heal, both mentally and physically. Think of this as a “reset button”.

With the amount of wear and tear young people are continually putting on their bodies, perhaps this break in the action could be exactly of what their doctors’ ordered.

In July 2019, ESPN published a scathing, two-part article detailing the weathering of youth in basketball resulting in catastrophic injuries. While not just related to basketball, many of these injuries are occurring at much younger ages to where their ability to do basic things are impacted – let alone acquire the scholarship to a fancy D1 school and making big bucks playing professional (insert sport).

The facts in this report told me what many already know: Student-Athletes are playing too much in a specific sport and are overworking their young bodies towards injury.

Back home in Marion, I remember watching kids as young as five play football. These players would play all the way up from youth league to middle school. As their freshman year at McDowell High approached, many didn’t want to play as they were tired of continually getting their heads beat in day after day.

I knew many of these athletes. When asked about why they stopped playing, the most common response I was given was that they had played so much football (or another specialized sport) to where they never knew what it was like to actually be a kid. So by the time they reached the ninth grade, they stopped playing competitive sports – all to become normal.

It’s ok to be a teenager. It’s ok to enjoy hanging out with friends, experience love, and overall take care of yourselves. If you have to take a break (whether forced or unforced), use it to your advantage. Sports will be back when you’re ready.

3) IMPROVEMENT

When I was a kid, my dad would always tell me, “If you get comfortable upon the stool of ‘Do Nothing’, will never be motivated to get up to walk on the path of ‘Do Something’.”

My father, as usual, was right. None of the previous two points actually mean anything if one is not willing to improve themselves.

So instead of playing video games, Tik Tok or Face Time with friends, or do whatever kids do these days, the time is yours to actually improve yourself – athletically and academically. While I don’t want to sound like I’m contradicting myself in saying, “Enjoy the break … Now get to work!”, but student-athletes have to have a restart point.

Imagine that school was able to resume and your sport was cranking back up, would you currently be in a position to be an asset to your team, or would you be a liability? The absurd amount of time off can be detrimental to an athlete, especially if they’re not staying in shape and are out of practice in their disciplines. But imagine if their time was managed wisely, how good can a team be full of prepared athletes?

As this period of athletic dormancy continues, the clock continues to tick down towards the next sports season. Despite the wait, every student-athlete has much work to do to make their team, and themselves better. What you do with the wait is your business. But use your waiting time wisely so you can be the best at what you do.

This week on the Rodcast, we’re joined by Kyle Snipes. Kyle is an Orange High graduate who grew up in Orange Grove. He went on to Wake Forest, where he was a member of Dave Odom’s staff during the glory days of Wake men’s basketball. Kyle is now the women’s coach at St. Pius High in Atlanta, where he has coached several state championship teams. Kyle discusses his time in Winston-Salem, in Atlanta and his days serving as an umpire with the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association.

Cooper Hench had a big day as Orange edged East Chapel Hill at Wildcats Stadium in March 2019. Hench had nine assists at third base, delivered the game-winning hit and came on in relief of Luke Riley to earn the win. Listen back to the game here on Hillsboroughsports.com.