Time to play! Bladen fall sports teams begin practice

A blistering sun with high humidity and sounds of thunder occasionally rumbling can only mean one thing. It’s time for Bladen County high school fall sports teams to officially start practice.

That’s what took place Wednesday at East Bladen and West Bladen, although the sense of fall definitely wasn’t in the air. It felt more like a sweltering late July day typical for the area that included a mid-afternoon downpour that canceled practice for the West Bladen girls’ tennis team and sent the boys’ soccer team inside.

Football, boys’ soccer, volleyball, girls’ tennis and cross country teams took the field, pitch, court and course at varying times Wednesday.

The West Bladen football team was the first to begin practice with an 8 a.m. start in an effort to avoid the worst of the heat and humidity along with those afternoon thunderstorms. The Knights had about 50 players attend practice.

“We’ve definitely increased our numbers this past off season and throughout the summer,” second-year West Bladen coach Preston Worley said. “We’re pretty pleased with the turnout we’ve had for workouts and the first day of practice.

“We’re trying to work on that foundation that we built last season and try to grow and get better and try to compete in the conference.”

At East Bladen, Victoria Bridgers had her girls’ tennis team on the court at 9 a.m., then practicing serves and returns a few moments later. The Eagles had a dozen players at Wednesday’s practice.

“The first day of practice went fantastic,” Bridgers said. “The girls had a wonderful attitude and were enthusiastic about learning the game.”

Over on the soccer pitch, Jay Raynor was putting about 20 of his players through a mid-morning SEALs-style training session. Groups of players were carrying a log between stations, then doing push-ups, sit-ups and jumps. It was the first of two practices scheduled for opening day.

“It’s been a great first day,” Raynor said. “What excites me is getting out here to see how hard the kids work.

“We have a good influx of freshmen. It’s good to see the guys that are returning, but I just think that the freshmen group has really inspired and excited me a little bit about the season.”

The East Bladen cross country team, coached by Wilson Bolden, had a morning run on its agenda, starting from the track and winding around the campus. West Bladen is scheduled to begin cross country practice Monday at 9 a.m.

Afternoon practices began with a thunderstorm seemingly centered over West Bladen. Boys’ soccer coach Brett Jackson was caught in the deluge while mowing the field. It forced practice to take place inside the auxiliary gym.

“Not an ideal situation having to come inside due to rain,” Jackson said, “but we’re going to make it work. I’m looking forward to getting the season going.”

Jackson is in his first season as head coach at his alma mater after spending several seasons coaching at Tar Heel School. About 70% of Wednesday’s 20 players played for Jackson at Tar Heel.

“Our numbers are kind of low,” Jackson said. “I’m really hoping to get a JV program, so I’m hoping as we progress to be around 30 to 35 players.”

Inside the main gym, new West Bladen volleyball coach Jessica Rhodes was putting more than 40 varsity and junior varsity players through separate workouts. Rhodes moved from Bladenboro Middle School to coach the Knights.

“We’re really pleased with how many students we have interested in volleyball,” Rhodes said. “I think that shows the program is growing in the county and surrounding areas. That’s what really is our ultimate goal, to get more people involved and have a bigger volleyball presence.

“We think we have good talent. Just working to bring it all together and get going.”

The turnout wasn’t as high at East Bladen with about 20 combined for varsity and junior varsity, but coach Jordan Raynor feels good about her team.

“The girls who showed up really put in the effort and hustled,” Raynor said. “We did have the lowest turnout that we’ve had since I’ve been coaching here, but we’ve got a strong group. A lot of them are playing travel (volleyball), so they have a lot of experience outside of East Bladen. We’re really looking forward to the season.”

Wrapping up the first day of high school practices, East Bladen welcomed about 50 football players for its evening workout.

“It’s a good group of guys coming back from last year,” Coach Robby Priest said. “The JV group is going to grow. The rising freshmen aren’t used to practicing this early. The returners we have from last year are all good kids, working hard, putting in the time, doing extra stuff outside of practice. I like the way the momentum is going.”

With that, the first day of practices came to an end.

The fall sports season, with its sweltering heat, high humidity and sounds of thunder occasionally rumbling, has officially begun. Everyone will be wearing heavy coats by the time it ends.