Darren Doyle, Edmonson Voice
You don't see a story about a middle school archery team in the headlines very often, but it's not often your local team becomes world ranked, especially in less than one full year. 

"We're like the Bad News Bears," said head coach Chris Shelton, laughing. "We started with nothing... and we really shouldn't have been here."

The team just finished the season ranked 71st in the world after this past weekend's NASP World Archery Championship in Nashville, TN where the ECMS team competed against teams from the U.S. and 5 other countries. 

Talk about humble beginnings...Shelton, who had previously coached at North Warren Elementary, said a few parents had asked Edmonson County school officials about putting together a local archery team and that Shelton might be interested. Soon after, officials along with Athletic Director Kyle Pierce contacted Shelton and things began to blossom from there.

"We started putting this thing together around September of 2014 and in about 3 months, things started coming together," he said. "The kids began to see that we could be a real team."

The team quickly began to gel, gaining confidence, and having fun, which led to a regional competition, then to state, which eventually ended up at the grandaddy-of-them-all, the world championships.

With the success of such a team starting from scratch and ending up with a world ranking, Shelton and his coaching staff, Wally Ritter, Darren Smith, and Keith Sanders (booster club president), have obviously done something right, but Shelton says it's all about the kids.

"I can't say enough about these kids," he said. "This really shows their heart and character. Out of thousands of teams, and we're rankied 71st in the world? It's unbelievable."

The team's top male competitor was Jarrod Sanders, who finished with an overall score of 1101. This ranked him in the top 10% of all 8th grade boys in the world. Adri Ray, the top female competitor, finished with a score of 909, placing her in the top 26%, worldwide. 

So with these amazing results in only one year, where does the team go from here? "I'm really excited about next year's team," Shelton said. "No one knows what will happen, but it sure looks good. I'd say we're 2 or 3 years ahead of schedule."

Shelton wanted to publicly thank his coaching staff, parents, volunteers, sponsors, and all the supporters for everything done to help the team this past year. He noted how much it meant to the team that Supt. Waddell made the drive down to Nashville to watch the competition. "There are so many people and organizations we'd like to thank for everything, but especially Jim Wilkerson at Forks of The River Archery. We couldn't have done it without him."

Shelton said the scores, accolades, and experience has been great, but that the best part of all is seeing kids come into their own. "Many of the kids haven't ever played other sports or been in school clubs. They've come out of their shell and they're good young men and women that make our team and Edmonson County proud." 

The Edmonson Voice salutes Coach Shelton, Coach Ritter, Coach Smith, Director Sanders, and all the fine boys and girls that make up the ECMS Archery Team. Way to go, and we look forward to covering more of your accomplishments in the seasons to come. 

Info and photo Courtesy of D. Curtis
On July 18, 2015, the Edmonson County 10U Boys All-Star team played in the Western Kentucky State Cal Ripken Tournament against Owensboro-Davis County.  Edmonson County found themselves down by one run going into the top of the 5th inning, as Trace Taylor was able to draw a walk and then scored on a double hit by Kalob Harp evening the score at 1 – 1.  

At the end of regulation (6 innings), Edmonson County Pitcher Gavyn Minyard had thrown a complete game, striking out 9 Owensboro-Davis County players, allowing 1 walk and giving up 4 hits.  Edmonson County then was able to get things started in the top of the 8th inning.  Will Edwards drew a walk and Kalob Harp followed with a single.  With runners on first and second, Gavyn Minyard got a hit which scored Edwards.  Andrew Talley followed with a sacrifice that scored Kalob Harp.  The half inning was completed with Edmonson County leading 3-1.  

Edmonson County was unable to hold on to the lead as Owensboro-Davis County was able to score 3 runs in the bottom half of the 8th inning and won the game 4-3.  The Edmonson County team finished the season being ranked in the top 12 teams in Western Kentucky.  The Edmonson County All-Stars played an unbelievable game showing a lot of heart during the Cal Ripken Tournament trail.  

Other notable performances were seen by the team during the qualifying District tournament as Colby Vincent and Will Edwards were both top rated pitchers in several categories.  The team would like to thank the community for the support that the team received to compete on the Cal Ripken Tournament Trail. 

Congratulations to theses boys and their coaches for representing Edmonson County with pride, and for a job well done.

Jackson reminisced about old times, the good years in Lady Cat Basketball, when as head coach the team won district championships in '94, '95, and '98, however, he didn't talk about them very long as he moved on to the upcoming season and what he wanted this team to accomplish now.

"We don't talk too much about winning," he added. "Winning takes care of itself if you do the other things right. There's no magic wand when it comes to turning a program around. It takes two things: hard work and fundamentals, and that's what we'll start on next week."

You could've heard a pin drop during the next 20 minutes with all eyes and ears on the new head coach as he laid out his plan for the approaching season. Jackson was motivating, entertaining, caring, and passionate as he outlined the new expectations for Lady Cat Basketball.

Jackson first arrived in Edmonson County in 1989 where he was the boys' freshmen and JV coach and varsity assistant. He took over duties of head coach for the girls in 1992 and stayed there for 11 seasons. He said it was good to be back home.

"I spent 23 great years here (as a teacher and coach)," he said. "It's always good to come back and see friendly faces. I had a lot of calls and texts from supporters that encouraged me to take over the program and that made me feel good."

Although Jackson admitted that he'd matured as a person and coach over the years, which had brought some changes in his life, some things haven't changed at all. "I think basketball is basketball," he said. "Fundamentals is the key to success. I know teams press more now and some other things, and we'll adjust accordingly to be competitive and successful, but I still think fundamentals are key."

Editor's note: I played for Coach Jackson as a freshman and sophomore, and after 25 years I still hold the same respect for him as a person and coach. I personally think ECHS has made a great hire and we wish Coach Jackson, his staff, and Lady Cat basketball nothing but the best.

12U Major League District 6 Champions, The Edmonson County All-Stars. Coached by Chad Clemmons (head coach) Jason Rose, Carl Mills, Michael Meredith, and Shaun Stice.

Head Coach Chad Clemmons said that he had coached a lot of ball games in his life, but this one ranked one of the highest if not the best of his coaching career.  “I’ve never seen one quite like that one," he said of the final game.  Coach Carl Mills said “ This was a total team effort, we needed all 12 kids on this team to win this tournament and especially that last game!”  

” I’m so proud of every one of these kids, they came together and did something very special this week," said coach Michael Meredith, "But one of my proudest moments of the tournament was when one of the umpires told me that he appreciated the sportsmanship of our fans, players and coaches throughout the entire tournament.”  

"If this game had been filmed, it would have made Sportscenter’s top 10," added coach Shaun Stice.   Coach Jason Rose added “This group of 12 year olds played with heart and never quit in any game.  EC baseball has a strong future ahead, I’m proud to say I was a part of this experience, it is one I will never forget.” 

Team sponsors Mickey and Elysia Johnson of Mickey’s Towing said “We are so proud to help sponsor such a good bunch of kids who played their hearts out to win this tournament.”  The team is scheduled to play the first game of the state tournament on Tuesday July 14 in Scottsville. Congratulations to this group of hard working boys and their coaching staff.