When Lookout Valley baseball coach Lance Rorex arrived at the field Wednesday morning to survey the damage from Tuesday night’s storms that blew through the area, he could hardly believe what he saw.
“The left-field fence was nearly dragging the ground,” Rorex said. “The roof of our visitors’ dugout was completely blown off and wrapped around a light pole, and an entire row of cinder blocks were knocked down. The bullpen fence was blown over, two trees were down across the road leading to the field and the tin on the roof of our shed was peeled back.
“It was hard to imagine how strong the wind had to be to do that much damage. My first thought was that I hoped we could get everything fixed by the time we host the Yellow Jacket Classic in a couple of weeks.”
Rorex’s only call was to his dad, Leston, followed by a group text to players to come help clean up the field if they could. But within hours, without prompting, more than 20 volunteers from the community – including several former players – showed up to begin repairing the damage.
“It was amazing,” Rorex said. “People just started showing up on their own and helping to do whatever, and within 10 hours of when I first saw the damage, we had a new roof built onto the dugout and the outfield fence was back upright.
“Now you can’t even tell there was ever any damage. I was thinking it would take weeks, but this community got it all done in just a few hours.”
Pruett steps down
There was a part of Jerry Pruett that didn’t want to let go of something he has enjoyed for nearly three decades.
However, after a recent scare regarding his parents’ health, the longtime Calhoun girls’ basketball coach knew the time was right to step away. Pruett, who coached at the high school for 15 years after 14 years as a college coach, informed athletic director Hal Lamb and his players this week of the news
“I had been considering it,” said Pruett, who will remain at the school as a teacher. “But when my mom told me my dad had fallen and hurt himself, I knew that was God letting me know it was time.
“My dad is 82 and mom 77, and they are getting to the point where it’s harder to get around. I want to be able to spend some time with them. I want to be there for them at this point in their lives. They were there for me when I needed them, and now it’s my turn.”
Pruett steps down after posting a 296-119 record and leading the program to 12 state tournament appearances, including two in the quarterfinals and eight in the second round. Pruett’s top assistant, Kayla Ralston, will replace him, something Pruett said made his decision even easier.
Coaching milestone
Even those closest to Margaret Stockburger were unaware of the veteran girls’ basketball coach’s latest milestone – and that’s just the way she wants it.
Stockburger reached the 400-win mark Feb. 11 when Ringgold beat Sonoraville in the Region 6-AAA tournament’s third-place game, though she managed to keep the personal significance of the victory from school administrators until this week, athletic director Robert Akins said.
“(Principal) J.R. (Jones) was talking with a parent this week as they were preparing for the basketball banquet, and he just mentioned it in passing that Coach Stockburger had just won her 400th game,” Akins said. “But that’s just how humble she is.
“She’s always been a person who has always been competitive, but she keeps it low profile. She always gives credit to the girls when they win, and when things go bad she takes all the blame. That’s something all great coaches do.”
Stockburger, a Ringgold graduate, won 326 games in 15 years as coach at Northwest Whitfield. She became coach of the Lady Tigers in 2013, and after a six-win first season she has won 69 games over the past three years.
The school – in spite of expected protests from its humble coach – will honor Stockburger at a football game this fall.