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From the Sports Desk - 01/12/06
No one knows how Dale Galloway will do as Smoky Mountain’s new football coach.
I must say if first impressions mean anything, I feel good about Galloway’s tenure leading the Mustangs.
My telephone conversation with him on the day he was hired went well, but you can get a much better feel for someone in a face-to-face meeting.
That initial meeting occurred Friday during Smoky Mountain’s basketball games at Brevard. The Transylvania County native had visited Sylva, including the high school, that day and stopped by the basketball games that evening.
Galloway said a lot of things I was hoping to hear. You don’t have to talk to him long to learn he’s a disciplinarian. The football players will be expected to be role models off the field.
He seems to understand the need to recruit. That means recruiting the halls at the high school to get players out for the team who have not been playing for whatever reasons.
Recruiting also means going into the elementary schools to get kids interested in the program at a young age. That’s something Galloway has been doing in Ashe County, where he has coached the past five years.
Heading into the elementary schools is even more important here than at most schools because of the lack of a middle school. We have to find some way of overcoming that obstacle.
Galloway’s Ashe County record of 23-32 is not eye-popping. However, a closer look shows he took over a program that was down and left it in much better shape than he found it. That’s the mark of a good coach. The Huskies went 7-4 in the 2005 regular season and have qualified for the playoffs three straight years.
Look for the Mustangs to play smash-mouth football as Galloway favors a strong running attack.
There’s no doubt SM has a coach who is excited to be here and is looking forward to meeting the challenges that lie ahead. He’ll start tackling those challenges head-on when he begins work next month.
Good luck, Coach. We’ll be pulling for you.
NOTES...The Blue Ridge Explosion, a girls fastpitch softball organization, will hold tryouts Sunday, Jan. 15, at Blackwell Field in Canton beside Bethel Christian Academy (the old YMCA). An alternate indoor site will be provided in case of inclement weather. Players should bring cleats and tennis shoes. Times are 1:30 p.m. for 10-and-under and 3 p.m. for 12-and-under and 14-and-under. For more information, call Darren McCracken at (828) 734-6231, Jim Hannah at (828) 648-8024 or Johnny James at (828) 400-1607.
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