From the Sports Desk

with Carey Phillips: 06/21/01

In one way the second chance is for Hawkins, who was inexplicably passed over for the job last year. It's also a second chance for the Mustang football program to be competitive as it faces a challenge in a new conference.

The Jackson County Board of Education has had a recent history of making hires that for whatever reason didn't work out after one year. To board members' credit, they have come back the next year and filed the positions with competent people. By all accounts, principals Kenny Nicholson at Smoky Mountain and Wanda Fernandez at Scotts Creek are doing well although their predecessors lasted just a year.

Coaching brings no guarantees, but there is every reason to think Hawkins will be successful as he succeeds Cameron Brooks, who resigned after one season and a 4-7 record. For starters, Hawkins has built a solid baseball program going 99-36-1 for a .732 winning percentage in six years at the helm.

He knows the game, and knows what it means to win. He was part of one of the last great teams at Sylva-Webster. That 1983 squad went 12-1 and lost a close game in the state semifinals to Randleman, a program in the middle of winning three straight state championships.

Having grown up here, Hawkins understands rivalries. As he said recently, he knows what it means to play schools such as Tuscola, Franklin and Swain. He can relate some of the great history of the Sylva-Webster and Smoky Mountain programs to his players.

Hawkins has pledged to make increased community support a priority. Long gone are the days when stores closed early on Friday evenings so everyone could attend the football game, and those times aren't coming back. Many people without ties to the community have moved in, and they don't make it a priority to support the local boys on Friday nights. Young people with ties to the community have left in search of better jobs. Throw in that teenagers have so many more activities to choose from, and it's no wonder that community support isn't what it used to be. The good news is that Hawkins' background and personality can stem the tide and get public support back on the right track. He has a real chance to win back some of those folks who speak almost in bragging terms of how long it's been since they've been to the Smoky Mountain campus or have attended a game at Carr Hooper Stadium. It's sad to hear remarks like that. Our young people deserve better.

Along with increased community support could come more faculty support. Hawkins is a respected member of the faculty. Many of today's teachers were on staff when he graduated from Sylva-Webster in 1985 and respected him as a student.

More good news is the work ethic Hawkins will bring to the program. Some teams on the schedule may have more talent, but it's difficult to imagine anyone working harder than the Mustangs will under their new coach. He'll face a challenge juggling duties as both football and baseball coach, but with quality assistants that should work itself out fine.

The best thing to be said about Hawkins is that he is a quality individual. He will be an outstanding role model for our young people. That includes those who play football and baseball as well as the student body as a whole.

With the current problems affecting the school system, it's more important than ever to have someone the caliber of Hawkins in such a visible position and one that influences so many teens. We've heard many predictions of doom and gloom for the Mustang football program with the move to the Mountain Athletic Conference next season. At the time realignment figures were compiled, SM had the smallest enrollment of any 3-A school in the state.

A closer look shows things may not be as bad as they seem. Over the past five years, Asheville is the only MAC school to consistently have a good football team. Erwin figures to be strong for the next couple of years. While those teams will be favored to reach the playoffs, at least one more post season spot appears to be wide open.

With Hawkins at the helm, the Mustangs should be competitive and field a team of which the community can be proud.

Back to Sports: 06/21/01.