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Show orts SP Covering what matters most WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008 • B l 'Whites' retires as head soph, coach Chad Vest STAFF WRITER Sophomore Head Football Coach "Whites" Nelson is walking away from the gridiron after having successfully coached for 19 consecutive years for his alma mater, the red and gray Spanish Fork Dons. He expressed his gratitude to all of his players, coaches and parents who have supported him throughout the years. Interestingly, he's enjoyed football seasons as a sophomore coach under four different Varsity Head Coaches in Doug Snell, Everett Kelepolo, Scott Brumfield and current HC Matt Christensen. Nelson is a native of SF and has benefited from the great facilities the small town had to offer. In High School ('82-'85), he was a threesport athlete who competed in football, basketball and baseball. As a football player, he played numerous positions. He was the signal caller, middle linebacker and PAT kicker in his senior campaign. As a junior, he saw time as a RB/LB. On the hardwood, he played point guard until his senior season when he decided to focus on baseball which is where he excelled the most. His focus paid off. As a lefty, his sweet swing and determination earned him a season average over .600 at the plate, a record that still stands today for the Mighty Dons. But over the years as a coach, he has repeatedly made the remark, "I'd trade every one of those hits for a state championship." This philosophy and excellent team oriented attitude have made him a great coach. On the diamond, he roamed the pasture as a solid outfielder with a good . Courtesy photo / Cheryl Leifson COACHING MOMENT: Coach Whites gives instructions to some of his players during a sophomore football game this past season. arm to cut down runners and was a top notch pitcher in the starting rotation. Such high accolades helped him earn a scholarship to play for the Utah Valley Community College Wolverines (aka U VU today). After a successful two year stint at UVCC, he accepted a scholarship at Southern Utah to further his baseball career. While there, he was moved from the outfield to first base and enjoyed a stellar career as a T-Bird. But on top of all of that, he was married while in school and had a baby girl which was uncommon at SUU, but has been the norm at Brigham Young University for quite some time. He later graduated with a degree in Special Education and Secondary Ed. Soon after his college career, he decided to hang up his cleats and pursue a career in teaching/coaching. He landed his See COACH • B12 David Davis / Spanish Fork News THE RIGHT STUFF: Spanish Fork's Drew Davis dodges some some would-be tacklers in 2006. SFHS alumnus beats the 'Zuke' David Boyack STAFF W R I T E R Drew Davis has always been good at guessing. As a Spanish Fork High School running back, Davis usually guessed right in picking a hole to run through. Until a serious knee injury, Davis averaged close to 120 yards a game for the first six games of his senior season. Lately Davis has taken up another kind of guessing with similar results; picking high school games in a Daily Herald contest called "Beat the Zuke." Each week during the high school football season, Daily Herald sports writer Neal Warner, a.k.a. u the Great Zuke" challenges readers to outguess him in picking the outcomes of games in Utah County. A long- time sports enthusiast and sports writer, Warner knows his stuff. Apparently so does Davis. With 10 games to pick from this past season, Davis outguessed "the Zuke" over 70 percent of the time. Rarely does anyone out-guess the Zuke. Davis is so good that the "Big Zuke" has started calling Davis "The Little Zuke." Davis only has a few simple rules: Follow your gut, and never pick against the Dons. Davis' motivation in picking games is also pretty simple. "It's fun to beat Neal Warner and it doesn't hurt to win a few food and entertainment coupons," said Davis. As a single college student, Davis can appreciate winning free food and entertainment. He also can appreciate winning against the "Zuke." Mike Olsen / Spanish Fork News AND DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE: Heidi Christensen competes in the breaststroke. SF starts swimming season strong Mike Olsen STAFF W R I T E R The 2008-09 swim season is finally under way for the SFHS H20 dons. The water Dons have been practicing for some time now and are still making small adjustments to the A/ B day practice schedules. A days find the team sharing time at the Springville pool, while B days are comprised of "dry land" workouts. Coach Melissa Hartley has a significantly larger team this year than last, and is happy to have so many dedicated swimmers on her team. Over 40 swimmers are currently participating, and team unity and camaraderie is steadily growing. This year's team captains are Jesse Galovich, Dallin Parkinson, Bonny Dowling and Rebecca Greene. The team captains not only set an example for their teammates, but lead team workouts and rally the team at the beginning of each meet. The swim meets are typically held on weekday afternoons, with a normal start time of 3:30 p.m. Because Spanish Fork does not have year-round pool facilities, all of the meets are held at the opponents' pools. Meets are often combined with several teams to maximize pool and meet time. The H20 Dons have been invited to return to several invitational meets this year including the Thanksgiving Invitational held in Bountiful and the Cedar City Invi- tational. With the number of teams involved in the Invitationals, they commonly take place over a Friday and Saturday. Coach Hartley would like to thank all the parents who help support the swim team, and of course the swimmers themselves. She looks forward to an outstanding year and anxiously awaits the regional and state meets that will take place in late January and early February where the team will once again shine. GoH2ODons! |