L.C. Bird girls’ basketball standout and McDonald’s All-American Taja Cole’s started her journey in Chuck Tester Gymnasium. Now, she’s headed overseas. The point guard has signed a professional contract to play for Unicaja in Malaga, Spain. “The team has great facilities, the city (of Malaga) is a nice place,” said Cole. “I’m fortunate to be able to go because a lot of countries don’t want to bring in Americans due to COVID.” Fortunately for Cole, COVID-19 only affected a small portion of her overall journey. This summer, she was in contact with WNBA teams, but didn’t get drafted. The lockdown…

Albright College in Reading, Pa., has been particularly active at Thomas Dale as of late, and two more football offers came down the pipeline. Jakar Coleman and Devin Drakes-Herring each received offers from Albright. It’s the first scholarship offer for each one. Coleman and Drakes-Herring are both rising seniors for the Knights football program, which is hoping to play in the spring. Both are athletic, young, and hungry to prove themselves. At 5-10 and 187, Coleman is a quick but strong player who could contribute at running back or linebacker for Dale this upcoming season. The greatest of his contributions…

One of Thomas Dale’s talented rising sophomores was rewarded for her talent and potential with her first scholarship offer. Guard Elayna Givens got it from Division II Queens-Charlotte. “This is a testament to the potential she has as a student-athlete,” said Thomas Dale coach Leon Gholson. “Her freshman year saw her make tremendous strides during the season.” A big, strong guard, Givens contributed mostly on the defensive side of the ball, with her coach urging her to be more aggressive offensively. She flourished in both areas of the game. A marksman from the three-point line, Givens will almost certainly attract…

The VHSL Executive Committee met in special session Wednesday, July 15, for the purpose of discussing the fall sports season. The committee unanimously voted (35-0-0) to meet on Monday, July 27, to vote on the three recommended models presented at the meeting for reopening sports and activities. The committee also voted to delay the beginning of fall sports until a final decision is made on July 27. The committee also suspended the July-August dead period for 2020 which means schools can continue out-of-season practice activities. “It’s important to remember that in all these models playing sports in the high risk…

Trinidad reels in 11th scholarship offer One of the hottest names in the area for recruiting, Kris Trinidad’s of L.C. Bird has attracted 11 scholarship offers, as Gardner-Webb being the latest. With Matoaca’s Troy Lewis and Jacob Coleman committing to East Carolina, Trinidad and Thomas Dale’s Malachi Madison are perhaps the most sought-after recruits on the table at this point. Trinidad, praised by coach Troy Taylor for his work ethic, offers a huge, expandable frame at 6-6, 210 pounds and has an excellent “old school” mentality. In fact, the rising senior is so “old school” that he didn’t even have…

L.C. Bird volunteer assistant coach Jimmie Rogers is no longer with the program after remarks on social media that included ethnically insensitive comments.  In response to a Facebook post that gave reasons why it would be difficult to celebrate the fourth of July, Rogers replied with the comment: “Drink a gallon of Covid-19 and go back to where you came from,” Rogers said in a comment. “[Where you come from] the main mode of transportation is a donkey and you p…  outside of your front door home with dirt floors.” Since the comments were made, it appears as if Rogers’s…

Two football standouts and a budding basketball star added offers to play their respective sports at the college level. For two athletes, these scholarship offers are their first. Ladies first. Lauryn George, a guard at Matoaca picked up two Division I offers this past week from Bethune-Cookman and the University of Buffalo. On a senior-laden team that won 20 games last season, George earned some minutes off the bench. She scored 12 points in a December 12, 2019, victory over Meadowbrook. “With her potential, the sky’s the limit,” said Matoaca coach Glenna Lewis. “She rotated really easily into the line…