http://www.blounttoday.com/news/sports/youth/?partner=RSSblounttoday.com Stories: Youth sportsen-ussports/youthhttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2011/sep/14/pride-southside/?partner=RSSIt just may be the best kept secret in town. They’re no threat to famed local eatery Aubrey’s just yet, but Teresa Prestridge, Heather Breazeale and Brandi Denman are just getting started. Fundraising is vital for youth football programs like the Southside Eagles. Operating Grasshopper-, Pee Wee- and Midget-level teams in Parks & Recreation-sponsored leagues can run into the thousands of dollars each season. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:20:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-19147-734394sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNPride of the Southsideblounttoday.compride-southsideurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-19147-734394Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2011/aug/17/ayso-brings-challenger-sports-british-soccer-camp/?partner=RSSFifty Blount County children, ages 4 to 14, got to learn the finer points of soccer from some of the best coaches in the world when Challenger Sports British Soccer Camp was held in Alcoa earlier this summer. Kevin Shockley, administrator of coaches for American Youth Soccer Organization Region 1159, said the camp from July 18-22 came together because the Challenger Sports company has similar values as AYSO. colemanl@blounttoday.com (Lance Coleman)Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:39:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-19030-734366sports/youthLance ColemanMaryville, TNAYSO brings Challenger Sports British Soccer Camp to Alcoablounttoday.comayso-brings-challenger-sports-british-soccer-campurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-19030-734366Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2011/jul/13/village-green-claims-smi-championship/?partner=RSSVillage Green claimed the championship of the Smoky Mountain Invitation swim meet over the weekend at Springbrook Pool. Better than 1,400 swimmers representing 27 teams took part in the two-day meet, considered the world’s largest for summer-only swimmers. The Gulf Park Blue Sharks, Knoxville Racquet Club, Whittington Creek Swim Team and the Jefferson City Swim Club rounded out the top five in meet’s 38th annual edition. Meet hosts the Maryville/Alcoa Flying Dolphins swam to a 10th place showing, with the Green Meadow Swim Team finishing in the 19th slot. Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:03:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18893-734331sports/youthStaff WriterMaryville, TNVillage Green claims SMI championshipblounttoday.comvillage-green-claims-smi-championshipurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18893-734331Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2011/jul/06/smoky-mountain-invitational-swim-meet-weekend/?partner=RSSThe 38th annual Smoky Mountain Invitational swim meet is scheduled for this weekend at Springbrook Pool in Alcoa. The largest outdoor swim meet in the United States, the invitational for summer-only swimmers begins Saturday at 9 a.m. for competitors 11 years old and up. The meets concludes Sunday with 11-under competitors. Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:00:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18869-734324sports/youthStaff WriterMaryville, TNSmoky Mountain Invitational Swim meet this weekendblounttoday.comsmoky-mountain-invitational-swim-meet-weekendurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18869-734324Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2011/mar/02/all-blount-county-middle-school-wrestling-team-201/?partner=RSSThe inaugural All-Blount County Middle School Wrestling Team was announced recently, with 14 grapplers being honored. Team members were selected by finishing highest in their respective weight classes at the East Tennessee Middle School Conference Championships held Jan. 22 at Seymour High School. Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:10:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18376-734198sports/youthStaff WriterMaryville, TNAll-Blount County Middle School Wrestling Team 2011blounttoday.comall-blount-county-middle-school-wrestling-team-201urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18376-734198Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2011/feb/03/tornado-sweep/?partner=RSSThe girls’ game was over fairly early. Player of the year Tara Shields pumped in a game-high 15 points, and Alcoa clamped down defensively in the second and third quarters to defeat Heritage going away, 41-15, in the finals of the Blount County Middle School Tournament Monday night at Carpenters Middle. For the boys’ game that followed, you needed a stopwatch to track the possessions. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:04:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18272-734171sports/basketballStefan CooperMaryville, TNTornado sweepblounttoday.comtornado-sweepurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18272-734171Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/dec/15/raina-shines/?partner=RSSRaina Karras was a diamond in the rough at the start of the season. Last Thursday night at Heritage Middle School, the Mary Blount Elementary forward became a champion. Karras sank three consecutive layups in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, and it made all the difference as the Lady Bears defeated Alcoa, 16-12, in the American Conference championship game of the Blount County Elementary Basketball Tournament. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:37:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18098-734121sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNRaina shinesblounttoday.comraina-shinesurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-18098-734121Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/nov/04/super-slugfest/?partner=RSSIt was one of those games where neither team deserved to lose. You just hoped someone would win. Finally, illustrating the distinction between the two, Fairview did. Evan Porter’s 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal in double overtime lifted the Raiders to a 6-0 win over Maryville’s Rebs in the Blount Today Midget Super Bowl last Saturday at Maryville High’s Shields Stadium. It was a tough loss for the Rebs, but not nearly as tough as it could have been for Raiders only a few plays earlier. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:55:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17911-734080sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNSuper Slugfestblounttoday.comsuper-slugfesturn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17911-734080Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/oct/27/hammers-work-overtime-tourney-title/?partner=RSSThe Blount United Soccer Club U12 Hammers, based in Maryville, needed overtime to win the championship of the Appalachian Fall Festival Soccer Tournament in Kingsport recently. With the score tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, Sean Snelgrove put in the go-ahead goal in the extra period with Jace Burchfield adding an insurance goal to secure the tile with a 3-1 win over the Easley South Carolina Soccer Club. Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:30:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17875-734072sports/youthStaff WriterMaryville, TNHammers work overtime for tourney titleblounttoday.comhammers-work-overtime-tourney-titleurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17875-734072Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/oct/27/alcoa-middle-girls-claims-soccer-championship/?partner=RSSThe Alcoa Middle School girls’ soccer team defeated Halls, 2-0, to win the Smoky Mountain Middle School Soccer Division D tournament at the US Cellular Soccer Complex in Knoxville on Sunday. Eighth-grader McKenzie Hawkins scored both goals in the championship match. Goalkeeper Victoria Williams, a sixth-grader, got the shutout, not allowing a single goal on Sunday, including a 4-0 win over Gresham. Alcoa defeated Cherokee, 4-0, and Union Grove, 2-1, on Saturday. Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:29:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17874-734072sports/youthStaff WriterMaryville, TNAlcoa Middle girls claims soccer championshipblounttoday.comalcoa-middle-girls-claims-soccer-championshipurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17874-734072Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/sep/30/ballet-cleats/?partner=RSSPerhaps the most entertaining running back of our time. Over the top for an eighth-grader? Of course it is, but then so was the totally gangsta, goal-line pirouette Dylan Shinsky used to slip a would-be Sevierville Middle School tackler in the Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference championship game last Saturday at Maryville College. The game’s offensive most valuable player, Shinsky ran for scores of 23, 29 and 1 yards as Maryville Middle School capped its second consecutive unbeaten season with a 41-12 shellacking of the Bears. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:49:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17737-734045sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNBallet in cleatsblounttoday.comballet-cleatsurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17737-734045Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/sep/15/knights-gridiron/?partner=RSSCoaching at the Grasshopper level, particularly at a smaller program like the Eagleton Knights, comes with its on unique set of challenges, but Knights coach Bobby Carmichael wouldn’t have it any other way. “This is fun,” he said. “It’s the best level of coaching, I think. You can’t do a lot, but they (the kids) just want to have fun.” It’s still football, though, and, in Blount County, that’s serious business at any level. The Grasshopper Knights, ages 7 and 8, run many of the sophisticated plays their Pee Wee and Midgets cousins do. There are, as Carmichael alluded to, certain restrictions, though. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:23:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17666-734030sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNKnights of the gridironblounttoday.comknights-gridironurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17666-734030Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/sep/09/raider-nation/?partner=RSSIt wasn’t looking good for Fairview. In an early season showdown with defending Midgets champion Maryville on Tuesday at Everett Recreation Center, the Raiders were facing fourth-and-15 from just over midfield with less than a minute remaining. The Rebs held a 7-6 lead, with Fairview having spent its final timeout as Raider coach Rick Young strode out to midfield to talk with his team. “The first thing I said to them was, ‘Boys, isn’t this fun?” the veteran Fairview skipper said. “I didn’t want them to get caught up in the negative of the moment. I wanted them to enjoy the moment.” coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:03:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17650-734024sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNRaider Nationblounttoday.comraider-nationurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17650-734024Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/sep/01/cooper-knight-deliver-history-making-homers/?partner=RSSFellow eighth-graders Ashland Cooper and Kasi Knight made Union Grove Middle School history this week with a pair of back-to-back home runs in an 11-1 win over Alcoa. Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:20:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17601-734016sports/youthStaff WriterMaryville, TNCooper, Knight deliver history-making homers blounttoday.comcooper-knight-deliver-history-making-homersurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17601-734016Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/aug/11/smoky-mountain-showcase/?partner=RSSThe Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference championship could prove a close-run thing this season. Member teams made their 2010 debut at the Blount County Middle School Jamboree last Saturday morning at Heritage High School. The defending champion Maryville Middle Bulldogs got an interception returned for a touchdown from standout eighth-grader Dylan Shinsky to edge rival Alcoa, 8-0, in a quarter of play. The Bulldogs delivered a record-setting season a year ago, becoming the first team in school history to finish 10-0 en route to the conference crown. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:43:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17507-733995sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNSmoky Mountain showcaseblounttoday.comsmoky-mountain-showcaseurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17507-733995Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/jul/21/five-five/?partner=RSSJeff Wallace has been president of Maryville Little League for longer than he can remember, and he’s never heard of anything like it. Prior this summer, it wasn’t even possible. Little League-sanctioned state softball tournaments are underway this week, and, in every age group excepting Big League, Maryville has sent an All-Star team representative to each and every one of them. From the 7-8-year-old team in Pulaski to the 15-16-year-old Senior Leaguers in Athens, it’s a rare coup to capture all five District 6 championships in one summer, Wallace said. Maryville doesn’t field a Big League division for high school juniors and seniors. Most have moved on to the travel ball route in the summer by that point. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:31:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17406-733974sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNFive for fiveblounttoday.comfive-fiveurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17406-733974Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/jul/15/dolphins-green-meadow-set-sights-city-meet/?partner=RSSFollowing its second consecutive top-10 finish in the Smoky Mountain Invitational, the Maryville/Alcoa Flying Dolphins have their sights set on a league title. Powered by big weekends from Katrina, Rachel and Lauren Eccles, Sam Tingle, Seth Jinks and Taiga Ikeguchi, the Dolphins raced to seventh at the 37th annual meet at Springbrook Pool. Next up is the Greater Knoxville Area Interclub Swimming Association City Championships, July 30 through Aug. 1, at the University of Tennessee’s Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:24:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17373-733968sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNDolphins, Green Meadow set sights on city meetblounttoday.comdolphins-green-meadow-set-sights-city-meeturn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17373-733968Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/jun/10/all-blount-county-middle-school-basketball-team/?partner=RSSKayla Newman, Alcoa Middle Blount County Player of the Year Newman is an eighth-grader. She led the team in scoring, averaging 11 points per game. She had a season-high 20 points against South-Doyle. Newman is a great, all-around player and has a bright future ahead of her. While at Alcoa Middle, she has won three Blount County championships. This season, Newman was voted to the Parks and Rec Christmas Tournament All-Tournament team, the Blount County Tournament All-Tournament Team, All-Blount County and Blount County Player of the Year. Kayla is the daughter of Kenny and Karen Newman. Laila Bangash, Maryville Middle ... Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:47:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17240-733933sports/youthStaff WriterMaryville, TNAll-Blount County Middle School Basketball Teamblounttoday.comall-blount-county-middle-school-basketball-teamurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17240-733933Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/jun/10/all-blount-county-middle-school-baseball-team/?partner=RSSAustin Morgan, Alcoa Middle Morgan played mainly shortstop and some second base for the Tornadoes. He hit .333 for the season. Morgan was a big advantage for Alcoa when used as a closer. He led the Tornadoes with 41 strikeouts on the season. Blake Holder, Alcoa Middle Holder led the Tornadoes in batting and will be a returning starter on next year’s team. He hit .516 for the season along with playing multiple infield positions. Holder made one start as a pitcher and several relief appearances. He had eight strikeouts on the mound. Sean Paterson, Carpenters Middle Paterson, an eighth-grader, ... Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:41:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17239-733933sports/youthStaff WriterMaryville, TNAll-Blount County Middle School Baseball Teamblounttoday.comall-blount-county-middle-school-baseball-teamurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17239-733933Change0Usablehttp://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/apr/29/not-just-kicks/?partner=RSSMcKenzie Hawkins smiles, even giggles a little bit, when she describes being tackled by Candace Barley. Hawkins was a fifth-grader at the time. Barley was by then a regular with the U.S. junior national team and one of the two or three best high school rugby players in the state. “The hardest I’ve ever been hit is by Candace Barley,” Hawkins, now a seventh-grader at Alcoa Middle School, said. “She picked me up and slammed me down. “That was an eye opener.” Again, she giggles. coopers@blounttoday.com (Stefan Cooper)Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:02:00 -0000urn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17051-733891sports/youthStefan CooperMaryville, TNNot just for kicksblounttoday.comnot-just-kicksurn:publicid:www.blounttoday.com:news-Story-17051-733891Change0Usable