Late Wednesday afternoon, Crane was drafted by Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals with the 712th pick in the draft. The 22-year-old Crane spent the past few weeks working out with several teams. He said the Nationals showed the most interest, along with the Atlanta Braves and the Oakland Athletics.
“I am very excited,” Crane said. “This has always been a dream of mine. I've always been told I'm not good enough to play which pushed me to work harder. Now my dream is coming true.”
Crane graduated from Gaylesville in 2004 and went on to play college baseball at Snead State Community College.
There will be more on Crane in next week’s edition of The Herald.
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Spring Garden basketball coach Ricky Austin had so much fun working with the boys team this spring, he’s decided to stay on as their head coach.
Austin, who took over the team on an interim basis last December due to health issues with former coach Stan Jones, is now officially the boys head coach.
“When last season was over, it was not my plan to do both,” Austin said. “We took some interviews over the spring for the job, and I had some play dates and camps scheduled for the guys until they hired a coach. I don’t know what happened. I’ve just had a lot of fun with them this spring. Their enthusiasm and willingness to get better, bottled with me being a coach with the passion for basketball, made this something I wanted to do.”
Austin is known for leading the girls program to prominence. He’s guided the Lady Panthers to three state titles (2004, 2005 and 2008). The team finished last season with a 30-3 record and a berth in the Class 1A Northeast Regional final.
Austin said he’s going to continue needing plenty of help coaching both teams, but has the assistants to pull it off.
“I’ve got great help with our assistant coaches, Coach Dana (Austin), Coach (Ben) Carroll and Coach (Kevin) Ward,” Austin said. “I wouldn’t try to tackle this without their support. It’s a great situation with the coaching staff here. It’s like having four head coaches. We understand each other, and that makes the transition a lot easier.”
Spring Garden principal Mike Welsh said he’s glad to officially turn over the boys program to Austin.
“Ricky worked with them through the spring, and he came to me and said ‘I’d like to have them (full time),’” Welsh said. “When he walked in and said he’s like to do both, it was a no-brainer.
“He took the boys job last December because we had no other choice. We’re happy he’s decided to take both programs. We’re looking for him to lead both programs as long as he wants to stay in that role.”
Austin said he’s excited about the upcoming season.
“What they’ve displayed at practice – the excitement, the eagerness and the enthusiasm – I think we can build on that, and I want to be responsible for that,” Austin said. “I’ve got all the confidence in the world with these kids.
“If this was something I was ever going to do, I would want to do it at the school where I’m from.”
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After a strong showing at the USA Junior Nationals basketball competition at Samford University, Cherokee County junior basketball forward Deidra Davis has been invited to participate in the USA Junior Nationals International Sports Festival. The festival is at the University of Illinois in Champaign July 27-Aug. 2.
Davis averaged 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.9 assists for the Lady Warriors last season. Her parents are Doug and Cathy Davis.
The USA Junior Nationals provides one of the top amateur competitions in the United States. The program is offered to all athletes who have a high talent level in basketball through statewide, national and international competitions.
The USA Junior Nationals offers competitions at over 40 sites in the spring, with competitions scheduled throughout the South, Midwest, East and West coasts.
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