GATTI: It was an unforgettable ride in 2008

Yeah, I wanted to be a writer. I received the opportunity to capitalize on my love and moved from Virginia Beach to the rolling hills and mountains of Augusta Country last winter. My car was (is) a decade old, and so was the map that used to be in my back seat. There was no time to waste.
The Waynesboro girls basketball team was on the threshold of moving into postseason and MapQuest was my bible. I’ll get more to that saga later. It was time to cross county lines and to follow the Little Giants.

Player of the year

Devon Brown was making headlines with her high school career of 2,728 points and placed second overall in the Group AA Virginia High School League’s record books.

Brown has tremendous charisma on the court. It was the first time since 1991 that the Giants went to the Group AA tourney. She led the Giants to the states this year and is hands-down player of the year.

Brown was not the only interesting piece of the Waynesboro puzzle. There was a new bench boss, Secrett Stubblefield. Stubblefield rarely sits down and smacks her white board as much as her star player Brown dunked baskets (average of 30 points per game). She’s extremely vocal on the sidelines and fidgets in the coach’s box.

The mix of the new coach and Brown made it memorable before the playoffs even started. Stubblefield cookie cutter. She breaks the mold. Dressed up in a suit or a dress, she still guided her team to states. The only time she broke down and dressed up for a game was because she bet her team if they won the region and states-she would dust off her dress shoes.

It just got better for this rookie reporter.

My favorite story

Devon Brown’s younger sister, Shanda Brown. Shanda shot a three-pointer that shook the court. I mean that literally. That bucket upset No. 1 ranked Turner Ashby in the Region III semifinals and the Giants punched their tickets to states.

Giants fans leaped onto the center court and I don’t even remember if my own shoes hit the pine as I was weaving through traffic to get a quote from Shanda. The Giants lost to Hidden Valley, but I hitched a ride at the most exciting time in Waynesboro — unforgettable.

Road trip I won’t forget

That takes me to the memorable moments of driving to these and other events. It has been an arduous task at times to get to some of my destinations.

I use the word sometimes. Despite what my editor thinks, I do not always get lost. I’m a highway driver. In Tidewater, you have interstate 64 going east and west, it’s the main hub to get to where you want.

The country is cozy during the day, but lacks many lights and has made me late to a few games.

The joke at The News Virginian is I need to ask Santa for a GPS. MapQuest was my security blanket. It never failed. Shame on me, I landed an hour from Buffalo Gap for a basketball game. Well, at least, I can find my way home. Chuckle if you want. I know my boss will.

Most telling encounter

My first encounter with baseball was the introduction of Waynesboro coach Jim Critzer. Never one to hide his emotions or thoughts about the media — or anything else for that matter —Critzer lived up to his reputation for being brash and outspoken.

When I asked him a question for the first time he responded, “‘do I have to?’” Critzer looked serious and I thought, “‘Great, I’m going to have a long season dealing with this guy!’” I gave him a quick “yes” after biting my tongue in patience. Critzer smiled and adjusted his ball cap and answered my questions. Critzer is just classic.

Most telling off-the-field moment

Wilson Memorial coach Derek McDaniel is an old school coach like Critzer. McDaniel speaks his mind and before my interview, he was venting to his players in the dugout. Some of the players were getting into trouble at school by showing up late for class and not doing their assignments. The teachers went to complain to McDaniel about it. In turn, coach Mac voiced his frustration.

“I’m tired of your teachers coming to me and telling me you’re not doing your work and how you’re late getting to class.”

The Hornets coach likes to run a tidy team too.

“I’m old school, there are certain things I want to see,” McDaniel admitted, and then pointed to a player on the junior varsity team that passed by. “You see, if that player was on my team, his hair would be cut shorter.”

I wish I could have seen

I wish I could have watched the Wilson Memorial volleyball team at states. Wilson lost to Strasburg in the Group A state semifinals in Richmond. It was the last chance to see seniors Kayla Guy, Taijha Jones and Tiffany Crosby play.

If I were a fly on the wall

Forging ahead to wrestling and football, Fort Defiance had a grim year in the coaching department. Indians long-time wrestling coach Terry Waters was fired after 14 years.

It created an uproar in the community. Waters compiled a 231-65 record during his time at Fort. Dale Spitzer was a football coach for 25 years at Fort and left after the season. Spitzer was 136-131 overall after coaching with the Indians.

I would love to know what really transpired during those encounters with Fort principle Larry Landes. Only one can dream of such access in finding the reasons behind the firing.

Not even a rookie scribe can have it all.

Story for 2009

Waynesboro girls volleyball coach Lori Aleshire will take her team to states. Hey, I don’t play favorites, but the Waynesboro volleyball team turned it around after finishing last season 3-15. This year they secured a No. 3 seed in the Region III tourney.

The Little Giants proved to be a force in the Southern Valley with Fort Defiance and Stuarts Draft in the standings. They’ll be back in the hunt again.

Best quote I got

Guppy Troup recently came to Waynesboro for the Ninth Annual Decker Appraisal Pro-Am. Troup has won eight national PBA titles and 50 combined regional titles. “I’m a party type of guy. I consider myself an entertainer. I didn’t realize that I could bowl sober. When I won a game sober, I said, ‘I guess I can bowl.’ ”