Media Day 2009

Here I am on the left with All-State defensive back Spencer Forte(thanks to Lee McLane of The Beebe News for the picture)

Well, I attended my first Beebe High football Media Day as a broadcaster, and I have to say that for the most part, it was a smashing success. The sunny skies gave way to some cloudy skies that did threaten rain, but it never materialized. Despite a few technical glitches, I really believe that this Media Day was a success. It was a neat atmosphere, with coaches, parents, players, and other media around. It definitely had a bit of a small college feel to it. My first interviewee was Justin Shipp, Beebe High Athletic Trainer. Justin was there with his wonderful wife, Becky. Justin has been with Beebe since 2007 and now has an enlarged training area to work with, thanks to the expansion that was recently finished to the fieldhouse. Justin has worked very hard, not only to get that expansion, but also to train the kids that he works with. My personal opinion is that I hope he's around for a long time here at Beebe. The next person that I interviewed was senior defensive back Spencer Forte. I was extremely impressed, not only with how polite Spencer is, but how humble he is. As a junior, Spencer had 4 interceptions on his way to being named All-State. His cousin, Ty Forte, played with Cedric Cobbs at LR Fair in the late 90s and won a state championship. He then went on to play at Arkansas State. My next interviewee was junior quarterback Scot Gowen. Scot reminds me a lot of Tom Brady and not just because he also wears #12. Scot sounds a lot like Brady and has the same cool, confident demeanor that Brady has. Like Spencer, Scot is very polite and humble. Those two young men will do very good for themselves. Next was Beebe Senior High Head Football Coach John Shannon. Coach Shannon was very optimistic and very complimentary about his squad of 46 Badgers. He told me that their biggest strength was the skill players, especially the secondary. Last, but not least, was Beebe Junior High Head Coach Richard Clevinger. I know he was nervous, but I appreciated him talking to me. He feels that his backfield, which returns all three starters at halfback and fullback, is the strength of his team. He seemed more than optimistic about Beebe's chances of competing for the River City Conference North Division title. All in all, it was a good afternoon. I enjoyed myself and look forward to making this an annual event.