Eliot Sain of Westwood soccer takes a shot at practice on Monday
With the spring sports season just around the corner for middle school teams, Thunder Radio sports checked in with the coaches and teams at Westwood Middle School this week to get an update on their 2 plus weeks of preseason workouts.
The two-time defending conference champion Rocket soccer team faces their biggest rebuilding effort in recent memory. Coach Jonathan Graf is excited about his young talent. “Most of the team are 7th graders, but I have a few 8th graders in their 3rd year with me that provide some stability on the pitch” said Graf. The Rockets will take part in a scrimmage play day at St Andrews-Sewanee on Saturday. The Rockets have games scheduled against South Franklin(9 AM), Fayetteville(9:40 AM) and North Franklin(11 AM). The Rockets open the regular season on February 28th when they host Cascade at Dyer-Bouldin Field.
Members of the Westwood pitching staff work on a throwing drill at practice on Monday
The Westwood softball team has a new head coach as Amanda Stout Sullivan takes over the helm of the Rocket program. Pitching appears to be the early bright spot for the Lady Rockets as last year’s returning starter Haidyn Campbell returns bolstered by a young crop of 6th grade arms. Coach Sullivan has not scheduled any scrimmages this spring as her team works toward opening day of March 2nd. The Lady Rockets will open the 2017 season on the road at Fayetteville.
Members of the Westwood Baseball team get loose before practice on Monday
The Westwood baseball team returns a pair of coaches this season with Dusty Hereford and Herb Nugent taking over as co-head coaches this season after serving as assistant coaches last year. Wet field conditions and cold weather have curtailed some of the work they have been able to accomplish on the field thus far this spring. The Rockets have a pair of scrimmage games set up for Saturday in Tullahoma at Waggoner Park. Westwood will take on Tullahoma at 1 PM and Cascade at 5 in a JV game. Westwood opens the regular season on March 6th at home against Cornersville.
Members of the Westwood tennis team work on a drill at practice on Monday
The Westwood tennis team is seeing outstanding numbers in their 3rd year of the program. Coach Justin Winton has several players returning for their 2nd and 3rd seasons. “We have a solid starting lineup, and we have several 6th graders learning to play that will help us in the next year or two” said Coach Winton. This year’s Rocket tennis teams will be forced to play their home matches at the Coffee County Raider Academy this spring with repairs underway at the city courts at Fred Deadman Park. The Westwood tennis team opens their season on March 10th when they play host to Tullahoma
The Westwood golf team is still a few days away from getting preseason practice underway as Coach Doug Roorda will return several key contributors from last spring. The Westwood golf season will get underway on April 3rd at Willowbrook as Westwood will square off against Coffee County and Fayetteville.
