SPORTS
Bowie made it official this week, hiring the district’s new boy’s basketball coach Andy Atkins.
Atkins has spent time as an assistant coach at huge 5A-6A programs in the metroplex like Keller, Flower Mound, Lewisville and most recently Marcus since 2004. Besides the boy’s basketball coach, Atkins also will be the boy’s cross country coach.
Athletic director Cory Mandrell said Atkins had everything he was looking for in a coach.
“He has 15 years of experience and is a great program guy,” Mandrell said. “He really gets what it takes to be a part of a great program so that all sports can be successful.”
Atkins was looking for a place to call home for him and his four sons, three of them who he raises with his wife Ashley. He thinks he found it at Bowie.
“When I walked in and was greeted by Cory and Mr. Enlow I just felt like it was a great family atmosphere,” Atkins said. “I think it will be good for my boys being at a smaller school so they will have a chance to do a lot of different things.”
His first experience seeing the Bowie community also impressed him. In the wake of the F1 tornado that damaged several parts of the town, Atkins was pleased to see how the community rallied together to help cleanup.
Beyond that, Bowie’s great basketball tradition is one that attracts many coaches to the program. With six state titles, with the most recent one coming in 2018, Atkins is excited to try and build the program up to that point again after a disappointing season where the team missed the playoffs.
He will have his work cut out for him. The Jackrabbits return only one starter and will have only one returning varsity player who will be a senior.
“Whenever you have an inexperienced team, you have to keep things simple,” Atkins said. “We will have to slowly build them up so they can gain that confidence. Success may not happen right away, but if we stay the course good things will happen.”
Despite several years of experience, this will be Atkins first varsity basketball head coaching job. After working under so many head coaches, Atkins has seen many different styles and approaches to the job. The best thing he has learned is being true to ones self.
“I bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” Atkins said. “I tend to try and look at the positives in situations so I can try and build athletes up to succeed.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
With the baseball and softball seasons over for the area 1A schools, district awards have been released.
Listed below are those earned honors on the field and in the classroom for Saint Jo and Bellevue.
Softball
Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Utility player: Taylor Patrick; Catcher: Jordyn O’Neal
Baseball
Superlatives
Offensive MVP: Devin Stewart, Saint Jo
Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue
Pitcher: Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Jayden Curry, Saint Jo
Second team
Pitcher: Charlie Barclay, Saint Jo
Infielder: Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; Sam Martin, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Rylan Forrester, Saint Jo
Catcher: Charlie Evans, Saint Jo
Utility: Logan Hoover, Saint Jo
DH: Amzy Barclay, Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Cody Gaston, Saint Jo; Xander Joyner, Saint Jo
To see academic awards from Saint Jo players, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Eldon Van Hooser is leaving Forestburg better than he found it.
The head boy’s basketball coach is retiring after more than 30 years, spending the last five at Forestburg.
Van Hooser did not come to this decision because of a lack of fire or feeling tired after decades in the profession. He had to for family reasons.
“My wife has MS (multiple sclerosis) and it’s a disease where you have trouble standing and walking and she needs help,” Van Hooser said. “I am able to so I am going to step away from teaching and coaching to be there for her.”
Van Hooser was hired in 2019. Along with being the boy’s basketball coach, he also was the football team’s defensive coordinator.
There were some lean years for Forestburg on the boy’s athletic side, with numbers being low and the available athletes being mostly underclassmen.
For two years, the Longhorns’ boy’s basketball team won few games and one of those seasons saw the team field five players on the high school team.
“One of those years we had COVID-19 and the other we had five kids,” Van Hooser said. “It was very rough. After that we worked with the kids and we had a good freshman group coming up. Next year they are going to be seniors.”
That group has helped to turn the program around. Last year the young Longhorns team contested for a playoff spot and just barely missed it finishing fifth in the district.
This season, that same group took a leap and finished second in district with a record of 7-5.
Despite losing its last two regular season games in dramatic fashion heading into the playoffs, the team stepped up in the bi-district game.
Playing against an athletic Newcastle team, Forestburg led for most of the game.
Unfortunately, the previous game against Bellevue saw the Longhorn team blow the lead late in the fourth quarter against a hard pressing style team and they were suffering the same fate against the Bobcats down the stretch.
Fortunately, Forestburg held on just enough to win 53-46. It was the first boy’s basketball playoff win in nine years for Forestburg.
“It was huge for our program,” Van Hooser said. “This new year we will have new goals. The new coach will have some goals of his own, but I set some for the team and think that we have come a long way.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie sports banquets was on Monday night. Olivia Gill and Tucker Jones were named Jackrabbit and Lady Rabbit of the year. Pick up the mid-week paper for all of the sports team awards and pictures.
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