Published: September 04, 2009 09:02 am      

Gable’s presence provides big steps for CCC athletics

Wednesday can be a solid step forward for Clinton Community College athletics.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Olympic gold medalist Dan Gable will speak at the college’s auditorium. Gable may be the best possible speaker to help promote the athletic program, while also providing motivation to Cougars players and fans.

After last year’s move to cancel CCC’s basketball season, the Cougar athletic department needed an opportunity to showcase its sports to the public. With volleyball starting Thursday and the basketball team loaded with potential players, prospects are looking much better than last winter.

As a disappointing season continued, filled with injuries and academic problems, the Cougars were forced to sideline the basketball team. That team needed defined leadership. This year, the basketball team should be better equipped in the leadership category, with Marcus Harris returning for his second year of coaching and an athletic department committed to brining the Cougars back to respectability.

Gable can convey being a leader to the various student-athletes in attendance, and if he’s as talented at speaking as he was in wrestling, both as a coach and participant, then he should have a lasting impact on the people in attendance.

He knows what has to be done to be an elite collegiate student-athlete, and CCC should relish the opportunity to have Gable give a pep talk to the fans, players and coaches, while also promoting the school to possibly a new audience.

When competing against schools equipped with dorms, facilities that rival four-year universities and more finances, CCC could use a boost from prominent figures such as Gable. Gable can remind the student-athletes that commitment doesn’t begin and end on the court and the weight room, but also in the classroom.

Gable’s speech should be a building block for what promises to be a better athletic season at CCC.

Redesigned Coan Field

Clinton High School will showcase tonight what leadership through Restoring Royalty has done for its athletic facilities.

The redesigned Coan Field will present itself to the community, and from glimpses through pictures and driving by, it looks like a first-rate high school football stadium. The unveiling will be a culmination of hard work provided by Restoring Royalty and other volunteers that have worked tirelessly to provide Clinton with a great facility.

If the River Kings look as good as the stadium does, it should be a short Friday night for the local fans.



Scott Levine is the Associate Editor for the Clinton Herald. He can be reached at scottlevine@clintonherald.com.