Shelby County Reporter
Published 12:36pm Wednesday, December 14, 2011

In light of the NCAA 2011 Men’s College Cup coming to the Magic City, Lemak Sports Medicine and Orthopedics in Alabaster held its first annual Medical Soccer Symposium Dec. 10 at the Ross Bridge Golf Resort in Hoover.

The goal of the medical symposium was to increase awareness of athletic injuries at any age and any level – concentrating on soccer.

Through educating coaches, parents and the athletes, the number of injuries or at least the severity of the injuries, can be reduced.  Presentations made by the panel of experts focused on common soccer injuries, concussions, heat illness, return to play, common soccer injuries and life-impacting experiences.

The panel of professionals included Dr. Lawrence Lemak, Dr. Ann Lebeck, Dr. Robert Agee and Dr. Amanda Martin, all of Lemak Sports Medicine. Other speakers included Dr. John Galluci, President of JAG Physical Therapy; Taylor Twellman, former US Men’s Soccer player and current ESPN analyst; and Mr. Joe Cummings, CEO of the NSCAA.

When asked the importance of the medical symposium, Dr. Lawrence Lemak (Dr. Soccer) said, “Injuries occur at an extremely high rate, especially in the game of soccer. It is vital that we educate and raise awareness to decrease risks to the athlete.”

The second annual Medical Soccer Symposium is being prepared for 2012.

For more information, contact Jenna Beach by phone at 329-7528 or by email jbeach@sportssafety.org.

By Al Muskewitz, Star sports writer Anniston Star

JACKSONVILLE — Losing a veteran starting quarterback the way Jacksonville State did in its season opener Thursday night can be devastating to a season, but the head coach and offensive coordinator both were confident Friday the Gamecocks will be all right going forward — and with minimal tweaking of the playbook.

Senior quarterback Marques Ivory underwent season-ending surgery Friday in Birmingham on the fractured right fibula he sustained in the second quarter of Thursday’s dramatic 24-23 season-opening conference win over UT Martin.

Although the one-hour operation was considered a success, Ivory is expected to miss the rest of the season, the school said. The Gamecocks will seek a medical redshirt for the senior, who has played in all three of his previous seasons with the team.

Interestingly, preseason all-conference offensive tackle Odie Rush had similar surgery three weeks ago, but he is expected to return at midseason. The team medical staff, headed by surgeon Dr. Larry Lemak, said they were “different types of injuries,” in addition to its severity and timing, athletic department spokesman Greg Seitz said.

Upon Ivory’s injury, the ninth-ranked Gamecocks immediately installed true sophomore Coty Blanchard as the starter for next week’s game at No. 21 Chattanooga and moved Thomas Darrah and Steven Coates up in the backup rotation. They will practice for the first time in that mode Monday after the coaching staff spends the Labor Day weekend trying to figure out how to make it work.

“I think we’ll be OK,” offensive coordinator Ronnie Letson said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who are good around him. The thing Coty has to realize — all the quarterbacks have to realize — is you don’t have to win the game for us, just put us in position to win it. You’ve got to let players make the plays for you. I have no doubt about those guys making a lot of plays.”

Read More

By Jimmy Smothers
Sports Editor Emeritus

Football 101 with Jack Crowe
Jack Crowe, head football coach at Jacksonville State University, spoke Tuesday at the group’s luncheon at the Senior Activity Center in downtown Gadsden. His topic was “Football 101,” and the women were engrossed in what he explained in words and PowerPoint presentations.

“Next time you are watching a game with your husband,” Crowe said, “tell him it looks like your team is in an 11-personnel offense trying to get a stunt on a 4-3 defense. Tell him they need to switch to the 4-2 nickel against that offense.”

Crowe said, “Do that, and he’ll certainly be shocked, even if he should happen to know what you are talking about.”

The coach explained the 11-personnel and 10-personnel offensive alignments, and the 4-2 (four defensive backs) and 4-2 nickel defenses. He talked about game situations, explaining that keeping an eye on the scoreboard and being alert of the time, score, field position, down and distance play an important role in what plays to call.

Crowe said a lot of people sit up in the stands and criticize the coaches’ play calling without ever keeping abreast of the game situation or the opponent’s defensive alignment.

Because many of the women in the audience were either Alabama or Auburn fans, he talked some about the head coaches of those two schools, both past (Paul Bryant and Pat Dye) and present (Nick Saban and Gene Chizik).

“The kicking game and turnovers are a most important aspect, and Coach Bryant was a master of that,” Crowe said.

Read More