Mississippi News
In age of sports specialization, the Mannings beg to differ
In age of sports specialization, the Mannings beg to differ
A friend recently told me his 13-year-old son is in a bit of a quandary. The kid is already 6 feet, 2 inches tall, athletic and smart. Coaches from every sport at his school are pulling at him: baseball, football, basketball and soccer. A couple want him to choose a sport and specialize, this before he needs to shave.
The kid just wants to play. Everything.
But when the seasons overlap, the seventh grader has to choose. It doesn't have to be the way.
For Exhibit A, I give you: Arch Manning, the No. 1 recruit Class of 2023 football recruit in the nation. On a recent trip to New Orleans, I watched Arch and his No. 1 ranked Newman Greenies teammates play. Basketball.
Before we really get into this, I should answer the question I get asked several times a week. That is: Where will Arch Manning — son of Cooper, grandson of Archie and Olivia, nephew of Peyton and Eli — play college football? The answer is I don't know. I don't think he knows. I know Grandpa Archie, the one Arch calls “Red,” doesn't know. If there's any news in his recruitment, it is that he has trimmed Clemson from his list. The remaining four favorites are, in alphabetical order, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas.
We are currently in a “dead period” of college football recruiting, which meant that no football coaching celebrities were at Saturday night's Newman game. Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian have all taken in Newman basketball games this season, often bringing several of their staffers with them. Other coaches have done the same.
They have been there to be seen by Arch Manning, the quarterback prodigy who has everything you look for in a quarterback: strong arm, accuracy, athleticism, size, toughness, and quick-trigger decision making. This one also has the pedigree.
What these football coaches see before them on the basketball court is a role player, a kid who prides himself on being a good teammate. They see a sturdy, wavy-haired, competitive young man who comes off the bench and helps Newman win games by grabbing loose balls and rebounds, setting picks, making crisp passes and by playing good defense. In basketball, he is not the star. He is nonetheless a winner.
“To me, Arch is a breath of fresh air,” says his basketball coach, Randy Livingston, a former two-time national player of the year at Newman. “He enjoys being a high school athlete. He's competitive. He loves to compete. I have known the family well since I was 12, so the family knows me and trusts me with him.
“Arch knows our system backwards and forwards. He knows the offense, knows the defense, and he rarely makes a mistake. He's great with our younger players. He's a great kid. We are lucky and blessed to have him. He and Will Randle (Newman's highly recruited tight end and one of Arch's best friends) both come off the bench and bring a really toughness to our team.”
Both play more minutes than some of the starters. Both are usually in the game at crunch time — that is, on the rare occasion Newman (23-4) has a crunch time.
For Exhibit B in this case against specialization for young athletes, I give you the Manning family. Archie Manning was a four-sport letterman at Drew High School only because they didn't offer five. Or six. He played football, baseball, basketball and ran track.
“Doing both track and baseball sometimes got tricky,” Archie Manning said. “One day, we had a track meet and baseball game going at adjacent fields. We came in to bat just as they were lining up for the 880-relay. They hollered at me to come run the relay — and I did, in my baseball uniform.”
Archie Manning was a high school football, basketball and baseball star — so talented as a baseball shortstop he was drafted four times by Major League teams, the first time by the Braves right out of high school. The point is, he played all the sports to the detriment of none. Nobody tried to stop him. One year, a couple days after the football season ended, he scored 40 points to help Drew win a basketball game.
“Maybe I'm old-fashioned,” Archie Manning said, “I think playing multiple sports makes you more well-rounded. There are certain things you do in one sport that might help you in the others.”
Says Livingston, the Newman coach: “The more well-rounded you are, the better. Look at Joe Burrow. He was a high school basketball star. Back then, lot of people thought that would be his sport. My favorite sport growing up was football. That's what I was going to be. To this day, I regret I couldn't play it more. You just shouldn't box a kid in. Let them play. Let them develop. You never know what the future holds.”
Livingston was junior high and high school basketball teammates with both Cooper and Peyton Manning. They won state championships together. They also played probably a thousand games of pick-up basketball, often in the Mannings' driveway.
“It was usually me and Archie against Peyton and Cooper,” Livingston said. “I'm telling you, Archie could still play.”
Says Cooper Manning who remembers fondly those games, “The losers had to take out the trash.”
Cooper and Ellen Manning have advocated playing multiple sports to all their three children, including daughter Mae, a high school volleyball star, now at the University of Virginia.
“I wanted them outside, running around, being active, using all their muscles,” Cooper Manning said.
That includes Heid Manning, Arch's younger brother, the center who snaps the ball to his brother on the Newman football team.
“Heid played a lot baseball when he was younger, but he came to me one year and told me he wanted to play lacrosse,” Cooper Manning said. “So now he's on the Newman lacrosse team and loves it. They're good, too.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi News
Warm but breezy weekend ahead! – Home – WCBI TV
SUMMARY: The upcoming weekend will bring warm weather with highs in the 80s before the next chance of rain on Monday. Saturday and Sunday will have partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid 80s, and the possibility of some areas experiencing light rain. Winds will be breezy, with gusts up to 25 mph. Looking ahead to next week, rain and storms are expected on Monday afternoon, possibly lingering through Tuesday and Wednesday. Temperatures will remain in the 80s throughout the week.
The post Warm but breezy weekend ahead! – Home – WCBI TV appeared first on www.wcbi.com
Mississippi News
One injured in Mississippi officer-involved shooting after chase
SUMMARY: A suspect in Clay County, Mississippi was shot by a deputy after a chase on April 26th. The driver refused to stop the vehicle, leading the deputy on a brief chase. The driver displayed a firearm towards the deputy, prompting the deputy to shoot. The driver was taken to the hospital, and the deputy was unharmed. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation will be investigating the shooting and will share their findings with the Attorney General's Office.
The post One injured in Mississippi officer-involved shooting after chase appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
Flywheel Festival features antique engines, food, fun
SUMMARY: The Spring Flywheel Festival in Houston, Mississippi, attracted large crowds and highlighted improvements at the park. The festival featured food vendors, antique flywheels, and tractor games, showcasing the hobby and lifestyle of restoring and exhibiting old engines and tractors. Attendees could also shop for clothes, hats, toys, and other items at the festival, which ran through Saturday. The event drew the largest Friday afternoon crowd in its history, and visitors enjoyed a variety of activities and entertainment. For more information and a complete schedule, interested individuals were directed to visit seechickasaw.com.
The post Flywheel Festival features antique engines, food, fun appeared first on www.wcbi.com
-
228Sports7 days ago
From Heartbreak to Hoop Dreams: Pascagoula Panthers Springboard from Semifinal Setback to College Courts
-
Local News2 days ago
Sister of Mississippi man who died after police pulled him from car rejects lawsuit settlement
-
Mississippi News6 days ago
2 dead, 6 hurt in shooting at Memphis, Tennessee block party: police
-
Mississippi News6 days ago
Forest landowners can apply for federal emergency loans
-
Mississippi Today2 days ago
At Lake High School in Scott County, the Un-Team will never be forgotten
-
Mississippi News5 days ago
Cicadas expected to takeover north Mississippi counties soon
-
Mississippi News4 days ago
Viewers make allegations against Hatley teacher, school district releases statement – Home – WCBI TV
-
Mississippi News6 days ago
Nationwide health alert issued for ground beef over potential E. coli risk