By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
Call it an evening of education. Call it an evening of appreciation. Call it T.R. Miller's Football for Mothers Night.
Tigers head coach Jamie Riggs will hold the program on August 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ritz Restaurant in Brewton.
"We're in the process of sending invitations right now. The mothers of all of our players will get one," Riggs said.
Riggs said part of the program will be for mothers to talk football strategy and other issues related to the game.
"Sometimes women may have some questions when they watch the game with their husbands or family members and they may not get the kind of answers they want. Then there may be some who are a little shy to ask football questions to begin with. Hopefully this program will give them a chance to answer some of those questions," Riggs said. "It will also give them a chance to find out more about what is going on within our program."
Riggs plans to have a few of his players present at the program to help answer some of those questions.
"The way they may answer questions as a son as compared to a player may be a little different," Riggs said.
The night of football education is also a night of thank yous.
"The mothers play a big role in our program. I'm not sure everybody realizes just how big. They help make sure our players eat right, get their rest, get to and from practice and, if nothing else, all the support they give their sons," Riggs said. "A lot of our mothers are already active with our program through the T.R. Miller Quarterback Club. We'll talk about some of the ways they can contribute through that organization."
Riggs said another reason for the event is there is a growing interest in football among women.
"A few years ago I rarely saw any women at our practices, but any more there are several that stop by and watch what we're doing," Riggs said.
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The starting times for this season's T.R. Miller and W.S. Neal football games have been announced.
All T.R. Miller football games will have 7:30 p.m. starting times with the exception of the August 27 season opener at Escambia County. That game will get underway at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile all W.S. Neal contests will have 7:30 p.m. starting times except for the October 29 game at Southern Choctaw. That game will have a 7 p.m. start.
W.S. Neal will also have a 7 p.m. starting time for Thursday's exhibition
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Kickoff Classic game at Andalusia. That game had originally been slated for 7:30 p.m.
The next meeting for the T.R. Miller Quarterback Club will be Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Field House.
Jefferson Davis Community College Lady Warhawks softball coach Misti Nims has added three more pieces to her squad's 2005 roster.
Two incoming freshmen include third baseman Mary Ann Looze from Navarre (Fla.) and infielder Brandi Nichols from Clarke County.
"Mary Ann has pretty decent size. She is about 5-9 and has some power and a pretty good throwing arm," Nims said. "Brandi has a lot of versatility and can play just about anywhere in the infield. She also has some power."
JDCC will also get the services of transfer Brandi Nichols, a second baseman/letffielder from Niceville (Fla.). Nichols spent last season at Okaloosa-Walton College.
"Brandi is a good addition for us. She has pretty good speed. I can see her challenging for our leadoff position next season," Nims said.
Meanwhile JDCC basketball coach Allen Gainer has closed out his recruiting class for next season.
The last signing was Mujahdi Staten, a 6-1, 160-pound point guard from Madison (Fla.).
"We're looking at him as a possible point guard although it's a little hard to say until we see how well he controls the ball against some better competition. He could move him to a shooting guard slot," Gainer said.
Gainer indicated he had originaly tried to ink one additional player, but that deal fell through.
"At this point, we're probably going to go with the players we have signed. I feel good about the group we are bringing in," Gainer said.