Kelly and Wendy Golden are ultrarunners, which means they’ll race distances 20 kilometers or more, usually on trails through the woods over a few mountains and sometimes in the snow. 

Out on the trail, dodging roots and rocks and bugs, I realized I could hardly call this “playing along,” at least until it’s over. Then, sweaty and parched, I could appreciate trail running—could even call it fun.

Appomattox hired both its new football coach and new athletic director from the same source — Amherst’s football coaching staff. 

Drumbeats filled the classroom as our group of six formed a circle, lightly marching to the lead of AFRI-CArdio instructor Christine Davis.

Watch the ball. Watch the ball. Get the glove ready. Oh, what a pretty sunset, all gold and blues – No! Pay attention to the batter.

A recently formed skateboarder’s advocacy group is setting up a mobile skate park at Rockfish River Elementary School this week.

Every summer for more than 30 years, Dennis Van der Meer, 75, has brought his Tennis Academy to the campus of Sweet Briar College to teach all ages and skill levels. His home base is Hilton Head, South Carolina. Dennis and his wife, Pat, 58, talked with the Amherst New Era-Progress on June 16.

There’s a reason I hadn’t picked up a tennis racket since fourth grade, I learned when I stepped onto the Sweet Briar courts June 9 to participate in the Dennis Van der Meer “guinea pig” sessions.

Joe Burke’s approach shot to the 18th green at Winton Country Club was short. The ball settled on spongy fringe, making for a tricky up and down. 

This weekend my fiancé, Chet, earned his most prestigious country-living badge.

A handful of athletes raised the competitive level of Amherst girls’ track team this year.

The intensity and controlled ball movement the Lancers displayed in their quarterfinal win against Alleghany never consistently emerged in their 4-0 loss the following night to Turner Ashby in the Region III semifinal match on May 27. Turner Ashby had a bye on May 26.

When Kyle Brown picked up a discus for the first time two years ago, volunteer coach Larry Hughes stepped into the circle with him.

“It’s the first really humid nights we’ve had back-to-back, and we played on both of them,” Lancer coach Tom McBride said. “These guys were drained.”

While many people were grilling out and enjoying their day off, the Amherst Lancers were working to try and move into the second round of Regional III Seminole baseball tournament. 

The Lancers’ aggressiveness in the box finally paid off with two goals against Alleghany in the Region III quarterfinals at home on May 26.

“At first, it was hard for the guys to accept a girl to come in and try to be their coach,” head coach Tom McBride said. “But when they saw her play the position, and they started listening to her, it quickly dissolved.”

The arrests of a couple of star athletes wounded the community’s “Lancer Pride.” But reality can’t be ignored. And neither can the fact that these kids have only been charged with crimes and not convicted.

Amherst girls trailed by 1.25 points to Heritage coming into the 4 x 400 relay, the final event of the evening. First- and second-leg runners Allyssa Knight and Olivia Turner held the lead for Amherst. Heritage closed the gap and passed the Lancer’s third runner, Jessie Schurner, on the backstretch. Rustburg eased up as well, putting Amherst in third place as the final runner, Candace Davis took the baton.

“He’s laid back,” senior pitcher Bianca Gilmore said. “He understands that we’re almost adults, and we like to play around a lot.”

Senior Ashton Paige initially earned his nickname, “Burn,” as a tight end on the football field, but this spring it has translated to the baseball diamond.
“Big hitter, smash hitter, that’s what he is,” senior right fielder D.J. Jones said. “That’s why we call him “Burn,” ‘cause he burns balls up.”

“I had two teachers this week approach me about one child and how much she’d come out of her shell. I think that’s what we’ve seen with all of them. They just appear to be more confident, a little bit more self-esteem,” coach Lesley McPhatter said.

On Thursday night the Amherst County School Board approved Cecil Phillips of King’s Fork High School in Suffolk. Phillips has worked as head football coach at King’s Fork since 2004.

“The best goal was the one this year against Nelson. We were 1-1, and we went into overtime. The first overtime we were just determined to win. We got the ball up to about the top of the 18 (yard box) and I just shot it and it went in,” Lee said.

“We vibe off each other,” Knight said. “I always feel like my biggest competition is my team itself because we all do really good, and we try our hardest at practice.”

“We were in the game to the final,” Thomas said. “I told them I was proud of them because they never gave up, they kept battling.”

“You can only do so much in practice against your own team and have it be beneficial,” Heeman said. “We just need to get into game play to make things work.”

“It’s my passion, and it’s the only sport I’m really good at. I’m not sure about college yet, but I’m going to play forever,” Campbell said.

“We worked very hard against their flat-back four and tried to penetrate that,” Liberty coach Thomas Fox said. “I give them a lot of credit because they wouldn’t let us through the door.”
“In the past five years I’ve been at Liberty, Amherst and Liberty have been like a Redskins-Cowboys football game,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are or how bad you are, it’s always a slug fest. And it was today.”