Former Vanderbilt star careful not to pressure his kids
As a young parent Brad Gaines knew the type of father many expected him to be when his kids started playing sports.
It was exactly the type the former Vanderbilt football standout was determined not to be.
“Every Saturday you can go to the local baseball park and there’s that guy who thinks his 8-year-old son should be the starting shortstop for the Yankees and that dad never put a jockstrap on in his life,” Gaines said. “People may have thought I was going to be like that because of my background, but I told myself I don’t want my kids, because of what their last name is, to feel they’ve got to excel in athletics.”
The Gaines name has long been associated with success in Midstate sports.
Brad and his brothers, Chris, Jeff and Greg, were multisport stars at old DuPont High. Chris went on to be an All-America linebacker at Vanderbilt and Greg played at Tennessee and spent nine years in the NFL.
Even with Brad Gaines' reluctance to push them toward the family tradition, his children have been very successful. Two of his daughters — Taylor and Riley — are among the top female athletes in the Midstate.
Taylor, 18, a senior pitcher at Station Camp, opened the softball season with a no-hitter. Riley, 15, a Station Camp sophomore and two-time state champion swimmer, recently qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 100-meter freestyle.
Sports run deep in the Gaines family. Taylor's grandfather, Buddy, played football and baseball at Murray State. Her mother, Telisha, played softball at Donelson Christian Academy and Austin Peay.
“I didn’t feel any pressure from my parents to play sports,” said Taylor, 18, who also played basketball and volleyball at Station Camp before deciding to focus on softball. “I just enjoy sports. I love being active and part of something associated with my school.”
Taylor said she considers herself fortunate to have parents with athletic backgrounds.
“It is unique because most parents don’t go on to the collegiate level,” she said. “Both of my parents have a lot of experience and they can give more advice than other parents who probably don’t really know about the sports their kids are playing.”
Riley, 15, a two-time Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association and Tennessee State High School Swimming and Diving champion in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, uses the success her family has enjoyed in athletics as motivation.
“It pushes me, but it's not pressure because with everything they’ve done it’s kind of like it’s in our blood,” she said. "You feel like it gives you an edge."
That edge might have helped Riley qualify on March 16 for the Olympic Trials this summer in Omaha, Neb. She failed to qualify on her first attempt, but had the confidence to try again and succeed.
“I qualified after missing the trial cut (56.49 seconds) earlier by seven one-hundredths of a second,” Riley said. “I really felt like I could get it on the second try.”
Riley improved significantly by posting 56.31 and became one of the youngest qualifiers.
“I do have a lot of confidence and I believe some of that comes from knowing what my family has done in sports,” Riley said.
Local assistants make top 25 list
Three basketball coaches with local ties — James Strong, Brooks Savage and Brian Collins — are on the Top 25 Assistant Coach Recruiters Low-Major list by CoachStat.net.
Strong, ranked No. 6, is a former Vanderbilt standout who just completed his fifth season at Belmont.
Savage, No. 9, is an assistant at East Tennessee State and was a graduate assistant at Tennessee on Bruce Pearl's staff (2009-10). He also was an assistant at Chattanooga (2012-13).
Collins, a standout player at Whites Creek and Belmont, and also an assistant at ETSU, is No. 19 on the list. He spent the previous three years as head coach at Columbia State Community College, three years before that as an assistant at Cumberland and was a graduate assistant at Tennessee State.
DeArmon headed to Jaguars flagship
Jordan DeArmon left The Game (102.5 and 94.5 FM) earlier this week to work for WJXL, the flagship radio station of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
DeArmon served as executive producer of "A to Z Sports," the "Jared Stillman Show" and the "Darren McFarland and Derrick Mason Show" at The Game.
At her new job she will be an on-air personality, produce the show "Helmets and Heels" and handle sideline reporting for Jaguars games.
Adams returns for Drive, Chip & Putt Championship
Gallatin's Kynadie Adams, 12, will participate for the third consecutive year in the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship at Augusta National. It will be broadcast live on the Golf Channel April 3, the eve of the 2016 Masters Tournament.
The competition is for ages 7-15. Adams made it to the second round in 2014 and the finals in 2015.
Ravenwood graduate holding CFL tryout
Kyle Carson played football at Ravenwood High School and is now the football operations coordinator and a scout for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.
Since Carson grew up in the Midstate he knows there are plenty of talented players here and that's why he is conducting an open tryout for the Stampeders on April 3 at Franklin Road Academy.
"We aim to attract former NCAA players to these workouts that are looking for a professional opportunity," Carson said.
Registration is at 9 a.m. and there is an $80 fee to tryout. For more information visit stampeders.com.
McGavock wins 1,000th baseball game
McGavock's baseball team picked up the 1,000th win in its 44-year history by beating Stratford 7-3 on Tuesday.
The Raiders improved to 4-0 this season. Several former players showed up to celebrate the victory.
Shuler to talk at Davidson Academy
Former Vols quarterback Heath Shuler will be in town April 9 to speak at the Stories of Faith event at Davidson Academy.
Shuler, the 1993 Heisman Trophy runner-up, will talk about failing miserably in the NFL and then recovering to become a U.S. congressman. He now works for the largest energy company in North Carolina.
Doors open at 6 p.m., Shuler will speak at 7 and there will be an autograph session at 8. For tickets or more information call 615-496-6031 or visit davidsonacademy.com.
Bradds' brother headed to EKU to play football
Belmont basketball star Evan Bradds' brother, Ethan, verbally committed on Thursday to play football at Eastern Kentucky, where former Tennessee assistant Mark Elder is the new coach.
Ethan, a 6-foot-4 tight end from Jamestown, Ohio, and a three-star Scout.com prospect, became the Colonels' first commitment for the class of 2017.
Adult baseball league tryouts coming up
Tryouts for the Middle Tennessee Adult Baseball Association will be April 3 at Hillsboro High beginning at 1 p.m.
The league has been around 15 years and has three divisions — 18-older, 32-older, 45-older. Most games are played in Davidson and Williamson counties and each team plays between 18-20 games.
For more information email Brandon Ward at Brandon.ward@pop.belmont.edu or visit nashvilleadultbaseball.net.
Phillips receives Lifetime Achievement award
TSU athletics director Teresa Phillips was presented the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award.
Phillips, a Chattanooga native, played basketball at Vanderbilt then became the women's basketball coach at TSU. She has been the Tigers athletics director since 2002.
Fairgrounds Speedway revving up for new season
The green flag drops next Saturday on the 59th season of racing at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville.
It will be the first of nine races scheduled through Oct. 1.
Gates open at 3 p.m. and the racing begins at 5 p.m. with a 20-lap legends event. The main feature will be a 100-lap pro-late model at the end of the night.
Tickets are $10. For more information call 615-254-1986 or visit FairgroundsSpeedwayNashville.com.
Henry makes USTA Leadership team
Brentwood High's Somer Henry was named to the United States Tennis Association's inaugural Junior Leadership team.
Each of the 30 players on the team was nominated by a representative from their respective USTA Sections for their excellence in tennis and in the community.
Henry won the Class 3A state high school singles in 2015 and is ranked in the top 100 of the USTA's Girls' 16s.
If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.