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Coach Ricky Allen to be inducted into the AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame

Coach Ricky Allen copy

The following is an excerpt from: Ricky Allen Built Girls’ Basketball at Brewer with a Solid Foundation by Bill Plott, AHSAA Historian. To read the complete article, please click here.

When most people might while away slow time doodling, Ricky Allen found himself drawing house plans. He once mused that perhaps he should have been an architect.

Some say he was an architect in the way he built the girls’ basketball program at Albert Brewer High School in Morgan County. Over a 30-year career he constructed a program that produced more than 600 wins, a state championship – and an enthusiasm amongst his students that has created a passion for the sport at all levels of the community.

A native of Hartselle, Allen, who is being inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2018 at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center March 19, was in the first group of seniors at Brewer in 1973. He played on the school’s first basketball team, a squad that made it to the state tournament.

After graduation he went to Auburn University, first studying business, then education as he realized that teaching and coaching would be his calling. With a degree in hand, he returned to his alma mater as assistant football and boys’ basketball coach.

From 1978-81 he was girls’ basketball coach at Cotaco Junior High, compiling a record of 53-9. Then he spent two years at Union Hill Junior High, coaching the boys to a 23-11 record. Returning to Brewer in 1982, he coached JV basketball as well as volleyball and softball, leading the school to its first county championship in both sports. In 1985, he took over varsity girls’ basketball. Over the next 30 years it became one of the top programs in the state. Among the accomplishments:

A record of 604-272
One 5A state championship and one runner-up finish
Five Region championships, 15 Area championships and 17 Morgan County Championships
Nine All-State players and the 2012 5A state Coach-of-the-Year award.

Allen built the Brewer program by attracting elementary school girls to his basketball camps. He would go to their junior high games, watching the teams that fed into the high school and always standing under the goal rather than favoring one side or the other.

“I was like all the girls that played basketball at the feeder schools,” recalled Christy Thomaskutty, who went on to become a four-time All-State player. “We all wanted to be good enough to play at Brewer for Ricky Allen.”

Thomaskutty went on to play at Tulane, graduating magna cum laude in management. She is currently in her 14^th year of coaching at NCAA Division II Emory University in Atlanta.

Mark Edwards, sports editor at The Anniston Star, covered Brewer High School when he was at The Decatur Daily earlier. He wrote that what he was most impressed with in Ricky Allen was not the wins and losses but the coach’s character.

“He began coaching Brewer girls’ sports in the early 1980s when it wasn’t necessarily considered cool to coach girl sports,” Edwards said. “In North Alabama he helped make it cool. He never let a single one of his players think for an instant that their team and their games were any less important than the boys’ teams and games.

“He worked his players hard, but he treated them fairly. At a time when it seemed as if so many male coaches screamed theirs heads off at their players, Coach Allen did the opposite. I noticed he almost never yelled during games. When he did, it was because he needed to be heard over the noise of the large crowds that came to see his teams play. He managed with a caring, firm hand – not insults and derision.”

Morgan County has always been a basketball hotbed. Allen retired as No. 4 on the list of winningest coaches. He is a member of the Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame.

Coach Ricky Allen is one of 11 inductees to the Alabama High School Hall of Fame, Class of 2018. For a complete list of other 2018 inductees, please click here.

Encore Rehabilitation is proud to provide Sports Medicine Coverage for the Brewer High School Patriots and the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
We LOVE to see you move!

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Coach William Booth to be inducted into AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame

The following is an excerpt from: Math Teacher William Booth’s Baseball Coaching Career Adds Up to Hall of Fame, By Bill Plott, AHSAA Historian. To read the complete article, click here.

Coaching baseball was not William Booth’s first calling. A glance at his resume shows first choices as math teacher, assistant principal, advanced placement coordinator, transportation coordinator, and he also coaches baseball.

It can be said that he excelled in all of them. His baseball coaching has added up to an Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame selection for Booth, the state’s all-time prep baseball wins leader. The Class of 2018 will be inducted March 19 at the banquet to be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center.

“At the age of 42, he was called on to help out Hartselle High School’s baseball team. Without any previous experience in (high school) coaching, he walked on to the field and immediately started winning,” recalled his friend Don Logan, owner of the Birmingham Barons and B.A.S.S.
Despite his late start, Booth’s 30-year career as baseball coach at Hartselle has resulted in the following accomplishments for his storied program.

A won-lost record of 1,025-431 through 2017, making him the all-time winningest coach among Alabama high school baseball coaches.
Eight state championships (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999. 2000, 2009, 2013) and three runners-up (1993, 1998, 2010).
Seven AHSAA final-four finishes, two final eight and six final 16.
20 Area championships and nine runner-up finishes.
The 2009 team finished with a record of 50-9. Five other teams won 40 or more games while 15 won more than 30 games. There has only been one losing record (20-27) during his career.
101 players have received college baseball scholarships, including eight who went into professional baseball. Two of them, Steve Woodard and Chad Girodo, made it to the major leagues. Others have gone on to coaching careers.

He was also a Little League baseball coach for 10 years, winning two state championships and finishing second once. Booth was inducted into the Alabama Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004.

A native of Hartselle, Booth graduated from Morgan County High School in 1962. He attended Athens College and Alabama A&M, earning degrees in math and administration.

Don Logan pointed out that Booth’s accomplishments have not been limited to the baseball field. “He has also excelled in the important role of developing boys into men, and he has helped many earn college scholarships and quite a few more to sign contracts to play professional baseball,” Logan said. “Outside of baseball, he set what might be another record, teaching thousands of students subjects such as calculus and higher mathematics for 50 years. He recently retired from the classroom, but at age 73 he hasn’t quit working with young people, on and off the field.”

Dr. Dee Dee Jones, superintendent of Hartselle City Schools, calls Coach Booth “the finest example of how to coach students on all levels – mentally, academically, athletically and personally. “He continually goes beyond expectations to equip the students of Hartselle in whatever capacity he serves,” she stated in her nomination letter for his Hall of Fame selection. “During his 52 years in education – yes, I said 52 years – he has served as an advanced math teacher (49 years), Federal Programs Coordinator, Assistant Principal, Transportation Coordinator, Director of School Operations, and now as Assistant Superintendent. Over the past 30 years he has also served as the high school baseball coach. Mr. Booth has the distinct honor of being the winningest coach in Alabama.”

Coach William Booth is one of 11 inductees to the Alabama High School Hall of Fame, Class of 2018. For a complete list of other 2018 inductees, please click here.

Encore Rehabilitation is proud to provide Sports Medicine Coverage for the Hartselle High School Tigers and the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
We LOVE to see you move!

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Wallace State – Cullman Area Career Awareness Fair 2017

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Wallace State Community College and Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce invited 8th Grade Students from across the Greater Cullman area to come explore hands-on a variety of careers and professions at the Cullman Area Career Awareness Fair on November 7, 2017. Almost 1,000 students attended the event held at Wallace State in Hanceville, Alabama.

Sharing their passion for athletic training and rehabilitation are Encore Rehabilitation Athletic Trainers l-r: Gage Brewer; Dewayne Fortenberry; Adrianne Borland; and Jessica Burnetti with Occupational Therapy Assistant Leslie Perry. Also representing Encore Rehabilitation at the event were Adrian Dickerson and Bo Shirey.

Encore Rehabilitation, Inc. was proud to share the fields of Athletic Training-Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy. Encore Rehabilitation Athletic Trainers worked with students to teach the proper way to place an individual onto a spine board when there is a suspected neck or spine injury. The Athletic Trainers also discussed the need for taping in sports and activities to provide greater stability and prevent injury and some students received a taping to their ankle. Therapists were on hand to share how physical therapy and occupational therapy can help individuals recovering from an accident, injury or illness.

Best of success to all of the students in attendance!

“I love living in the community, ” Brooke Owens, DPT, Encore Rehabilitation – Gordo

Brooke Owens DPT Gordo

The best thing about being a Physical Therapist? Brooke Owens, Physical Therapist at Encore Rehabilitation – Gordo says, “I love living in the community I work in and seeing patients functioning well in their daily lives after we work with them!”

Brooke has been a clinician for three years, all of her time with Encore Rehabilitation. She received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Alabama-Birmingham. She is also Certified in Dry Needling, ErgoScience FEC Certification, and PPI Certification.

Thank you, Brooke, for your wonderful care. Happy National Physical Therapy Month!

And if you see Brooke out and about in Gordo, be sure to say hello!

At Encore Rehabilitation, we LOVE to see you move!

Family, Friends, & Fitness

Written by:

Adam Powell, DPT and Steve Milliron PT, ATC

Encore Sports Medicine – Hoover, AL

“There are three important factors that help shape your life. Family, friends, and fitness have an enormous impact on your well-being. These facets can provide encouragement, confidence, and self-esteem. Your most joyous occasions are made exceptional when you are healthy and surrounded by loved ones. These pillars shape us mentally, physically, and emotionally. Your family, friends, and fitness are integral pieces to your health.

We acquire habits and beliefs from our parents, siblings, and close friends. You are much more likely to perform daily exercise if you surround yourself with individuals that share the same goals. Recreational activities are vital to your mental and physical health. They provide an escape and release from the stress and monotony of your everyday life.

Everyone agrees that the most difficult aspect of exercise is getting started. You have to maintain the motivation to make it a habit. In these instances, it is helpful to draw from the support of your companions. You have the opportunity to positively influence the health of your loved ones. We all should provide support to our loved ones that are experiencing difficulty in becoming physically fit.

A regular daily exercise routine will change your life. It will provide you a sense of accomplishment and will result in improved self-worth. Exercise gives us an opportunity to achieve goals and track progress. It is truly amazing how the human body improves itself through physical training. Exercise will have a dramatically positive impact on a sedentary individual.

Your body becomes stronger, more flexible, and more tolerant by increasing your physical demands. Everyday tasks will be accomplished with greater ease and efficiency when you are physically fit. Both the young and the elderly will benefit from an exercise regimen. It is important that you choose a form of physical activity that is both rewarding and fun. You will not continue to participate in an exercise routine that you consider “very hard” or a “chore.”

Easy everyday activities are beneficial to your health. Simply walking, whether in a group or alone, is an excellent form of exercise that can be performed indoors or outdoors. Whether it is a quick walk around the block, or a long walk in the mall, walking is an effective tool that will improve your general well-being. Walking with a group of neighbors, church members, significant others, etc. serves as a time for bonding and communication. Walking alone provides a time for reflection and relaxation.

You may find that formal exercise classes are best suited to meet your needs. Yoga, Pilates, Zumba, Tai Chi, Crossfit, step aerobics, and cycling groups have all become quite popular. The social component to this form of exercise is what many find intriguing. They enjoy this type of activity because they find that the utilization of an instructor improves their form and technique. Group exercise is an excellent strategy to ensure your enthusiasm and adherence to a new routine.

Exercise can be quite intimidating to beginners. You may be more comfortable receiving experienced direction from a qualified personal trainer or coach. This is a way to achieve your goals if you desire one on one guidance and supervision. Video workouts such as P90X, Insanity, etc. are great tools if you want the structure of a formal class but the freedom to perform your routine at any time or location.

Is summary, there are multiple forms of physical activity that will positively influence your life. You must find an exercise routine that you enjoy. You will positively impact the health of your friends and family by encouraging them to get active and stay active.

If you have any questions regarding starting your new exercise routine, please call (205) 682-7650 and talk with Steve Milliron, PT/ATC, Tim Sirmon, DPT, or Adam Powell, DPT. They see patients daily at Encore Sports Medicine on 2801 John Hawkins Parkway on Hwy 150 in Hoover, AL.

Adam Powell and Steve Milliron helped put this article together. Steve is a physical therapist and athletic trainer in the Hoover area over the last 20 years. Adam is a recent graduate from UAB and licensed physical therapist for Encore Sports Medicine. He is married and lives near Hoover. ”

*It is important to note that one should consult with their physician prior to starting a new exercise routine.