ALL-AREA SOFTBALL: CBA's Matthews named coach of the year

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 23, 2017 7:12 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- LaVon Matthews -- affectionately called "Granddad" by his players -- warmed up the tractor, popped it into gear and starting dragging the infield.

In the distance, through a cloud of dust, the Charles B. Aycock softball team sat together in a circle in the outfield. Some early-season turmoil had engulfed the experienced team that entered 2017 with aspirations of a state title on its mind.

The tractor's engine drowned out the conversation.

"I don't know what was said," Matthews, who earned the 2017 News-Argus All-Area Softball Coach-of-the-Year said.

"I knew what the problem was...not playing as a team. They ironed it out and we didn't ever see that any more."

Consecutive setbacks to conference foes D.H. Conley and South Central prompted the team gathering after a practice. Neither outcome, as expected, satisfied the players who had claimed the 2016 league title in undefeated fashion.

The culprits?

Errors.

Free passes.

The remedy?

Revisit the fundamentals.

"Hard work will take care of that (mistakes) and the girls, they worked hard," said Matthews, who just completed his second campaign as head coach and 11th overall in the Golden Falcons' dugout.

Aycock reeled off nine straight wins, including a one-run decision over Conley and a road shutout at North Johnston. Matthews labeled those games as "a turning point" and "confidence builder" for his squad that had finally embraced its motto -- "If we play our game, we're going to be OK."

South Central halted the streak.

But the Golden Falcons, who by now had developed some resiliency, concluded regular-season play with five straight wins. Their year ended with a 3-2 loss to eventual state champ Orange in the east semifinals.

"We were a family and that's the way we played," Matthews said of the 22 victories his team logged on its worksheet. "I told the girls if we do that, then we will reach our goal. We almost made it. You've got to get the breaks.

"I don't think there's any such thing as luck. We accomplished, I think, what we set out to do except win it all. I still feel like we've got the best team in the state."

Six seniors -- all starters at some point -- graduated.

Nine full- or part-time starters return.

Matthews, not surprisingly, has started preparation for 2018.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association waived the offseason coaching rule in 2016 that allowed schools to practice in various sports one player short that could constitute a full team. Coaches weren't permitted to participate.

Now, schools can put full teams -- no matter the sport -- together and interact with the coaching staff. However, there are two dead periods in July that prevent coaches from having any type of contact with their teams.

"We're starting something this year that we haven't done before," Matthews said. "We're playing some teams in the offseason to start building team chemistry. We're treating it sort of like a travel team. I've got some JV players who have a lot of potential.

"We'll probably surprise some people next year in some games. I'm going to have a good ball team."

The goal in Pikeville?

A state title, of course.