Meeting and playing with sports celebrities

Two prominent women in sports history walk side by side during a charity event at Origins Golf Course at Watersound Friday morning. One was Mia Hamm, who is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in soccer, two-time World Championship winner, and is widely recognized as the world's best all-around women's soccer player. The other is Annika Sorenstam, who is pro golfer that won 72 LPGA victories, 10 major championships, and is considered the most dominant player in women's golf. The two of them teamed up with 20 local junior golfers to play a round of 10 holes for the Annika Foundation charity event. Between Team Annika and Team Mia, the junior golfers got a small taste of what its like to play with sports celebrities...and have bragging rights to it.

One of the junior golfers made quite an impression on Annika and had the crowd roaring in celebration after her putt in the hole.


Mia was lost in a daydream just before her turn to putt arose.


Each of the golfers received their share of high-fives from the two icons. Here Mia shares one with a 9-year-old golfer from Niceville.


A steep hill on the green caused both Mia and another junior golfer to examine their options for producing the best putt.


At the end of the match, Mia and Annika exchanged a hug along with a few kinds words toward one another.


Earlier in the week, I traveled to Laurel Hill to photograph the District 1-A tournament finals between Paxton and Escambia. Paxton pulled off a 61-45 win against the Bulldogs and advanced to play Malone later in the week.





The All-Sports Association Media Party came around again and once again so did the moment to hand out the Danny Wuerffel Trophy. This year's winner was Tim Hiller, the Western Michigan quarterback who was known for his amazing stats in passing yards, completions, touchdowns, and total offensive plays. But to be a winner of this award, the player had to have amazing accomplishments off the field too. Hiller did just that with the WMU chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes that he and his finance founded. So before the award was presented to him, he among other local sports winners sat in a row and signed autographs for the members and fans.

Danny Wuerffel speaks to the media about the event:


Tim Hiller hands an autograph to a fan:


Hiller talks to the media about what winning the award has meant to him:


He signs several glossy photographs of himself to hand out:


Roy Finch, the All-Sports male scholastic winner, talks to the media:


A woman photographs Tennessee Titans All-Pro cornerback and former Milton star Cortland Finnegan:


Saturday evening held two Northwest Florida State College basketball games at the campus I used to attend several years ago. This was my first time shooting collegiate basketball games in this area, so I was excited to have a try at it. I shot both the women's and men's games and found the pace very similar to the high schools in the area. The women love to argue on the court and the men love to rush to the basket. The men won their game over Gulf Coast Community College, 63-60.



The girls weren't as fortunate and lost their game to the same school, 68-51.



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Advancing Upward

Basketball season is coming to a close, so all the tournaments are underway. The top picture (published) and the next one are from the Baker v. Jay District 1-2A tournament semi-final game on Saturday night. The Baker Gators barely squeaked by with a 51-48 victory in the final seconds of the game.



The other two teams to play that same night were the Freeport Bulldogs v. the Pensacola Christian Warriors, who won the game 63-35. The top image was published.





Two days before Valentine's Day, the Westwood Retirement Resort housed a room full of retired vets who enjoyed a few sweet snacks and the company of Eglin Air Force Base airmen. One man was picked from the group to be the King of Hearts (pictured below and published) and was joined by the Queen of Hearts (in second picture) picked by the group as well.





Later that evening, I went to Niceville to photograph the boys District 2-5A semifinals game against Mosley. The Eagles won the game in a 73-38 blowout and advanced to the district championship against Fort Walton Beach.



The previous week I traveled back in time by going to my former middle school - Meigs. Even though the visit was like reliving the past, the technology the students were introduced to quickly snapped me back into the current year. In the top picture, two students use clickers to submit answers on a vocabulary test.



Another form of technology the students were using was a video camera that could be uploaded through the USB port. One student records another giving his "book talk" as a replacement to the standard written book reports in the past. (Both images were published)



That night I photographed a dimly-lit soccer game with Rocky Bayou v. Maclay. Maclay won the Region 1-2A finals game 5-0. The first image was published.





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The Stepping Stone

There are four years of college football where the players experience the joys of screaming fellow students cheering their names during games on Saturdays and the woes of finishing homework in time for their classes on Mondays. They ultimately leave the campus they've called home for so long and go into the NFL where their recompense is a paycheck along with more cheering fans. But somewhere in the middle of that college glory era and the dream job is another stepping stone...the Senior Bowl.

This game is a great opportunity for these senior players because it gives them a chance to showcase their ability to transition from a college player to a NFL prospect. Some are expected to do well at the next level while some are under tremendous scrutiny, like the legendary Tim Tebow.



Though Tim has been a phenomenon at the collegiate level, his mechanics have been harshly criticized by NFL scouts because it falls short of the expectations for that level. Even so, Tim is a fighter and is determined to work hard and improve upon practice and an opportunity, if only someone would give that to him. I'm sure someone will, but the way he played in this game only enhanced the doubts about his potential. Out of his 23 plays, he completed 8 out of 12 passes for 50 yards and had four carries for four yards. He fumbled twice and was sacked once. Those are definitely are not near his Sugar Bowl stats, but he walked away with his head held high.



Tebow was my favorite to photograph for this game, and obviously the fans' favorite as well since his name was chanted the most out of anyone, but I made sure to spread around the focus to as many players as I could catch. Here is a play by Alabama's Javier Arenas:


Tebow about to pass:


Wisconsin's Garrett Graham tackled:


A fan of Tebow:


West Virginia's Jarrett Brown winding up for a pass:


Florida's Riley Cooper staring off in a daze during a commercial break:


Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour celebrates with a teammate aftering scoring a touchdown for the North:


Tebow interviewed after the South's 31-13 loss to the North team:


Fans flooded the field after the game for a close glimpse of Tebow. Some wanted autographs, some wanted to touch his jersey, and others just wanted him to look into their eyes. This girl here got even more when he shook her hand and smiled at her while she told him how much he meant to her:


After making it through the crowd, Tim is interviewed by the press underneath the stands. He was disappointed with the loss but took a positive outlook on it:


Once the press was finished with their questions, Tim walked up the ramp and disappeared into the locker room:


He left the same aftertaste in many people's mouths as they wondered what to expect from him next. I was one of them.
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