On the Sidelines: Freedom Swim Coach Brent Miller Donates "Turbo Kidney" to Ailing Family Friend

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

(Jan. 29, 2013) - A Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots football match-up normally puts Freedom High School swim coach Brent Miller at odds with good family friend Mary Davis as Miller is a huge Ravens fan and Davis, originally from the Boston area, is a big-time Patriots fan.

Brent and Jessica Miller

When the two teams met a week ago in the AFC Championship game for the second straight year, Miller teased Davis that she should root at least a little bit for Baltimore ... after all, she was the recipient less than 48 hours earlier of a kidney transplant courtesy of Miller.

"I told Mary that she had a little purple in her now so she had to root for the Ravens," said Miller in an interview Friday as he continues his rapid recuperation from the operation that took place on Jan. 18 at Fairfax Inova Hospital.

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Cheers Sports Lends a Helping Hand to Victims of Super Storm Sandy

Cheers Sports crew loads donations bound for Jersey Shore

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa
Viva Loudoun Editor

(Dec. 5, 2012) - If you have followed my work here at Viva Loudoun or before that on Loudoun Prep Sports (can we get a moment of silence for the "Monkey"), then you know my love affair with Cheers Sports goes back to literally the first day I moved into Loudoun in 1995.

Needing a sporting goods store, I stumbled onto Cheers in their old Sterling location and I have been a satisfied customer ever since. When I started LPS, Cheers Sports owner Denny Petrella was our first sponsor and his generous backing helped us continue our local athletic, education and news coverage here in Loudoun with the start-up of Viva Loudoun.

But if you know Denny and Cheers, then it doesn't surprise you that Cheers is all about supporting and helping local athletics. Each year they donate thousands of  dollars and gear to local leagues, schools and even families in need.

And that generosity crossed the county border recently as a Loudoun resident, Shane McLaughlin, approached Cheers, seeking donations to send to Point Pleasant, NJ, where his family lives. McLaughlin's father, Kevin McLaughlin, was spearheading the relief efforts and was looking for anything that could help his neighbors recover from the devastation on "Super Storm Sandy".

The Jersey Shore community was hit incredibly hard by the storm and its surge.

The Cheers staff sprung into action and boxed up clothing and sporting goods worth more than $50,000 and had it delivered to the elder McLaughlin.

On the (Political) Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Life as a "Swinger"

Loudoun County, Va (Nov. 5, 2012) - So is it just me ... or is there some kind of big election coming up ... psych!

Ah, life in a Swing State (hello, Virginia!) is one thing but when the Democrats and Republicans ID your county (hello, Loudoun!) as a crucial battleground then you truly have been in the eye of the Presidential Election hurricane.

Robo calls. Yard signs. Robo calls. Bumper stickers. Door knockers (please, no Young Frankenstein jokes). Robo Calls. Did I mention Robo calls ...

Working from home (here at the Viva Loudoun World Headquarters in Ashburn) goes something like this on a daily basis:

Boys Basketball: And the Purple Band Played On and On as Potomac Falls Back for 3rd D4 State Title Try after Milestone Saturday; Loudoun Valley Dream Ends

Greg Graves: 1,000+ career points and rebounds ... shows off his dunk-ability earlier this season

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

(March 6, 2012) - In this reoccurring dream I have, around March each year, I am sitting courtside at Robinson High School and the Potomac Falls High School boys basketball team is playing Tabb in a back-and-forth VHSL Division 4 state quarterfinal ...

I can see the Potomac Falls parents behind the bench screaming for their boys, and the Panther Pit student fans dressed in purple jumping up and down behind the basket chanting "I believe ... I believe ... I believe we will win" and there is Panther coach Jeff Hawes removing his jacket early making it that much easier for everyone to see him instructing his team with his emotions on his sleeve ...

And the players faces and names change ... except for that one constant ... Greg Graves ... And each dream ends the same with Potomac Falls winning and celebrating and at some point, back behind the big stage there is Hawes and Graves with a big embrace ...

Back in January when Potomac Falls had dropped four of five and was struggling at 11-7 overall it appeared the Panthers dream of a third straight VHSL Division 4 state title were just that ... a dream. And yet here we are again in March and the Potomac Falls Purple Band continues to play on and on ...

Yet another win over Tabb -- the third straight quarterfinal win vs. the Hampton Roads crew -- this time 63-58 with Graves, supporting a swagger of a mohawk haircut, and the game to back it up as he threw down 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks in the fourth quarter alone.

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Loudoun Valley's Athletic Facilities Showing Their Age as 50th Anniversary Approaches

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa, VivaLoudoun Editor

(Mar. 16, 2011) – Let me start by saying I love Loudoun Valley High School … no offense to the other 11 high schools in the county but I love history and community and the school built in 1962 surely has both.

So much of Loudoun is so new, so fast, that I enjoy lurking around the hallways and fields of the older schools in the county.

You wouldn’t know it by the past five or six years, where the school was literally busting at its seams until the opening of nearby Woodgrove, but until 1999, Loudoun Valley was historically the smallest high school in the county with under 1,000 students.

After spending a considerable amount of time at Valley for the Cheers Sports and VivaLoudoun Valley Wrestling Duals in January, it was quite evident to me that the school, which I always considered historically charming, was starting to show its wear and tear from nearly 50 years of use, especially in the athletic areas.

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - For the Third Straight Year a 2-Fer State Title Hoops Chance for Loudoun Thanks to Raiders Crazy Comeback

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

Richmond (Mar. 12, 2011) - There was a time in Loudoun high school basketball history that you had to wait a decade for a team to make the Final Four in the state and a state championship was the Holy Grail -- always sought after but never found.

Prior to the modern era of VHSL athleteics -- pre-1970 -- the area had the Loudoun County boys advance in 1958 and 1967 and then for almost 20 years no teams made it to the final week until the Loudoun Valley boys in 1988.

The 1990s saw four girls teams advance -- Loudoun Valley girls in 1993 and 1994, Park View in 1995 and Loudoun County in 1999 -- but still no titles. Until the VHSL split AA into two divisions three years ago, the "oughts" were par for the course with two teams moving to the Final Four -- the Park View girls in 2002 and Loudoun County girls in 2006.

With playoff expansion came expanded title opportunities and that coincided with an explosion of talented teams in Loudoun -- the Freedom girls, the Loudoun County girls, and the Potomac Falls boys all with mini-dynasties brewing -- and the result has been the Golden Age of playoff basketball in Loudoun ... four state titles in the last two years and a chance to make it six as the Loudoun County girls and Potomac Falls boys take center stage tonight at 7 and 9 p.m. at VCU's Siegel Center (check with www.vivaloudoun.com for Live! Blogging from the games).

The Freedom High School girls took titles in Division 3 and Division 4 in 2009 and 2010 and Potomac Falls boys became the first boys team to ever win a state basketball title in 2010. The Loudoun County girls won the Division 4 title in 2009 -- proving that year that expanded playoffs had nothing to do with the state titles brought back to Loudoun as area teams took both AA divisions home -- and the Raiders have a chance this year but only after an amazing comeback Wednesday.

We have been having fun this year with the Raiders lone senior Brittany Batts, the school's all-time leading scorer who broke 2,000 points for her career in the state quarterfinals, calling the Raiders bandwagon to the state finals the "Batts-Mobile" ...

Only in the semifinals, Batts could not get her shot to drop and she struggled to a 3-for-20 night shooting, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range. When she fouled out of the game with 2:41 to go, it looked bleak ... let's just say the "Batts-Mobile" looked to be up on blocks.

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Batts-Mobile in Full Gear, Lukas Legend Grows as Loudoun County Girls, Potomac Falls Balls Make State Hoops Semifinals

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

(Mar. 7, 2011) - Some teams have bandwagons ... the Loudoun County High School girls basketball team apparently has a Batts-mobile as the Raiders have zoomed into the VHSL Division 4 state semifinals on a 20-game winning streak steered by high-scoring senior Brittany Batts.

For the Potomac Falls High School boys basketball team this season hasn't been so much about bandwagons as it has been an epic quest for a second straight state title and on Saturday the Legend of Lukas Mihailovich grew a bit taller with a breath-taking buzzer beater by the 6-foot Panther senior leader.

It is a legend that was forged his junior year when Mihailovich opened December with a school-record 50 points and halfcourt buzzer beater in a triple overtime win and finished things in March with an incredibly clutch state playoffs, averaging 26 points a game, including 33 in the double overtime state finals as the Panthers brought back the first boys basketball state title in history to Loudoun.

Batts and Mihailovich, two standout seniors, both still looking for the right college basketball offers, but first they are concentrating on securing their second state title rings -- the Raiders won the title in 2009 when Batts started as a sophomore.

These two clutch performers were both in the spotlight Saturday in the Division 4 state quarterfinals at Robinson High School but they helped their teams into the semifinals in entirely different fashions.

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Woodgrove Junior Dane Mullins Brings Walter the Wolverine to Life and Gives New School Spirit

Part 2 of the Interview

View a full photo gallery of Walter the Woverine!
On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

(Jan. 3, 2011) - In 2010 I had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of students from across Loudoun's 12 high schools, many of them with great stories to be told, but the most intriguing young man I met in 2010 was an industrious junior at Woodgrove High School, Dane Mullins, who through ingenuity, skill, hard work and love for his new school brought the mascot Walter the Woverine to life and thus gave life to a new community.

Mullins, an experienced welder, who has owned his own excavation and landscaping business since he was 15, took it upon himself to make a motorized mascot for the new school in Purcellville and with the help of his family and friends, Mullins took a sand rail and built a fiberglass body onto it and created one of the most awesome mascots a school could hope for.


Prior to the final home football game of this first season at Woodgrove, I interviewed Dane and his family about Walter the Wolverine. The story of how Dane built the motorized mascot, is best left to him.

This is Dane's story:

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Panthers Volleyball Wins on Emotional Senior Night for Kayla Motheral

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

Sterling (Oct. 19, 2010) - There are certain waypoints in our lives that make us stop and think about how we got to where we are.

Certainly Senior Night is such a moment for a high school athlete and the lone senior for Potomac Falls High School volleyball this season, Kayla Motheral, had an emotional night Monday as her Panthers swept neighbor Dominion, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19.

Those scores have meaning for the district standings but in the grand scheme of things, those numbers are fairly meaningless. What really matters in this story is how Kayla got to her senior season ... heck, how she even stuck it out past her first day of tryouts her freshman year.

This is a story best told by Panther coach Linda Lachey-Helms:

"Kayla is a great story. She didn't want to go back to tryouts after the first day her freshman year. Encouraged by her parents she stuck it out. She was one of the last girls we kept on the freshman team."

You know now why coaches agonize over those final cuts because they truly make a difference.

Lachey-Helms continues: "The next year because of her natural blocking ability we wanted to keep her on the varsity and she wasn't sure. Again, encouraged (never forced or pressured by her parents) by her parents and coaches she gave it a try and started every game for us."

The key here -- and it is not easy -- is for parents to encourage their young athletes rather than pressure them ... something I struggle with in dealing with my two boys.

Lachey-Helms picks up the story: "She needed to gain strength in her tall 6-foot frame and reluctantly she attended a strength and quickness program and it made a huge difference. She had a great season for us as a junior. Then she decided to try out for club volleyball. She made the NVVA select team and enjoyed a great club season."

And just when everything was going Kayla's way, tragedy struck as her father Greg died of a heart attack this past March.

Said Lachey-Helms: "Greg was our one of our strongest parent fans. Always there encouraging all the girls and was always there for Kayla. He would have been so proud of the season Kayla is having and how she handles herself as a role model and leader for my young players."

Kayla's continued inspired play has led her verbally committing to play on scholarship next year at Shepherd University.

Her father will not be forgotten in the Panther volleyball program which has started the Greg Motheral Memorial Volleyball Scholarship and the team has been raising funds in many ways. The girls have been counting aces, kills, and blocks for points and people can pledge per point.

Potomac Falls has also been selling button and key chains with art work that Kayla designed for the "Have a Heart" campaign for Potomac Falls volleyball. At lunch shifts the girls set up tables with cards and papers to give teens tips for a healthy heart to bring about awareness to start early to prevent heart disease. Kids, parents, and other fans can buy a chance for a dollar to serve for prizes between JV and Varsity matches.

"It has been a fun adventure and allows us to keep Greg alive in our hearts," said Lachey-Helms. "The scholarship will be given to a senior volleyball player who applies for it beginning next season."

Kayla Motheral had five kills, four blocks, six digs and an ace last night to help her team win. Those stats don't stack up, however, to what Kayla and her teammates have been doing off the court.

And in my opinion, lost in the hyperbole spewing about on the message boards and in comments sections on various websites, is the fact that high school athletics can teach valuable life lessons and that those lessons rarely come about from the actual outcome to the games.

It usually comes in how they got to here from there. And that is often a story worth telling.

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - Heat Wave Photo Special! Summer Camps of the Week! What Else We Have Cooking!

(July 3, 2010) - Heat Wave! And of course that means cool savings on our photos. In our first year covering sports in Loudoun we have uploaded 30,863 photos and between now and July 7 take 25 percent off your entire order. Our way of saying thank you and keep your cool as it nears 100 degrees.

We haven't posted any articles in a week -- partly because editor Dan Sousa somehow managed to spend three days in New York City, one day in Myrtle Beach (I did not get evicted from my lodging, ahem) and then two days at Clemson all in a crazy 8-day period -- but we have been working, here are some things to look out for:

Summer Camps: Do you have a summer camp we should cover. We hit Freedom High School's youth wrestling camp earlier this week and will post a photo gallery and video interview with Eagle wrestling coach Kent Nagy. Give us a ring if you want us to check out your fun summer camp!

VivaLoudoun Team of 2009: Lest we forget ... you voted for the Briar Woods High School competitive cheer team as they brought home the school's first ever state title. Look for a cool photo shoot to celebrate that big win!

VivaLoudoun Team of Spring 2010: Wow ... almost 3,000 votes and the Broad Run girls added this coveted title (we joke!) to their three straight state titles. Stone Bridge can take solace in being named No. 1 in the nation (more on that in a post later!). We will do something special for the BR girls win in this "townhall vote".

News: Youth track and field ... more college signings ... you bet ... check back over the 3-day weekend as we clear our inbox!

Next Year: We have enjoyed our first year of coverage with VivaLoudoun and hope you have as well. In just 11 months we have some eye-popping numbers with 1,268,579 page views from 209,885 visits. We have had 67,186 unique visitors to our site and we hope that local advertisers take advantage of our loyal following. Cheers Sports gets a big thank you for being our first advertiser and in the next week look for APEX Gymnastics to join us as a sponsor. Remember as a fan of the site you can help support us as well by photo purchases and also by hitting the "Donate" button on the right side of the page.

Honestly, 1.2 million page views is less than a year on a new site is amazing and since we have done very little advertising we have to thank you for the positive word of mouth!

So ... so get the grill fired up this 3-day weekend and when you seek the AC from the heat wave, log on and check out the latest on VivaLoudoun!

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - I Enjoy This So Much, I'd Do It for Free ... Well Almost!

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa
(May 21, 2010) - I love this job! Honestly, starting VivaLoudoun.com this past year has been a joy.

Covering high school sports is a pleasure and this time of year, especially with so many good teams in Loudoun, it is 24/7 of great sporting events to attend. I like being editor of VivaLoudoun.com so much, I'd almost do it for free ...

Time out: This is Dan's wife ... what about doing this for free ...


Whew! Sorry sports fans, I'm back in control but the truth of the matter is that I have to balance the joy of running VivaLoudoun with the reality that the site needs to make enough revenue in order to warrant the time, effort and resources.

You like the site ... we know from the traffic and word of mouth and great feedback.

A lot of media sites are moving to the subscription model but I'm not of fan of paying subscriptions so I don't want to turn VivaLoudoun down that path.

Our goal is run the site on a combination of advertising and marketing dollars from great local business partners such as Cheers Sports and from generous donations from our fans. Denny Petrella, the owner of Cheers, is a perfect partner for VivaLoudoun. For one thing, Denny and I both care about the reputations of our businesses and we are comfortable doing business over a firm handshake. If I can't look my business partners in the eye, I certainly can't take their money.

I'm looking for businesses to advertise on VivaLoudoun that I believe in and that have purpose and product that will benefit the parents, athletes and coaches who make up the VivaLoudoun.com community.

So how can you help? If you have a business or know of a local business that would be a good fit on VivaLoudoun, give us a shout out or ring.

How else can you help? Why donate! We just added a donate button (look on the right column of this page). Anything you donate will go towards the operating expenses of our website. While our balance sheet at times seems like we are "not for profit", VivaLoudoun is not a non-profit but your donations will be met with the gratitude of a lifetime from the VivaLoudoun "fox". Heck we might even send the fox over to your house to wash your car or mow your lawn!

We know economic times aren't the best but we also know that VivaLoudoun serves a good purpose in the Loudoun community and we aim to be around for years and years.

After all, I love this job!

Donation Bonus! Cheers Sports is helping VivaLoudoun design our first line of t-shirts ... sure to feature the Fox! The first 10 people that donate $25 or more will get one of our t-shirts when they come off the press!

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - Falcons Dedicate Emotional Win to Grieving Teammate

Briar Woods senior Kate Fowler and sophomore Macy Jones talk about Tuesday's emotional win over Potomac Falls on the same day that the entire team attended the funeral of teammate Kristina Karagirgis's mother, who passed away from breast cancer.


By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudou.com Editor
(Apr. 7, 2010) - You could say that an emotional Briar Woods High School softball team was wearing their hearts on their sleeves Tuesday but the truth of the matter is that the Falcons, just hours after attending the funeral of a teammate's mother, were wearing their heart on their cheeks and in their hair.

The initials on the faces of the young players, in place of the traditional "eye black", were that of junior teammate Kristina Karagiorgis, and the pink ribbons in their hair were in memory of her mother who passed away from breast cancer during the school break. The team, organized by junior catcher and captain Jillian Olson, sought permission from the school to attend the funeral Tuesday morning to support their teammate and just hours later they took the field at home in their AA Dulles District opener.

"They were a rock this morning for Kristina," said Briar Woods coach Jennifer Traina.

Considering the emotional turmoil of the day, there would be no shame if they fell to a very good Potomac Falls team and junior pitcher Heather Kiefer, who for the first trip through the Falcon order Tuesday did not allow a ball to get past the pitching circle as the BW batters either struck out or grounded back weakly to the pitcher.

The Panthers were up 2-0 after senior catcher Courtney Sunderland drove in two runs in the third inning on a double and appeared headed for the win when the Falcons rallied. After the game the players said it was motivation for Kristina and her family for them to win the game and that fueled a comeback in the sixth inning as Fowler and Kasey Ball drove in Holly Dominguez and Olson to tie the game.

As the game headed into extra innings it appeared that the Panthers would still come away with the win, especially when they loaded the bases in the top of the 8th inning with just one out but BW turned an improbably 4-2-3 double play (second to home to first for those fans not used to scorebook lingo) with Olson making a nifty pivot at the plate and gunning down to first where Jones stretched to complete the rare feat in softball with its shorter basepaths.

It seemed that this was destined to be the Falcons night and that they would win this emotional game. Jones, a ball of energy and hustle, helped manufacture the winning run as she beat out an infield hit, moved to second when Fowler was hit with a pitch and then hustle to third when a pitch to the plate just got away on a bunt attempt. Sunderland's throw down to third skipped away from the bag but not by far ... Jones, however, wasn't looking for any red lights or stop signs as she sprinted home and won the game standing up.

There were smiles and hugs and a few tears. As soon as the Falcons grouped in left field, a cell phone was produced and a call was made to Karagiorgis and she was put on speaker phone as her teammates shared the good news of the victory with her.

For Traina, she was almost left speechless by her team's comeback and ability to weather the emotions of the day and emerge with the win.

"I had nothing to say to them, except that I was super proud of them ... all day long," said Traina.

More of the Fowler and Jones interview

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - You Can Have Paris, I'll Take Purcellville

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

(Mar. 22, 2010) - What I really hate is when a punchline becomes reality such as when I joke that my wife gets to travel to Paris and I get to travel to ... Purcellville.

So who is laughing Friday when, indeed, my wife is in Paris, enjoying a "free day" on a 12-day business trip and I am indeed, in Purcellville, shooting the James Timbers memorial ceremony prior to the Stone Bridge High School vs. Loudoun Valley baseball game at Fireman's Field.

Photos from that ceremony are just one of things to go up on VivaLoudoun today ... also look for the latest on the dire budget cuts headed towards athletics in Loudoun -- athletics escaped the budget ax the last go round save for that $100 fee per athlete per sport but this time it may be sad news for local sports fans with freshman teams, assistant ADs, assistant athletic trainers, reduced games due to 33 percent travel reduction and get a load of this ... $300 fee per athlete per sport all on the table -- along with a college signing, some basketball news, gymnastics news from APEX, local athletes doing well in the community and more.

More ... like scores from Friday and Saturday that we are collecting ... we are still working on the 100 teams to get in results to us as this is our first spring for VivaLoudoun and many coaches don't know our contact info. (they think we still work with the monkey!) ... if you can help spread the word to your coach, you earn the Fox's gratitude for life.

And we have our first tennis round-up ready to go ... plenty of singles and doubles scores! Plus ... look at my inbox ... here come the rainy PPDs!

All of the Friday/Saturday scores and results weren't put up over the weekend as I spent it not coaching for once on the youth level but enjoying watching my 10-year-old son Ryder play in an all-star basketball tournament and a travel soccer tournament. So, as my wife traveled to Prague for the last leg of her Euro biz trip, I was traveling back and forth to Haymarket and back and forth and back and forth.

If they were handing out frequent roundabout points on Route 50, we'd have a free night's stay someplace. Which, by the way, I understand the roundabouts nearest 50 and 15 but that roundabout near Zion Church ... why?

And if I could brag about my son Ryder ... it was fun watching him play ... he scored 22 points in one all-star game on the weekend which automatically makes him the best basketball player ever in our family -- he really only had to beat out his brother Cooper, a senior at Stone Bridge who played for three years for the Bulldogs before not going out this past season, since I was "cut" from my freshman high school basketball team (actually encouraged strongly to go see the wrestling coach is how the hoops coach put it as the 12th man spot was all mine!) and my wife was cut in middle school (a grudge she still holds against a certain coach ...). Sorry Cooper ...

Of course when I coach Ryder he doesn't score as much which might make me "Dean Smith" to his "Michael Jordan" ... if you are old enough, you get that reference! I'm sure in fifth grade, Ryder is going to request his all-star coach Mike Deareden instead of me!

Forget the points, I was mainly impressed that he hustled, played defense, rebounded and passed the ball to teammates for assists ... when I cover sports, the athletes who make their teams better -- not always the team's best player folks! -- are the ones I love watching! I'm glad he is such a player as is Cooper in soccer where he suits up this spring for a final season for Randy May.

And Ryder played his heart and legs -- covered with bruises some of which, for some reason, he has taken to giving names such as "this bruise is named 'Charles' -- out in soccer ... with his team falling in the title game, 4-3, after three wins on the weekend ... in all, six games played in two sports in 43 hours. Talk about March Madness.

With Cooper now 18 ... and a curfew that seems to extend to the break of dawn, parents of other seniors, know what I'm talking about, and, no, I can't sleep until he is home ... Ryder now 10, they are growing up really fast.

Cooper -- brag alert: sorry, proud father on the loose -- has chosen Clemson to study engineering (Death Valley football on Saturday's in the fall!) and the fact I am writing this, means the publicity-shy Coop will be quite mad and will no doubt get me back by posting more photos of me on Facebook from our vacation to Cancun last summer where it appears I have enjoyed way too many margaritas in el sol ... (more likely that expression on my face is from the catamaran rocking back and forth ... I once got "seasick" in first grade at swim lessons)

I know Ryder is certainly growing up as when we stopped at McDonald's Sunday he ventured out from the safety of his nearly-decade trend of ordering hotcakes only to trying a bagel with egg, cheese and bacon ... Biting into it, with his mouth full, a slice of bacon hanging out, I could hear him mutter: "Now that makes me feel like man!" ...

Indeed, I'll take those moments any time over the City of Lights ...

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - Wins and Losses Aside, New Woodgrove Football Coach Gordon to Teach Life Lessons

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa
A column by VivaLoudoun.com Editor Dan Sousa
(Feb. 23, 2010) - At age 47 if I started playing football again it would only be a matter of minutes before catastrophic injury struck but that still didn't prevent me feeling like I should suit up after spending just 15 minutes talking with new Woodgrove High School football coach Jerry Gordon.

Like all great football coaches, Gordon carries a passion with him that ignites those around him. Western Loudoun and and future Wolverine players are in for a treat because they are getting an experienced educator and coach -- on the high school, collegiate and even professional level -- with enough football knowledge that he had a book on defense (Coaching the Under Front Defense) just published.

Oh, and he lives in the community. Heck, he moved to Western Loudoun from Massachusetts to be closer to his grandchildren and their future high school ... why, Woodgrove, of course!

"I've experienced a lot of wins and I've experienced a lot of losses. I'm in it to teach the kids life lessons," said Gordon, who has been making the commute to Potomac Falls the past four years as defensive coordinator and helped the Panthers under head coach Scott Woodlief reach the playoffs for the first time in school history.

Now at Woodgrove, he opens a new school and has a chance to establish a program and tradition from scratch.

"The first thing we want to do at Woodgrove is build a love affair between the school and the student body and the other teams and the band ... not just the football team. We want all sports to be great at Woodgrove," said Gordon.

Honestly, he had me ordering my Wolverine sweatshirt. Any coach giving props to the band up front knows what he is doing!

Gordon is a business teacher where he teaches courses with motto's like "from backpack to briefcase". This is one coach that will be more interested in players than their 40 times or how much they can power lift.

Caring about the off-the-field behavior for Gordon not only is the right thing to do but he thinks it ultimately leads to a winning team and program.

"We want to teach work ethic and leadership. Our motto is champions in the classroom, champions in the community, champions in the hallway, champions on the field," said Gordon.

He says he has seen teams with talent not do well because they didn't take care of the other aspects.

Gordon admits to mixed emotions to leaving Potomac Falls, especially as the Panthers are in the hunt for a new coach with Woodlief heading back to the Hampton Roads area, but there wasn't a guarantee that he would get the PF head job and Woodgrove's open arms towards him really turned the tide.

"It is a great, close community," said Gordon who already has had great contact with Loudoun Valley High School coach Danny McGrath, where the Woodgrove players will come from. McGrath has offered the Valley weight room to Gordon prior to Woodgrove being ready to go and has compiled a contact list for Gordon of future Wolverine players.

"We look forward to having a rivalry that will hopefully be unmatched within our county over the next few years!," said McGrath.

Woodgrove and Valley will play each other next year and that should kick-start the rivalry.

"It is a great thing for Western Loudoun," said Gordon. "We both want the kids to have a great experience."

Of course the first thing Gordon will have to do is put together a staff and he is confident that they will have a "great staff".

"Woodgrove is going to be a great place to coach and there will be a lot of excitement," said Gordon.

And just because he wrote the book on defense, doesn't mean he won't hire a defensive coordinator. Gordon, after all, was an offensive lineman in college and coached more offense than defense in the college ranks. His aim is to sign on the brightest coaches available and he'll coordinate where needed and pick up the slack as needed.

No matter what Gordon is specifically coaching come this fall, at the end of each day and each practice, he will already be at home in his community and we think the community will be at home with him.

Now, where did I put that old helmet ...

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - Griffis Couldn't Pass Up Broad Run Opportunity

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

Ashburn (Feb. 17, 2010) - The evolution of Matt Griffis' decision to leave his offensive coordinator position at Stone Bridge High School, where it was assumed that he would someday lead the Bulldog program after Mickey Thompson retired, went something like ...

First, a couple of years ago, around 2005, Griffis -- who has been coaching with Thompson for 14 years including four seasons at Park View and then all 10 that Stone Bridge has been opened --decided: I want to be a head coach.

And even though there were positions that might have been his for the asking, he had other considerations off the field such as a young family -- three children age five and younger, including a 1-year-old -- and so the timing was not right.

Then a year ago, Griffis, mentally took the next step and said: I think I'm ready to be a head coach.

The Bulldogs had just won a VHSL Division 5 state title in 2007 and then went undefeated in 2008 before losing to Phoebus in the state semifinals. The work Griffis had done with Patrick Thompson, turning the head coach's son from a tight end into a quarterback that shattered school passing records, put Griffis on everybody's who-should-get-the-next-head-coaching-position radar.

Yet, it wasn't that easy for Griffis as loyalty is paramount to the Herndon High School and Radford University graduate and he wasn't going to leave Stone Bridge just so he could put "head coach" on his resume.

His ideal position was one with community support and a community that he could support as he wanted to land a job where he could build a lasting impression and not just have it be a stepping stone to the next gig. He needed a "Wow" position and that is just what happened last month with Mike Burnett decided to leave Broad Run High School after back-to-back Division 4 state titles and a 28-game winning streak to open Tuscarora High School in Leesburg.

"For me, I have to live in the community where I coach and I didn't want to move my family to take a position. I was comfortable working with Coach Thompson until he retired and then the Broad Run position opened and I said "wow!".

Wow indeed ... and talk about a win-win situation for both school and coach.

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - Talk About Your Fast Liftoffs! Farmwell Station English Teacher Breaks National, State Records in First Powerlifting Event

A column by VivaLoudoun.com editor Dan Sousa

(Dec. 15, 2009) - Farmwell Station Middle School English teacher Jessica Read had quite a "liftoff" to her powerlifting career as the former Virginia Tech track and field standout and Broad Run High School assistant "throws coach" entered her first bench press competition over the weekend and came away with a 235-pound bench press for a state record, national record and a current fourth place ranking in the world!

The 1995 graduate of Broad Run -- she still holds school records in the shot and discus -- first started lifting, mostly for fun, when she was 13-years-old as part of training for her year-round swimming.

At Virginia Tech she was an all-conference performer, competing in the shot and javelin. As a Hokie she got into lifting more as they had a very serious strength and conditioning program.

Read -- could she have been anything but an English teacher with that last name! -- stopped lifting for several years and didn't pick it back up until the summer of 2008 when she started workign out at Gold's Gym in Ashburn. Her friends encouraged her to try competitive lifting and so just 10 weeks ago she started serious training.

On Saturday she made the trek down to Standardsville, just past Culpeper, to compete in The 100 Percent RAW Christmas Classic. (Sure, in your household you think of "Miracle on 34th Street" when you think of Christmas Classic ... if they updated that movie for modern times, it just wouldn't be the same if they came into the courtroom, dramatically, with thousands of texts ...)

RAW means no equipment, such as wrist wraps, bench shirt, so on, just the lifter and a singlet and of course ... the weight. And 235 pounds later ... Read is a record setter!

And it won't be her last competition and she hopes that others will join the sport here locally:
"It'd be great if powelifting took off in the area!"

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - Boys and Girls Club of Loudoun Needs Your Help

A column by VivaLoudoun editor Dan Sousa
Hopefully this holiday season you not only remember your family and friends but also those in the Loudoun community who need our help.

The Boys and Girls Club of Loudoun County is an organization doing good here but the organization that funs an after school program at Sterling Middle School needs help with volunteers and donations.

The club, which started in 2007 here, did have programs going in three middle schools but federal funding that got it up and running dried up and of course the local economy has hurt donations from companies and individuals to all good causes.

I had an enjoyable meeting with Denise Andorfer, the Executive Diretor of the Boys and Girls Club of Loudoun County, and she clearly is a person that can get the club headed in the right direction. In fact, VivaLoudoun is looking forward to possibly helping the club put on a 3-v-3 basketball tournament sometime in the spring.

My son Cooper last spring spent some time volunteering with the middle school kids at the boys and girls club. That is one area where help is needed.

And if you have a local business that can donate time, supplies or funds ... that would go a long way to helping this great cause. What the club really needs is a building or location to call their own ... then Loudoun could develop the club into something that can provide youth some much needed resources. With the number of buildings currently unoccupied ... maybe the club can find space? Actually the proposed Kincora porject off Route 28 would be an ideal location ... wouldn't it be super if those developers could incorporate the Boys and Girls Club of Loudoun County into their plans ... just a thought!

Conatct Denise at 571.345.6045 or denise.andorfer@bgcloudoun.org. Visit their website at www.bgcloudoun.org.

Helicopter for Rent
Any chance a local business wants to rent a helicopter to VivaLoudoun for Saturday ... how else can we cover two football games ... state title games! ... with one being at UVa at 12:07 (Stone Bridge vs. Phoebus in D5 title game or Round 3) and then at Tech at 4:30 (Broad Run vs. Amherst County in D4 title game or Round 2).

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - No Regrets About Making This Trip

A column by VivaLoudoun.com editor Dan Sousa ... who in a former life worked for the Dallas Belles professional volleyball team and had a front row seat in college to some of the best volleyball in the nation with the likes of Hawaii, UCLA, Stanford, San Diego State, etc. all playing at top-ranked Pacific and uber-coach Terry Liskevych!

Richmond (Nov. 20, 2009) - No regrets.

That was the Loudoun Valley High School volleyball team's mantra heading into Thursday night's VHSL AAA state semifinal match with Central Region champion Mills Godwin.

The Vikings (22-5) had started their 2009 season slowly, dropping three of the their first four matches and were 3-4 at one point, but this senior-led group was about to regret their final year in the green and white and the talented bunch has won 19 of 20, including a hard-fought 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24 win over the Eagles to move into Saturday's AAA state title match with upstart South County (25-3).

No regrets.

The Vikes were going to leave it all on the court Thursday in an attempt to earn the school's first ever AAA state volleyball title after collecting AA titles in 2001, 2002 and 2004. A win over South County Saturday would make Valley one of only five schools in VHSL history to collect four state titles.

The current group of seniors were still in middle school when Valley last won a state title, just seventh graders, and as well as they have played over the past four years, they would still like to measure up the great LV teams of the past. A win Saturday at 2:30 p.m. will cement that recognition, but either way they have earned their place in Viking history.

On the Sidelines (or Sleeping) with Dan Sousa: Post No. 300! Single Parenting and Websites Don't Mix

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa
A personal blog by VivaLoudoun editor Dan Sousa ... who rambles on, so you have been warned

So I guess the "Sleeping" with Dan Sousa in the title of the blog is going to drive the wrong type of traffic to VivaLoudoun! There is a reason for it ...

You see, this week my wife (known in our household as She Who Actually Earns Paycheck) Sharon is on a business trip to Brazil this week ... a city I have never heard of ... Curitiba. (I know what you are saying, Gov. Sanford took a "drive on the Argentinian coast" and my wife goes on a "business trip to Curitiba" but she sent me a text the other morning saying she had been travelling for nine hours and had yet to reach her destination.

Dan, excuse me ... but you were attempting to explain the "Sleeping with Dan Sousa" title and now you are talking about your wife being out of town ... should we send social services over to your house to rescue your two boys?


Whew, thank goodness for that voice in my  head (it always come out in bold and in italics in print!) so to get to the point (rambling ... rambling) I'm doing the "Single Parent" thing this week with a big help from my 17-year-old who is super mature and big help.

With volleyball playoffs, I've been wanting to do a lot of work at night after returning from contests but my 9-year-old and the World Series on TV is a tough combo to beat. First, my son is a big, big sports fan (shocker, huh?) and he begs to "fall asleep" to the World Series ... in my bed of course as he does not have a TV in his room.

At age 46, however, gone are the days that I can "lie down for a second" after 9 p.m. ... I might as well take laughing gas because I can go from counting Yankee runners crossing the plate to counting sheep in a heartbeat ... soon, I'm waking up at 2 a.m. and my bed is overran with not only my 9-year-old sacked out but now two kittens (they are a year old at least ... not sure when you become a cat ... there isn't like a ceremony or anything) are curled up in bed as well. The website will have to wait until morning!

Post No. 300: Yahoo! This blog is post No. 300 and we didn't start VivaLoudoun until mid-August and didn't really get the ball rolling into September ... a lot of people still don't know about us so spread the word ... we are betting that we have had more coverage of all prep sports, not just football, than any other Loudoun-based media outlet this fall ... and it will only get better as more coaches and parents and players find out about us!

Post and Peeler: Here I complained last week that I didn't really think that the T.J. Peeler "thing" warranted a lead story in the Post preps section (considering how anemic their Loudoun coverage has been since their Loudoun online section folded its tent ... I would view it differently if they had solid coverage out her but when they ignore a dozen good stories to focus on one controversial story ... well ...) and then they go and put the story on A1 ... wow, move over Afghanistan ... take a backseat health care reform ... we got "chest-bumping" to talk about.

(Not that it wasn't a good story by Paul Tenorio and we must say we surely miss his top-notch coverage out here and find the swimming thing not a good use of his writing and reporting talents but love that he got part of the Redskins gig. Talk about your future sports journalist rock star ... we think we will see Paul on ESPN before he hits 30).

Overall, however, as the Post used to say in its advertisements ... "I don't get it."

Coverage Ahead: Photos Wanted! We can't be everywhere at once so if you "cover" a game with your camera (no likely better than mine) and want to share your photos with VivaLoudoun and even sell them via our SmugMug site ... just email us. We are offering all photographers access to our photo site and between now and the end of the year, any photos you sell ... you can keep 100 percent of the profit!

Our plan this week is to cover the Dulles District volleyball doubleheader at Loudoun County Thursday night as well as chat with the Raider linebackers on a feature story for football. Look for that on Friday. Then on Friday we are headed to Stone Bridge to see if the Bulldogs can wrap up a 9-1 season and yet another outright Liberty District title! On Saturday it is the Dulles District volleyball finals at Loudoun County ... perhaps a LC vs. BR Part IV?!?

Of course all of this is subject to blackout ... er, Dan Sousa falling asleep before making an event!

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - Covering All the Stories

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor


(Nov. 1, 2009) - When the Washington Post made their lead prep story this Sunday morning -- devoting 12 column inches no less! -- to the possibility that Broad Run High School senior running back T.J. Peeler might not play in the Spartans AA Region II semifinal game in three weeks after he received two excessive celebration penalties in Friday's 47-7 win over Potomac Falls, it made me do something that a good journalist and publisher does from time-to-time: evaluate my coverage priorities.

One of the goals I had when I started LoudounPrepSports.com five years ago and when I started this new site, VivaLoudoun.com, less than three months ago, was to provide balanced and comprehensive coverage of all the high school sports in Loudoun County ... not just the most popular such as football.

Let's face it, there are online pay and free sites that cover Loudoun and big papers such as the Washington Post, that make football their top priority, and have a lot more resources to throw at that coverage than I could ever dream of.

I am a small operation (I may say my world headquarters is in Ashburn but really that just means my home office overran by cats, one is sleeping in my inbox, and children, such as my 9-year-old that just has to use my computer to set his fantasy football lineup!) and so I am always making choices each day on what to cover.

One of the competitive advantages I have is that I live in Loudoun and am part of the community ... My kids go to Loudoun County Public School and play athletics and I am likely to run into Park View High School AD Joe Breinig Jr. at Bonefish with his wife on a Saturday night like last weekend or flag down Stone Bridge High School cheer coach Nick Marchio, like I did last night during Trick-or-Treating with my son, to learn that the Bulldogs are seeded second after the semifinals of the Northern Region competitive cheer meet.

While I learned of the Peeler ejection from Friday's game before the game had even ended, I chose not to run a story on VivaLoudoun for several reasons.

For one, the individual player getting disciplined has always been a touchy issue for me. I simply do not like negative news, probably a shortcoming in my journalistic resume but so be it, and I am always mindful that we are covering kids and not college or professional players. Maybe that is the dad part of me as I have a son the same age as T.J. Peeler and whenever I approach a topic, I think about how I would want my son to be covered.

Over the years I've had phone calls from people at one high school with an ax to grind with another school and they will suggest an investigative topic and my reply is always: "While I would love to spend time on that topic, I have about a dozen other stories, all of them positive and with meaning, that I simply don't have time to cover ... why would I focus on the negative?"

Now don't get me wrong ... T.J. Peeler, one of the area's top rushers and a Pitt recruit, possibly not playing in the regional semifinal for the undefeated defending VHSL Division 4 state champions is news no doubt ... but given the fact that this is a "may" situation and still three weeks away from actually affecting anything ... my thought this weekend was why devote energy to the story.

If Broad Run wins an appeal and Peeler plays in three weeks, then it was a non-story. When it comes times for regional semifinal previews and key players are out -- for injury and other reasons -- then that is big news.

Besides, I had a great volleyball match to cover on Saturday (got me out of Halloween decorating!) between Loudoun County and Broad Run at Briar Woods High School. Fantastic high school volleyball, to decide the Dulles District's top seed and automatic regional bid, between the two district co-champs. Stone Bridge coach Jill Raschiatore was at the match simply, as she put it, "to watch great high school volleyball."

The only media outlets that chose to cover the match were the Loudoun Times-Mirror -- sports editor Carl Lukat was on hand -- and VivaLoudoun.

That is the type of story that VivaLoudoun wants to devote its energy towards or to this latest update on injured William and Mary, and former Stone Bridge High School, football player Ryan Moody: his father Gil posted this update on Ryan's recovery from a serious car accident last weekend on Facebook yeterday:

From: Ryan Moody-THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR WISHES!!! FEELING A LITTLE BIT BETTER

Now that is something worth devoting a headline to ... anytime.