The snow that blasted six inches onto the Due West landscape on January 10th was a welcome site......at first. Classes were shut down for three days as most of us enjoyed the unusual thrill of playing in the snow in South Carolina. Unfortunately, fun gets taken too far some time and this snow storm provided that for Erskine Athletics. A four-wheeler adventurer decided our soccer/lacrosse field would be a great place to tear the snow up with "donuts." The damage has been severe to the field. As the snow finally cleared and slowly dries, we realize the damage is even much worse than originally believed. It will cost a fairly large sum to repair the damages so that lacrosse will be able to play games at the end of the month. It has also forced our lacrosse team to have limited practice time as they prepare for their season. The lacrosse team has found limited alternatives to practice and has led to frustrations and anger towards others in our department. Those frustrations can all be linked back to one act of fun.

As I walked the field this morning I wondered if all that instant fun for that person was really worth it. Their few minutes of joy set us back for months and financially probably longer than that. It is quite sickening to look at and think about. I know the offenders will never come clean or be identified but their act of fun caused damaged to a lot of people. Yes, we know now that we have responsibility in this. We should have locks on our gates so that violators would not have access. Yet we live in a small village where trust is supreme and the respect for other people's property is fairly high so you can't blame us for having a false sense of security. We will be smarter and less naive from now on. Unfortunately the next time it snows in Due West, I won't be quite as excited because I realize people wanting to have fun can do damage that we might not be able to repair.

Over the past five years we have explored options to allow us to add lights to our baseball field. Numerous reasons surfaced over the years that made putting lights up make sense in our baseball program. As our program has grown to average 60 plus players and class times at Erskine are scheduled all the way up to 5 pm, it has become impossible to have our baseball team together en masse at practice. Also, so much class time is being missed due to games, that lights would help alleviate missed class time as well. Another critical piece in the lights scenario has been the hazard of having the baseball field located below our tennis courts. Foul balls regularly find their way onto the tennis courts while play is going on. Our coaches have tried their best to schedule around each other when it comes to games and matches but practice is much more difficult to schedule around.

All of these factors have brought us to the conclusion that lighting our baseball field is no longer a desire but a necessity. Lights would allow our team to practice at night while they attend classes all afternoon and our tennis teams practice. The obvious roadblock to lights is financial. Common sense would have had lights put up five years ago but the costs have always smacked us in the face. Now it has become an urgent necessity so we will need approximately $8000 a year. The $8000 a year over the next ten years would allow us to lease and pay for light usage and then at the end of ten years we will own the lights. It is a good deal for us since fundraising for $8000 a year seems less daunting than an upfront $120,000 fee that we have been asked to produce in the in the past.

So let the fundraising begin in search of $8000 a year. I don't mind making a shameless plug on this blog for money to help us put the lights up. If you could help or you know someone that could, please contact me. The addition of lights would solve so many problems. I am aware that it may create problems as well, but at this point the positives far outweigh the negatives. The financial aspect will be difficult but we have learned that when something needs to be done, God seems to provide. We pray that will be the case here. Let there be light!

The start of a new year brings much anticipation for people and often brings resolutions that will change people’s behavior and lifestyle. A new year also often brings reflection on the year passed. While 2011 will bring many highlights to Erskine College athletics it is more than appropriate to reflect back on 2010, which was probably the most outstanding year in Flying Fleet athletics since Erskine joined NCAA Division II in the early 1990’s. Here is a quick look at those highlights.

The 2010 winter seasons saw the all-time scoring record in basketball fall. Goose Creek, SC native Brandon Wright became the first Erskine player to ever score over 2000 points in a career. Senior women’s basketball player Audrey Timmerman shattered the women’s career 3-point record while sophomore Porsha Morgan became the first ever women’s basketball player to be named 1^st team All-Conference in her first two years.

The spring saw some historical accomplishments. Senior Brian Fogle became the 2^nd Erskine baseball player in four years to be named national NCAA Division II “Player of the Year.” The baseball team also went to the regionals for the 2^nd time in 3years and knocked off the top seeded team in the 1^st round. The women’s tennis team captured its 6^th consecutive conference tournament title and 6^th straight visit to the regionals. Senior softball player Courtney Davis smashed the Erskine career home run record and was named Conference Carolinas “Player of the Year.” The baseball, softball, and women’s tennis teams dominated the all-conference teams in their respective sports.

The fall of 2010 proved to be just as exciting. The men’s soccer team finished 2^nd in conference play and advanced to the tournament semi-finals for the first time in a decade. Our second year volleyball program finished 2^nd in the league and advanced to the conference title match. The volleyball team also received the top sportsmanship honor in volleyball.

All the athletic accolades pale in comparison to the academic achievements of our teams. Never have we honored so many student-athletes in the academic arena. 2010 was an awesome year to be part of Erskine athletics. God has blessed us and we pray that those blessings will be as bountiful in 2011. Happy New Year!