CSD Athletics: Bulldog News

Bulldog Families,

We are honored to share that we received notable recognition this week. Each year, the Georgia High School Association, sponsored by Georgia EMC, presents each region with the Cooperative Spirit Sportsmanship Award. Decatur High School was selected as the 2023-2024 recipient for Region 4-AAAAA. Great job to all of our coaches and student-athletes for emphasizing sportsmanship! To be recognized for great character is as important, if not more, than any recognition measured by wins and losses. Go Bulldogs!!

We are starting many Winter Sports in the upcoming weeks. Please be sure you have an updated medical profile in DragonFly if your student plans to participate.

If you have any questions or need guidance relating to our programs, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Go Bulldogs!!

Director of Activities & Athletics: Rodney Thomas

(rthomas@csdecatur.net)

Assistant Activities & Athletics Director: David Harbin

(dharbin@csdecatur.net)

Bookkeeper & Administrative Assistant: Kelli Aaron

(kaaron@csdecatur.net)

The Atlanta Falcons Coach of the Week program, presented by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has recognized the efforts of varsity tackle and girls flag football coaches across the states of Georgia and Alabama for their hard work and dedication to making a difference in student-athletes lives on and off the field. CSD proudly announces that Coach Felton, Decatur High School's Head Football Coach, has been nominated for this honorable award and after a week of voting, has been selected as COACH OF THE WEEK!!!

See the AJC Article Here

As "Coach of the Week," Coach Felton will receive a $1,000 grant for our football program, a commemorative Atlanta Falcons item, and recognition from the Atlanta Falcons and AJC at a game this season. Great job, Coach Felton. Congratulations to our Football players. And, Go Bulldogs!!!

Students interested in playing basketball this year should plan to attend tryouts on the dates listed below.

Girls’ Basketball Tryouts:

Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 8th and 9th – 4-6:00 PM

Friday, Oct. 11th (if needed) – 4-6:00 PM

Contact Coach Hood (ahood1@csdecatur.net) with questions

Boys’ Basketball Tryouts:

Tuesday, Oct. 15th – 5:30 – 7:00 (6th Grade only)

Wednesday, Oct. 16th – 5:30 – 7:00 (6th Grade only)

Thursday, Oct. 17th – 4:00 – 5:30 (7th/8th grade only)

Friday, October 18th – 4:00 – 5:30 (7th/8th grade + any 6th grade callbacks)

Contact Coach Philippi (wphilippi@csdecatur.net) with questions.

We are excited to start a Flag Football Club at BHMS! All female students who are interested in participating in Flag Football club should plan to attend the first practice on Wednesday, October 9. Practice will be held at Ebster Field and will begin at 4PM and will last 1 hour.

If you have questions, reach out to Ms. Vickery (svickery1@csdecatur.net)

Students interested in trying out for the DHS Basketball team should attend tryouts on the dates listed below. In order to participate, students should have an updated medical profile in DragonFly. See the link HERE for instructions.

Girls' Basketball Tryouts:

Monday, Oct. 21 - Wednesday, Oct. 23 - 4-6:00 PM - DHS Gymnasium

Contact Coach Deloach (ndeloach@csdecatur.net) with questions.

Boys' Basketball Tryouts:

Monday, Oct. 21 - Tuesday, Oct. 22 - 4-6:00 PM - Ebster Gymnasium

Contact Coach Welsh (rory.welsh@csdecatur.net) with questions.

Interested in playing girls lacrosse? Fill out this form from your CSD email to show your interest. Please email Coach Alex Powers (apowers@csdecatur.net) if you have any questions.

All students, and their parents, interested in participating in Boys' Soccer in the Spring should plan to attend the Interest Meeting held on October 10. The meeting will be virtual.

Complete the Sign-Up HERE to communicate your interest!

Please contact Coach Burgess (dburgess@csdecatur.net) with any questions.

We are excited to invite you to our third annual Decatur High School Soccer Camp Fundraiser. Your camper will have fun during the holiday break on our stadium field while supporting the Boys Soccer Program. 100% of the proceeds go directly to the Boys Soccer Program helping keep costs low while enhancing our student athletes' experience. We hope you can join us for some soccer fun over Thanksgiving Break!!

Camp Details

Date: Nov 25th, 26th, 27th, 2024

Time: 9am-12pm

Location: Decatur High School Stadium

Ages: Kindergarten - 8th Grade

Cost: $75 early registration and $105 late registration fee

Registration Link: Camp Registration

Camp Video: See Campers in Action

Please note that spots fill up quickly so we encourage you to take advantage of early registration as we sold out last year with over 120 campers in attendance. If you have any questions please email Coach Derrick at dburgess@csdecatur.net

Already in the holiday spirit?! Order your poinsettia and support the Decatur Bulldogs. All proceeds go to our Flag Football and Boys' Lacrosse programs. Follow the link below to order. All orders will be processed on October 21st.

Poinsettia Fundraiser

Boosters offers ticket packs that are good for any game* throughout the year at Decatur High School and Beacon Hill Middle School. Click HERE to choose your level, and Go Bulldogs!

(*Excludes away games and playoff games.)

Watch the game while also raising money for your team. Any DBB-supported sport can earn up to $100 per game by encouraging their athletes to manage concessions.

• $20 per volunteer per game
• Max: 5 volunteers per game
• DBB pays quarterly payouts to the Athletics Play Fund for each participating sport

Sign up HERE!

We appreciate all of our local families and companies who step up to support our Bulldogs every year!!

Learn more about how you can become a Bulldog Sponsor for the 2024-25 school year by clicking the button below.

Check out the new Bulldog spirit wear, which will be on sale during home football games at the Decatur Bulldog Booster table. New styles and items are being printed as you read this, so check back often to make sure your Bulldog apparel hasn't turned into vintage wear!

Stay in the know on all things Boosters by following us on Facebook and Instagram.

@Decatur Bulldog Boosters

@rwtd5k

@decaturbulldogbash

Thursday, October 3 - Varsity Softball vs. Tri-Cities - 5:30 PM

Thursday, October 3 - JV Football vs. Druid Hills - 6:00 PM

Friday, October 4 - JV Softball vs. Chamblee - 5:30 PM

Friday, October 4 - BHMS Soccer vs. Druid Hills - 5:00 PM

Saturday, October 5 - BHMS Football vs. King MS - 10:00 AM

Monday, October 7 - JV Flag Football vs. Therrell/Dacula - 6:30 PM

Monday, October 7 - V Softball vs. Lakeside - 5:30 PM

Tuesday, October 8 - BHMS Soccer vs. Sutton MS - 5:00 PM

Thursday, October 10 - Varsity Flag Football vs. Arabia/Druid Hills - 6:00 PM

Saturday, October 12 - BHMS Football vs. John Lewis - 10:00 AM

This year, we are excited to highlight our student-athletes and the value they bring to their teams and our school community!

Coach Taryn Williams has been coaching softball since she was 17 and has spent the last three years coaching at Decatur. One of her favorite sports memories is Danielle’s home run walk-off to beat Chamblee, as well as Peri Jeffers’ two diving catches against Union Grove. She admires Serena Williams for her strength, confidence, and signature fist pump, which Coach Williams mirrors when her players strike out opponents. Her love for the game and desire to share her knowledge with players inspired her to coach, especially as softball teaches resilience through failure. Her favorite sports movies are The Benchwarmers and Hardball. Seeing her players accomplish their goals is the most rewarding part of coaching. In her free time, she enjoys catching up on sleep but is also exploring new hobbies. If she weren’t a teacher, she would have pursued a career in politics.

Coach Wardrickes Buck has been coaching for more than 20 years, with this being her third year at Decatur. She teaches American Literature, works in Special Education, and serves as a case manager. A memorable part of her career includes coaching while pregnant with her two sons during the 2019 and 2023 seasons. Her father is her role model due to his remarkable ability to connect with athletes, a skill she aspires to develop. Inspired by her former pitching coach Bill Hudson, who once called her his protégé, she began giving lessons, which eventually led to her coaching career. Her favorite sports movie is Remember the Titans, and what she finds most rewarding is when former players reach out to share the positive impact she had on their lives. Outside of coaching, she is a wife and mother to two young children (ages 4 and 11 months), so free time is a rare luxury. A fun fact is that she was the first female athlete to receive a full fastpitch softball scholarship at The Clark Atlanta University.

This weekend, a team from Florida defeated Chinese Taipei in the Championship of the Little League World Series. The closely contested game went to extra innings after both teams scored only one. The game ended on a dramatic play in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave Florida a one run lead and the victory. As you will see, and as we've seen before, ending like this on the biggest stage, provide us with both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. What is most impressive about this video is the sportsmanship displayed by the Florida team, almost immediately consoling their opponents. In competition, it is difficult but important to remember that without opponents, there is no game, no race, no match. This level of respect for an opponent is great to see from young athletes and something we must continue to emphasize, teach, and reward.

Sportsmanship in the Little League World Series

The role of an athlete's parent is challenging for many reasons! Finding opportunities for your child to participate, encouraging them to take risks, celebrating their accomplishments, supporting them through various challenges... It adds up and can take a toll. This resource from the Positive Coaching Alliance emphasizes the importance of building a partnership with your child's coach and provides helpful strategies to do so. There are many valuable lessons our students can learn through sports, many of which are not fun or easy to learn, and having adults who are working together makes the challenging times beneficial!

Tips for a Positive Parent/Caregiver-Coach Partnership

The Olympics provided so many stories of great achievements. As sports fans, we know where there is great joy, there is often disappointment. This video shows a quick conversation between a father and his daughter after a disappointing finish in synchronized swimming. Praising effort. Showing pride. Providing encouragement to continue to work hard and improve. Even at the highest levels, our athletes benefit from positive reinforcement from the adults who care for them.

The Moment a Father Consoles Daughter After Missing out on Olympic Medal

This year, the Bulldogs are partnering again with the Positive Coaching Alliance to enhance the experience of our students, coaches, and Bulldog families. The PCA has a vast number of resources that can help us make the most of our experience.

This resource is an activity we shared last year that aims at helping students and their families determine what their goals are as student-athletes. This exercise can spark some important conversations about how families decide to navigate this experience. Making sure everyone is on the same page about what desired outcomes can help to create a positive experience!

"What are YOUR Youth Sport Goals? Parent/Caregiver 100 Point Exercise"