Partnership outfits Run Club with shoes, opportunities

At Fairforest Middle School, a new generation committed to health and activity is off and running.

The school’s run club began six years ago when club coach Rachel Johnson saw a way to get students involved in another activity that many of them might not have even considered.

“I have been a runner for most of my adult life,” Johnson said. “When I started in middle school six years ago, we were wondering what was another club, what was another outlet we could give the kids. I love how running is something you can do in a group, you can also do it solo, and you can do it anywhere. We really just started it up with the idea of giving kids the opportunity and introducing them to running, because running is something you can do your whole life. They really enjoyed it.”

At first, though, Run Club was just for girls. It was something that Johnson enjoyed, but something that became a little difficult. That’s where Sean Pickett came in.

“I guess Run Club really started with Rachel,” co-coach Sean Pickett said. “It was girls-only, and she was running it by herself. That ended up being tough, and she took a year off. I said ‘Let’s bring it back, and it should be boys and girls’, and that’s how we got where we are today.”

One thing the young runners seem to love is the competition aspect of the club. But they’re not competing against other runners. Instead, they’re waging a battle against the clock, against a distance, and against themselves.

“We make it about not competing against anyone else,” Picket said. “You are doing you, and you’re bettering yourself.”

“One thing that we do is that every day at running club, they write down their distance, their pace, and their time so they can see their growth. We definitely don’t like running when it’s 80 degrees outside, but when they can see that growth, when they know they went 2.5 miles today and want to go 2.7 tomorrow, they’re self-motivated.”

Pickett agrees that the motivation to better their previous marks drives the runners.

“They love it,” he said. “It’s tough to get them to actually join, because they hear ‘running’ and they’re like ‘oh no’. But once they’re in it and they see the progress they’re making and they feel that growth and like they’re being productive, they love it.”

One way the runners are getting better is through the shoes on their feet, and that’s where Harrison’s comes in. In partnership with Hub City Runners and Jill Morris, the company helped provide a pair of running shoes for every runner in the club.

“Kevin Harrison at Harrison’s, and then Hub City Runners, have been our Number One supporters from when we started six years ago. Kevin has always helped me out with anything I need. I can tell him, and he’s there to encourage and there to support us. He has just been unbelievable. That’s what makes the difference. That’s what gets these kids able to run.”

“I think it’s very important, because it protects your feet,” Morris said. “Kids, especially in middle school, are growing. Their knees are growing, their feet are growing, their bones are growing, and if they’re not in a good pair of shoes, they’re going to end up getting injured. This gives them an opportunity to be successful. And hopefully, if they go on to Dorman, they can run track and be successful or do other sports. But it’s just getting them started, and we’re giving them a good pair of shoes to get started in. It’s very important for their development to have a good pair of shoes on their feet.”

Morris said she was happy for the opportunity to outfit the kids in the gear they needed, especially since growing kids might need multiple pairs of shoes per year.it’i

“Some people don’t have that money,” she said. “Most shoes that we’re going to put on a runners feet are going to be over $100. It’s not going to be a $50 pair of shoes. They’re getting the best of the best. And this is what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to give back. If we have it to give back, we need to give back to others.”

Harrison agrees.

“It’s huge,” he said. “One of the things that I’ve always tried to implement in my personal life as well as business is when you see somebody raise their sail, blow wind in it. And what I mean by that is when you see people doing good things, you want to do everything you can to give them the resources they need. When Rachel reached out to me about this group, I had seen what they were doing. One of the things I asked her was ‘what resources do you need?’. She talked about some socks and some shoes, and that some of the kids did not have those. We felt like it was an opportunity for us to partner with them in doing good things. They’ve made a difference. I told them that they’re planting seeds in these kids lives, and you never know what that’s going to do, and what fruit that’s going to produce in the future.

Those shoes are making a difference in the runners’ goals, and in their performance.

The first couple days, I had kids in just their normal shoes, and their legs hurt, their calves hurt, their feet hurt. When they can get a for-real running shoe, an actual shoe that’s built for running, they don’t hurt any more. Then they can actually go further distances because they’re not hurting, and that makes a huge difference.

Tournament raises funds for NKH research

Sometimes, early-season soccer tournaments are uneven events, complete with jitters and uneven play.

Other times, arch-rivals will face off in a game that comes down to the keepers having to take penalty kicks, with both teams living and dying on every try.

And that’s just for fifth place.

Clearly, the inaugural Drake Rayden Cup wasn’t just any tournament.

Put on by Dorman and held at the Upward Stars Center, the Drake Rayden Cup was the brainchild of Dorman coach Josh Eskew. With a field including Spartanburg, Riverside, J.L. Mann, Wade Hampton, and Christ Church in addition to the hosts, Eskew’s idea was to try to put on a local tournament that didn’t overload teams and players early in the season.

“We wanted to do something different,” Eskew said. “Something that’s healthier for the kids, something where we don’t have to travel as far. And we have enough teams here in the Upstate that we can get teams committed. We came up with this idea and got these teams, and I’m really thrilled that we got the caliber of teams to come to this tournament that we did.”

As important as it is to get action against a quality opponent, though, the soccer was almost secondary. What’s important is the name behind it, and the cause behind the name.

“Really, what this tournament is about is about the Drake Rayden Foundation. This is a family that I’ve known for many years, and it’s really kind of a personal journey for me, kind of a faith journey for me,” Eskew said. “I vividly remember sitting in church and in the row in front of us was a dad with his son, who I knew was sick. I could tell he was ill. He just held him. Just to watch that, that father’s love for a child - and I have children of my own - it just pulled at me a little differently. To see it in action kind of spurred me on to want to become a better father, a better person, a better man. That was the first real ‘boom, I’ve got to do something here’.”

Drake O’Sullivan is the son of Eric and Tarah O’Sullivan. Drake has a disorder known as NKH. Its proper name is Nonketotic hyperglycinemia, and it’s characterized by abnormally high levels of a molecule called glycine in the body (hyperglycinemia). The excess glycine builds up in tissues and organs, particularly the brain. Affected individuals have serious neurological problems. Drake’s younger sister, Vivian Faye also suffers from NKH.

It is a rare disease. Only about 500 people in the United States are affected. That in itself is a problem.

“Rare diseases aren’t funded by anybody,” Eskew said. “Basically, you’re left to do your own research. There’s about three doctors worldwide that are actively researching NKH right now. The parents of the children who suffer from this illness are largely responsible for the funding. And it’s expensive.”

Drake’s life, so far, has been one miracle milestone after another, something no one who knows him is taking for granted.

“I think, for me, just watching him grow (has been special),” Eskew said. “We’re talking about a child who was born in the hospital and they were told to take him home to pass so he could meet his other siblings to he’s going to be seven years old. That’s a miracle that he’s made it this far. Another miracle happened this summer. He suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, and basically was dead for 40 minutes. God brought him back. For me, this story has got to be told. This young man is here for a reason.”

In the tournament that bears his name, that rivalry matchup between Spartanburg and Dorman took center stage in an early session, resulting in a thrilling win for the Cavaliers.

“That was exciting,” Eskew said after his team’s penalty kick shootout victory over their crosstown rival. “When you invite teams to tournaments, you want teams who are very competitive but also teams that know how to compete against each other. I think us and Spartanburg have a real healthy rivalry. I have a ton of respect for that school and that program. They do things the right way. Coach Brabham is a great ambassador for the game, and a great model for those kids over there. It was exciting. It was everything it’s supposed to be, and hopefully we get two more matches like that.”

Several hours later, J.L. Mann took the championship in an equally thrilling win over Riverside. In-between, the O’Sullivans accepted a check for nearly $23,000 on behalf of the Drake Rayden Foundation.

Mann won bragging rights for the fundraising portion of the tournament, too. Eskew said seeing the programs and players compete to see who could do the most good is exactly what the tournament was designed for.

“Obviously soccer is why we’re here, but the bigger picture is to raise awareness for this horrible disease and try to find treatment,” he said. “At the end of the day, if we can teach these kids that there’s life after the game of soccer, and that there’s more to life than kicking a ball around a field, then we’ve kind of done our job. They’ve got to use their platform for something better and bigger than themselves.”

If you would like to donate to the Drake Rayden Foundation, please visit https://www.drakeraydenfoundation.com/drake-s-story

Honoring a legend at Boiling Springs

In Boiling Springs High School’s gleaming new gym, there aren’t many folks who know much about the legend of Shiela Foster.

They know Coach Foster. They know the loving, caring, boisterous, dedicated, passionate coach and Bulldogs’ biggest fan. That’s how they identify her.

They don’t know Big Red. They don’t know the All-American. All that was across the parking lot, in the school’s old gymnasium.

“I didn’t crack heads, I BUSTED heads over there,” Foster said with a laugh. “I played hard. You have to play really hard to be an All-American and get your jersey retired. It’s not easy.”

She sure did.

Foster was a high school All-American, leading the Bulldogs to the 3A state basketball title in 1978. She was also a volleyball standout. She’s had her number encased in a glass display just outside the gym doors for years.

But that was at the old place.

Last week, in front of Bulldogs new and old, Foster’s 53 was unveiled high in a place of honor in the new gym, where it will remain. Nobody else will put it on.

“It means a lot,” Foster said of the honor. “It’s been retired since ‘78. I left here as an All-American, and not to see anyone match it…I’m not bragging, but it means a lot.”

It also means a lot to Foster that she turned that into incredible success at the next level. She wrote the women’s basketball record book at the University of South Carolina, leaving the Gamecocks’ program as the all-time leader in points, rebounds,and double-doubles. She was the first female athlete at the school to have her jersey retired. She was the first woman to join the school’s athletic Hall of Fame,which numbered only 41 when she was admitted. She led South Carolina to a third place finish in the AIAW Final Four, the precursor to the NCAA tournament, and then to the Sweet Sixteen of the first NCAA women’s tournament. A giant poster of Foster still hangs in the concourse of the Colonial Life Arena, towering over fans as they find their seats. The words on the bottom of the poster, though, mean as much to Foster as any of those accomplishments.

“I took Boiling Springs down the road with me,” she said. “At the bottom of that poster, it doesn’t say Spartanburg, SC. It says Boiling Springs.”

As she prepared to have some of the love she feels for her hometown returned, Foster considered how she’d feel when her jersey was again officially retired.

“I’m gonna cry,” she said with a laugh. “It’s going to mean a lot because I’ve got a lot of people here. High school friends, my high school coach, family, it’s just going to mean a lot.”

And when she walks in the gym years down the road and sees the tribute?

“I’m gonna cry again,” she said. “To have your jersey retired in high school, go straight on to college and get it retired again, that’s saying something. To come from little Boiling Springs and do that means a lot.”

It’s also special to Foster, who is one of the Gamecock women’s biggest cheerleaders, to have helped lay the foundation for that program. And, as some of her records fall, it’s special to be remembered.

“They can break those records, but they can’t take that 53 away from me,” she said.

Backyard Battles Fuel Fowlers

On a homemade, backyard basketball court, a torch is in the process of being passed.

It’s passing slowly, year by year, one Christmas at a time. And it’s not being passed without a fight.

Best Basketball Player in the Fowler household isn’t something to be taken lightly.

First, let us tell you about that court.

Byrnes boys basketball coach Layne Fowler played at the school, had a stellar AAU career, and went on to play two seasons at Presbyterian and two more at the College of Charleston. His wife, Missy, is Byrnes’ girls varsity coach. She was a four-sport standout in her native Minnesota, and remains third on the College of Charleston’s all-time career 3-point percentage list and 13th in career scoring.

So yeah, basketball is the family business. That includes the game among several sports for sons Will and Colton, and their younger sister, Sam.

Obviously, even with keys to the gym, they needed a place to play a little closer to home.

“Behind my parents’ house, my dad and I had always talked about wanting a court,” Layne said. “We had a nice regular driveway court, but we always wanted a court. It’s one of the things he wanted to give his grandchildren. My dad’s passed now. Every time we’re out there, it’s nice to just feel his presence and know it’s what he wanted.”

The court was built in 2016 (the Rebels won the 4A state title in the 2015-2016 season, to add even more basketball history). Soon, it started hosting some pretty serious father-son holiday matchups.

“One year for Christmas, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to beat Will for much longer, so I might as well start calling it the one-on-one Christmas challenge between Dad and son, and it kind of took on a life of its own.”

Will was in fourth grade, and can’t believe his dad counts the first few years. Still, a winning streak was built and wasn’t in jeopardy until Will’s ninth-grade year.

“He almost had me beat,” Layne said. “I ended up breaking my toe underneath the goal. He was probably already better than me then, but I guess the basketball gods smiled on me a little bit. His 10th-grade year he beat me twice.”

Those 2021 victories are just victories over Dad in the backyard. Then again, not everybody’s dad played AAU ball with future NBA stars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Shammond Williams.

That’s something Will said Layne doesn’t lean on.

“He’s mentioned it a couple of times, but normally it’s someone else telling me,” he said.

He also doesn’t take his father’s experience for granted.

“When he’s coaching me, I know he’s been there,” Will said. “I know he’s been in my shoes. I know I can trust what he says.”

That trust goes both ways. Will’s hurt this season, and isn’t on the court for the Rebels, but his father still leans on him as a leader.

“He’s played for me since he was just a fourth-grader,” Layne said. “Even then, he captivated that leadership role even as a young guy. I think what he does that provides leadership, and it’s hard to equate this, but there’s nothing he’s not willing to do. He’s not going to ask a teammate to do something he’s not willing to do. For the years I’ve coached, a lot of great players and state championship players, those guys, and girls that I coached, always have that ‘it’ factor that they’re willing to do. He’s been an extension of that for us. He makes guys around him better, and to me, that’s the ultimate compliment you can give a player.”

Byrnes was 9-1 at the time of Will’s injury, with him leading the team in scoring. The setback knocked him out of the lineup, and knocked him out of the Christmas matchup, as well.

“I didn’t get a chance to beat him,” Layne said.  “Nor would I have. I’ll go ahead and admit that.”

He did have a game to play, though. Younger brother Colton stepped in, and did a good job, according to both.

“He did alright,” Will said. “He scored a few times, and he’ll get better as the years go on.”

“Colt plays on our C-Team, and I coach him in AAU,” Layne said. “He’s a really good player. It was a pretty good game this year. They’re different players, and they both compete like heck. Colton is a little smaller and shiftier, Will is stronger and more physical.”

He’s got another couple of years against Will first. Both are looking forward to Will’s return to the court, both the one in Schofield Gymnasium and the one in the backyard.

“Oh yeah,” Will said with a grin. “It’s gonna be good. Probably not good for him, but..”

Even if it’s on the losing end, Layne said he’d enjoy it, too. But not as much as he enjoys just seeing will succeed.

“I love watching him play, and I probably don’t tell him that enough,” Layne said. “I have since he was little, just like I do all my children. It’s a lot of fun.”

Remembering a man who inspired a legendary name

A musical legend died last week.

Not just any legend. This one was inextricably linked to Spartanburg. And, while music was his profession, he never struck a note on a storied stage or in front of a huge audience, as far as anyone recalls. He was talented, surely, gifted with perfect pitch, parlaying that gift into a talent for piano-tuning, including instruments belonging to Lawrence Welk and Liberace. Some accounts of his life attribute that heightened sense to the lack of another. He was born blind.

He was also, on at least one occasion, a little bit careless with his possessions. After renting a workspace for his craft, he left his key and keyring with the landlord, who passed it on to the new tenants.

That space, a warehouse on Spartanburg’s Spring Street behind a pawn shop that sat on Magnolia, quickly had new tenants, who came into possession of the key ring.

Good thing he had his name on it. Otherwise, Spartanburg’s musical history might be vastly different. The boys who found it had already been through a couple of band names.

Marshall Tucker’s obituary notes that he graduated from the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind, was employed by Rice Music House before striking out on his own, was an active member of Calvary Baptist Church for 47 years, and was a charter member of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina, as well as a beloved husband, father, and grandfather.

While most might not know the man, people the world over know his name thanks to those boys who found a discarded key ring. The Marshall Tucker Band means so much to so many, especially from this area. We’re no exception.

Some of us went to parties with gold records on the wall. Some of us admired guitars, and cars, and motorcycles up close. One of us, in a story y’all wouldn’t believe if you heard it, chaperoned an elementary school trip with a couple of the boys in the band. One of us remembers an autographed copy of “Dedicated” hanging on a wall beside a pool table at home, not knowing the story but convinced it was legendary, anyway.

Most of us grew up on the music. A lot of people did, in a lot of different places.

“In a way, my name has been as far as Russia,” Tucker told the publication Cola Daily in 2018. “My mother always told me, ‘son, your name will go further than your face,’ and that is for sure.”

The band posted a tribute to Tucker on social media channels.

“Though he was never a member of our band, we wouldn’t be here today without his historic name,” it said.

An equally fitting tribute can be found in one of their earliest hits.

“There’s an old man sittin’ in a rockin’ chair

He’s got the best beagle dog in the County I’ve been told.

But his shotgun done got too rusty

That old beagle dog he done grown a little too old.

As he stares up into heaven, I’m sure I know the reason why.

He’s thinking about that Promised Land

In them Blue Ridge mountain skies.”

Tucker prepares for CCMA Awards

One of Jonathan Tucker’s musical heroes had a huge hit with a tune called “I’ve Always Been Crazy”.

No crazier, though, than Tucker’s rise to an appearance at the Carolina Country Music Association Awards show at Myrtle Beach’s House of Blues on Saturday night.

“I’m very blessed,” Tucker said. “I’m very excited. It’s kind of crazy to think that a little small-town kid from South Carolina could get recognized for something so big.”

Tucker, from Inman, grew up with an abiding love for music. Now 16, he said he’s wanted to perform since a very young age, learning to sing in church and picking up a guitar because he saw his preacher playing one.

“I always wanted to sing in church and tried to sing ever since I was about three,” he said. “I wanted to play guitar because my preacher played guitar. That was what inspired me. I’ve always just had a love of music. I wouldn’t really say I got it from anywhere.”

That’s not just any guitar in his hands, either. Tucker plays a Gibson G-45, cousin to the company’s iconic J-45, the instrument played by musical legends like Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and Spartanburg’s own Pink Anderson.

“I like the sound of it, how it fits your hand,” he said. “It’s just a guitar that ever since I heard it, I liked the sound. It’s fun to play. It just feels good when you’re playing it.”

Musically, Tucker seems to be an old soul. While he enjoys some new country music, his taste – and his inspirations – run toward artists like George Strait, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings.

“There’s a lot of country in the newer stuff, but there’s also some music that sounds a little more like rock, like pop-country,” he said. “If I go back to Waylon Jennings, that’s what country really was, in my opinion.”

It’s no coincidence, then, that one of Jennings’ tunes is a favorite of Tucker’s to play onstage, and one that never ceases to get audiences to their feet.

“I’ve covered one that’s actually one of his older songs, ‘Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line’,” Tucker said. “I covered that song, and the crowd liked that song pretty good.”

Tucker has played multiple events and venues locally, and says the energy and passion that come with live performances are elements that can’t be matched.

“It’s good to know that someone’s excited and getting into the music that you’re playing, and clearly enjoying it,” he said. “It’s a good feeling when they start clapping, and standing up or cheering for you. It makes you feel very welcomed and loved when you get a crowd like that.”

Jonathan Tucker shows off his concert wear provided by Ariat and Harrison’s USA.

An opportunity like Jonathan’s deserves something special. We told our friends at Ariat about him, and they agreed to outfit him in a pair of boots, jeans, a shirt, and a cap, perfect for the occasion.

A strong following on Facebook and a dedicated local fan base are one thing, but Saturday’s opportunity to play on a stage where some of the top names of country music have stood is something Tucker’s not taking for granted.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “Again, it’s crazy to think that I can get the opportunity to do something like that. I’m very excited and very blessed.”

Won’t y’all join us on the porch?

What’s the most interesting thing you know about your neighbor?

When’s his birthday? What does she do for fun? Do you know their children’s names? Where they go to school? Where the family goes to church?

Do you know their hopes? Their dreams? Their fears?

Probably not. And we know some of those things about our neighbors, but certainly not all of them.

Time was, you’d have had those answers pretty quickly. But the more socially connected we’ve become online, it seems like we know each other less and less in reality.

You want to know how I learned to tell a story? It’s pretty simple. I come from a long line of storytellers. Each and every one I heard growing up was polished to a high shine, told over and over (true or not), embellished, doctored, made perfect in every re-telling by the person telling it, as they put their own unique spin on the information they were providing.

I learned a lot in church social halls, at a magical place in a store in Little Chicago known as “The Liars’ Bench”, and on the front porch of an old farmhouse while breaking beans. Kids don’t break beans anymore. Those front porches are mostly long gone.

Well, think of this place as your front porch (and occasionally as a nod to The Liars’ Bench). If you’ll follow along, I’m going to tell you about your neighbors. About where they work, what they do, what they’re accomplishing. Sometimes, what they’re having for dinner. Sometimes, what they’ve done to serve the community.

We’ll explore those stories here, through this blog. Some of them will have accompanying video. Some will be covered on our podcast, and some will be touched on in all three formats. All of them are important to us.

If you’ve got an idea for a story to tell, I’d love to hear it. Email me at jed@harrisonsworkwear.com. Tell me about yourself. Tell me about your neighbors. And then, let me tell anybody who will listen.

Let’s have some fun. Let’s tell some stories.

Join me out here on the porch, won’t you?