THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408120241
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 25 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
THE CHRIS ELMORE story is about hits.
Elmore, a 17-year-old rising senior at Green Run High School, hits the books and doesn't give up hits on the baseball field.
Elmore, a left-handed pitcher for the Green Run High School baseball team and an ``A'' student, was the only Virginia Beach athlete to receive a Parks and Recreation summer scholarship for baseball camp.
The $310 stipend to attend the Old Dominion University camp in June was awarded to Elmore by the Virginia Society of Recreation and Parks, Eastern District. It was presented to him through the auspices of the city's recreation department.
Athletes from other south Hampton Roads cities and the Peninsula received similar awards.
Elmore played on Green Run's 21-3 baseball team last spring. He started every game, either at first base or the mound. As a pitcher, he compiled a 7-0 record in his junior year and was selected 1st team All-Beach District and All-Tidewater.
Elmore throws a sharp curve ball, a tricky circle change-up and an fastball that has been clocked in the high 80s.
In the classroom, Elmore has achieved an even greater statistic, 3.8, his grade-point average through three years of high school.
In his letter of application, Elmore wrote: ``I feel that it is my responsibility to help my parents pay for camp.''
The slender, 6-foot-1 student/ athlete played basketball in junior high school but gave up that sport to focus on baseball. He played on the Green Run golf team as a junior.
``I went out for golf because Mr. Spedden coached it,'' said Elmore, speaking with admiration of his baseball coach. Spedden has left Green Run to coach at the new Ocean Lakes High School in the coming year.
``I don't know who'll coach us next season,'' said Elmore. ``I'm going to miss him. He was such as a good coach and a good guy.''
Elmore said that he gained from his experience at the ODU camp, but he pointed out that many of the drills were familiar to him:
``Coach Spedden uses the same hitting drill as they did at the camp.''
The admiration is mutual.
Spedden called Elmore ``a gifted athlete, outstanding student and fine young man. He's a definite Division I signee, maybe pro ball, though that's hard to say now. Chris' work ethic is one of his big strengths. He lifts weights, runs, does more than you ask of him.
``He picks up things quickly, both on the field and off. I had him in my history class and out of about 40 students, he was one of the top two or three.
``I don't think there is a more deserving scholarship applicant in the city,'' he added.
Elmore comes by his athletic gifts naturally. His father, Roger, was a three-sport star at Princeton High School in West Virginia. The elder Elmore broke the basketball scoring records of Rod Thorne, who went on to fame at West Virginia University and the NBA.
Elmore received a football scholarship offer from the University of Houston and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles.
``Chris and Renee have heard it just about everyday of their lives from their father: `Education is the most important thing in your lives,' '' said Sharon Elmore, wife and mother of two, scrapbook-keeper and No. 1 fan.
The Elmore offspring have heeded their father's admonition. Renee, 19, is a sophomore at Tidewater Community College, which she attends on scholarship.
Renee played softball at Green Run and graduated in the top 10 percent of her class.
Chris will surely follow suit. He has already received letters of interest from Stanford, James Madison, William and Mary, VMI and Virginia.
Elmore has earned his ``As'' in tough college-preparatory subjects, not jock-friendly courses. In his junior year, he took algebra II and trigonometry, chemistry, honors English and history.
He's flattered by the interest shown by such prestigious schools but thinks he might stay home and attend ODU.
``I hope to become an architect,'' Elmore said.
If hard work counts, Elmore will make it. He hasn't rested during the summer before his final high school season. Elmore plays American Legion baseball for Green Run Post 113.
He played on the Eastern Commonwealth team for a series of Virginia high school all-star games in June.
He pitched 6 2/3 innings of four-hit baseball in the final game as the unbeaten East edged the North, 2-1.
And he spent a week in Euclid, Ohio, in late July pitching for a Baltimore, Md., team in the High School World Series.
``There were 14 teams participating. Lots of scouts watched us play. I won a game and lost a game,'' said Elmore. ``It was interesting and a good experience.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Chris Elmore was 7-0 as a pitcher for Green Run this past spring. In
the classroom, Elmore has achieved an even greater statistic, 3.8,
his grade-point average through three years of high school.
by CNB