THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602030113
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Longtime Churchland High School baseball coach Carl Rhodes, who recently resigned after serving as head coach of the Truckers since 1973, has been selected as the area's outstanding high school coach by the Portsmouth Sports Club.
Rhodes will be the recipient of the Abe Goldblatt Memorial Award to be presented at the 50th annual Sports Club Jamboree March 6.
Rhodes, 51, guided the Truckers to a runner-up berth in the Southeastern District tournament and an overall 8-3 mark in district competition. He closed his career with more than 200 victories.
In regular-season play, Churchland finished one game behind co-champions Indian River and Western Branch.
Twice he steered teams to the Eastern Region final and three times his Truckers won the Southeastern District championship.
``The selection committee feels this is appropriate recognition to a coach who not only had a fine season but has distinguished himself through the years,'' said Jim Martin, a committee member.
Rhodes, who will continue to teach biology at Churchland, is a graduate of Wilson High School and Virginia Military Institute. He was an All-Tidewater football end at Wilson and was Churchland's head football coach for three years and an assistant for 16 years prior to that.
Also to be honored at the Jamboree is Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, who was chosen at the male College Coach of the Year.
Other award winners are still to be announced.
The featured speaker will be Donnie Shell, director of player relations for the Carolina Panthers in the National Football League and a former star defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 11 years. Shell played on four Super Bowl winners for Pittsburgh.
Tickets to the Jamboree are $40 and can be obtained by contacting ticket chairman Walt Jernigan at 399-6525. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Carl Rhodes
To receive Abe Goldblatt award
by CNB