Always hard to see another season end

This is always one of the most awkward columns to pen each year. After Monday night’s loss for the Lady Bulldogs at the hands of Russell County’s Lady Lakers, we know the 2015-16 season has come to an end for Clinton County’s girls.

The Bulldogs’ contest in the opening round is “tonight” as I write this week’s column on Tuesday morning, so more about those results next week.

For our Lady Bulldogs, it was without a doubt, the strangest year I’ve ever seen Clinton County go through.

After an unexpected ending in the opening round of last year’s district tournament, everyone had high hopes for this year’s squad that was returning a host of key players from what had been a highly successful year that ended with an impressive 24-6 record as well as an All “A” Classic 4th Region championship title.

The 2015-16 season should be a nice one, right?

Then came the injuries. Then came more injuries. More injuries and finally, after months of rehab in the case of one injured key player, Joelie Hicks, a re-injury that saw her undergo a second knee repairing surgery just last week (by the way, Joelie – here’s to a speedy and successful recovery).

Throughout the year, it was hard to watch the remaining players storm out on the floor, followed by as many as five limping and crutch assisted teammates making their way to the bench.

Still, these Lady Dawgs didn’t give up, and their injured teammates didn’t give up either.

The coaching staff strived to figure out ways to work around the constantly changing list of available players, a list that often changed from night to night to night.

Through it all, everyone kept their heads up and for the most part, kept a positive attitude.

I joked often with Coach Darrell Thompson that he had a potentially great wheelchair team and he often came back with one of the most positive replies that could ever be expected from a coach faced with the long list of injures . . . “We’ll be a better team next year because of all this” he would say.

For a game or two coming down the home stretch, there was a faint look of despair from the players, but that wasn’t present at all on Monday night.

Trailing by 18 points in the second half of play, Clinton County’s Lady Bulldogs did what they should have done – the Big Blue Rally Caps came out and back they stormed.

In true Lady Bulldog fashion, cutting the lead to within reach again, just nine points behind with plenty of time left on the clock.

Maybe it didn’t work out like we would have drawn it up on a board, but when the Lady Bulldogs and coaches – and their fans – left the Russell County gymnasium on Monday night after that season ending defeat, it was with heads held high.

It would have been easy, in the face of all that has happened this season, to go in Monday night and put up a token appearance, go home and get the softballs out. But not these Lady Dawgs, not this coaching staff, and certainly not these fans.

Yes, the season came to an end, and yes, there were tears.

But, there was no shame – only pride in knowing that while these players may have some weak knees here and there, they certainly have big hearts!

Again it holds true . . . Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog!

I’ll see you in the gym