Next level sees four Chargers
ACKERMAN – Excelling in a particular sport doesn’t happen by accident. It takes years of dedication and hard work.
The blood, sweat and tears that Choctaw County baseball’s Austin Telano, and softball’s Lizzie Thomas, Allie Brown and Ayana Taylor have all sacrificed for their crafts netted them all athletic scholarships as the four signed letters of intent on Wednesday to move on to the next level.
“They all have natural talent, but they all enhanced their talent by getting in the weight room and by working on the field and working and enhancing their skills on their own,” Choctaw County softball coach Mike Brown said of all the Chargers’ signees. “You can only be so good, but the great ones practice on their own when nobody is watching, and the common thread for me, with all four of (the signees) is they all have families that have sacrificed time, money and things like that to give these kids opportunities.
“They probably sacrificed lots of vacations and you name it just so their kids could play ball in the summers and be exposed to additional coaching.”
Telano signed on to continue his baseball career with Holmes Community College. Thomas will play softball for East Mississippi Community College. Allie Brown will further her softball career at East Central Community College, while Taylor is joining Mississippi Valley State’s softball program.
The athletic Telano’s sweet swing was a major factor in Holmes’ interest in him. Though Telano has also pitched for Choctaw County, his bat has been a bigtime weapon for the Chargers.
Telano hit .385 for Choctaw County last season. He also drove in 18 runs and stole 15 bases.
Over the last two years combined, Telano has hit at a .468 clip for the Chargers.
“From the time he could walk, all he has wanted to do was play baseball and that shows,” Choctaw County baseball coach Andy Young said of Telano. “He loves every aspect of baseball and I think he’ll do really well at the next level.”
Thomas, Allie Brown and Taylor have all had similar success with Choctaw County softball.
Thomas batted .288 with 23 RBI last season for the Lady Chargers. She had eight total extra-base hits.
Allie Brown hit .418 in 2017 for Choctaw County to go along with 17 runs driven in and six extra-base hits.
Taylor hit for a .329 clip last season. She also drove in 16 runs and had four doubles, five triples and a home run.
Coach Brown believes all of his players have the work ethic to keep up their production once they leave Ackerman.
“They’ll all have enough mental toughness and fortitude to hang in there,” coach Brown said. “(Taylor) of course signed with a four-year school, but hopefully the ones that signed with junior colleges will work hard and play two more years afterwards.”
With the time and energy that Telano, Thomas, Allie Brown and Taylor have all all put in to their individual games up to this point, it wouldn’t come as much of a shock if any or all of them continue succeeding on a bigger stage.
Coach Brown can’t wait to watch all their journeys unfold.
“I’m really looking forward to, after this year, sitting back and reading the newspaper and going to watch some of these kids play,” coach Brown said.