Aaron Sones, Sports Information Coordinator at West Georgia Technical College, began the program talking about his father, who was a 30 year Rotarian, so he knew about the good that Rotary does in the world

He then followed up by talking about the school’s athletic program. He told Rotarians that West Georgia Technical College is a member of the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association, which has three divisions. Their baseball and softball program are in Division 1, which means that their program may offer scholarships. Their basketball program is in Division 3, which is a non-scholarship program. The basketball program recruits athletes because they want to play ball, rather than coming because of an athletic scholarship. They have had much success, particularly with their women’s basketball program, but want to be a Division 1 team because they know they can compete at that level. This year’s team is currently 14-8. They were number 1 in the country last year and feel that this year they will be able to qualify for the final 8. The team currently leads the nation in rebounding and averages 27 rebounds per game.

Kenny Edwards, the women’s basketball coach, also spoke to Rotary about his team. His team consists of 16 women, four of which are on the president’s list and two of which are on the dean’s list. His first priority is about teaching values and soft work skills to his players. On his team, academics come first. He requires all students with a C average to be in study hall for eight hours a week. If they have higher grades, they can qualify for lesser time in study hall. They are also required to give eight hours per month in community service. They started Hoops for Hope, which raises money for breast cancer awareness and research and were able to donate $8,000 last year. Coach Edwards recruits first for character and then for talent and yet his team leads the nation in steals. Last year’s team was the Conference, Region and District Champs and he feels his team is just as good this year, if not better. He had one player to go to the national all star game this year.

Coach Edwards told Rotarians that he likes to keep all his games within four hours of the campus. They will be playing South Crescent Tech on Friday and invited everyone to come.