By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City American Legion baseball team will take the field later this month with its fifth different coach in the past eight seasons at the helm.
Brett Bullard, of Marianna, will coach the Forrest City team this season.
Bullard has coached the Lee Academy High School baseball team for the past five years and has been active as a baseball coach at many levels in the Marianna area for the past 25 years.
Bullard has scheduled the first organized team meeting for Tuesday, May 13, at the Sports Complex, at 6 p.m.
"I have been calling some of the guys who played last year to see if they are interested in coming back this summer," Bullard said. "There are a few players that I haven't been able to reach yet. I just want everyone who is interested in playing legion ball to come to the meeting and bring a glove. If we have a good showing, we may have a short workout."
Bullard said his plans for the team this season are to stick to only a AA schedule and cut back on the number of games played.
"Talking to some of the kids who played last year, the biggest complaint was the length of the season," Bullard said. "Some of the kids felt the season, which had about 60 games scheduled, was too long. We are going to cut back on that somewhat this year and hopefully keep their interest all the way through to the end."
Bullard said playing a AA schedule only will mean about 14 games. He hopes to make some of those doubleheaders and then try to pick up some close games to round out the season schedule.
Bullard takes over from Darrell Gaskin, who coached the team a year ago. Forrest City finished with just one victory a year ago.
The previous year, under former coach Jason Long, the team finished 1-24 in the AAA schedule and won just two games at the A level.
Before Long took over the reins, Carl Laughlin and Kenny Long combined to coach the team for a season preceded by a three-year stint by Charles Maness.
As of right now, Bullard says he is going it alone.
"I do not have an assistant coach yet," Bullard added. "I definitely need someone who can lend a helping hand. I'm an old man. I enjoy coaching but I can't do this by myself. I will need some help."
Bullard said he would like to have a former Forrest City player to help out, but said he will take all the help he can get.
"Tell anyone who might be interested, if they want to help they can call me at home," Bullard said. "My number is 870-630-0538."
The Forrest City Legion team will open the season on May 24, at Trumann and as of right now, the fist home game is not scheduled until June 14.
That, Bullard said, could change.
"We have a tentative, working schedule in place right now," Bullard said. "We hope to have everything finalized in another week.
The team is once again being sponsored by several area businesses and will just be called Forrest City American Legion.
Just two days into the 2003 youth season, Forrest City Recreation Direction Director Kenneth Taylor found himself 35 games in the hole.
The youth softball and baseball leagues, as well as the adult men's softball league, opened play last Thursday and Friday.
By Monday, play had come to a screeching halt after heavy rains and storms rolled across the state Sunday and Sunday night.
That led to canceling Monday's schedule and more rain on Tuesday led to the program losing it's second straight night.
Wednesday gave the fields some drying time and as of press time today, all leagues are a go for tonight.
Tonight's schedule has the adult men, pitching machine league, 11-12 Bambino and the 12-under and 16-under girls softball leagues on tap.
Casey Baxter and Kirk Billingsley won the championship flight of the recent Forrest City Country Club Two-Man Scramble golf tournament.
Ned Laughlin and Jason Sanger finished second while Bill Carter and Jason Collard finished third.
In the First Flight, Gary Cordell and Grady Corry finished first while Ron Killingsworth and Sid Fogg were second. Rich Trail and Joe Jarratt finished third.
In the Second Flight, Tyler Hammer and Randy Laws were first, Robert Parkman and Charles Van Ness were second and Reed and Jason Peevey were third.
In the Third Flight, Bob Ford and Charles Vest finished first, Tress Spurlock and Dick Busby were second and Bob May and Brad Devazier were third.