By Rubin E. Grant For the first time in a few years, Daniel Swatek went to the beach for spring break.“That was nice,” Swatek said.But by midweek, the Hoover senior was back on the baseball diamond, playing the sport he dearly loves as Hoover hosted the Buccaneer Classic.Swatek’s passion for baseball comes from his dad, Dan Swatek, who played for UAB in … [Read more...]

By Blake Ells The Vestavia Hills girls soccer team has built quite a dynasty under coach Brigid Meadow.They’ve won two 7A state championships, including last season’s, and two 6A state championships under her guidance during the past 15 seasons. Meadow credits the leadership of her senior class with the team’s success. That class includes Anna … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. Grant Homewood boys soccer coach Sean McBride would like for his team to fly under the radar.But that’s nearly impossible, considering the Patriots are the defending Class 6A champions, are ranked No. 1 this season and haven’t lost a game in nearly two years.The Patriots went into spring break last week with an 11-0-3 record. They were also … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. Grant As the Hoover Bucs’ boys soccer team entered the state playoffs this week, they had only one goal in mind. They wanted to put an end to the school’s long drought without a state championship. Hoover hasn’t won a title since 2003, which also happens to be the Bucs’ only state championship in boys soccer. “Since the beginning of the season, we’ve had the … [Read more...]

By Blake Ells The 7A, Region 6 regular baseball season was quite a ride, with its two playoff spots up in the air into the final weekend of the season. Just three weeks ago, sixth-ranked Vestavia Hills was playing its best baseball of the season when it took two games from Mountain Brook. Then, they had a lackluster weekend against Spain Park, splitting two games. The … [Read more...]