03/28/2024
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East Bladen’s Caleb Hatchell and Brooks McGill played for the Southeast team that finished second in the Powerade State Games this weekend at UNC-Greensboro.

 

The Southeast team defeated the South 2-1 and the Northeast 2-0 on Saturday then beat the Midwest team 3-1 on Sundaymorning before dropping the Gold Medal game 6-3 to the Central team.

 

Hatchell started at rightback for the Southeast team. “Caleb had a strong weekend and finished with an assist,” said East Bladen Coach Jay Raynor. “Brooks had a really good weekend tallying a goal and several assists as well as shots on goal. There were a multitude of college coaches from the D2 and D3 ranks there to recruit and observe.”

 

“I always find that trying out and playing in events such as the state games, are measuring sticks,” continued Coach Raynor. “It’s nice to see kids from East Bladen and Bladen County competing and being just as good and at times better than kids from Jacksonville, Raleigh, Wilmington, Charlotte, etc. It’s also a plus because the kids get to build friendships with other kids who have similar interests. Those memories and friendships will last a lifetime.”

 

Raynor who has coached in the state games for several years served as the site coordinator this year. “I handled the operation of the event. From coordinating with the officials, working with the coaches, making sure everyone had what they needed and the event ran smoothly and that the college coaches had what they needed were just of the jobs that I performed.”

 

Raynor admitted being a tad nervous because of the size of the event – roughly 200-plus players participated and over 800 spectators in attendance. “Everything went well and the only issue was the weather on Saturday night. We had to make a call to postpone the girls games and move to the back end of Sunday.”

 

“I had some awesome help that made things run smooth,” added Coach Raynor. “Bryan Monroe a soccer player at East Bladen, went with me and helped take up money and a lot of other jobs. Brooks and Caleb also helped between games with running the clock and assisting the refs with meals and snacks. Former player Andres Sarmiento operated the clock and the music in the main stadium while his younger brother, Nelson Sarmiento served as a field marshal making sure teams and games were on and off the field on time as well as reporting scores and injuries to the proper officials.”

 

Raynor concluded, “All-in-all it was an amazing experience for the guys and myself. Being the site coordinator and having the help I had allowed me to interact with the players, parents, officials, and coaches. It also allowed me direct contact with college coaches and to establish relationships with them. I throughly enjoyed myself and hopefully will be asked to again next year.”

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