Community programs from VT
Each semester, Virginia Tech Recreational Sports offers youth gymnastics and swim lessons to community members. No university affiliation is required to participate in these lessons.
Instructors help children learn a new skill, have fun, and get some exercise.
Gymnastics: Session I: Jan. 20 – March 2; Session II: March 19 – April 28- Tumble Tots, Tumble Foundations, Tumble Basics, Tumble Advanced
Swimming: Session I: Jan. 22 – Feb. 15; Session II: Feb. 19 – March 22; Session III: April 2 – April 26; Saturday Sessions: Jan. 27 – April 7 (No lessons on March 3, 10, 30); Parent & Child, Preschool I/II/III, Level 1-6, Beginner Adult, Intermediate Adult.
For more information, recsports@vt.edu, or call 231-6856.
Bailey on Concord MEC honor roll
The Concord University Athletic Department is proud to announce that 62 fall sports student-athletes have landed on either the All-MEC Academic Team or the Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
CU landed 30 athletes on the All-MEC Academic Team. To qualify, student must have a fall semester GPA of 3.7. The Commissioner’s Honor Roll requires students to have between a 3.25-3.69 GPA for the fall term in which 32 Mountain Lions were named to. Additionally, athletes must be in their championship segment to qualify for these honors.
The list included cross country’s Bailey Knowles (All-MEC Academic Team), a native of Christiansburg.
Hokies to all-star games
Senior CB Greg Stroman became the sixth Virginia Tech senior to accept a postseason all-star invitation. Stroman, who was voted Tech’s 2017 MVP by his teammates, will play in the 93rd East-West Shrine Game on January 20 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Stroman joins CB Brandon Facyson, WR Cam Phiilips, LB Andrew Motuapuaka, G Wyatt Teller and C Eric Gallo as Hokies who have also accepted postseason all-star game invitations.
Tech soccer transfers
Virginia Tech head men’s soccer coach Mike Brizendine announced the addition of three student-athletes to the program Wednesday. David Sanz, Mathijs Swaneveld and David Alm are set to join the program in January for the start of the spring semester and will participate in all team activities.
David Sanz, a midfielder from Santander, Spain will join the Hokies after spending two seasons at the University of Cincinnati. Sanz scored six goals and recorded five assists in 2017 and was named to the American Conference’s Second Team. During his freshman season in 2016, Sanz was selected to the conference’s All-Freshman team.
Mathijs Swaneveld is a goalkeeper from Schoonhoven, The Netherlands. Swaneveld’s youth club was CVV de Jodan Boys. He spent the last year at Hogeschool Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. In his youth career, Swaneveld also trained with SC Excelsiur and Sparta Rotterdam.
The program’s third transfer is David Alm a defender from Saltsjo-boo, Sweden. With Hammarby IF, Alm won the International U-21 gold medal and was the MVP of his 2016 U-19 Hammarby team. Alm also won Stockholm District team honors with Djurgardens IF.
Technology changes fan experience
The fan experience at Virginia Tech athletics events always has been considered among the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference – and it’s about to get even better.
The Virginia Tech Athletics Department and Experience, an Atlanta-based mobile technology company, have partnered to deliver new fan experience technology to Virginia Tech men’s basketball fans for the remainder of the 2017-18 season.
Starting Tuesday, fans will be able to use their smartphones to purchase men’s basketball fan experience options from the athletics department. Branded “Maroon & Orange Memories,” these experiences include such things as sitting on the Tech bench for warm-ups, playing “Enter Sandman” before the opening tip, and securing postgame court access for photos on the Carilion Clinic Court.
To sign up, visit www.hokiesports.com/experience and fill out the form – signing up is free. Only fans with game tickets are allowed to purchase any of the offerings, unless otherwise specified.
Cook named to strength staff
Virginia Tech Athletics announced the addition of Kody Cooke to the staff as associate director of strength and conditioning for football on Tuesday. Cooke joins an experienced group of performance coaches under the direction of Ben Hilgart, Associate AD for Strength & Conditioning.
Cooke comes to the Hokies after spending four years at Arizona State where he started as a graduate assistant in January 2013 and worked his way up to becoming a sports performance assistant coach.
This past season, Cooke led all warm up and speed and agility sessions for the Sun Devil football program, in addition to concentrating on the development of the squad’s offensive linemen.
Prior to his tenure in Tempe, Cooke was a strength and conditioning intern at the Tulsa, his alma mater. He also worked with Dynamic Sports Development, also in Tulsa.
Cooke was a two-time letterwinner as an offensive lineman at Tulsa after beginning his playing career at the University of Oklahoma. Current Tech assistant head coach Galen Scott and wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins were on the Hurricanes’ coaching staff while Cooke was a player.
