BB: ODAC: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[forheavendial4999]

Pretty sure I said BC.....OR Randy Mac. as I could see both winning it. ( Check the USASC board) haha  

Well that was really going out on a limb since that's about half the teams that had a realistic shot.

[hokieone]

Congrats to RMC and Coach Ray Hedrick!    This program is just going to get better and better..

[hasanova]

Congratulations to RMC!  Nice. 

[LTBB1971]

Very disappointed at Virginia Wesleyan's season at 16-21.  Two of my son's friends play there and so sad to see Senior Alex DeJesus go out in his first year as a starting pitcher on a bad note.  Really do not remember the last time VWC did nt make their tournament play.  VWC could never find a reliable number 2 and 3 guy on the mound all year which killed them.  Also hitting .284 as a team didn't help.

[narch]

Congrats to RMC and Coach Ray Hedrick!    This program is just going to get better and better..

good old goldglove got it done - his time with us was a brief 10 post blurb on the grand stage of d3boards.com, but it was a very memorable 10 posts!

[SUball]

Congrats to RMC and Coach Ray Hedrick!    This program is just going to get better and better..

Especially with their new baseball complex, beautiful facility and a nice recruiting tool to have..kudos to RMC athletic department for investing in their baseball program...SU athletic department/President need to take some notes

[D-BAT]

Congrats to RMC and Coach Ray Hedrick!    This program is just going to get better and better..

Especially with their new baseball complex, beautiful facility and a nice recruiting tool to have..kudos to RMC athletic department for investing in their baseball program...SU athletic department/President need to take some notes

I am not sure what notes SU's President Fitzsimmons and AD Dr. Edwards need to take because the perception is that IF it had not been for Estes family, this facility would not of been possible.

IMHO, it will take another 15-20yrs before Shenandoah starts seeing donations similar to what the Estes family did for RMC.

Our talented and successful baseball team now, finally, has a home of its own – And what a home it is! Thanks to the generosity of Carol Estes-Williams, our Jackets now practice and play in a state-of-the art facility –a facility that would be the envy of many Division I programs.

I ask all of you to join me in acknowledging Carol’s generous spirit and tangible investment in R-MC’s future.

I would also like to introduce other members of the Estes family who are with us today. First, Carol’s children are with us today, Alise, Jonathan, and David. Carol’s aunt and uncle Susan and Ed Estes, the brother and sister-in-law of Robey and Alise Estes, for whom the park is named, are here.  Ed’s daughter Martha Estes Grover is with us today as well.  Webb Estes is with us today. James Garland and his wife Casey and daughter Courtney are here, as is Trish Garland, member of the class of 1989 and former member of the Board of Associates and Society of Alumni. We also welcome Robert and Mary Speight and Steve, Juliet, and Billy Hupp.

The Estes family has a long, close and supportive relationship with Randolph-Macon, beginning with Ed Estes’ distinguished tenure on our Board of Trustees. Ed and the Estes family have donated to countless projects on our campus: Estes Dining Hall, the Estes Aquatic Center, and the James D. Sr. & Helen E. Garland Endowed Scholarship just to name a few. Such commitment to the continued well being of our great college is almost without equal. I extend my and the college’s gratitude again to Carol, Ed and Susan, and to all the Estes clan assembled here today.

[LTBB1971]

After their first losing season in their last 14 years, VWC will look to rebound this spring with better play from their pitching staff who ended the year with a paltry 5.35 ERA.  Gone are their number 1 and 2 starters.  Hopefully SR Cam Butler and SR Mike Wiley can step up and be their weekend starters although SO Reid Hoffler seems to be their most promising arm from their returners.

[baseballVA]

I have heard that all of the seniors at VWC quit.  Due to coach issues.

[Ralph Turner]

I have heard that all of the seniors at VWC quit.  Due to coach issues.

That was an act of courage baseballVA...

You throw out a comment like that and then high-tail it off the boards.

Rush Limbaugh would liken that to a hit by the "drive-by" media.

[LTBB1971]

Well, I was not aware of the news until I contact some point of contacts at VWC...It's a shame but I'm sure VWC will rebound and find a way to be competitive in the ODAC in 2012.  Coach boothe has faced adversity before and has always put a competitive team on the field.

Just looking at their 2012 roster, they still have Jeremy Hagwood, Reid Hoffler, Evan Polk, Tyler Tweedy on the mound and the returning bats of Shayne Paskanik, Josh Miller, and Pike Brynildsen.

[narch]

Well, I was not aware of the news until I contact some point of contacts at VWC...It's a shame but I'm sure VWC will rebound and find a way to be competitive in the ODAC in 2012.  Coach boothe has faced adversity before and has always put a competitive team on the field.

Just looking at their 2012 roster, they still have Jeremy Hagwood, Reid Hoffler, Evan Polk, Tyler Tweedy on the mound and the returning bats of Shayne Paskanik, Josh Miller, and Pike Brynildsen.

to clarify, are you confirming that all of the vwc seniors have quit?...if so, wow...

[D-BAT]

Check out the results of Hampden-Sydney's renovations at Ty Cobb field:

http://hscathletics.com/information/facilities/Ty_Cobb

[D-BAT]

I know it's not baseball but it will have an huge impact on SU.

Shenandoah University to study medical school feasibility

Officials hope to have report for trustees in April
By Alex Bridges
December 22, 2011

WINCHESTER -- Shenandoah University plans to study whether it should start a medical school that could help fill a shortage of doctors in the region.

The university has hired consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to conduct the two-phase feasibility study, according to a news release issued Thursday. The company is interviewing key stakeholders and groups about issues integral to a medical school and a possible "structural model," the release states.

University officials hope to see the results of the study at the board of trustees' meeting in April, according to Emily Burner, director of media relations, marketing and communications.

"It's really just a feasibility study to see if this is something that's in the best interest of the university to do," Burner said Thursday.

Shenandoah offers education in the medical field with its School of Health Professions, which includes nursing, respiratory care, and occupational and physical therapy.

"We have a lot of different health professions programs and so it's really just kind of exploring if and how a medical school would fit in with what we're already doing and exploring our options within the region," Burner said.

Shenandoah, with additional locations in Leesburg and Ashburn, would serve as a candidate for a medical school, according to the release, given its "reputation for producing well-educated and prepared healthcare professionals," the release states.

"I think the study will look and see if it is possible to do this and how that fits in with what Shenandoah's already functioning programs, and it would take into account partnerships with many different organizations within the community," Burner said.

Valley Health and Inova Health System in Falls Church stepped forward to pay for the study and divide the cost equally, the release states. University officials are not releasing the cost of the study at this time, Burner said. Both health systems will have representatives on the university's medical school study committee.

"As I've said previously, I think this is a bold initiative for Shenandoah University and we applaud their effort to explore establishing an additional medical school in the commonwealth," Mark Merrill, president and chief executive officer for Valley Health, said by phone. "We are very anxious about the future of health care both in terms of the number of professionals that are required with the aging of the population, and there'll be greater demand."

Merrill noted the shortage of physicians and other advanced practitioners, and the demand for services only will increase if the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is upheld, he said.

A medical school at Shenandoah would help the Northern Virginia area and the state in its need for health-care professionals, Merrill said. The nearest such medical schools operate in Charlottesville, Richmond and Blacksburg. Valley Health operates a residency program at its Warren Memorial Hospital, which helps expose professionals in training to working in a more rural setting, Merrill said. More than 60 percent of the program's graduates have stayed in Virginia, and 25 percent remained in the Valley Health service area, he said.

"So we're hopeful that if that school goes forward there'll be a comparable opportunity to attract and retain people to finish their training and stay in the community," Merrill said.

[Ralph Turner]

As Mr Merrill points out in the article, the critical factor to increasing the number of doctors in an area, especially if it is rural and relatively underserved, is having primary care residencies in the hospitals in the area.

Medical school is 4 years. In the traditional mode, age 22-26. After medical school the residencies may take 3-4 years in the primary care specialties (Family Practice, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine). It is much easier to keep a physician who has trained in the area at age 29-30 than to bring that person back from the attractive urban areas where the spouse has already found a good job.