Hilton Head Sports

BASKETBALL STANDOUTS MAKE MOVE TO THE LOWCOUNTRY

During a time when the sports scene in the Lowcountry was quieter than usual, the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring also brought an influx of next-level basketball talent to the area.

FALL SEASON PRODUCES STATE-TITLE TEAMS 

The fall high school sports season began with trepidation and proceeded with cautious optimism. But for a pair of Hilton Head Island teams, it ended in glory. 

The Hilton Head Island High School volleyball team capped an incredible season with a South Carolina High School League Class 4A state title in November — the program’s first championship since 2015. 

HHI CREW FOSTERS VALUABLE LIFE LESSONS ON THE WATER

Trying to build the next generation of Hilton Head Island’s rowing community was enough of a challenge before the concept of social distancing became a ubiquitous phrase in the vernacular.

But Dave Erdman and Chuck Yocum have kept paddling.

HHI Crew has been a mainstay since 1995 — save for a brief hiatus in the mid-2000s — but the COVID-19 pandemic presented a new challenge, and right when things were really starting to sail. Yocum rejoined the organization in September 2019, and the program flourished, drawing rowers from throughout Beaufort County and across the Savannah River.

GROWING SPORTS PODCAST EMERGES AS A MUST-LISTEN

When Justin Jarrett launched Lowcosports.com in 2017, his vision was to promote the athletes and teams of Beaufort and Jasper counties.

The platform has thrived thanks to Jarrett’s insatiable passion for highlighting the stories of the Lowcountry, and an audience hungry for quality local content.

LOWCOUNTRY FENCERS OFFERS AN ATHLETIC OPTION FOR KIDS TO ACTIVE SENIORS

Most kids tend to get started in sports with the staples — baseball, basketball, soccer — but kids in the Lowcountry have a new option at their disposal, and it has appeal even for children who might not show interest in traditional athletic options.

BICYCLING AS A FAMILY IS OUR FAVORITE ACTIVITY.

Bicycling as a family is our favorite activity. My husband and I have been on bikes together since we started dating and we happily added our son to our riding adventures when he was 9 months old.  

We've been on beach cruisers, tandem bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, and cargo bikes. We've ridden in the mountains and on the beach. We’ve biked in the sunshine, in the rain, and a few times in the snow (I don’t recommend). 

LOCAL TEAMS READY TO PLAY AFTER PANDEMIC DELAY

While major college leagues around the country were delaying or postponing their football seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic— and while South Carolina’s public schools were pushing back the start of fall practice — the S.C. Independent School Association (SCISA) decided to play.

SCISA athletic director Mike Fanning never wavered from the notion of playing a full season, allowing the state’s private school athletics programs to resume workouts under a set of guidelines to encourage social distancing and numerous best practices to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

PUBLIC SPACES SOUGHT AS SPORT’S POPULARITY RISES

The Hilton Head Island Pickleball Club’s charge was twopronged: to show the need for a public pickleball center on the island, and to bring that dream to fruition. The first part is complete, but much work lies ahead to complete the second, says club president Alex Cruden.

“In the eyes of town officials, pickleball has gone from an oddsounding splinter group to a full-fledged recreational priority,” Cruden said. “We’ve done our best to help the town leaders learn more about it and see how it would be possible, and even easy, to fit a good-sized pickleball center into town property — and why that would be a good attraction.”

LONGTIME JASPER COUNTY BASKETBALL COACH ENJOYS SPENDING TIME OFF THE SIDELINES

He’s traveled just outside of Columbia to see his grandson play basketball. He’s visited one son in Tennessee and another in Atlanta, and he and his wife of 37 years, Jacklyn, are planning a cruise. 

He’s played a lot of golf.