A former two-time Western Carolina University Academic All-American football player wants to help ensure that future Catamount student-athletes have similar experiences. 

A bill introduced in the North Carolina House of Representatives would require middle and high school athletes to compete on the team of their sex assignment at birth. Last week lawmakers held a press conference in support of the legislation and multiple speakers cited an instance involving athletes in Macon and Cherokee counties to bolster their case.

After much discussion and community input, the Jackson County School Board has decided to keep its middle school sports situation as it is, with both school-based and district sports teams.

Even as an elementary school kid, Chris Cable hated school. It felt pointless, and so boring that he struggled to stay awake. Cable wanted to be a state trooper when he grew up — why did he need to know about algebra and essay-writing?   

It is no wonder collegiate athletes are required to take a sports psychology course and why higher-level athletes, such as Olympians, focus as much on their mental stat as they do physical training. Further, I’m realizing more and more that the tactics athletes use such as visualization, self talk, goal setting and achieving a state of flow are not only helpful on the field and the court but also in everyday life.

A requested athletic fee increase at Western Carolina University met approval from the University of North Carolina Board of Governors at its Feb. 24 meeting, but this month WCU trustees passed a resolution pledging that increase would stick around only as long as the debt for the projects it seeks to support.

The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees voted unanimously during its Dec. 3 meeting to recommend a schedule of fees for the upcoming academic year that includes an $86 increase to the school’s athletic training program fee — but only after granting a request from Student Government Association President Rebecca Hart, a member of the board, to commit to passing a resolution to retire the fee once it’s served its purpose. 

In just over a span of five years, the women’s heavy athletic division at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games has grown from a group of three dedicated competitors to now attracting more than a dozen professional athletes form the across the country to participate in the weekend’s slate of ancient competitions.

As of Tuesday, Aug. 4, Jackson County schools entered phase two for school athletics. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association laid out phase two guidelines for summer conditioning and workout activities in late July. The guidelines for phase two went into effect Aug. 3.