THE WEEK AHEAD: Your Guide To RVA Sports!

Two weeks are left in the high school basketball regular season, college hoops teams turn to the February portion of their calendar, and postseason tournaments continue Wednesday in winter high school sports! Here's a look at what we're watching in "The Week Ahead":

MONDAY:

GIRLS BASKETBALL:
#5 Trinity Episcopal at #9 L.C. Bird, 7:15pm
Hanover at Varina, 7:30pm

BOYS BASKETBALL:
#3 Varina at Hanover, 7:30pm (Live Tweet Coverage: @henricosports & @hanoversports)
#7 George Wythe at #9 Monacan, 7:15pm

TUESDAY:

WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
VCU at Richmond, 7pm

BOYS BASKETBALL:
St. John Paul The Great at #2 Trinity Episcopal, 6pm
Douglas Freeman at #6 Hermitage, 7:30pm
Thomas Dale at Petersburg, 7:15pm
Colonial Heights at Hopewell, 7:30pm

TRACK AND FIELD:
Conference 16 Tournament, Fork Union Military Academy
Conference 12 Tournament, Matoaca High School

WEDNESDAY:

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Richmond at VCU, 7pm
Randolph-Macon at Hampden-Sydney, 7pm

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY: Full coverage across our Twitter network on @hanoversports, @henricosports, @cfieldsports and @TheRVASportsNet plus follow @MattNBC12 and @marcdavissports on Twitter for coverage from our friends at NBC12!

BOYS BASKETBALL:
#4 John Marshall at #6 Hermitage, 7:30pm
Manchester at James River, 7:15pm

GIRLS BASKETBALL:
Deep Run at #3 J.R. Tucker, 6pm

GYMNASTICS:
Conference 12/16/20 Gymnastics Championship, 7pm, Varina HS

TRACK AND FIELD:
Conference 26 Championship, Arthur Ashe Center, 4pm

THURSDAY:

GIRLS BASKETBALL:
#4 Cosby at #1 Monacan, 7:15pm
Midlothian at #10 James River, 7:15pm

TRACK AND FIELD:
Conference 11 Championship, Arthur Ashe Center, 2pm

FRIDAY:

GIRLS BASKETBALL:
#2 Highland Springs at Varina, 7:30pm
#9 L.C. Bird at Prince George, 7:15pm

BOYS BASKETBALL:
#5 Mills Godwin at Glen Allen, 7:30pm
#9 Monacan at Cosby, 7:15pm
Atlee at Patrick Henry, 7:30pm

SATURDAY:

WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Dayton at VCU, 1pm

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
George Washington at Richmond, 2:30pm
VCU at St. Bonaventure, 4pm

BOYS BASKETBALL:
#1 L.C. Bird at #4 John Marshall, 7pm (Listen LIVE on RVA Sports Network HERE)

GIRLS BASKETBALL:
#8 Atlee at I.C. Norcom, 12pm
#2 Highland Springs at Osbourn Park, 3pm

WRESTLING:
Conference 3 Championship, 10am, Cosby HS
Conference 20 Championship, 9am, Hanover HS
Conference 12 Championship, 10am, Varina HS
Conference 11 Championship, 10am, Douglas Freeman HS

SWIMMING:
Conference 11 Championship, 8am, SwimRVA

GYMNASTICS:
Conference 11 Championship, 10:30am, Deep Run HS

SUNDAY:

WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Rhode Island at Richmond, 1pm

New Top 10 Girls, Boys Basketball Polls

Two weeks remain in the regular season, and while some teams are fighting for first round byes in conference tournaments, others are fighting for a first round home game, and even a conference tournament bid. With some upsets this past week, here's a look at our latest Top 10 Polls!

BOYS:

1) L.C. Bird (14-0, was #1)
2) Trinity Episcopal (21-1, was #2)
3) Varina (13-4, was #5)
4) John Marshall (12-4, was #3)
5) Mills Godwin (13-3, was #4)
6) Hermitage (13-3, was #6)
7) George Wythe (13-3, was #10)
8) St. Christopher's (13-6, was #9)
9) Monacan (11-4, was #7)
10) Henrico (12-5, was #8)


GIRLS:

1) Monacan (18-0, was #1)
2) Highland Springs (14-0, was #2)
3) J.R. Tucker (16-0, was #3)
4) Cosby (15-2, was #6)
5) St. Catherine's (10-5, was #4)
6) Trinity Episcopal (10-5, was #5)
7) Hopewell (15-4, was #7)
8) Atlee (14-3, was #8)
9) L.C. Bird (12-4, was #10)
10) James River (8-6, was #9)

SPECIAL REPORT PART II: From Suicide Attempt To Standing Up: The Austin Cannon Story

(NOTE: This is the second in a three-part series of special articles from The Herald Progress newspaper and The RVA Sports Network on student-athletes and mental health issues. Former Atlee and current Virginia Tech offensive lineman Austin Cannon bravely opens up about his August, 2016 suicide attempt, how a concussion played a role, and how he has begun a movement on campus in Blacksburg to help end the stigma behind mental illness for young adults from all walks of life. Photos courtesy of Brooke Leonard and Hokie Sports.)

"I remember opening the drawer of the desk. There were two knives. I grabbed the serrated one, and I started cutting my leg with it at first, and obviously that hurt, and I'm sitting there just bawling, just crying. And then I grabbed it and it went right in my leg."

It is the night of August 9, 2016. Virginia Tech freshman football player Austin Cannon is alone in his suite, his roommate away. Heavy on his heart and mind were multiple issues, most notably grief and fear. But his decision that night to attempt to end his young life was also influenced by an event which occurred earlier in the day, a physical condition currently highlighted and monitored in sports, especially in football, like never before: a concussion.

*****

Cannon was part of what will be remembered as one of the best offensive line units in area high school football history at Atlee High School earlier this decade. Teammates Alec Eberle and Nick Clarke are now college standouts at Florida State and Old Dominion respectively. Cannon wished to be a Hokie. To do so meant, first, a semester at Fork Union Military Academy for post-graduate study, where he earned a letter playing center.

Arriving in Blacksburg one year ago this month, Cannon had to play catch up, as his teammates had just completed an emotional 2015 season, the last for legendary head coach Frank Beamer. Members of the offensive line took Cannon under their wing, helping him become part of a new brotherhood, all experiencing major change as Justin Fuente became their new coach.

A semester and spring practice came and went, and Cannon was preparing for the 2016 season. Late in July on a visit home, Cannon's father, Mike, sat his son down, and broke the news to him of his cancer diagnosis. The news rocked Cannon's world.

"That was a huge blow. He's my best friend, he's the guy I can go to if I have a problem with anything," Cannon stated. "I didn't know how serious it was, whether it had spread. It was hard to sleep for a couple of days."

Today, Austin's father is 85 percent cancer-free and doing well. But in August, with a mind filled with earlier loss, new fear, and plenty of negative memories of being bullied for various reasons in high school, Cannon returned to Blacksburg. Then came August 9th, and a practice that set off a series of events that changed Austin Cannon's life forever. 

*****

"We were in full pads outside. I was pulling on a play and I cut a linebacker," Cannon remembered. "As I was trying to get off the ground, my tight end, coming around, following the ball, and he soccer kicked me full speed right in the head. I finished the drive, and after practice went to the trainers and I'm completely out of it."

Immediately put into concussion protocol, Cannon was in the locker room sitting with teammate D.J. Reid.

"I remember saying, 'D.J., that's some cool music playing, what is that song?' And D.J. said 'there's no music playing'," Cannon said. "I knew right then and there I was messed up."

Cannon was excused from post-practice meetings, got his to-go meal, and went back to his room, setting the stage for a decision, the result of psychological pain, grief, and fear, and now, added physical pain.

*****

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal last year indicated a three-fold increase in long-term suicide risk among adults who suffer one concussion, the risk even higher if the injury occurs during recreational activities like driving a car or falling at home.

Austin Cannon was in full gear, helmet included, at that August 9th practice. Hours later, he was alone, confused, and released a major cry for help. Weak from practice, and now weaker from blood loss, he made another decision that saved his life.

"I ended up crawling to my phone and I just held it, like I couldn't do anything with it," Cannon recalled. "Then I saw some missed calls from trainers and I called back. I got one and told them I've just stabbed myself in the leg and I'm bleeding really bad, I need someone to come get me."

Word quickly reached Fuente, who, moments later, called Cannon, and talked to him as trainers, and emergency medical staff rushed to his room.

"He said, Austin Cannon, put the knife down, breathe, talk to me, and put the knife down. He was my head coach, so I did it, I put it down," Cannon said.

The next hour was filled with images for Cannon. EMT's, football trainers, Fuente and other football team staff members all around him as he was taken to the hospital. Once his leg was taken care of, the next stop was New Horizons Crisis Stabilization in nearby Radford, where he began a week of treatment to get to the sources of his suicide attempt. 

Cannon credits the New Horizons staff, and the Virginia Tech football staff, for not only saving his life nearly six months ago, but helping him begin bouncing back from rock bottom. Fuente told Cannon to go home to visit family before returning to the team. As he's cutting grass, his mind begins to work.

"I thought, what could I do to make such a negative thing that happened to me be a positive thing? A lot of people who go through what I did, they won't speak about their problems, they'll bottle it up, and that's what I did," Cannon said.

*****

Cannon isn't quiet about his experience anymore. Proudly walking on campus with a t-shirt promoting his Twitter account dedicated to helping students in mental health crisis, a 6' 2", 300-pound offensive lineman is shouting his testimony to everyone who walks by.

It isn't a new initiative for Cannon, recalling a day at Atlee where he saw a student alone at a table at lunch and making the decision to go sit with him and befriend him. 

"He knew exactly who I was, and because of my size, he thought I was going to do something to him," Cannon recalled. "But as I talked, he started opening up, and after that, he'd be like, 'Hey Austin, how's it going?' in the hallways. Making an impact in people's lives, that's what I want to do."

Cannon, who rejoined the team, which finished 10-3 with an ACC Championship Game appearance and an historic comeback win over Arkansas in the Belk Bowl last month, runs the Twitter account "@SU_movement", which he hopes will grow beyond the Virginia Tech campus one day, meant to offer hope to anyone, not just student-athletes, who are struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts.

"That's what I'm here for, I'll be an outlet for somebody," Cannon notes. "I think mental illness issues should be taught at all levels, especially in middle and high school. The transition from high school to college, I think, is where it can hit its peak, with kids that are bullied, who feel they aren't accepted."

The other lesson coming from Austin Cannon's journey is how much more vigilant athletic programs, from youth to professional, need to be in the immediate aftermath of a concussion. Its mental affects, depending upon the situation, may not take years, but merely hours.

(Next Week: Out of incredible tragedy comes daily triumph, even in the midst of struggle, as the hopes of a young lady gone way too soon become a movement to end the stigma of mental illness in teenagers and young adults in the Richmond area.)

New RVA Sports Network Top 10 Basketball Polls

L.C. Bird solidifies its season-long place atop The RVA Sports Network Top 10 Boys Basketball Poll, but there are changes in the second five, while J.R. Tucker makes its move in our latest Girls Poll.

BOYS:

1) L.C. Bird (was #1)
2) Trinity Episcopal (was #2)
3) John Marshall (was #3)
4) Mills Godwin (was #4)
5) Varina (was #5)
6) Hermitage (was #9)
7) Monacan (was #6)
8) Henrico (was #7)
9) St. Christopher's (was #8)
10) George Wythe (NEW)

Dropping Out: Highland Springs

GIRLS:

1) Monacan (was #1)
2) Highland Springs (was #2)
3) J.R. Tucker (was #5)
4) St. Catherine's (was #3)
5) Trinity Episcopal (was #4)
6) Cosby (was #6)
7) Hopewell (was #7)
8) Atlee (was #8)
9) James River (returning)
10) L.C. Bird (was #9)

LISTEN LIVE PLAYER: #2 Trinity Episcopal at #1 L.C. Bird

Click on the YouTube player below to hear RVA Sports Network's live, exclusive online coverage of 18-0 #2 Trinity Episcopal and #1 12-0 L.C. Bird at the 2017 Bird Classic beginning at 7pm!

SPECIAL REPORT PART I: Suber Talks About Her Biggest Opponent

Writer's Note: This is the first part of a special three-part series of articles on today's student-athletes and mental health challenges, a production of The Hanover Herald-Progress newspaper and The RVA Sports Network.

In Part One, former Atlee and University of Virginia volleyball standout Karlie Suber opens up about her battle with depression, how her mindset has changed about the disease over the past two and a half years, and how she has been helped to this point in her journey. Suber, second from right, is shown below in Memorial Gymnasium at The University of Virginia with, from left to right, Cavaliers head coach Dennis Hohenshelt, her mother Ratchada and, to her left, her father Anthony. Photo by Matt Riley.

The article is also available on the Herald-Progress website at this link.

*****

For every student-athlete at every level of competition, their public performances only show a fraction of the time dedicated to their endeavor.

No one fills the bleachers when the swimmer begins their laps at 5am, hours before their classmates begin to hit the snooze button on a school day. Feet of tape used on one's body in the training room can accumulate over time into miles. Physical injuries, from simple wear and tear, to broken bones, take their toll.

Top high school players begin to experience very high levels of expectation, some as early as middle school, when word of their athletic prowess becomes public, and universities begin to talk scholarships. Practices grow in purpose, games grow exponentially in meaning. A big game in front of the right person could mean a six-figure scholarship, a "free" college education.

All the while, from the first signs of gifted play, to one's Senior Day in college, there's an issue that could be not only present, but prevalent, in the life of a student-athlete that no fan can see, that coaches may not detect. 

What is prevalent in the mind, the heart, and the soul of a teenager, a young adult, who spends, in some cases, over half of their young lives trying to turn success in athletics into success for their future?

Last week, for Jordan Hankins, a sophomore on the Northwestern University women's basketball team, the battle became too much. Hankins was found dead in her dorm room January 9th, the result, according to a medical examiner's finding, of suicide by hanging. 

A top player at her high school in Indianapolis, Hankins left an indelible impression on her coaches and teammates in just three semesters as a Wildcat, who all now must grieve and grapple with why this tragedy happened. 

Hankins seemingly had it all, an assumption we all too quickly place on any successful, on the surface, student-athlete. But as one former standout Atlee volleyball player once said, "You don't have to be happy all the time to live a happy life."

*****

Karlie Suber had it all. Her sister, Narissa, became just the second 1,000 point scorer in Atlee basketball history in 2004. The baby of the family, Karlie played several sports, but found her athletic calling on the volleyball court. 

Suber and the Raiders made the state tournament three consecutive seasons, reaching the Group AAA Championship Final her senior season in 2012. She accepted an offer to play for the University of Virginia, an Atlantic Coast Conference institution known worldwide for its quality of education.

By her sophomore year, she was in the starting lineup, and, by her own admission, doing well academically, but something was not right. Not sleeping then turned into a loss of appetite. Suber went to a psychologist, and didn't like the first results.

"I could immediately tell that he was searching for something deeper, which I wasn't really open to," Suber told the Herald Progress. "Obviously, there's a stigma behind (depression)."

On a blog post released last summer announcing her decision to end her volleyball career at Virginia with a year of eligibility remaining, Suber noted, "It's an inexplicable feeling to someone who's never experienced it before, but imagine that you're sad and you can't find a reason for it and you can't find a way to fix it."

For Suber to write the blog was, in itself, a large step forward for a woman who can be soft-spoken and private, but it served several purposes, from explanation to catharsis.

"When people found out I wasn't playing anymore, they would look at me and be like, what happened?," Suber recalled. "I was always in the gym, whether volleyball or basketball. I would just go up to RVC (Richmond Volleyball Club) and just practice with whatever team was practicing at the time. So I wanted people to know that it (retiring) wasn't because I didn't love the sport. I just physically and mentally couldn't take it, and it wasn't healthy for me."

*****

October 1, 2014 is an important date in Karlie's journey. In the heart of her sophomore volleyball season, she was diagnosed with depression. 

"Initially, it was really hard for me to accept it. I was in denial about depression at first," Suber noted. "But once I kept talking with the psychologist, I realized that it was beyond the realm of what I could do to help myself, and it clicked. I switched gears to see if there was something else that someone else could do to help me."

She was also dealing with plantar fasciitis, which causes pain in or under the heel, a condition that began her freshman year. Once the 2014 season concluded, Suber reached out.

"My coach was pretty good about it, telling me after my second year that if I needed to take the time to figure things out, I could do that," Suber noted. "He made it very clear he wasn't pushing me not to play, but if that was my decision he would still want me to be around. So, the only decision I had to make was was it going to make me happy and was I going to be in pain doing it."

Suber also worked through what she noted as "identity issues". Who is Karlie, if not a volleyball player? By talking with a sports psychologist at Virginia, and opening up to her parents and to some friends, she realized she had all the support she needed, but she simply didn't know if she could give up a sport she had played for twelve of her then-twenty years on earth.

People who deal with any type of mental health issue not only fight that battle daily, but have to be ready for a myriad of issues which surface once they seek assistance. Will I have to take medication? What side effects are possible? Will my family and friends "label" me, or treat me differently? 

In Suber's case, a mountain to climb was how to handle not playing volleyball. What does she do with her free time? Can she successfully be around the team, around the sport, while not participating? She even worried about getting in her daily exercise. Could leaving volleyball cause new emotional issues? 

Suber watched her older sisters play competitive basketball and softball, first picking up a basketball herself at age four. Nights were filled with watching their practices, or going to her own. Athletics were so ingrained in her being, her existence, how does one turn the page?

For Suber, it was a combination of learning new routines, concentrating on studies, spending time helping her team, and realizing more about depression itself.

"Learning more about the disease helped me understand what I was going through," Suber explained. "I'm one of those people that likes to know everything about something. I like to know where everything comes from. My sports psychology class helped me understand what I was going through, that I wasn't the only one, and that it's not uncommon anymore."

*****

Suber graduated from the University of Virginia last month, three and a half years after graduating from Atlee. She has also graduated to a new level of knowledge about depression, mental health, and her life today. Suber now wants to take the journey that brought her here, and help others know that, if they are depressed, there's hope, and there's help. 

As her life's journey begins a new phase, the words Karlie Suber wrote last summer seem most appropriate.

"Though this disease sucks, it has made me much more appreciative of the things my parents and sisters do to try and help me be happy," Suber wrote. "It makes me notice the little things that my friends do to help. It's okay to be sad sometimes, or angry, or scared, but as long as you don't let those emotions take over your entire life, you can find a way to be happy. Trust me, it's possible."

*****

(Next Week: As concussion issues are taken more seriously than ever in sports, their role in mental health must be examined further. A former county athletic standout recalls the night his life almost ended, and how he is turning that experience into a burgeoning movement for mental health awareness.)

New Virginia Preps Classic Schedule Released

As Session One of the 2017 VirginiaPreps.com Basketball Classic was wiped out back on January 7 due to the snowstorm, officials have been working on rescheduling, and Tuesday released the schedule for the usual two-day event, which has now been stretched to three.

See the Classic schedule below:

SATURDAY JANUARY 21: Green Run HS, Virginia Beach
2:30pm: Norview vs. Cox
4:00pm: Stone Bridge vs. Kecoughtan
5:40pm: Albemarle vs. Granby
7:20pm: Potomac vs. I.C. Norcom

Tickets: Reserved $8 adults, $3 Children 18 & under, available by emailing tickets@matthewhatfield.com; General Admission $10 adults, $5 Children 18 & under at the door.

SATURDAY JANUARY 28: Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk
11:00am: Smithfield vs. Tallwood
12:40pm: Louisa vs. Kellam
2:20pm: Monacan vs. Western Branch
4:00pm: Varina vs. Oscar Smith
5:40pm: Wakefield vs. Cape Henry
7:20pm: Bethel vs. I.C. Norcom
9:00pm: John Marshall vs. Hampton

Tickets: Same as January 21st Event (see above)

MONDAY JANUARY 30: Green Run HS, Virginia Beach
6:00pm: L.C. Bird vs. Landstown
7:30pm: Phoebus vs. Green Run

Tickets: Reserved $6 adults, $3 Children 18 & under, available by emailing tickets@matthewhatfield.com; General Admission $8 adults, $5 Children 18 & under at the door.