CORVETTE HOBBY 

MY TIME OF GROWTH

By : Roy McNeill

This period of my life I call My Time Of Growth , because of the fun, training and development I experience in Fayetteville and  at Seabrook Park growing up in the 60's . As my mother call Seabrook "MY HOME AWAY FROM HOME". I started playing organized sports at 9 years old on the Seabrook Allstars midget baseball team. Mr Beard was our coach and mentor. I started in the  center field position  my first year playing baseball . My second year I played third base and my  final year I rotated between pitching and playing shortstop. I was one of the most consistant  pitchers on the team and pitched the majority of the time.  NFL Coach Jimmy Raye was our catcher  and the teams best player. 

I also played Midget football for three  years and started at the Tight End position. Arthur Monk Smith was our coach. Coach Smith  was ahead of his time , some of the schemes and techniques that he taught us at that early age, work to our advantage in our later years. Outstanding Football athletes like  Charles Baggett , Ronnie Chalmers, Edger Farmer,Charles Bennett, Milton Blue, Ernest McNeill, Tommy Gavin , Garvin Stone, Jimmy Raye, Howard Smith and Carey Hughley got their start under the tutelage of Monk Smith .

At age 13,  I  played Pony League Baseball . By that time I could play all of the positions on the field , but   most of the time I would pitch and when I wasn't  pitching I would play Shortstop . During that period of time there were many outstanding baseball player that got their start in  our league such as James lucas, Edward Davis McMillan , Oliver Melvin , Art Jones, Jackie Burns, Parnell Miles, Earl McNeill, and I can name at least twenty more just out of my head. During  that time I felt that baseball was my best sport and it came very natural to me.

At Washington Dr. Junior High I got cut from the basketball team. That was one of the most disappointing event while growing up , but it taught me that to be successful in anything you must work hard to make it happen.  I had a passion and love for the game of  basketball, but I never had any coaching in basketball like I had in baseball and football.  I realized at an early age , that I had to teach myself.  I  practiced and played  basketball everyday of the week. I would play basketball in the cold, rain , snow,  sun  or whatever, I was determine to get better. During the summer  I would go over to Newbald Elementary School  at 7:00 in the morning and shoot at least 500 jumpshots everyday and then go to Seabrook Park and shoot basketball  with the older guys. Well,  that hard work and dedication  paid-off for me.  I went from getting cut as a 9th grader to a starter  and varsity team Co-captain by my 11th grade year.

At the end of my  10th grade year , Coach Ike Walker  had a serious talk with me about  playing three sports , he said I had the talent to play  football , basketball and baseball. He told me that by not playing football and baseball, I was cheating myself. I had always been a shy and quiet person , even today , but Coach Walker believed in me and gave me the confidence that I needed . Coach Walker was the ultimate motivator,  he made each player feel special and that feeling spreaded to everyone who was around him. He was not only a great coach, but a great friend and mentor.

My Junior year and following Coach Walkers advice , I played football and  started at  Offensive End  next to NFL Hall of Famer Doug Wilkerson who played  Offensive Tackle. We had an outstanding cast of successful players such as  Jimmy Raye , Lonnie Farrirs, Henry Sellers, Bill Commons, Clifford Carmichael, Ben Wright, Edgar Farmer , Oliver Melvin , Kenny Jones , Charles Breece, Mike Evans , James Barrett, Carl Atkins, Colon Oliver, and Colon Womack . In Fact , I could name almost  the entire team , our talent was so vast.

Coach D.T. Carter was a great football coach  , but the thing that enhanced his greatness was the  outstanding talent  he had available to him. Can you possibly imagine every Black Athlete in the City of  Fayetteville at E.E. Smith High School , well that  was the case in the 60's.  The talent at EE. Smith HS. in the 60's and early 70's were boundless. We had players on the bench that could have been Superstars at other high schools. 

During  my Junior and Senior years, I  started on the Varsity Basketball team and was  Co-Team Captain with  Jimmy Raye. Also, I started  at Shortstop on the baseball team and started at tight end on the football team  

My best football game was four catches and a touchdown against Dillard HS in Goldsboro NC. My best basketball game was 36 points against Durham Hillside and All-Conference tournament team two years in a row. My best baseball accomplishment was that I was the lead-off  batter and never committed an error from my shortstop position.   

When I look back on the early days,  I have to give thanks to Bill Carver, Ike Walker , DT Carter, DS. Kelly, Mr. Beard and Monk Smith for giving me a chance to experience some of the most enjoyable times of my life, PLAYING SPORTS in Fayetteville during  the 60's

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