Anybody who thinks high school girls basketball is a game for sissies hasn’t been to any of Floyd County High School’s games recently. Both the junior varsity (right) and varsity teams play full contact basketball with a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners style.

And both teams play the game well, given their impressive records. The girls junior varisty rolled up a big win against Narrows Wednesday night in the FCHS gym and the girls’ varsity had a big lead when I left the game after the first quarter.

Both teams play an agressive style on offense and defense and Alan Cantrell’s varisty girls team seems headed for another appearance in the district and state finals this year.

From a photographer’s point of view, I love shooting high school sports. The kids play with an abandon that is all too often missing at the college and pro level and high school sports still has a love-of-the-game aspect that disappears as they get older.

In college, sports is a big money operation and gets even bigger with the pros. At Virginia Tech, football coach Frank Beamer is the highest paid state employee in Virginia, drawing a salary of mroe than $2 million a year at taxpayer’s expense. Is he worth it? Some think so, even though I don’t share their enthusiasm for hokie mania (or the mania that surrounds any other college team anywhere).

The TVs in our home will stay off during the bowl games this Christmas season. I’d rather watch the high school kids play on any given night.