Northampton High School graduate Tyler Webb was called up Thursday to the big leagues by the New York Yankees. He’s been pitching this season for the Yankees’ Triple A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Webb is 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA in 21 relief appearances. He has 47 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitching.

In his first outing against the Texas Rangers, Webb made his way to the mound in the seventh inning. Webb pitched two innings, with no hits while recording his first major league strike out.

Webb was rated No. 228 best high school player in the country by PG Crosschecker as well as the No. 6 best high school player in the state of Virginia. Tyler was part of the 2009 Virginia High School Coaches Association (VHSCA) A All-State team. Webb also played in the 2009 VHSCA East-West All-Star game. In addition, he pitched for the North Canes AAU squad.

Webb is South Carolina’s career leader in appearances with 110 from 2010-13 (12 starts, 98 relief).The New York Yankees selected him in the 10th round of the 2013 MLB draft.

Shore Native Tyler Webb called up by Yankees this week (USA Today Sports Photo)

Adam and Spencer Travis with Cobia (Photo Spencer Travis, Facebook)

Cobia Season Regulations: Only one cobia per day of at least 40 inches in length is allowed. For anglers on a boat, there is a three fish maximum bag limit for the boat. The three fish boat limit may include only one cobia greater than 50 inches in length. Using a gaff to land cobia is not allowed.

Note: Cobia permits are required in addition to a fishing license. The permit is free and may be obtained online at mrc.virginia.gov. Permit holders must report their cobia fishing trips.

With Cobia season in full swing, the drum are also starting to hit. Get a red and black drum, along with a Cobia on the same day, and you have achieved the Chesapeake Bay Grand Slam.

Local looks:

Red drum action has been busy, with some boats fishing near the breakers off Fisherman’s Island and along Nautilus Shoal and Nine Foot Shoal have been releasing dozens of good sized red drum. Some black drum are showing up near buoys 13 and 16, and sheepshead are on the structure along with spadefish. Trophy-sized flounder have been caught at the bridge this week. Cobia, red drum and some black drum can be found in the area, along with reports of good sized flounder.

Northampton Sophomore Forest Flynn has broken his personal best in pole vault and now holds the Virginia State record in Division IA at 12 feet. Flynn broke the record at a  meet held at Stephen Decatur.  Flynn also competes in the 400 meter and 2 mile distances. One of Forest’s goals is to beat his father’s best of 13’3″.

“Forest is really self-motivated. Last season, he had to miss the state finals, and he felt like he could have won,” said his father, and coach Terry Flynn. “Now, he’ll see some workout or routine on the internet, and just go right into it. He does hundreds of push-ups and sit-ups every day…he has the work ethic, so that makes it easy for me…I can just work on technique.”

Forest Flynn breaks the state record at 12 feet (Photo Jean Flynn)

For parents that worry about their children sustaining sports concussions, football is usually the first associated with this problem. A new study, Sport- and Gender-specific Trends in the Epidemiology of Concussions Suffered by High School Athletes surprisingly indicates that not football, but girls soccer has the highest per capita rate of concussions and traumatic brain injuries in high school sports.

The Author with his awesome soccer team (U-18 Black) at Randy Custis Field

The study, led by Dr. Wellington Hsu, professor of orthopaedics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, was presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual conference, and found that roughly 27 percent of all injuries suffered by girls soccer players are traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

From the study: To our knowledge, this is the first study to report that concussions now account for a higher proportion of injuries in girls soccer than boys football. The concussion rate for girls soccer is also increasing rapidly, and is now nearly tied with boys football and 3-fold higher than boys soccer.

Technically, the study found that football injuries feature a 24 percent correlation between brain injuries and overall injuries. That percentage is almost identical to the one for girls basketball and the one for boys soccer, with each of those sports approximately one percentage point behind the prior sport on the list.

The study also noted that concussions are apparently on the rise across all sports, with many rates essentially doubling following the introduction of TBI laws.

Part of the reason for the rise in concussions in girl athletes may be an increasingly aggressive style of play. For those of us involved in youth coaching, we have seen more aggressive styles of play lead to collisions and head to head contact.

For youth soccer coaches, teaching a more strategic, thought out, even a more measured, less contact-aggressive style could help limit some of these injuries. Working on strengthening neck muscles, as well focusing on proper techniques for heading the ball should also minimize head injuries. As a coach, the results of this study will alter my approach, as well as some of the drills and exercises we will be using next fall.

Spring Soccer is ready to start at Northampton County Parks and Recreation on April 15th. Registration begins March 31st and the cost is $35 per player. This is great program, and good way to get out and enjoy Spring weather on the Eastern Shore. You can register by calling 757-678-0468, or email parks@co.northampton.va.us. The program still needs a few coaches, so please contact County parks and rec if you can volunteer.