You may not know it due to the cold temperatures, but spring sports are right around the corner.
On Jan. 29, spring sports programs from Newton, Eastside and Alcovy high schools all came together to discuss their plans and expectations for the upcoming season at Newton County Schools (NCS) Spring Sports Media Day.
This is now media day No. 5 for me, and it always excites me to see how each of these programs are preparing for the season. One thing I always see is the excitement on the faces of the student-athletes and coaches as the season begins to start up.
With that said, here are some takeaways from this year’s Spring Sports Media Day.
Baseball teams look for respective team goals
Each of the three NCS baseball teams have their own goals for the 2026 season.
For Newton, coach Delvin Jordan said that they want to reach the 20-win mark for the first time and keep building off of two strong seasons in 2024 and 2025.
New head coach Shane Griffin and the Eastside Eagles are seeking a jump back into contention, as last year’s 8-19 record was below expectation.
With the Tigers, they are looking for improvement. A 2-23 record in 2025 was the baseline for what was an inexperienced squad. But head coach Brandon Thomas says that this year isn’t necessarily about wins and losses, rather it’s about building a culture.
Optimism surrounds soccer programs
Soccer in Newton County has been a mixed bag of late.
Eastside boys soccer made shockwaves last season when the boys team captured their first region title since 2001. Head coach Jabari Bennett acknowledged that this year’s team is down 13 seniors from last year’s squad. But the expectations of winning the region again remain the same.
The Eastside girls team is also preparing to take another step up under head coach Yulisa Vega. Vega said that the team has promoted several players to varsity and expects to remain contenders.
Newton and Alcovy did not fare nearly as well in 2025. But both are campaigning for stronger seasons this go around.
Specifically for the Tigers, there will be a new head man in charge. Irvin Colbourne succeeds Toby Davis as the new Alcovy soccer head coach. He comes to Newton County after several years at Rockdale County.
The Newton Rams teams have retained a number of their players and will look to best their respective 0-15 and 2-13-1 campaigns from last year.
Improvement is the name of the game
Across the board, each program all identified one goal for the spring season: improvement.
Whether it was golf, tennis, track-and-field or any other sport, all of the student-athletes who spoke issued a commitment to improvement. Time will tell if the hard work over the offseason has paid off, but if Thursday was an implication, they are ready.
Some facilities ready, others not quite
The overarching elephant in the room was the status of the new athletic facilities that are on its way to each school.
District athletic director Carl Green said that the tracks are ready to use for practicing, but that they are not quite ready to host meets. Soccer fields are also not ready for use, but Green hoped that they would be ready for practice before the end of the season.
So there you have it, spring sports are right around the corner. Are you ready?
Evan Newton is the managing editor of The Covington News. He can be reached at enewton@covnews.com.
