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County’s Jr. BASS Anglers Bass fishing 4 kidsOrange County High School Anglers
Remember When?
One of the reasons that the Federation Nation youth initiative is so important is that it creates a foundation of future anglers who aspire to become the professional anglers of the future. Sometimes they grow up too fast. Jelani Hennessy, the Virginia 2007 junior angler of the year is one of those anglers. He was a kid yesterday and today he is an adult.
Jelani is just 16 but this year he is fishing as a co-Angler in the both the Southern and Central Bassmaster open tournament trails. I received the following information from him. In his own words he states, “I attend Caroline High School in Caroline County Virginia where I am an 11th grade Honor roll student. I plan to attend College after High school as a pre-med/biology major. I am currently looking into different universities now.”
“We left for Florida on the 11th of January for pre-fish. The Tournament will run from the 17-19th. I am excited, but it is a lot of work! I was lucky my school supports me and let me go for the week. I did not get a free ticket however. I received plenty of home work from my instructors, and I must keep up with all my work while I am away. I do not mind. The opportunity is well worth it. Wednesday is the pairing day; there I will find out what pro I will be fishing with. Today was a hard day of pre-fishing. It was rainy and windy, but I believe I began to find a pattern. My mom rode with me all day today, but tomorrow is Monday the official start of practice and I must ride alone, Monday through Wednesday, I am ready for it. Well I am
looking forward to a great learning experience. If anything exciting
happens, I will send you an e-mail. Thanks, Jelani”
Jelani has been a force in the junior angler program and has traveled across the entire state to participate in junior angler events. He is as well known in Black Hollow as he is in Orange and Caroline County. He knows what he wants to do and we are all confident that he will do it. Good luck Jelani from everyone in Virginia.
HIGHLIGHTS TO DATE President and founder of Bassfishing4kids.com Guest speaker for Bass Pro Shop / Bass Pro Kids, 2007 Virginia Youth Angler of the year,
and as I type this memo, I am in Palatka Florida fishing My 1st BASSMASTER
OPENS TOURNAMENT TRAIL. I will be fishing both the Southern and the Central
divisions for the 2008 season as a co-angler.
2008 will offer our junior anglers new opportunities close to home. Each year, two anglers advance from the tournament trail that culminates in one super fish off called the Junior State Championship. In the past, the anglers have gone on to fish in one super event held in conjunction with the Bassmaster Classic. 2007 winners will go to New York and compete in conjunction with the Elite series event in August. In 2008, Virginia junior anglers will join the Mid Atlantic competitors on Buggs Island for a regional fish off.
Thanks to an unusually dedicated Federation and some non-Federation mentors, the junior angler program in Virginia has grown to the point where we are concerned about having enough adult support. We have also made some interesting observations, in that supportive non-boater parents have actually made the sacrifice to purchase a boat so that their child will have the opportunity to participate. The realization that there is this much parental dedication to the program is awesome.
In addition, it takes a very special high school faculty to support this initiative and to all of you at Caroline County High School, Orange County High School and Warren County High School, those of us at the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation of Virginia send a huge high five to you for recognizing the importance of this opportunity. The learning that Jelani and others will get cannot be measured but you can be sure that the SOL’s for Math, Science, English and effective communication will all be covered.
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