Former BHS QB packs on pounds, talent

Check out this story by Jeff Lockridge in today's Tennessean Sports section ...

By Jeff Lockridge
Thomas Welch has told his teammates on the Vanderbilt offensive line that he was once a lean, mean quarterback at nearby Brentwood High.
Not everyone is buying his sales pitch.
"I can't believe that," senior center Bradley Vierling said. "That's what I hear. He can still throw the ball a little bit, but I like his hand on the ground."
Welch was the Bruins' quarterback as a junior but he spent his senior season as a 6-foot-7, 220-pound tight end/defensive end in 2004.
As he readies for his senior year at Vanderbilt, he weighs 310 pounds. He has moved from tight end to right tackle to left tackle since arriving on campus.

Read the entire story at http://tinyurl.com/BWwelch.

Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics.

BHS, RHS among nation's best ... again

Thanks to Brentwood resident Libby Armstrong for sharing a link to Newsweek's just released 2009 list of top-ranked public schools.

Out of the 1480 schools ranked, Brentwood High School is 211 while Ravenwood comes in at 395. Of course, this is no surprise to those of us who live here but it's always great to get national recognition.

Brentwood's ranking dropped slightly from 2008, moving to 211 from 192 in 2008 but up from 223 in 2007. It has been on this list in 2006 (234), 2005 (339) and 2003 (315).
Ravenwood moved up from its 473 standing last year. The city's newest high school also scored in 2007 (577) and 2006 (468).

Congratulations to all the students, teachers, staff and support personnel who work so hard to earn this recognition.

"Public schools are ranked according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2008 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 6 percent of public schools measured this way," Newsweek reports.

Check it out yourself at www.newsweek.com/id/201160/?GT1=43002

No stimulus needed for teen talent bank

Wow.
While many in Brentwood were listening to Brentwood's own Dave Ramsey's nationally simulcast Town Hall meeting (wish I could have been in two places!), I attended the Brentwood High School Choral Department's "Mainly a Capella" concert.
I never cease to be amazed at the level of talent our high school students possess. Did you see Beauty and the Beast at BHS or Footloose at Ravenwood this spring?
After the Beauty curtain closed in March, my brother, in town from Virginia, made the statement: "This was better than most of the theater I've seen in Richmond the past few years."
Thursday night's concert was just another example of the incredibly talented youth that live here. Taylor DeFore's take on "Superman" left me speechless. Brett Rosenblum totally rocked "You Raise Me Up." In the spirit of full disclosure, my son Thomas had a solo as well (which is why I wasn't at the Town Hall meeting). Believe me, he doesn't get his pipes from his mother.
If you've missed this spring's earlier productions or concerts, don't despair. Just plan to head to Brentwood Academy this weekend for Into the Woods.
Shows continue Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Reserved tickets, available online only, are $12. General admission tickets are $8. Visit brentwoodacademy.com for details. Hope some talent scouts have been in the audiences this spring. If not, they've missed a fine opportunity to discover some amazing young talent.
Maybe we could add a local teen talent show to the always popular but growing tired lineup at Crockett Park this summer. Now that could be amazing.