High School Sports

BEDFORD, Ky. – Trimble County High School basketball fans will see a familiar face in an unfamiliar role on the team bench when cage season dribbles in this fall.

John Leep III has spent quite a bit of time pacing the floor and directing his teams on the sidelines of Trimble’s high school and middle gymnasiums. But always in the past, as coach of the middle school and junior varsity teams at Carroll County schools, Leep was plotting strategies to beat his then-archrivals – the Trimble County Raiders.

Tyler Gross is a quiet leader, a consistent pitcher, a natural lineman and a blue-collar athlete. He makes sacrifices for the good of the team and does not seek recognition or glory for the work he puts in.

These are some of the comments made by two of the coaches who know him best and among the reasons why Gross was selected as the 2011 Male Student-Athlete of the Year, an award sponsored by The News-Democrat and Earl Floyd Ford.