Well, it's been quite awhile since my last blog post. Natalie, our daughter who was born January 5th (6 weeks early), will be 7 months old on Wednesday. She's still on the small side, but she is doing really well. She has gone from 2 lbs, 15 oz and 15.5 inches at birth to 11 lbs, 10 oz and 23.5 inches at 6.5 months. She is a very happy baby (except for car rides) and so far she has met all her motor milestones, which are sometimes delayed in premature babies. Our son Cameron turned 4 years old in March and will be beginning a pre-K program next week. We just finished our first season of kickball, which was a lot of fun, and somehow I ended up coaching his team. Time really does go by quickly. As far as things go at Mississippi State, we are starting our kinesiology doctoral program this Fall, and we obtained some space in our building and started a neuromechanics lab this past spring (with Dr. Chander). This new lab space and the presence of doctoral students will allow us to conduct some exciting research in the future. I was also promoted to associate professor and granted tenure, which would not have been possible without the help and support of so many people, especially my wife Amy. The future looks bright here.
On another note, I wanted to take a little bit of time to brag about my uncle, Steve Knight. He has been the head basketball coach at William Carey University for the past 33 years. I used to be a ball boy for him back when I was younger. This weekend, he was inducted in the
Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, which is such an incredible honor. He has won 610 games during his tenure (making him the all time leader in wins among Mississippi college basketball coaches) and several league and tournament championships. It was a really special night for him and our family, and it was also cool to see him sitting up on the stage next to Brett Favre, who was my favorite football player growing up. We are really proud of Steve and the legacy that he has set. I was never a great basketball player, but he helped me a lot growing up with my game and gave me the chance to be around a college basketball team, and for that I am grateful.
