Throughout his high school coaching career, Century girls basketball coach Joel Beard has been known as an intense competitor.

This Tuesday night, however, you can excuse the coach if, at least for a moment, he feels a pang of sympathy for the other side.

That's because Beard's first-year Knights will travel to Hampstead to play North Carroll, a team on which his daughter, Courtney Beard, is the starting point guard.

"We've talked about it kiddingly." Joel Beard said. "I think the whole thing comes down to the fact that no matter what, win or lose, we're still dad and daughter. Both of us want our teams to do well. For those two hours, we're going to do what we can do to win a game, but when it's over, Christmas is still coming."

Two years ago, it was Courtney Beard who talked her father, who gained notoriety as boys coach at Randallstown during the late 1980s, into returning to coaching following a three-year absence.

So Joel Beard applied for and accepted the coaching job at Century, which last season - its first year of existence - fielded only a JV team. Looking down the road, however, both anticipated a father vs. daughter matchup.

"Part of it is just a game, but part of it is also bragging fights," said Courtney Beard, a senior, whose team will play Century at least two times this season. "He's told me that he hopes this season I do really well, and I win all but two or three games."

So what outcome would her father root for if the game came down to Courtney Beard having a chance at the game-winning shot?

"I'm going to hopefully have my people in a position that she can't," said Joel Beard.

Key halts indoor track

Citing safety concerns, Francis Scott Key has scrapped its indoor track program, athletic director Leo Totten said.

The problem stems from the tack of a proper training facility for the Eagles, who have in past years practiced in various locations around the school.

"We were running in halls with kids falling all around, and practicing high jump in the cafeteria," Totten said. "It's not a good, safe environment, and that's really the bottom line. I don't foresee any facilities changing that would make it a safe sport for us."

Some of the county schools have in the past utilized the Carroll Indoor Sports Center in Westminster, owned by Winters Mill coach Jim Shank. A change in the facility's scheduling, however, has made after-school practice time harder to come by.

Totten emphasized that the decision did not come lightly, with discussions dating back at least a year.

"We were trying, to look at all angles and trying to figure out the worth and value of it," Totten said. "It just didn't justify the safety issues."

Wrestling with youth

Despite being in its first year of existence, Winters Mill is establishing itself in at least one sport.

The Falcons who have only freshmen and sophomores, are fielding both varsity and JV Wrestling teams this season, and filling just about all the weight classes, including the heavier ones.

"It's worked out pretty good so far," said former Glenelg coach Jeft Kent, who teams with Randy Biden to lead the young Falcons. "It's absolutely a learning experience I joke with people and say that we've skipped the frying pan this year and jumped right in the fire."

Still, there has been some early success.

At the recent Catoctin Duals, Winters Mill won two of its five matches albeit with the help of forfeits, and finished 11th out of 14 teams. Andy Fisher, a 140-pound freshman who had never wrestled competitively, won all five of his matches by pins at the tournament.

Others who Kent believes could qualify for regionals include Chuck Crockin (171 pounds) a freshman who stood out at the recreatlon-league level last year, and sophomore Ron Rose (145), who came from Westminster's program.