It’s time to take a step back in the sports world and restore some sanity to it.
Because when you have someone make a threat to shoot an umpire, that’s a problem. A big problem.
It’s easy to focus on the athletic talent of an athlete. But don’t ignore what they do in the classroom either.
There are a ton of athletes who get the job done on and off the court, not only locally at the high school level, but when they go off to college as well.
With all the talent Florida produces from an athletic standpoint, you’d think coaches here were some of the highest paid in the nation.
Think again. Florida coaches are underpaid, a lot of times underappreciated, and in most instances, overworked. Coaches in surrounding states tend to make more.
When I originally wrote this column last week, there were openings for the boys basketball head coaching positions at two schools in Santa Rosa County.
But I had to make a few changes as Milton has since filled its void. Navarre’s job is still open but will be filled at some point later this spring.
Baseball and softball in this area seems to be in a great place.
Most of the teams are highly ranked in the region and state and the competitiveness that has been evident is no joke.
Nine weeks is all that remains in the school athletic season if you count the softball state championship week. For most teams, the year will be over long before that.
I’ve never been one to complain about athletes transferring. I don’t care if coaches jump from one job to another.
Sure, you hate to see it, but it’s part of sports in 2025. The days of staying in one place are long gone in college athletics.
It wasn’t the state weightlifting meet, but it was pretty darn close.
Talented boys weightlifting teams from around Northwest Florida competed at the Navarre Invitational last Wednesday afternoon.
So I took my first trip over to the new track at Pine Forest a couple of weekends ago. Let me just say that I was impressed.
It kind of felt like I was walking into a stadium for the state meet with the way the rubberized track looked as the sun beat down on it. It is indeed a thing of beauty.
Another college announced it will close at the end of this academic year. This time it’s Northland, which is an NCAA Division III school in Wisconsin.
It certainly won’t be the last school to close its doors forever because the reality in this ever-changing small college landscape is that plenty of other colleges are in danger of being shuttered.
