From the gym to the football field. A few moments in between to catch his breath. That’s the kind of schedule Darius Cunningham Jr. is rolling with this summer.
Jelina Bly heads into the Team Florida Gym off Pace Boulevard in Pensacola for another night of working out.
A little over two years ago, Bly was helping the Raiders win another state championship while earning recognition as the top lifter in the state.
Katie Kauth loves that the University of West Florida is in the area and has a women’s soccer program she is quite familiar with.
The rising senior for the Navarre Raiders has been to games on the campus in Pensacola. Her brother attends school there.
It’s been a successful summer for the Navarre volleyball team. The Raiders went unbeaten at a tournament at UWF and have made big jumps from a skill standpoint as they put in work in preparation for the 2023 season.
Jake Eder could have unraveled as he walked his third straight batter to load up the bases on an early July evening at Blue Wahoos Stadium, putting himself in a position no pitcher wants to face.
This was only his third Double-A start of 2023, and an important one with it being his first at home since the elbow injury two years ago that derailed his career at the time.
Jack Helton played through the pain last fall. It wasn’t easy. A bone calcification had broken off and was embedded in his patellar tendon in his right knee.
“It happened the summer going into my sophomore season. When I walked, it scraped against it,” Helton said.
Taylor Jefferson is talking about her upcoming senior season in basketball when her coach, Abby Fogg, shouts from down the hallway that Jefferson is one to watch this year.
Known as a standout softball player at Navarre, Jefferson is in a spot now where she will be counted on to step up big for the Raiders on the court as well.
Gary Graham is the new head coach of the Pensacola Ice Flyers.
He’s no stranger to the city or the team, having coached them to their first SPHL championship in franchise history in 2013. He replaces Rod Aldoff.
Young softball players spend a hot summer morning working on their swing, their pitching technique and their ability to play defense in the field, among other skills.
The thing about it all is that the Raiders softball players headed up the instruction. And that was by design, according to coach Chelsi Kania.
Rain fell for a period of about 20 minutes on a Thursday afternoon in mid-July, but soon gave way to sunshine and humidity thick enough to cut with a knife.
Yet, the weather conditions didn’t put a damper on the experience Navarre’s football team got out of a unique 7-on-7 battle with Choctaw.
