In the past couple of months, I’ve had the opportunity to touch base with a number of former local athletes for various stories.
That got me thinking about where other former athletes might be. It’s not hard to find former Crestview High School offensive lineman Matt Sanders, Baker multi-sport standout Adam Henry or Laurel Hill School pitcher Nate Moore.
Sanders, who played college football at Clemson, is back home in Crestview, teaching at CHS and coaching the Bulldog defensive line, the girls junior varsity basketball team and the flag football team.
If you want to find Henry, just look for him at Baker School. He teaches at his alma mater, is the varsity baseball coach and assists Steve Combest with the Gator middle school football team.
Moore, a 2001 LHS graduate, left Laurel Hill and played baseball at Jefferson Davis Community College, the then Okaloosa-Walton Community College and Troy University before the Kansas City Royals drafted him in 2004.
Moore played four seasons of minor league baseball and is now back in the area teaching and coaching at, of all places, Laurel Hill’s rival, Paxton School.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most about attending Crestview High School Hall of Fame luncheons is catching up with former Bulldogs I covered and meeting others that I never had the opportunity to see play.
It’s nice to share in the stories and post high school successes of the men and women whom local fans cheered when they were young Bulldogs, Gators or Hoboes.
I plan to do a series of features focusing on former athletes as they share memories of their playing days and what they are up to now.
I’m finishing my 15th year covering Northwest Florida sports, so I know many athletes from the past decade and a half, but 2000 and earlier becomes a stretch. Even those athletes I remember, I probably don’t have contact information for them.
If you know of a former Baker School, Crestview High School or Laurel Hill School athlete with a story well worth telling, please send me an email with the athlete’s name and contact information.
It will be fun looking back at the athletes who made the area special.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DICKSON: Looking for former athletes