Athletics would likely be a welcome addition at Reid State in Evergreen

I found myself in Monroeville on Friday morning and happened to ride through the Alabama Southern Community College campus. It was hard not to notice members of the college’s baseball and softball teams working on their fields and getting ready to practice. All of that got me to thinking about how great it would be if Reid State Technical College in Evergreen had athletics like many of the surrounding community colleges.

Alabama Southern fields baseball, softball and men’s and women’s basketball teams. Jefferson Davis Community College, which has campuses in Brewton and Atmore, has men’s basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball teams. Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, with campuses in Andalusia, Greenville, Opp and Luverne, has baseball, softball and men’s and women’s basketball teams.

I think that athletics would be a welcome addition at Reid State for a number of reasons. Not only would it give local kids an opportunity to continue playing their favorite sports closer to home, but it would also draw more attention to the educational programs offered at Reid. Athletics are often called the “front porch” of college’s like Alabama Southern and Jeff Davis, and it would be no different at Reid.

Some of you may say that Reid’s different because it’s a technical college, which makes it different than schools like Alabama Southern, Jeff Davis and Lurleen B. Wallace. This is true to some extent, but I think there are more similarities than differences.

Reid is known far and wide for its outstanding courses in subjects like welding, cosmetology, auto body repair, industrial electronics and a number of other technical programs.

It may come as a surprise to some readers, but Jeff Davis also offers classes in welding, cosmetology, industrial electronics in addition to auto mechanics, air conditioning and refrigeration repair and half a dozen other technical programs.

Wallace also offers courses in welding, auto body repair, air conditioning and refrigeration repair and a number of other technical courses. I say all that to say that Reid isn’t as different from these other schools as you might think.

Not only would athletics at Reid State offer local high school athletes additional opportunities beyond high school, but athletes at Reid would also have opportunities beyond the junior college level. I worked at the newspaper in Monroeville for a number of years and helped cover some of the sports at Alabama Southern and saw more than a few of their athletes go on to play at four-year colleges.

Some of the baseball players even turned pro. In fact, just two months ago, former Alabama Southern pitcher Turner Lee signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. A month of so later, I read that former Wallace State third baseman Zelous Wheeler had been promoted to the New York Yankee’s Triple-A ball club in Scranton, New York, putting him just one rung away from the top of the Major League ladder.

Every year, many of the top athletes at Hillcrest and Sparta go on to play at junior colleges around the state, and some even go out of state to seek opportunities in athletics. If Reid had sports teams, you can only wonder how many of them would chose to remain close to home to go to school and continue playing their favorite sports.