Sam Adams never intended to leave Caledonia High School in a rush.
But when an opportunity came open last week to join his wife and children in Louisiana, he couldn”t say no.
On. Feb. 1, the Caledonia High baseball coach resigned his position to take a teaching job at Zachary Elementary School in Zachary, La. The decision allowed him to reunite with his wife, who had relocated to take another job, and his three children.
Adams, who was head baseball coach at Caledonia High since 2004, will work as a physical education teacher at Zachary Elementary School. He said he turned down opportunities to be an assistant baseball and an assistant football coach in the area.
“I was looking for a job, but I wasn”t expecting something to come open,” Adams said. “I intended to stay (at Caledonia High) until May, but the opportunity came open for me to take a job.”
Adams said he will take advantage of the change to go back to school at LSU and begin work on a master”s degree in administration. He said he planned to take a break for coaching for a while and that it was a good move for his family to relocate to his wife”s hometown, which is on the outskirts of Baton Rouge. He said it likely would take him a couple of years to complete the work on his degree.
Until then, Adams said he would enjoy spending time with his family. He thanked Caledonia High Principal Randy Barnett and Lowndes County Schools Superintendent Mike Halford for being understanding when he notified him of his situation.
Adams also thanked the people of Caledonia for working with him and supporting him as baseball coach.
Adams, a 1992 graduate of New Hope High, was head baseball coach at Pickens Academy in Carrollton, Ala., from 2000-03 and the head baseball coach at Pickens County High from 1998-2000. He said he also hoped to get back into coaching, possibly at the college level, and to become a college professor.
“I am excited (about the possibilities),” Adams said. “Zachary is the No. 1 school system in Louisiana, and jobs there don”t come along too often. Leaving the baseball team and leaving Caledonia is tough, but you have to do what”s best for your family, and I hope everybody would understand.”
Caledonia High Athletic Director Jason Forrester, who went to school at New Hope High with Adams, praised Adams” work with the baseball team and wished him well in his future endeavors.
“He is a real good person, and I really respect him and the job he did here,” Forrester said. “We hate to lose him, but in his situation he is moving to be with his family, and I don”t begrudge him at all.”
Forrester said Randy Finch, a physical education teacher at Caledonia High who was an assistant coach for Adams, will take over as head coach. He said an official announcement about the coaching position hasn”t been made.
Finch also worked with the Caledonia Middle School team and the junior varsity program.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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