Coach Scott Miller, who has led the Bainbridge High School Bearcats baseball program for the past nine years, resigned last Tuesday.

While I am sorry to see him step down from his head coaching position, I am happy that he and his wife Michelle, who was the Decatur County School System’s teacher of the year last year, will be staying in Bainbridge. They are an asset to Bainbridge High School and Bainbridge and Decatur County.

During an outstanding eight year coaching career at Marianna (Fla.) High School, Scott led Marianna’s Bulldogs to their first ever state championship in 1999.
Jeff Mathis, who is currently a catcher with the Toronto Blue Jays, played for him at Marianna.

Scott, who hopes to continue his coaching duties in the football program, is very active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He is one of the best role models for athletes and other young people that I have been around in my 42 years of covering Bainbridge High School sports for this fine newspaper.

While chatting with Scott last Wednesday morning, he talked about how important it was for him to support the activities of Caitlin and Brent, his and Michelle’s two young children, as they grow up.

“Caitlin is playing middle school soccer and I was able to see her play just once this year,” he said, rather disappointedly. “I am looking forward to Michelle and I seeing many more of the activities of both of our children as they grow up.”
Scott and Michelle are the type quality people and teachers that any parent would like to have their son or daughter be influenced by.

Each year Scott and the Bainbridge High School Dugout Club have dedicated their baseball program to an outstanding supporter of the Bearcats baseball program.
This year’s choice of Janone Doss was a particularly outstanding one. She has supported Bainbridge High School baseball for many years and is definitely their No. 1 fan.

A past selection was my dear friend Billy Simmons Jr., a former Bainbridge Kiwanis Club Decatur County Man of the Year.

While I enjoy all sports, baseball has always been by far my favorite. Bearcat Field, on the beautiful new Bainbridge High School campus, is the fourth field I have had the pleasure of covering Bearcats baseball on.

When I first began my coverage, coach Bobby Trawick’s Bearcats were playing at the Earle May Boat Basin fields. I later covered coaches Doug Tucker, Pete Reeves and Stan Killough’s Bearcats teams on the first Bearcat Field, where the Decatur County Memorial Coliseum is now located.

The second Bearcat Field, located behind the former Bainbridge High School and current Bainbridge Middle School, is where I covered the teams of coach Killough and early teams of coach Miller.

It has been a great ride and I am looking forward to covering the next Bearcats head coach’s team in the spring of 2013.

Joe Crine is the sports editor of The Post-Searchlight. You can email him at joe.crine@thepostsearchlight.com.