Editor’s Note: Bailey Adams joined the RHStoday.com staff in the fall of 2013 as a sports reporter. Entering his junior year in the fall of 2014, he became the sports editor of both RHStoday and Excalibur, Robinson’s yearbook. In the 2015-2016 school year, he chose to focus solely on online, returning as RHStoday’s sports editor. During his career in Robinson journalism, he has been an integral part of the two Pacemakers, three Pacemaker finalists, one All-American and three All-Floridas his publications have received. Individually, he has been awarded five All-Floridas for his work and has written over 160 stories for RHStoday. Bailey will be attending college at UCF, where he will major in journalism.

I came into high school with one idea for my future: I started playing baseball at the age of four and of course I was going to play Division I baseball before being selected in the MLB Draft.

Well, I’m leaving high school and I haven’t put on baseball cleats since the summer before my sophomore year. That one idea for my future I had four years ago has turned into a completely new one.

I started my own sports blog in the spring of my freshman year, but I didn’t really know what I was doing. One night in the summer of 2013, I was on Twitter, just tweeting about what I wanted to do in life instead of thinking about how I could achieve it. Then, I got a message from Jill Burns, then the journalism adviser at Robinson, telling me I should join the online newspaper staff that I’ve come to be such a big part of over the last few years. So, Burns, you’re the first person I have to thank for getting me involved at Robinson and for giving me the opportunities I’ve had to prepare for a future in the sports writing profession.

The opportunities I’ve received in my time at Robinson have been incredible. I’ve been able to cover the continuous rise of Robinson athletics in the past three years, which has included five state final four appearances (three volleyball, one wrestling and one baseball). I was able to learn from two of my favorite writers, Joey Knight and John Cotey, at the very beginning of my sophomore year when I was still figuring out this whole sports writing thing. A year later, I had the chance to work as a freelance high school football reporter for the Tampa Bay Times. When I thought about sports writing as a career, I didn’t know how real it could be. I had no idea that these opportunities really could lead to something I could do with my future.

There are so many people to thank for the help I’ve received over the past three years. First, thank you to the athletes at this school who have been helpful to me when I’ve needed interviews and information. The same goes for all of the coaches, especially Coach McCray, Coach Taylor, Coach Saunders, Coach Smith and Coach Garcia, who treated me with respect and courtesy every time I’ve needed an interview or something as simple as an answer to a question.

The support I’ve received in my time at Robinson has been incredible. To my parents, family, friends, every supporter of Robinson athletics and anyone else that has taken time to read my work, thank you. Being congratulated on awards or just being told that someone enjoyed my work is an indescribable feeling. To Ms. Oben, thank you for coming in this year and giving me the same freedom I had as a junior to set up my own schedule.

I’ve been surrounded by such great staffers in the past few years. You all have helped me more than you know. Matthew Hall and Isabel Hanewicz, what would I have done without you? You two were always there to take pictures and help me out. Your support was beyond anything I could’ve ever asked for. Isabel Giovannetti, Michelle Santacreu, Natalia Ayoub, Amanda Anders and all the rest of the yearbook and online newspaper staffs, thank you for making my time in 112 so enjoyable and fun. We’ll always be family, no matter where life takes us.

As I look ahead to new opportunities in Orlando, at the University of Central Florida and even further in the future, I won’t forget the people I’ve met and the people that have supported me in my time at Robinson.

Thank you for everything.

–Bailey Adams, 2014-2016 RHStoday.com Sports Editor