Nearly a couple of dozen players are on a football field in Pensacola on a July morning running through plays on both sides of the ball as well as doing some skill work.
This is what laying the foundation looks like for a first-year college football program, which is what John Melvin Christian College will be this fall.
Inside a church gymnasium in downtown Milton, the sound of a ball swishing through the net provides the soundtrack to CJ McKinley’s comeback story.
McKinley used to play basketball here all the time as a child. Now the former Milton Panther is in this same building launching up shot after shot as he works toward being ready for his first college hoops season at Baptist University of Florida.
Carson Lowe was all set to head out for the district meet and compete in the javelin in April.
And then the Pace standout learned there would be no competition for him that day.
Caitlyn Gavin was primarily a pinch runner during her freshman year at South Alabama, but the former Jay Royal softball star saw her role on the team increase significantly this past season.
Gavin started and played in 47 games with the Jaguars as her offseason work paid off.
Rory Gilroy planned to play soccer in college. A strong senior season of track at Pace changed his mind.
It turned out to be a great decision. In the spring, Gilroy dominated the Collegiate Conference of the South meet, earning top performer honors.
Treymar Jones reached the 1,000-point milestone at two different high schools, a statistic that highlights just how good of a player the Milton grad is on the court.
Jones will have a chance to be a big-time scorer in college as well after signing earlier this year with Angelina, a junior college in Texas.
Pulling sleds, agility drills, running sprints up and down the field. It’s a lot of work in the brutal heat and humidity on a July morning.
That work, however, and everything else the Pace Patriots are doing on the football field this summer, is about building and preparing for the season ahead.
Brendan Farish loves football. So much, in fact, that as a child, he would study rosters on the John Madden video game.
“I have a tremendous passion for the game,” Farish said. “It’s almost obsessive. I love everything about it. I can’t imagine not playing it.”
