There's been a lot of talk about allegations of local high school athletic programs having illegal contact or recruiting athletes from other Okaloosa County schools.

If you missed it, seven key Fort Walton Beach High School football players transferred to Niceville High School in just a few days, and some people at Fort Walton Beach questioned motives behind the transfers.

While Niceville High School was cleared of any wrongdoing, a school board investigation showed that an assistant coach made an illegal in-home visit to a current Crestview High School athlete after the athlete's eighth-grade year.

I have been covering Okaloosa County sports since January of 2001. At one time or another in the last 13-plus years I've heard accusations and innuendo about almost every school in the county allegedly recruiting.

Do I believe Okaloosa County high schools recruit players from other schools? It's possible; several well-placed sources across the county have told me things off the record.

While working for the Northwest Florida Daily News several years ago I received several anonymous calls — complete with a blocked phone number and a disguised voice — accusing a high school of recruiting.

Can I prove the recruiting? No, not without more to go on.

I believe the best solution to curb what can appear to be recruiting is to have stricter transfer rules at state and local levels.

The Florida High School Athletic Association has an open policy on athlete transfers as long as the transfer is approved by the governing school district.

In other words, if a parent in Crestview had enough wealth to fly his or her son or daughter to and from a school in Miami each day so the student could play a certain sport, and the Miami school district approved, the FHSAA would allow it. Of course, the FHSAA doesn't have to worry about classroom sizes and having enough teachers on staff.

I believe the FHSAA has some fairly strong policies to discourage recruiting. But as I've learned, proving recruiting can be difficult — if not impossible.

I think the FHSAA should take a stronger stance on athletes transferring from one school to another; it would help close some of the loopholes athletes use when school-hopping.

The real responsibility falls on local school districts and the transfer policies.

I know local athletes who have attended multiple schools looking for a starting position in their sport. I know of situations where hardships were filed even as one sibling transferred for what seemed to be the purpose of playing a sport as siblings remained at the original school.

In my time, I've heard all the stories of kids transferring back and wanting to transfer back.

Parents want the best for their children academically and athletically, but sometimes the best thing you can give a child is stability.

It often seems like parents are more interested in their child achieving athletic success than success in the classroom.

We live in a world of professional sports free agency where every athlete has the right to choose where they will play. That mentality seems to have filtered down to high school athletics and ultimately could do more harm than good.

It's time for those in power at the state and local levels to put a stop to the madness, step up and find solutions for the transfer/recruiting dilemma.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Transfer rules have too many loopholes

I'm starting to get a familiar itch.

This is the time of year when high school softball and baseball seasons wind down. District softball tournaments are scheduled for April 14-18 and district baseball tournaments will be played April 21-25.

The softball region quarterfinals are April 24 and region semifinals will follow April 29. Baseball's region quarterfinals are scheduled for April 30 and the region semifinals are May 6.

A little baseball trivia here: May 6 also is the 83rd birthday of Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays.

Five days before Willie celebrates his big day, high school football teams across the state will open spring practice.

There is something special about spring football.

Any real Southern football fan will likely tell you their two favorite sports are football and spring football. Yes, this is the time of year when high school football fanatics of the mightiest Class 8A teams and the tiniest Class 1A teams glimpse what things might look like in the fall.

And while fans look forward to spring practice, it is even more highly anticipated by players and coaches.

Spring drills' start is a welcome relief for players who will finally get to see the field after a winter of lifting weights and conditioning. Spring ball is the first opportunity for young players to make their mark and for older players who struggled to reinvent themselves.

Spring football season also is when coaches start filling voids left by graduation, injuries and, in some cases, transfers. And there are times when coaches will set about to reinvent their team changing offensive or defensive schemes to best fit the players they have on the roster.

Locally, Baker and Crestview are coming off 2013 seasons that were filled with surprises and big moments.

In Matt Brunson's third season at the Baker program's helm he led the Gators to an undefeated regular season and the District 1-1A championship. Baker lost to Cottondale in the playoffs' first round, but the future looks bright for the Gators with Brunson calling the shots.

Crestview didn't win the District 1-7A championship or make the playoffs under first-year head coach Tim Hatten, but many Bulldog fans might say beating Niceville for the first time in 30 years is even bigger than winning a district championship.

With a win over the Eagles under their belts, the Bulldogs can now believe they have a realistic shot at winning the district.

In the next few weeks I'll be sitting down with Brunson and Hatten to discuss key personnel losses and how they plan to fill those voids. My plan is to basically see how all things football related shape up heading into the spring.

Yes, it's that time of year again when I'm feeling a familiar itch that can only be cured by a little football.

Spring practice starts in 29 days.

Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Spring football coming soon

I attended a reunion of former Gulf Breeze High School athletes last Saturday.

Anyone who's attended one of these things knows it's an event when a bunch of 40- or 50-something guys get together and lie about how good — or in my case how bad — they we were when most of us had more hair and less belly.

One of these events' highlights is seeing former coaches. The men who coached me when I was a teen are now in their 60s and 70s. Sadly, two of those coaches, Mike Walker and Jerry Henderson, who affected so many lives, are no longer with us.

Only two former Gulf Breeze coaches made the reunion this year. Sylvan Ladner, who started as an assistant coach and math teacher at Gulf Breeze in the fall of 1974 and retired as GBHS principal a few years ago, was there. And Buddy Smith, the second baseball coach in GBHS history and an assistant football coach, also attended.

Almost 40 years after we played our last games for these coaches, we still rushed to see them and, in some small way, receive a word of approval.

There were no threats of extra wind sprints or some other discipline, but inside every man, no matter how old, is an insecure teenage boy who needs his coaches' affirmation.

My dad had the greatest influence of any male role model in my life. Next to Dad, the biggest influence on me as a youth was a youth pastor, followed by my Gulf Breeze High School coaches.

Jim Smith was my head football coach. Mike Walker and Greg Presnell were my defensive line and offensive line coaches. I never played directly under Sylvan Ladner, but I had him for a couple of classes and he's a coach I'd still (attempt to) run through a brick wall for.

Robert Freeman, Pace's longtime athletic director, was my track coach at Gulf Breeze. Kenny Owens, who retired a few years ago as Central High School's principal in Milton, was an assistant coach and my middle school gym teacher.

As I think of the role each of these men played on my life, I'm deeply indebted for their time and sacrifice in helping mold me from a boy into a man.

The men and women who dedicate their lives to teaching and coaching high school students and athletes are a special breed. They sacrifice their time coaching for a pay supplement that averages out to less than minimum wage. But year in and year out, they show up teaching, training and coaching young people.

These men and women love the games they coach, but they love the young people more. It is my privilege to know so many of the fine coaches we have in this area. I know they care deeply for those young men and women entrusted to their care.

At one time I thought about teaching and coaching. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I made the wrong career decision and should have followed that teaching and coaching thought.

It would have been nice to repay my coaches by passing along the lessons of sports and life they taught me so many years ago.

I've come to realize the best way I can repay my coaches is by continuing to give my all and finding that "want to" deep down inside of me when the only thing I want to do is quit.

I can repay my coaches by being a man of honor and passing along my love for the games they taught me and the lessons of life found in those games.

I will always be proud to be a Gulf Breeze Dolphin and part of that pride comes from having had the honor of playing for Jim Smith, Buddy Smith, Sylvan Ladner, Greg Presnell, Kenny Owens, Robert Freeman, Jerry Henderson and Mike Walker.

These men gave of their lives to shape my life and for that I will always be grateful.

Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Coaches make a difference

I've been thinking about what it means to be a teammate and part of a team.

It's because Mort Deer, one of my best teammates and better friends from high school, is fighting cancer.

Every school needs a Mort Deer. He was the guy who all the students loved and most teachers dreaded — in a good sort of way.

Mort's senior year, he decided to run for vice president of the student council. The thought of Mort holding such a lofty position likely caused the administration to raise academic standards required to hold such a position. Mort's name wasn't on the ballot, but that didn't stop him from getting more write-in votes than there were students enrolled at Gulf Breeze High at the time.

I even know a certain sports editor who voted for Mort six or eight times. I hope the statute of limitations has expired for voter fraud in a high school election.

The administration did back down and let Mort be the sergeant at arms.

Mort wasn't constantly in trouble in high school, but he did know his way to the principal's office.

He weighed in at about 115-120 pounds in high school, and was an above-average athlete. He was a receiver on the football team and a sprinter and long jumper on the track team. He was a legitimate 4.5 guy in the 40 back when 4.5 was really moving.

Mort's in Stockton, Ala., now, and I've visited twice since I found out about his health. I'm ashamed to say that it had been almost  10 years since I last saw him at his mother's funeral.

Oh, I planned on catching up with him and us getting together to go fishing or watch a ball game. I  even called him on his birthday a few years ago and we chatted for a few minutes and promised to stay in touch. But it seems the older we get, life has a way of rushing by more quickly than we could have imagined when we were in high school almost 40 years ago.

I've enjoyed my visits with Mort, but they aren't the same, as he can no longer talk and must use a dry erase board or pen and paper to communicate. I would give almost anything to hear Mort's easy laugh or his Alabama drawl.   

But the thing I want most is for Mort to beat cancer.

There was a time when, as a teammate, he and I could help carry each another through the tough times. We could encourage each other when the battles were the toughest.

When an athlete is tired, they can ask the coach to give them a break and send in a backup so they can catch their breath. But Mort is facing the fight of his life and he can't call in a teammate off the bench. So, rather than take his place in the game, I can only cheer from the sidelines and pray for Mort's healing.

Here's the point of this story: Anybody who participated in high school athletics can understand the bond of teammates. Most former high school and college athletes that I know spend a lifetime looking for that group that allows them to feel as they did when they were on a team.

I've written before that I love watching teammates as they interact in a game or throughout the course of a season.

I hope that teammates at Baker School, Laurel Hill School and Crestview High School will savor the team experience and hold tight to treasured friends and teammates.

I encourage current teammates to stay connected — I mean really connected — with phone calls and visits as often as you can. Friending someone on Facebook just isn't the same as getting together for a burger or to watch a game.

And if you are 30-something, 40-something or, like me, 50-something or older, try to find that special old teammate and celebrate the treasure of friendship you share.

Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Hold tight to teammates

I often feel there is no such thing as a bad day or night to cover a baseball game.

I will make the exception to extremely cold nights. And while I  might not enjoy them, I can handle cold nights.

Rainy nights — especially those like last Thursday when Crestview High School played Navarre High School in baseball — should be forbidden. Games are rarely, if ever, played when conditions deteriorate so much that the game can't be played and still look like baseball.

The handful of fans who attended the Bulldog-Raiders game will probably tell you that by the middle of the game the field had reached the point of no return, but the teams sloshed on. I was lucky to be in Crestview's dugout, but with the rain blowing, I still managed to get sufficiently wet.

By rule, the home team decides to start the game. Once a game starts, the umpires can call it at any time.

Umps almost called Thursday's game in the top of the seventh inning after the Bulldogs pushed five runs across the plate, taking a 6-1. Fortunately for Crestview, they decided to play on and the Bulldogs took a 6-3 win.

If the game had been called in the seventh inning, the score would have reverted to the last completed inning when the game was tied 1-1. The game's completion probably would have been played when Navarre visits Crestview on April 8.

I would have called the game long before the seventh inning, but I'm not paid to make that decision. Crestview center fielder Matt Gillis told me he couldn't see home plate when scoring.

If Matt couldn't see the plate to score, I can only ask how the umpire could see it to call balls and strikes.

Rain and nasty field conditions also forced the teams to use an extraordinary amount of baseballs. In an average game, teams might go through 15 or 20 baseballs supplied by the home team. I would guess at least 60 or 70 baseballs, maybe more, were needed Thursday night.

I've covered games where the rain came and the teams were pulled from the field until the storm blew over. I've covered other games that Mother Nature won and the game was postponed.

It's been 20 years since I covered a district baseball tournament in Loudon, Tenn. during a torrential downpour. Once the teams were pulled from the field, the water was so high, ducks came out of a stream next to the park and started swimming around the bases.

Once the storm passed, about an hour later, the host team applied a drying solvent to the infield. The outfield was wet with standing water in places, but the remainder of the game was played in such a fashion that fans knew they were watching baseball.

There were humorous moments during and after the game. Anyone who has been a teenage boy, or had a son, knows boys will be boys.

Devin Wimmer was on third base when Hunter Willis delivered a single to left. Wimmer would have easily scored standing up, but his teammates in the dugout yelled for him to get down and slide. Listening to his teammates, Wimmer obliged, adding another layer of mud to his already dirty uniform.

Players were seen after the game taking group photos of themselves in all their mud and grime.

I only wish I had the sale of the laundry detergent that both teams used.

When all was said and done, the Bulldogs picked up a district win and nobody was hurt. Things could have been different, though, and a player could have been seriously injured playing a game in conditions that were unplayable.

We look to the coaches and umpires to make decisions that look out for the safety of the players and preserve the game's integrity. The players were fortunate Thursday night, but the powers that had the option to shut things down seemed to fail when they let the game continue.

Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Rain and baseball don't mix