Hughes Carries On

An ole Marianna boy was back in town this week as Bobby Hughes, Head Baseball Coach at Coosa Valley High School, brought his Rebels to town during their spring break to take on some of our local teams (See related article on this page). Seeing Bobby patrol the dugout and third base box got me to thinking, and you know when I get to thinking a column is usually soon to follow.

Bobby is just one in a long line of Hughes that have excelled while wearing the purple and gold of the Marianna High School Bulldogs. If my calculations are right, there has been at least one Hughes that has been involved in Marianna athletics in every decade since the 1950’s. That’s at least 60 years of the Hughes family in Bulldog sports.

Bobby was an excellent football player. As a wide receiver he hooked up with QB Tim Daniels to form one of the best passing combos in Bulldog football history. He knew what to do on the defensive side as well at his safety position, picking off 4 passes in one game which tied a state record.

Of course being a Hughes he was a fine baseball player as well. And after high school he played at Chipola and University of Auburn Montgomery. Since graduating from college he has been in the coaching profession. This is his first year at Coosa Valley, which is southeast of Birmingham.

This is not the first time he has brought his teams through this area on their spring break, but this year’s trip was different from any of his previous trips. During the past year Bobby’s mother Peggy passed away. Add to that, his aunt June Hughes also passed away during the same time span. He has dedicated this season to his mom and no doubt still grieves her passing.

As I watched him coach Monday night I recalled the times I enjoyed watching him haul in a pass reception or stroke a hit on the baseball diamond. He seemed to be a typical carefree teenager who loved playing sports. He is now a 36 year old man, who’s learning to deal with the death of a parent. As many of us know, losing a parent is one of the most difficult things we will ever face. Life is just never quite the same after you lose a parent.

But I am of the opinion that sports can help us through the tough times. We learn through sports that we will have some bad times. And in the bad times we can do one of two things. We can give up and quit, or we can get back up and carry on. But by all appearances he is carrying on and doing what he loves, and that is coaching baseball. And Simply Put, I suspect that is just what his mother would want him to do.



From the front porch: Uncle Bob said baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand.