Martin: After seven-plus years covering high school sports, thank you

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Sports are weird.

One night, you’re standing in the pouring rain trying to finish a football game story before deadline. The next, you’re watching a dogpile form after a walk-off in the regional finals, or seeing an athlete accomplish something they’d spent their entire life working towards.

Somewhere along the way, without ever really planning on it, this stopped becoming just a job to me. These gyms, fields, and stadiums became familiar. The people did too.

For more than seven years, I’ve had the privilege of telling the stories of athletes, coaches, teams, and everything in between across Southwest Florida for The News-Press and Naples Daily News.

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Turns out, the 2025-26 school year was my last. I’m preparing for the next chapter as I join the national team at USA Today High School Sports on Monday, June 15.

And honestly, it still feels a little surreal typing that out.

When I was first approached about the prospect of becoming a sportswriter, I have to admit, I wasn’t necessarily receptive to the idea.

I was just a teenager, wandering somewhat aimlessly during my freshman year of college at FGCU. I knew I enjoyed digging deeper into numbers and analyzing data. That’s what led me to my first job in high school, serving as a statistician on Friday nights for the Southwest Florida High School Football Game of the Week, which aired here locally on Fox Sports Radio before switching over to ESPN Southwest Florida shortly thereafter.

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That’s when I was approached about the concept of sports reporting by Matt Powell.

I played travel baseball for a couple of summers with Matt, whose mother, Wendy, was the news director at the time for The News-Press. As someone who was open to exploring different career paths, I took Matt up on his offer and accepted freelance opportunities with the Naples Daily News whenever they needed me.

Looking back at my first piece of writing for this publication made me laugh. I was at St. John Neumann for the radio station, pulling double duty and writing as well. The Celtics won 48-0 over CSN, and let’s just say my analysis wasn’t incredibly groundbreaking.

But over time, I got better. That’s a testament to Ed Reed, who I’ve been incredibly thankful to have taught me the ins and outs of journalism and reporting. As someone who did not attend journalism school of any kind in college, I was a bit skeptical about whether this was going to work out in the long term.

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After 11 APSE nominations and multiple statewide awards from the SPJ Florida chapter and the Florida Society of News Editors, I’d say it did.

If you’re reading this and you don’t necessarily know what your future holds, don’t panic.

Never be afraid to take a chance on yourself, even if it’s in a field you weren’t intending on specializing in. Don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone.

I never expected to step away from covering this community. From growing up in San Carlos Park to being raised in South Fort Myers, Southwest Florida is all I’ve ever known.

To all of the athletes, coaches, athletic directors, and others who placed their trust in me to tell your stories the right way, thank you for being willing to open up when you may not have necessarily wanted to.

To Ed Reed: thank you for being the one to take a chance on me. It’s been an incredible journey working together over the last seven-plus years. Thank you for everything.

I’m going to miss the chaos of football Fridays that somehow turned into 4 a.m. finishes. The same goes for the silence that settles over a gym after a playoff loss. Each game in its own way told a story.

I’ll miss the late-night drives home from every corner of this community — from Immokalee to Lely, from Fort Myers to Naples down Tamiami Trail. I’ll miss the epic volleyball matches and the greatness that was on display at Seacrest, First Baptist and Barron Collier. The bitter soccer rivalries that sometimes felt like the Bulls and Pistons in the 90s between the North Fort Myers and Mariner girls, as well as Naples and Lely on the boys side. And I can't forget about the rainy nights that always made a presence.

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There was never a shortage of baseball talent, either. Johnny King is thriving in the minors now after an impressive career at Naples High. Bishop Verot, Canterbury and St. John Neumann have sent plenty of kids to play Division I baseball. Island Coast won perhaps the wildest state title game I’ve ever covered — a night that had me leaving Hammond Stadium at 4:45 a.m. And then there were the conversations with coaches long after interviews were supposed to end.

More than anything, I’ll miss watching athletes grow up in front of all of us. Covering freshmen who eventually became professional athletes, collegiate standouts, state champions, and most importantly, good human beings.

I’m going to deeply miss being a small part of a community that cared so deeply about its athletes and programs.

Southwest Florida shaped me just as much as this job did. While my next chapter takes me to a national stage, this area and the people in it will always mean more to me than I can properly put into words.

I've spent years telling the stories of athletes and coaches taking the next step.

Now, it's time for me to take mine.

Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X at @NP_AlexMartin or via email: [email protected]. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Martin: Thank you for the many countless memories, Southwest Florida

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