We faxed the application to about 12 other (state high school) associations, and Florida was one that posted it.

I got to know him better after his diagnosis, and the way he carried himself during that time said a lot about his character. Through it all, he had an upbeat attitude.

I've been on the phone for the past two days with just about every team in the area trying to line up a game and I haven't had any luck. We just need to play some games. We don't need any more open dates.

We'll begin the screening process on Monday. Our timetable is to have someone by around mid-March to the first of April, but we hope we can have someone a little earlier than that, possibly in time for the March school board meeting.

One of our focuses with the high school players was recruiting local and in-state kids. We lost a lot of our local players after last season and wanted to build those numbers back up. That helps generate a lot of interest in the community.

It is a rarity for a student to make all-state ensembles all four years of high school, but it looks like Charlton is well on her way.