ARAB, Ala. — In this interview, I talked to Arab senior Brody McCain about some of the many great sports memories he made during his time as a Knight and how blessed he feels to have played alongside a great group of teammates.
“My favorite memories were definitely the relationships and bonds I made over my high school career, and I made friendships that will last a lifetime. We also accomplished our goals in both football and baseball, winning area, which hadn’t been done in a while in baseball and also, winning the first region championship in school history in football, while also making a run in the postseason in both sports. Doing all those things with the guys I grew up with since kindergarten made it all that more special,” McCain said. “The relationships I created with those guys will last forever. All of my guys were selfless and only cared about what was best for the team. I could go on for days talking about the outstanding character of those guys. I’m happy to have played alongside them.”
Brody got to play for some great coaches at Arab and soaked up as much as he could from them. He took away so much from playing sports.
“Coach Lee Ozmint is an unbelievable coach and an even better human being. The impact he made on my life as a coach and as a Christian man will forever be instilled in me. Coach Chad Hudson has changed me into a completely different person since I got into high school. I can’t say enough for what he has done for me as a player and as a person. Our team success and my success has been because of him and the way he has changed the culture at Arab. He has made a huge impact on my life, and it hurts knowing I won’t be around him every day anymore. There are several other coaches who have made huge impacts on my life, but those two have made the biggest and I am forever grateful for what they have done for me.”
He added,
“It has helped shape my character and allowed me to use my God-given abilities. It has created friendships and brotherhoods that will last a lifetime. When you put your all into something and set goals for yourself and for the team, there is no feeling like accomplishing those goals. There is also no feeling like coming up short and knowing that it’s over. If a team can put all their focus into winning and nothing else, then it’s likely going to happen, at least, that’s how it was for us. Fighting for one another instead of yourself and caring for that guy beside you can take a team so far.”
Brody talked about his favorite high school memories, what makes Arab a special place to go to, plus what he will remember the most and miss the most.
“My favorite memories were definitely sports and being around the guys I grew up with my whole life,” McCain said. “What makes Arab a special place to go to is the friendships that were created. The teachers are amazing. The people here are beyond incredible. The community support is unlike any other. It’s such an amazing community that’s full of people who love Arab and wants to see Arab succeed. I’ll always remember the friendships created in school. I’ll miss not seeing all of those people every day, plus playing under the Friday night lights. There’s nothing like a Friday night high school football game.”
Brody gave some advice to the upcoming freshman in August, plus he talked about a role model he had growing up.
“Enjoy high school and don’t wish it away. It’ll fly by. Enjoy every moment with your friends, because you won’t see them much after high school,” he said. “When I came up my freshman year, a guy I admired and wanted to be like was Will Hudson. He went on to play baseball at UNA, but I wanted to be like him when I got older. He was a good role model to me and someone I looked up to, for sure.”
Brody accepted a scholarship earlier in the year to go play baseball at Northwest-Shoals Community College. He talked about that visit, plus getting the scholarship.
“Coach Langston is the head coach there and he is a great coach. I played for him in the summer before he got the job there and I want to continue to develop with him as my coach. Shoals is a good fit for me,” he said. “It was a dream come true. It was something I’d been striving for since I was younger.”
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