Next Step: It was this time last year when Kyle Hammonds was being introduced as the next THS baseball coach. Tallassee is now in the process of finding his replacement.

Tallassee Superintendent Dr. Brock Nolin called the position a "polarizing" one. He's right. There are always going to be factions going in the different directions but especially with this job.

People might wonder why some are so passionate about baseball here - not that there is anything wrong with that.

Looking back through preceding generations, baseball has played a significant part in Tallassee's culture from the Little League fields to Southside.

It is one of the sports that just about every kid plays at some point during his upbringing.

The numbers have always been large for the little tykes that play tee ball and move up through the ranks of the baseball program.

When you look at Tallassee's athletic history at the high school level, baseball has enjoyed more success than any other sport on campus.

The Tallassee High School baseball program has won seven state titles.

The only other team sport with a championship is wrestling with one. The football program has none. Basketball and softball have no titles.

The last baseball title was 24 years ago. The title skid goes beyond that. The program has missed the playoffs the previous four seasons.

The lack of competing at the highest level doesn't take away the fire to get back.

Last season was the worst year on record. Tallassee lost more games than any other season with a 4-25 record, yet there is still a following.

In the Tigers' final game, fans still attended - not just the mamas and daddies. Some watched and listened to our broacast. They interacted with our on-air trivia as they always do.

Tallassee's last good run in the playoffs was in 2017. The Tigers reached the quarterfinals. The fans clad in purple and gold in Mobile outnumbered the homestanding opponent UMS-Wright. That has been Tallassee's only run past the second round since 2006.

It's hard to believe we're approaching a quarter century since the last championship, but the fans haven't gone away. They're standing by - waiting on the next run.

Will that day come? The next skipper who guides the program will play the starring role in the hopes for the program's resurgence.

Prior to the Hammonds hiring last year, the previous three coaches (Ronnie Baynes, John Goodman and Adam Clayton) combined for four straight decades at the helm.

It would be nice to find some continuity again, although coaching tenures tend to run much shorter this day and age.