This is an opinion piece.

There are certain people in your life that you don’t see on a regular basis.

Maybe you see them once a year or once every other year or whatever.

When you see that person, your spirit is immediately lifted.

Your day becomes just a little better, a little brighter. Every time.

One of those people in my life was Jerry Young.

At most, I saw Jerry maybe a couple of times a year, almost always at AHSAA championship venues. Jerry was known recently as the voice of Thompson High School athletics. He also called various championship events on the AHSAA network and had a long and distinguished broadcasting career.

Jerry died unexpectedly a week ago. He was 67.

I saw Jerry a little over a month ago prior to the Class 7A football championship game between Thompson and Central-Phenix City at Tuscaloosa’s Bryant-Denny Stadium. I was honored to do a pre-game segment on the Warrior Network with he and his colleagues. I, of course, had no idea it would be the last time I would see him — at least for now.

Jerry had a boisterous voice and quick wit. If you were in the same press box with him, you didn’t have to be listening on the radio – or even on the same floor — to hear him call the event. His passion for Thompson High and for student-athletes in general across this great state was unmatched.

I have a lot of memories of Jerry. At baseball or softball games, when a foul ball reached the stands, he would always make up the hometown of the person who snagged it.

“That one down the left-field line, caught by a fan from Deatsville.”

Or Chatom.

Or Tuscumbia. You get the point.

We always waited to see what he would come up with next.

My top memory has to be Young’s call and reaction to Thompson’s dramatic 29-28 victory over Auburn in the 2020 Class 7A football title game in Tuscaloosa. As Young was reading off the credits and previewing the Thompson basketball season, the football Warriors scored 10 improbable points in the final 18 seconds to steal the win.

Young’s memorable line when the game was won:

“I’m already talking about basketball. How stupid am I?”

The game’s finish and Young’s call brought him nationwide attention.

AHSAA director of communications Ron Ingram said what made Young special was that he deeply cared about every word he said.

“He wanted all who listened, especially those who had children competing, to know how proud he was to be telling their stories through the games they played,” Ingram said.

The way Young called athletic events was memorable.

But, honestly, it’s the way he lived his life that will resonate. The games he called were never about him, and he knew that. He wanted it to be about those young athletes. He made sure it was.

I wish I had mentioned to Jerry how much I thought of him on that December night in Tuscaloosa. I guess I was too consumed with what I needed to do work wise in covering that big game.

It’s just another reminder to tell people how you feel about them when you have a chance. You never know if it might be your last opportunity. We aren’t guaranteed our next day. You never know how much someone may need to hear it something positive.

“I know Heaven is rejoicing,” Thompson football coach Mark Freeman told me. “I told our athletic director that I know Jerry is in a great place now and, at the end of the day, that gives me peace.”

I hope to join Jerry in that place one day and maybe I’ll have that chance to tell him how grateful I am and what a positive impact he had on my life. Until then, every time a foul ball lands in someone’s hands, I’ll wonder what hometown Jerry might have given that person.

From Daphne, Ala., rest in peace, my friend.

Thanks for the kind words along the way.

Until we meet again …

Big decision for the AISA?

The Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) has formally applied for affiliate membership with the National Federation of High School State Associations (NFHS).

The move must first be approved by the AHSAA’s Central Board of Control. It was on the docket for the meeting this past Wednesday, but winter weather pushed that meeting back to Jan. 24.

If approved, it would be the first step in allowing schools in the smaller AISA to compete against schools in the AHSAA, something that hasn’t happened in the past.

“After so many years of restricting competitive choice in Alabama, we are hopeful that the AHSAA Board of Control will support our application for NFHS affiliate membership and support competitive choice by allowing their members to compete against our members if they choose to do so,” AISA executive director Michael McLendon said in a release. “In addition to providing more local opponents for middle and high school students to compete against, which will work toward improving travel expenses, the competitive choice will lift community spirit and create local interest in the respective schools and programs.”

If the Central Board approves the application next week, the next step would be for the National Council of the NFHS to make the final decision.

Several AISA schools have made the jump to the AHSAA in recent years. Most recently Autauga Academy, Glenwood, Lee-Scott and Pickens Academy were approved by the AHSAA’s Central Board. That leaves the AISA with a dwindling pull of in-state opponents to play if they cannot compete against AHSAA schools in the regular season.

“With renewed optimism, AISA anticipates a positive outcome that ushers in a new chapter of cooperation and collaboration with Alabama and the broader region,” the release stated.

Thought for the Week

“May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sunshine warm your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.