Sharing Some Thoughts As “We” Begin Year 40 With The High School Sports Report
2026 Marks the 40th Year of South Carolina's only regular newspaper covering prep sports news that is dedicated to "Recognizing the Achievements of Young Athletes"
Billy Baker
Publisher
Moncks Corner—With each new year, I thank God for all his many blessings bestowed upon myself, my family, and for allowing me to live through the 25,000 sunsets that he promised when he professed in his word that 70 years would be a typical life span for his followers.
My three children are named Ashton, Allyson, and Allen and I have always called them my “AAA Team.” They, and my five grandchildren; Connor, Caroline, Gracyn, Skylar and Liam, are my heart and soul. I pray to God for their well-being and safety each and every day.
Every day when I get in my car, with the challenge of being the only journalist ever in the United State to produce, and sustain a statewide prep newspaper focused on the positive accomplishments of the 75,000 plus varsity athletes at over 260 public and private schools in our state, I ask God to lead me where I need to go. For the record, I begin my 40th year as the Publisher and Founder of “The High School Sports Report” and our companion web site hssr.com.
I always pray for safety on the highways, but that did not stop three deer from hitting my car in recent years, with two of those collisions resulting in totaled cars! After describing to the 911 dispatcher that a huge 12-point buck flew over the hood of the car on a back road near Manning it was just a few minutes before two highway patrol cars can towards me with their blue lights on.
Were they coming to my aid with my car moving slowly at 10 mph, with the taillights knocked out. Heck no. They were looking for the deer in hopes of having some future meals or putting a 12-point rack on the wall over the mantle. When I did make it to the Travel Center at Exit 119 off I-95 there was a highway patrol man waiting for me. He told me he heard me talking to the dispatcher.
He also told me that he was a former HSSR Class A Baseball Player of the Year from East Clarendon High and that he stopped by to help me, or to take me anywhere I needed to go. I had no idea that the highway patrol monitored 911 calls like the one I had placed.
The years seem to go by much faster the older I become. At 71, I still enjoy attending high school sports events, and I honestly can’t think of any school in the state that I have not visited at least one time. The travel is starting to wear me down some, but once I get to my destination I am focused on what I need to do.
I wish to remind student athletes that playing on athletic teams; the goal is not to always win, but to always do your best and to be coachable. You should always be a good and supportive teammate to others on your team. While it is great to compete and win championships, it is also important to learn the life lessons of hard work, goal setting, and teamwork.
One day you will hang up the uniform for good, and your life will go on. Having been a good teammate, you are also likely to be a good employee for an organization. It is always important to note on any job application that you were on a team in high school. If you put down that you were “Team MVP,” or All-Region or All-State, it is even more noted by the person interviewing you.
In just over a month, we will crown basketball and wrestling team champions. Will it be you that makes the three-point shot at the buzzer to win the game at the Colonial Life Center with 5,000 people cheering you on? Will your slam dunk take the lead in a close championship game be a lasting positive memory for you!
Have fun participating on athletic teams. Be the best version of yourself each time you engage in athletic competition!
One day, you will be 71 years old like I am. I pray that you will have few regrets. Your memories can never be taken from you so why not make as many positive memories as you can.
Have a wonderful and successful Happy New Year in 2026!
