Gulf Shores Names New Football Coach

Alabama Football Assistant at Minor HS in Jefferson County named new Dolphins athletic director and head football coach. FULL TEXT OF RELEASE

by BCBE Director of Communications Terry Wilhite

Published: Tue, January 13, 2009 - 3:21 pm CST Last Updated: Tue, January 13, 2009 - 3:38 pm CST

FOR RELEASE
JANUARY 13, 2009
GULF SHORES HIGH SCHOOL NAMES MARK FREEMAN
DOLPHIN COACH AND ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Dr. Ernie Rosado, principal at Gulf Shores High School, his administration and the Baldwin County Board of Education are pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Freeman as head football coach and athletic director of the Gulf Shores High School Dolphins.

The appointment was made Tuesday, Jan. 13 by a vote of the Baldwin County Board of Education.
“We’re very pleased to have Coach Freeman join our staff,” said Dr. Rosado.
“We’re confident that Coach Freeman has the winning set of credentials we need to take our athletic program to great heights,” Rosado said.
Freeman comes to Gulf Shores from Minor High School in Jefferson County where he has been the offensive and quarterback coach. Prior, he was head football coach at Bessemer Academy from 1997 to 2008.
“We welcome Coach Freeman and his family to Baldwin County and Gulf Shores,” said District 5 School Board Member Angie Swiger. “Coach Freeman is not only a strong football coach, but supports promoting young people to their highest possible potential, both academically and athletically,” she said.

Freeman, a graduate of the University of Alabama, comes highly recommended by such names in football as Major Ogilvie, a University of Alabama football great, and Joey Jones, head football coach of the University of South Alabama.
Freeman says his goals seem to be a great fit for the enthusiasm that surrounds the Dolphin football community.
“The involvement of parents, faculty, and alumni is consequential in a program that must be united as family,” he said. “As much as I love winning, I also know academics and character are essential. Having been a father of a high school and then college cheerleader, my door is always open to concerns of students and parents,” Freeman said. “As head football coach, I hold athletes to a very high standard, keeping grades at top priority.”
Freeman, as head football coach at Bessemer Academy for almost a decade, had a string of impressive credentials, including the fact that he was named the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) Coach of the Year in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2007. He was voted the Alabama Sports Writers Coach of the Year in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and took his team to the State Football Championship in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, and was runner up in 2001 and 2005.
Other on-field football achievements include:

• Area Football Championship 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
• State All-Star Football Coach; selected seven consecutive years he coached the All-Star Football Game
• 2001-2007; twelve players selected as finalist for Alabama Sports Writers Association Player of the Year

Not only has Freeman been a winner on the football field but the baseball diamond also. His seven year record as a varsity head baseball coach is 116-70 and includes two Final 4 appearances in baseball as coach and three Final 4 appearances as athletic director, complimented by six playoff appearances and one player being drafted by the Seattle Mariners during the student’s senior year.
Freeman also has impressive wins records in power lifting, girls basketball and other high school sports.
“We look forward to welcoming and introducing Coach Freeman and his family to Baldwin County in true Dolphin style. I encourage everyone to be a part of the beginning of a new, extremely exciting chapter in Gulf Shores High School history. We know we will see some amazing accomplishments under Coach Freeman’s leadership, “ said School Board Member Angie Swiger.

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