SYLACAUGA, Ala. – The athletics department of the Parks and Recreation Center in Sylacauga has hired a new Athletics Director.
When Parks and Recreation Director Jim Armstrong announced his decision to retire, the man to take his place was the former Athletics Director Steve Masters. Therefore, another position had opened up. Initially, Armstrong and Masters were unsure of any candidates likely to fill that role.
Now, they’ve found the right person for the job.
Hunter Caine, a Sylacauga native, went to Sylacauga High School where he played baseball and golf. His excellence on the greens led him to South Carolina where he received a degree in golf management from the Professional Golfers Career College in Bluffton, S.C.
Caine returned to Alabama in 2011 to work at Design-A-Scape in Birmingham where he supervised a team dedicated to grounds keeping. Then in 2015, he came home to Sylacauga to work as the Parks and Facilities Manager with the Parks and Rec.
“I’m very honored,” Caine said of receiving the role of Athletics Director. “I’m appreciative of having the [job] of leading the youth in sports.”
Caine noted that Masters has done a “fantastic” job of structuring the youth athletics programs over since he arrived in 2015, and Caine feels that his job is much simpler due to the diligence Masters showed in his tenure as AD.
“Watching him lead our sports,” said Caine, “he has put the blueprint down for me. My life’s going to be easier because he has laid it out for me, and now it’s my job to keep it up. I have very high standards just like he does and expect the right things to be done.”
In the near future Caine wants to elevate the profile of adult rec sports in Sylacauga with “consistent” participation and potentially an adult kickball league, while a long-term goal of his is to build new soccer fields across from the Parks and Rec Center.
“I’m excited,” Caine remarked. “I’m thrilled about it, and I’m grateful for the opportunity that Steve [Masters] has put me in. I’m basically here for the community, and I’m excited to see where it can go.”
