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Valdosta is also home to Moody AFB; I spent three years at Moody in the mid-to-late 80s during my first assignment as an Air Force officer. Moody housed a fighter wing during those days (I was there for the conversion from F-4Es to F-16A/Bs). We were among the last CONUS units to make the switch to the Viper and inherited all the “cann birds” and hangar queens from places like Kunsan, which were already transitioning to the C/D models.

You’ll never find a more pro-military community than Valdosta. They host a quarterly newcomers BBQ for all recently-assigned airmen and their families, and really roll out the red carpet. True, Valdosta is about two hours from anything, but the cost of living is very low; you can still buy an 1800 square foot house (3 BR/2 BA) for well under $200K.

And, as you indicate, football is the other major industry in Valdosta. When I was stationed there, the city school (Valdosta) was, arguably, the best “large school” football program in Georgia, and regularly defeated Atlanta metro schools for the state title. Part of Valdosta’s success was organization; every team, from 7th grade to the high school varsity, ran the same offensive and defensive schemes. By the time a kid reached high school, they knew all the assignments for their position (or in some cases, multiple positions), and the varsity coaching staff didn’t have to spend a lot of time teaching their “system.”

Valdosta was also famous for its continuity. From 1941 through the mid-90s, the high school had three head football coaches. Two of them, Wright Bazemore and Nick Hyder, remain high school coaching legends. Bazemore won almost 300 games in 30 years (with a four-year break for military service in World War II), and 14 state championships. His successor won 17 games in two years (but resigned under pressure), and was replaced by a guy named Nick Hyder.

Coach Hyder became the first Georgia high school coach to win 200 games in 20 years and 300 in 30 years. Hyder won seven state titles at Valdosta and I met plenty of people in town who praised him for his Christian character and high standards, then whispered “but he’s not the coach that Bazemore was.” BTW, Valdosta High played their home games in the same stadium as Division II Valdosta State University. The high school sold out every home game, while the college team had trouble attracting a crowd, even when Hal Mumme was the head coach.

BTW, I found this about Coach Hyder and the Valdosta “system”: you can see that much of their success was the result of discipline, hard work and character-building; with that foundation in place, getting the kids to perform on the football field was the easy. Gotta believe that Coach Hyder and Bazemore would be against naming the local street for Barry; not because of his skin color, but his mantra of victimization and freebies for everyone was contrary to everything they taught.