TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — ABC 27’s Sports Director Alison Posey is extra than simply the primary feminine sports activities director within the state; she’s an athlete, lifelong sports activities fan, devoted reporter and an inspiration.
Posey joined the ABC 27 staff in 2015, however her historical past with sports activities began the day she was born.
Each her dad and mom are athletes and sports activities followers, that means Posey has been within the stands since earlier than she may stroll and started enjoying sports activities at a younger age.
“My dad has at all times been my coach and I used to be at all times the one lady on the groups rising up,” Posey stated. “Softball wasn’t a factor in Gainesville till I used to be like 10 so I at all times performed with the boys.”
Her dad proudly loves to inform of when she was younger and he overheard a boy inform one other little boy how good the lady on his staff was.
Taking a job in a male dominated area, Posey continues to be making a reputation for herself among the many boys and he or she actually isn’t doing it for the clout.
“I by no means received into this business for the celebrity,” Posey stated. “I received into this business to inform different individuals’s tales. To acknowledge them on the highest of highs and typically the bottom of lows.”
Posey not solely tells these tales, she lives them. She went to St. Johns River Group Faculty on a softball scholarship and later attended the College of Florida the place she performed on the membership softball staff. The spotlight of her athletic profession was her nationwide win with that staff in 2010.
As she watches all the highschool and faculty athletes now, she will keep in mind precisely what all of it felt like.
“Highschool and faculty sports activities are my ardour, so for me it doesn’t make sense to be in a market the place I lose that,” Posey stated. “I like seeing youngsters obtain their desires. I like following their journey and watching them on signing day and seeing what they grow to be. That’s one of many coolest elements of this job.”
Over her 14 years within the enterprise, she’s watched youngsters develop up, go on to play in faculty and get drafted.
“There are a number of youngsters that I’ve coated, boy and lady, which are enjoying skilled sports activities. It offers me like goosebumps to speak about it. It’s so neat to see individuals notice a dream,” Posey stated.
She might have coated state and nationwide champions, which she stated it incredible, however for her it’s the tales that affect you straight that follow you.
No story has impacted her greater than that of Cam Brown. Brown was a Florida Excessive athlete whose life was minimize quick by cancerbut, as Posey makes clear, his legacy lives on.
Posey defined that Brown has to get his leg amputated and was again to weightlifting simply three days later.
“He had a purpose to be the primary Division I amputee soccer participant.Sadly, that journey didn’t occur,” Posey stated. “I don’t assume I ever noticed him with no smile. He’s one of the vital inspiring individuals I’ve ever met. I can truthfully say talking with him and seeing him reside by all of the challenges he confronted, it modified who I used to be as a particular person and it made me need to embrace life. He was a famous person athlete that signed a Division I soccer scholarship and 6 months later he wasn’t right here. To this present day, he has impacted who I’m and what I do on daily basis.”
Posey has taken this inspiration and passes it on every day by her reporting, each to viewers and her coworkers.
Nobody works extra intently with Posey than ABC 27 sports activities anchor and reporter Dom Tibbetts.
Tibbetts stated that, whereas he has many reminiscences with Alison that showcases her management capacity, he’d be doing her a disservice to choose only one.
“One factor I believe our native space must learn about Alison is her relentless work ethic. This job given all of the groups and colleges we cowl calls for lots out of us. I do know if I am working laborious, then Alison is working twice as laborious,” Tibbetts stated. “That is the form of boss you need to work for. And that is the form of mentor a younger journalist like myself is extraordinarily lucky to have. From Wakulla to Homerville, there’s not a metropolis or small city that she hasn’t made an affect on. And I will endlessly name that the Alison Posey impact.”
Whereas she might not personally name it the Alison Posey impact, she does hope to function an inspiration.
“You need to be a tv anchor otherwise you need to play your sport in faculty otherwise you need to be the primary feminine president? You are able to do it you simply must put within the work and you need to need it,” Posey stated. “I needed to do this and nobody was going to face in my approach.”
