Off-road Randy
For years, Randy Hoeft and I carried on a joke.
“I keep one of your articles on off-road racing on my night stand,” I tell him. “Whenever I have trouble sleeping, I simply start reading and I'm out quicker than with a Tylenol P.M.”
Randy had finished third in the Baja 500 and I found no interest in any form of racing. But that was the only difference we had in sports.
It took awhile to realize how much Randy loves sports and how dedicated he is to Yuma sports and to the Yuma Sun. Heck, the reason I write this column is because of the encouragement Randy gave me.
This column isn't about me, it's about a 30-plus year veteran of sports journalism and photojournalism. Randy has been involved with the Sun since 1976. Yes, $150 a week sounded great for an NAU graduate, fresh out of journalism class and ready to take on the Yuma sports scene.
We have to turn the clock back and look at Yuma in the late 70s. There were only two high schools in town — Yuma and Kofa — and two small schools on the outskirts — Antelope and San Pasqual. Local sports were very important. Everyone wanted extensive quality coverage and Randy Hoeft was the man for the job. County Superintendent and former Kofa head basketball coach Tom Tyree was lucky enough to be covered by Randy for a four-year period.
“Randy was a sports writer who truly loved covering Yuma sports. In days past, Randy took a personal interest in Kofa basketball and the kids that played.” Tyree fondly remembered.
It kind of makes sense. Randy told me growing up in Parker, “They had the big three — football, basketball, and baseball — and nothing else.”
But the fire for sports journalism was ignited by Randy's English teacher who suggested he write about the games he played in. A novel idea for the three-sport Bronc, Parker's mascot.
Randy soon learned that NAU offered a journalism scholarship and the Lumberjacks had a new beat writer. Covering sports was exciting for the young cub reporter, especially because he loved being near the field and the court. After a short stint with the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff, Hoeft has made Yuma his home.
Nowadays, Randy oversees all the photography for the Yuma Sun. But honestly, Randy oversees a lot more. Yuma sports is his love and anything good that happens for our kids excites him. Newspapers are facing a hard time all across the country and the Yuma Sun is no different. Randy Hoeft will be battling for coverage for our kids. And by the way, “Off Road,” it's OK to write about racing and anything good in Yuma.
John Blabe is the athletic director and football coach at Antelope Union High School. He can be reached at jbcoachescorner@gmail.com
