Hollywood, here he comes!
One day, Sid Baxley could be the first former Houston County High School coach to give an acceptance speech at the Academy Awards. Will he be able to remember all of those former Lady Bears before the orchestra cuts him off?
With a fresh bite of the acting bug, Baxley is saying goodbye to two decades of coaching everything from baseball to football to basketball to soccer at Houston County High. He was there from Day 1, the 1991-92 school year, so he knows every story there is to tell, but for now the focus is on his own journey. It includes leaps into unknown territory, both on the soccer field and the silver screen.
When Houston County High opened in the fall of 1991, Baxley was on Doug Johnson’s first football staff as the defensive backs coach. Later that spring, he would be the first Bears head baseball coach.
“I went to basketball because we lost both head coaches at the same time,” said Baxley. He was an assistant in basketball as well. “I asked coach Johnson if I could have one of those two jobs. When he said yes, I said, ‘Do I get my pick?’ I was the only coach left in the program.”
Baxley did get to choose, and he picked the Lady Bears. The following fall brought with it his next assignment from Johnson, and it was only supposed to last for one season.
“He said, ‘I need you to do my another favor. I need you to coach girls soccer,’” said Baxley. “He said it would only be for one year. That one year turned into 16.
“I went out there, took a couple of soccer balls and said, ‘Y’all show me what you do.’ They started teaching me some things. I got a couple of books.
“I probably only would have done it the one year, except for the group of girls I had at the start was just so competitive. They wanted to win so bad. I never coached a group so competitive. I ended up staying.”
Baxley is a native of Macon and went to college in Alabama, playing baseball for the University of South Alabama. It’s in Alabama that his career in education began 30 years ago. He was baseball coach at Decatur High School and then moved to UMS-Wright Preparatory School in Mobile for one year.
Returning to Georgia, Baxley first worked at Rumble Junior High in Warner Robins for four years.
“I played basketball and baseball growing up,” he said. “I had two sisters who played basketball in college. I wasn’t tall enough for basketball (after high school), couldn’t jump high enough.
“I enjoy all sports. (Coaching) is working with the kids. And coming up with something that actually works. You plan out what you want to do, and when it works, it’s a thrill.”
Baxley’s soccer teams always reached the state playoffs. He also had some region championships in basketball. What he doesn’t have is a calculated win-loss record in any of his head coaching gigs.
There is one season, though, that stands out for him. In 2006-07, the Lady Bears met unbeaten Stephenson High in the Sweet 16.
“Everybody thought they were going to walk over us,” said Baxley about the game at Ft. Valley State. “At the end of the game, they were just happy they won (63-55).”
The decision to step down wasn’t a hard one. Baxley said he knew when the 2012-13 year began that it would be his last.
“Somebody told me years ago that when you are ready to retire, you will know it,” he said. “I’m ready to do other things. I’ve been acting for a few years now. I want to put all my energy into that.”
Not only does Baxley enjoy all sports, he enjoys all kinds of movies. But where does somebody find the time – not to mention the desire – to take on acting roles while also coordinating high school teams? Baxley actually stepped down from basketball coaching after the 2009-10 season, and it was through two of his four children that came the exposure to acting.
A movie called “The Crazies” (a horror film released in 2010) was filmed in such locations at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, Peach County High School, Dublin, Cordele and Macon. Baxley’s wife took their two sons to a tryout to be extras.
“They called back the next day and said my oldest son looked a lot like the little boy in the movie, one of the stars,” he said. “‘Could he be a photo double?’ We said yes.”
The Baxleys went to Vienna, and he said everyone was nice on the set. Baxley recalled being on the set during filming and getting the idea for more project opportunities … for his son.
“I found something for him to audition,” he said. “When we went there, they had a part for an older man. I said, ‘I’m going to audition, too.’ It got the part, and (my son) didn’t.”
Baxley’s been in two plays, one in Atlanta and “Arsenic and Old Lace” with the Perry Players. On the small screen, Mr. and Mrs. Baxley did an episode of “Divorce Court.” No, the Baxleys are still together (the show is entertainment), much to the disappointment of some.
“If you went to a movie last month, you could have seen my name, but I wasn’t actually in it,” said Baxley, referring to a Tyler Perry film called “Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor.” In this movie’s page on the Internet Movie Database web site, there is Sidney Baxley listed as “Client No. 2.”
“I was obviously cut out,” he said. “I was still in the credits. They said there’s a good chance I’ll be in the director’s cut when it comes out on DVD. The good thing is when your name’s up there, you’re going to get residuals.”
Among Baxley’s personal favorites are westerns like “The Cowboys” (John Wayne) and “Shenandoah” (Jimmy Stewart).
“Right now I’ll take anything,” he said, not even concerned about typecasting over his coaching backgrounds and he only gets sports movies.
“I’m going to miss the camaraderie with the coaches,” said Baxley about leaving Houston County High and moving this coming week to Norcross. “A lot of the people I’ve hung around with the last 25 years I will see sparingly. That’s going to be tough.
“I’m going to miss the games. The time we put in coaching, I’m not going to miss that as much. I’ll have more time with my family.”
Baxley was also heard over the local airwaves the last six years broadcasting both Bears football and basketball with Mike Davis, Greg Elrod and even his hoops coaching rival, Tom Mobley of Warner Robins High.
Baxley’s oldest daughter graduated last year from South Alabama. He also has 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Grace and 5-year-old Dominic. The eldest had a double major in French and international business and currently works for a financial consulting firm.
“I think she wants me to get some contacts in the entertainment industry and get her over there,” he said.
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