And just like that 2009 has come to an end.

Isn’t it funny how time flies past you?

When I arrived here at The Messenger a little more than four months ago, I don’t really think I knew what to expect.

Sure, I knew about Troy University’s sports teams thanks to my previous four years at the school, but everything else was completely foreign to me.

Funny how much can change in just a little bit of time.

During that time I have met a lot of new people as well as been reunited with old friends.

Things like that always keep life interesting.

And then, there was the sports that all of Pike County had to offer.

In these past four months, I have covered everything from preseason practices to championship games.

And while it may have caused me to have a few more gray hairs than I would have liked to have at the tender age of 24, it has all been worth it and more importantly – I have had a blast doing it.

All throughout this week, The Messenger will be looking back at 2009 and even though I was only here for the latter end of it, I must say, sports wise, it was a very good year.

To have state championships in both recreation soccer and football in the same year is no easy task, yet it happened in Troy.

To have high school players from around the county participate in All-Star games and signing scholarships to big-name colleges to continue their respective sports careers is also not a feat easily done, but again almost every high school in the county can say they have those types of student-athletes.

And finally, a university’s sports programs continue to put a small town in lower Alabama on the map is impressive enough.

Each of the Trojan teams have continued to improve year-by-year, and 2009 was no different.

With a football team that has won four-straight conference championships and that is about to play in both a bowl game and the national spotlight, again, and basketball teams that could both easily take their conferences, and thus punch tickets to the NCAA Tournament, it’s easy to see why Troy has been able to grow so much in so little time.

Yes, 2009 has been good to the different sports teams across the county and myself.

But now, it is time to turn our attention to 2010 and the stories that will unfold in the coming months.

It’s hard to predict what’s going to happen – I am pretty sure no one has been able to do that successfully since Nostradamus.

But regardless of what happens, I do expect the new year to be filled with everything the previous one was – only better.

Here’s to a happy 2010!