From the gymnastics floor to high school hurdles to the Olympic bobsled track… Emily Azevedo could never have foretold such an odyssey.

Yet that’s exactly the path the 2001 Chico High School graduate has followed, culminating with an appearance at the recent Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.

An abundance of athletic skill, solid academics and hard work, along with some good timing, proved to be the recipe for Mike Sherrard to reach the National Football League.

The 1981 Chico High School alumnus is also quick to credit his varsity football coach, John Beck, as a crucial part of that success.

Though it was impossible to predict at the time, losing a singles match as a freshman turned out to be a pivotal moment for Matt Lucena.

It was the spring of 1985 and Lucena wasn’t even a student at Chico High School – rather, he was a ninth-grader at Chico Junior but standing tall among competitors who were typically juniors and seniors.

On paper, it figured to be a mismatch of such huge proportions that most people involved probably pondered the need to play the game at all.

Just a little more than six decades ago, George Maderos sat on the bench in City College of San Francisco’s gymnasium.

“How’s your ankle?” asked his coach, Al Schlueter.

“Which ankle?” Maderos responded with a grin.

Many high school athletes undoubtedly dream of becoming professional athletes, or at least reaching the big-time college level of competition. Statistically, few make it.

Even so, some people have the extraordinary opportunity to still be involved with major college and professional sports— not as athletes, but as observers and commentators. They’re living the dream and getting paid to do it.