Brian VanGorder
President George Autrey opened the September 22, 2025 meeting of The Gulf Coast Athletic Club in the Clubhouse at Craft Farms Golf Resort at 7:00pm.
Announcements were made regarding the annual golf tournament, scheduled for October 24, 2025 at Craft Farms. The Maidens of Mischief have partnered with GCAC to run the silent auction, which will open at 2 PM on 10/23 and run until roughly 1 PM on 10/24. Team registration and sponsorship opportunities are ongoing.
With Pick’em Pool president Zach out for this meeting, George filled in and highlighted the current standings of the Prolific Pigskin Prognosticators Contest, otherwise known as the College Football Pool. HiYield won week 3, going 9-3. BRAUS14 won week 4, going 9-3 with a tie break of 1. Through 4 weeks, HiYield is in the lead for the season with Professor Lee picking up the rear.
Gulf Shores High School Athletic Director Jason Watts gave the Dolphins report. The football team is 2-3, with 2 close losses. The next game is a regional game on 10/3 against St. Paul. Volleyball and Cross Country are also going on.
Dr. Gaylon McCollough recognized and introduced the GSHS Male and Female Scholar Athletes, who will be in contention for the Club’s annual scholarships and to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year, awarded at year end.
Our first female Scholar Athlete is Nora Malone, accompanied by her parents, Frank & Malone. Nora has a 4.35 GPA and a 31 on the ACT. She represented her class on the Homecoming court, is a member of the Honor Society, is serving her 2nd year on the GS Jr City Council, is a member of the Junior Leadership of Coastal Alabama program and is an AP Scholar. Nora is an All-State Track Runner and currently holds 4 school records in Track. She played volleyball for 5 years and played in the final 4 game of the 6A State Volleyball championship in 2024. She will begin a health science internship at Baldwin Health in January. She has numerous volunteer hours in the Summer Scrubs program at Baldwin Health and Thomas Hospital.
Our first male Scholar Athlete is Price Stevens, accompanied by his parent, Leta & Mike Stevens. Price has a 4.1 GPA and a 30 on the ACT. He was named 6A All-State in Baseball, recognized as a “Top 10 catcher in Alabama”, and earned 6A All-State Honorable Mention in Football. He represented GSHS on the Reese’s Senior Bowl Leadership Team, a Student Ambassador, Vice-President of the Turning Point USA Club, and was recently crowned Homecoming King. Price volunteers for Coastal Cleanup, Seafood Fest, Boo at the Zoo, and Shrimp Fest each year. With five Division I football offers, including one from an Ivy League (Brown University), Price will continue to play football in college.
Team Reports, led by Dec McClelland, were a hit as usual, with over 20 teams weighing in. The Crying Towel Committee awarded the towel to South Carolina, for their back-to-back losses against Vandy and Missouri. Kenneth Jones graciously accepted the towel on behalf of his team.
Kevin then introduced our Guest Speaker, Brian VanGorder, currently in his second stint as the Defensive Coordinator at Gulf Shores High School. Brian discussed his upbringing in Detroit, how fortunate our students are to be in a place like GS, his passion for sharing life lessons with the kids and teaching the game we all love. Coach VanGorder spoke about his life path, which took him from playing in the shadows of Detroit auto plants the auto-plants to the highest level of coaching at places like Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, among others. We are fortunate to have a gentleman with his credentials, abilities, and tenacity coaching and leading our Dolphin defensive efforts.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, with Green Bay Packers Director of Performance Nutrition, Adam Korzun.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20pm.
Respectfully submitted by Taylor Means
