Saying goodbye is never easy. And that is what makes this so hard.

Troy has given this sports editor so much to cover in his short time at The Messenger. There was the baseball state finals with the Charles Henderson Trojans almost immediately after arriving from Atmore. That was an exciting time.

Then there was the exciting football season that saw history in the making with all four high school teams making the playoffs in the same year for the first time ever. And to top that off the Pike Liberal Arts Patriots decided to win their first football state title in school history. And the Troy Trojans got back to the New Orleans Bowl.

Then came basketball season and the playoff runs of the Charles Henderson Lady Trojans and the Pike County Bulldogs. The Lady Trojans’ run was no surprise, but the Bulldog faithful were happy to see Doug Holland and Roddrice Griffin lead the ‘Dawgs to the South Regional tournament in their first year at the helm.

On the college level you had both Troy teams do well on the hardwood.

You flash forward to this spring and the Troy Trojans were hosting the Sun Belt Tournament and the Goshen Lady Eagles were making it to one game from a state playoff berth. And of course the numerous recreation tournaments and games in between.

There was never a moment to sit back and relax, but what good sports person has time to relax. There is always something going on in the sports world and that is the way I like it.

I am not even going to try and name off a list of names because I will forget someone and I do not want to do that. But to all those who had to deal with me on a regular basis I would like to say thank you for making me feel welcome here in Troy.

It has been a fun ride and I hate to see it end, but my passion to get back to the Plains would not allow me to pass up a great opportunity.

As soon as next weekend I will be diving into the recruiting world of Auburn University. I will be following Gene Chizik and staff’s first full-fledged recruiting class as a sports writer for auburnundercover.com.

I will get the opportunity to work with one of the most respected sports writers in the state in Phillip Marshall.

I will also get to go back to the place I graduated from and cover the Tigers. It shall be an exciting adventure for my wife and me, but I am ready to take it.

The only bad part about taking the job was leaving behind so many good people here in Troy.

I know The Messenger will find another sports editor to fill my shoes and I will fade into the annals of the paper’s long history, but it will be hard to replace some of the relationships I formed right here in Troy, Alabama.

To all those people I bid adieu and good luck with all that life throws your way in the future. The people of Troy will always hold a special place in my heart.

Matt Nascone is the sports editor for The Messenger. He can be reached at 670-6315 or online at matt.nascone@troymessenger.com.