Ward Gossett is an assistant sports editor and writer for the Times Free Press.
Ward has a long history in Chattanooga journalism. He actually wrote a bylined story for the Chattanooga News-Free Press as a third-grader. He Began working part-time there in 1968 and was hired full time in 1970.
Ward now covers high school athletics, primarily football, wrestling and baseball and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling.
Over a 40-year career, he has covered everything from junior high sports and dog and horse shows to amateur boxing, softball, bowling, golf, the Atlanta Falcons and UT football.
Ward lives on Signal Mountain and attended UTC. He has received honors from the national Amateur Softball Association and the local Golden Gloves association. He was inducted into the Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Ward and his wife Becky have two children, Jeni Sompayrac and Josh; and three grandchildren, Jack, Sam and Ben. Ward loves amateur athletics because of the lessons youngsters can learn about teamwork, discipline and perseverance.
Contact Ward at 423-757-6288 or wgossett@timesfreepress.com.
Recent Stories »
Jon Massey has been named successor to Norma Nelson as softball coach at Ooltewah High.
When he was named to the all-city basketball team as a Soddy-Daisy senior, Reid Daniels wrote that his goal was to be a history teacher and successful basketball coach at his alma mater.
There was neither glitz nor glamor to the Silverdale Baptist Academy baseball team in mid-March, and there still isn't two months later.
The groundbreaking continued Friday at Silverdale Baptist Academy, and with it the Seahawks have successfully concluded their home season while embarking on new frontiers.
While Tennessee's Division I high school baseball teams spent Monday and Wednesday getting to within a win of the state tournament, Division II members Baylor and McCallie remain two wins from the same goal.
Silverdale Baptist continues its assault on the school's baseball record books.
The depths of despair were about as deep as their fans could stand but Ooltewah coach Brian Hitchcox kept the faith.
Scouting, or note-swapping, happens all season long with some baseball teams, but the practice of learning one's opponent becomes more prevalent in the postseason.
That eerie, goosebump feeling of déjà vu wafted over Bud Ball Field most of the evening.
