FOREST PARK — Even from an early age, Josh Froneberger was on a path to become a teacher and coach.
When he was playing baseball, he was a true student of the game, and coaches often called on him to teach other players and get them up to par.
“I always felt like I was a teacher,” he said.
His baseball journey took him from Forest Park High School to Alabama State University in Montgomery, Ala., and later to Jackson State University in Mississippi.
He came back to Clayton County to teach and coach, and for the past seven years, he’s served as head baseball coach and special education teacher at his beloved alma mater.
“To teach back in Clayton County — I didn’t see myself going anywhere else,” he said. “I don’t see myself at another high school. Money doesn’t matter. I want to be in this community because I can touch these kids.”
As he walks the halls and athletic fields of Forest Park High, “I can see myself in all these kids — I see my friends in these kids and I know what it looks like being a Forest Park graduate and I know the power it holds,” he said.
Froneberger is one of several former Forest Park students to come back to teach and coach — including head football coach Corey Johnson.
“We have a saying — ‘once a Panther, always a Panther’,” he said. “So when we hear that, it’s deeply instilled in us because maroon is a hard color to get. It’s not quite red. It’s a little different than any other color so you have to be different when you put on the maroon and gold — that’s what we instill. And so when you come back as a Panther, we just open our arms.”
Baseball friends and family
As he reflected on his playing days at Forest Park, what he remembered most was the camaraderie and friendships.
Some of those friendships have been lifelong such as BJ McKinney — a teammate he’s known…
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