Working in the community newspaper industry for nearly four years, I’ve always been one to embrace change.

While my duties as a sports writer for the Bothell-Kenmore and Redmond Reporter newspapers have changed slightly over the years, one thing has never changed: My commitment to covering the local high-school sports scene to the best of my ability.

I’ve always felt that our sports section was one of our strong suits and it was a very tough decision to leave such a wonderful community to take on a new career opportunity outside of journalism, effective April 6.

Going forward, the sports duties will be covered by our fearless editor, Andy Nystrom, who has a strong sports background — as well as selected contributors and interns from the high schools themselves. I have no doubt that they will combine their efforts to deliver the same solid sports coverage you have seen for the last four years.

Looking back on my time here, it’s been filled with great memories that will stick with me forever.

• Covering the Bothell High’s first-ever state baseball championship last spring at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, seeing the pure elation of the boys and longtime head coach Paul Moody after history was made.

• Watching some of the state’s finest athletes grow, mature and achieve great things: Bothell’s Zach LaVine (basketball), Michael Hartvigson and Colin Porter (football) and Brian McAfee (baseball), as well as Inglemoor’s Taylor Peacocke (basketball, fastpitch) and Cedar Park Christian’s Rachael Staudacher (basketball), names that we will almost certainly hear about at the college or maybe even professional level years down the road.

The memories weren’t just reserved for the court, field or pool, either.

My story “The Ultimate Fighter” on current Cedar Park Christian School girls’ basketball coach Alan Dickson — and his long battle with prostate cancer — won a first-place award for sports feature writing.

This job has allowed me the opportunity to meet some of the sports world’s biggest personalities, from former WNBA superstar Sheryl Swoopes to Olympic silver medalist in gymnastics Jonathan Horton, as they both visited the local community to inspire youths.

But perhaps most importantly, I really cherished the connections I made and the relationships I developed with local coaches, athletic directors and others in the prep sports community.

While it was a challenge at first, over time I fostered those relationships and got to know a lot of the Bothell and Inglemoor head coaches on a first-name basis.

I’ll miss the intensity of guys like Tom Bainter and Frank Naish on the football field and Ron Bollinger and Greg Lowell on the basketball court as they fired up their squads in the fourth quarter of tight Kingco games.

Now that I’m leaving the Reporter (but not the area), I can say without fear of journalistic repercussions that I will forever be a Cougar, Viking and Eagle fan for life.

Thank you everyone for your readership and support, and may the upcoming years bring many more wins and positive influences on our kids through sports.