By Dan Stillwell
Register-Herald Sports Writer
July 01, 2009 11:20 pm
—
April Goode knew she wanted a job connected with sports.
By process of elimination, she’s found herself as the new Assistant Director of Media Relations for the University of North Florida.
The 1999 Meadow Bridge High School graduate landed in Jacksonville recently after spending the last four years as the Assistant Sports Information Director at High Point University (N.C.).
Yet Goode, who received her bachelor’s degree from High Point, started out as a athletic training and sports medicine major.
It didn’t last.
“I decided I didn’t want to wrap ankles for the rest of my life,” she said. “I switched over to sports management and marketing.”
Undergraduates in that program are required to do two internships. Her first, in marketing, went well enough.
Then Goode tried sports information. She worked with teams and kept track of statistics.
Suddenly, her course was clear.
“I really liked it. I enjoy interacting with people, getting to know athletes and everything,” she said. “I also liked keeping stats — following trends and seeing records broken.”
Goode graduated in 2003, then spent the next two years earning a Master’s degree in journalism from Marshall University.
She returned to High Point, where as assistant sports information director she served as the primary media contact for women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, cross country and track and field. She also worked with tennis and men’s soccer, and worked on graphic design within the athletic department.
This spring Goode was the primary media person for the 2009 Big South Women’s Basketball Tournament at High Point.
“It was a pretty big challenge,” she said. “But I had a phenomenal boss, Brian Morgan, who let me get a lot of great experience and didn’t try to micromanage me.”
Goode not only worked with various media, but she was involved behind the scenes with various planning meetings. She also showcased her talents in graphics by designing posters.
Now she’s ready for new challenges at UNF, whose new athletic director is former Marshall A.D. Lee Moon.
“It’s a very exciting time here,” Goode said. “They’ve just finished their transition into (NCAA) Division I, and it will be their first year of postseason eligibility.”
She will work with UNF women’s basketball, volleyball and men’s and women’s tennis. She’ll also be publications coordinator for the school.
Goode is the daughter of Tim and Lisa Goode of Meadow Bridge and the granddaughter of Ev “Diz” and Joan Goode of Lookout.
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