Nease High School students John Bogle, Eric Linder, Cody Sheider and Zachary Sheffer signed their letters of intent at a Dec. 20 ceremony to live their dreams and play collegiate sports.
Bogle signed with East Carolina University and Sheffer signed with Louisiana State University (LSU), where both will play football. Linder signed with the College of Central Florida and Sheider signed with Gordon State College, where both will play baseball. Each athlete delivered a short speech at the podium after signing amid friends and family.
“I just want to thank everyone for taking the time today to attend our signing day,” baseball pitcher Eric Linder said at the event held at the Nease Performing Arts Center. “I want to start off by thanking God for blessing me with the opportunity to play the great game of baseball … I'd like to thank the coaching staff at the College of Central Florida for the opportunity to play and live my dream at the collegiate level.”
Linder also credited his teammates for coming together and winning their first state championship in 2017.
Sheffer, a tight end who is graduating a year early to enroll at LSU in January, described signing day as a “dream come true” for him because he grew up an LSU fan.
“I just want to thank God for giving me the gifts to be able to go on and play college football,” Sheffer said. “I want to thank all my coaches and teachers for helping me get there, and the guys that helped me train … I want to thank the students for always coming to all the games and cheering us on, and I want to thank my family.”
Later, Bogle thanked his teachers and coaches for their support and role in helping him grow as a football player.
“I'd like to thank my teachers for helping me work and always being there for me and my coaches for always being there when I tore my shoulder out,” he said. “It's just been a blessing to have all of you guys here with me, so I’ll miss you all and thank you.”
