Coaches can make a huge impact! If you have a passion for teaching and are looking to volunteer we are the organization for you!
At 850GRIT we empower players to GRIND and develop GRIT. Andrew Franco was a former Niceville High School standout, where he was a 4 time All Northwest Florida Daily News selection from 2000-2003, 5A All-State 2003 and graduated Summa Cum Laude. He continued his playing career at Tallahassee Community College where he was twice name All Florida Academic Team and 2006 All Panhandle Conference. He
was a career .331 hitter in arguably the best junior college conference in the country and was teammates with two future MLB All Stars Lorenzo Cain and Michael Saunders. His talents landed him at Appalachian State University, where in 2007 he had one of the best seasons in school history hitting .387 with 8 HR and 63 RBI one shy of the school record. That year he was the Triple Crown winner on one of the top offensive teams in the country. He also excelled in the classroom being named to the 2007 ESPN Academic All-American Team. Going into his senior year he was nominated to the Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year list, which was derailed by an unexpected shoulder surgery that limited him in his senior year. Following his college career, Franco, played two years of Independent ball with Sioux City Explores of the American Association and Traverse City Beach Bums of the Frontier League. Injuries mounted and it was time to hang up the spikes.. Franco joined the NWF staff in 2014. His primary role was working with the catchers,hitters, and developing team chemistry. He helped lead NWF to a historic 2015 season winning the JUCO National Championship. Currently he works with some of the best underclassman in the panhandle and is a volunteer with South Walton High School Baseball.
