Josh Blaylock, 35
In 1980, Josh Blaylock was born into a family of athletes and educators. It seemed inevitable he would follow a similar path.
He is the only son of retired Malden School teachers, Gary and Pat Blaylock.
He had a love for sports from the beginning and typically played whatever was in season. From the time he was in Little League through his final year of high school, his dad coached him in some capacity.
An especially important memory to Josh is, when in his senior year, his dad was his baseball coach and his grandpa, Gary Blaylock, Sr., was a volunteer coach.
"It was neat to have our three generations out there on the field," he remembers.
Josh and his family were able to travel often together and Josh considers that a special part of his childhood.
Though both educators, Gary- a social studies and P.E. teacher and Pat- a Kindergarten and fourth grade teacher, his parents did not necessarily encourage him to pursue a career in education, though they did greatly emphasize his getting an education in whatever area he desired.
Josh recalls that as a young person, having played basketball, baseball, and football, he, of course, wanted to pursue a career in sports and eventually become a professional athlete. When that did not happen, he focused his efforts on the best way to be around sports. He realized coaching would keep him near what he enjoyed.
While in high school, he was also a member of the Beta Club.
Following his 1998 graduation from Malden High School, Josh pursued a degree in education, completing in 2004, his bachelors of science from Southeast Missouri State University.
Initially, he wanted to be a math teacher because he was so inspired by his own high school math teacher, Mrs. Chidister, who was always so personable and thorough and had the ability to not let any student get behind while still keeping the rest of the class on track.
Following his graduation, he soon began teaching fifth grade math at Malden, before moving on to sixth grade social studies, junior high social studies and high school health.
He acted as assistant high school baseball coach, junior high baseball coach, and assistant high school football coach- assistant coaching several seasons with his dad as head coach.
In August of 2011, Josh completed his master's degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University.
In 2013, he accepted the position of assistant elementary principal for the Malden School District.
Josh plans to soon begin his specialization degree.
While his career advanced, so did his personal life. In 2005, Josh married his wife Amanda and nearly three years later, they welcomed a daughter, Anna Beth.
Amanda has worked in the Malden School District for eight years and Josh appreciates, that, like he and his parents had, all three of them are able to be on the same schedule.
Though, while he was coaching, he says that Amanda was much like a single parent because he was so often gone.
"I wouldn't be here without the support I get from my family," Josh explained, continuing that his parents, wife, and daughter show him a tremendous amount of encouragement.
He appreciates his parents getting him on the right track, emphasizing education, instilling values and teaching him what is right and wrong.
Josh explains that, each day, he wants to do the best he can, taking chances in various avenues that make themselves available and seeing what happens when those chances are taken. He hopes to make his family proud of him- his wife, daughter, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Josh also likes to make things enjoyable, emphasizing that though you often have to be serious, there is no need to dread going to work and believes it is important not to get caught up in negativity.
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