By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

CALERA – Zach Gaines and Tyesha Haynes of Calera High School will be continuing their athletic careers at the collegiate level. In a ceremony at Calera on April 19, Gaines announced that he will be furthering his football career at the University of West Alabama where he will join the team as a punter and kicker, while Haynes signed a scholarship offer to play basketball at Shelton State Community College. Both Gaines and Haynes were two of the top athletes at Calera in the 2015-16 school year, and were surrounded by family and friends during the ceremony.

“I don’t think with Zach or Tyesha there was a time when I was ever really worried about their academic success, and now they have the opportunity to continue to do something they love at the next level, and that is something to celebrate,” Calera principal Joel Dixon said at the ceremony. “I am very proud of you guys.”

Haynes was named the 2015-16 Shelby County Girls Basketball Player of the Year, and was also named to the 5A ASWA Second Team as well. She averaged 20.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in her senior year for a relatively young Calera team that finished the year with an 18-11 record.

“She’s been a great, great person, more than anything else,” Calera head girls basketball coach James Knowles said of his graduating senior. “She’s been a tremendous leader for our basketball team. Not only is she successful basketball-wise, but she’s successful at life.”

Gaines came to Calera from the Atlanta area before his junior year of high school, and made an immediate impact from a kicking standpoint. The 6-foot-3-inch prospect has a cannon for a leg, and his YouTube video proves he can hit field goals of 55 yards and can routinely bomb punts over 70 yards on the fly.

“We got Zach a couple years ago, and he made an immediate impact on the football team,” Calera athletic director Chris McCrackin said of Gaines. “(He’s) probably one of the best kickers I’ve ever seen. He’s a phenomenal athlete, kicker, he can play any sport he sets his mind to, and we were lucky to have him.”

Gaines, who also played receiver for Calera this season, broke his kicking leg in the opening game of the year, and spent most of the season rehabbing. However he made a full recovery and punted in the playoffs for the Eagles, and will hope to make an immediate impact for West Alabama, which is where his father also played football.

Gaines and Haynes thanked God, their parents and teammates for helping them to reach this milestone achievement.