Ever since Cody Martin was in middle school, he knew he wanted to be in sports management.

A recent graduate of Wilmington College in Ohio, Martin has been looking for the right job for him. He was getting emails from a job board with openings, and there was one that stood out to him — athletic director at Medora High School.

“It was the only one that caught my eye,” Martin said. “I knew right away I needed to apply, got an interview and the rest is kind of history I guess.”

Martin officially started his tenure as Medora AD on July 1. He attended high school at Bedford North Lawrence before heading to Ohio for college, where he majored in sports management.

“I knew from the time I was in the middle school that what I wanted to do is athletic directing or something in that realm, and I wanted to do it at a small school,” Martin said. “I’ve always been drawn to a small community. I grew up in a small community in Lawrence County.”

While at BNL, Martin played mostly basketball, but he dabbled with some baseball and football as well. During his senior year at Bedford, Martin started to get involved with officiating around the state.

“I won’t say I was a good athlete. I was pretty mediocre to be honest,” he said. “What I was always drawn to was the organization of the weekend tournaments I’d go to for basketball or even the small things like getting officials for tournaments and games. I’ve always wanted to stay involved with athletics. I just kind of have a thing for red tape and the small things behind the scenes that make an event go smoothly.”

He started out by officiating basketball and baseball, but recently became licensed to officiate volleyball, softball and track and field.

Martin also helped create the recreational sports program at Wilmington College. He graduated from Wilmington in May of 2021.

Growing up in Bedford, Martin has always been familiar with Medora being just down the road.

“I think a lot of aspects of Medora are unique,” he said. “Obviously the first thing that comes to everybody’s mind is how small it is and kind of a history of underachieving in different sports, but I think for us, our viewpoint of athletics at Medora is to give the students life lessons, those being sportsmanship, honesty, sticking to a regimen and schedule. I think that will go a lot further than wins and losses will, but I think the wins and losses come with those life lessons.”

His first 20 days as AD for the Hornets has just been about getting up to speed, learning the ropes, checking in with other AD’s to confirm schedules for this fall.

Martin was also a part of the hiring process for new volleyball coach Rebecca Lucas. All in all, he said he can’t wait for fall sports to start and is excited to get all the students and athletes back for school.

“I’m chomping at the bit,” he said. “I’m really ready for students to be in the building. I’ve met a minimal amount of students, so I’m excited to get to know all of them, and I’m excited to just have events start so I can see how the community comes together for Medora athletics.”