Concepcion Ledezma is currently in his second year teaching English at Hamilton County High School, his 26th overall in the Florida public school system (16 of them in Broward County). Besides teaching primarily 11th and 12th graders, he also coaches the Trojans' cross country team.
After earning his B.A. in journalism from the University of Kentucky in 1986, Ledezma got his first job as a full-time sportswriter for the (then-daily) Boca Raton News before moving on to the South Dade News Leader in Homestead.
The two newspaper stints lasted three years before "stumbling" into teaching via a demand for coaches in high school soccer, a sport he played as a youth. He played two seasons of club soccer while in college, where he was also involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
He head coached varsity soccer 24 seasons for six different Florida high schools, including a runner-up finish in state while at Coconut Creek High School in the Class 6A boys division in 2000. The Cougars lost in the FHSAA finals to state champion Tampa Gaither to end the season with a 27-3-2 record.
Following the season, he was named Broward County High School Soccer Coach of the Year by the Miami Herald and Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
Despite his career change to teaching/coaching, he maintained his ties to sportswriting as a freelancer; for two decades, he contributed periodically for the Miami Herald and The Pelican (a weekly in Pompano Beach) before moving to north Florida six years ago.
Ledezma has gone on to contribute to the Gainesville Sun and Jacksonville Times-Union, covering high school sports following his move to north Florida.
Ledezma, born to Panamanian parents, considers himself a "hybrid" Kentucky/Florida native, growing up with a father (Concepcion, Sr.) who was a jockey. He was born in Hialeah, Fla., but moved around with family (including late mother Markelda and younger sisters Wendy and Yvette).
Because of the constant travel required for most jockeys, the family followed the racing circuits that included New York, South Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts and even out of the mainland in Canada and Puerto Rico.
Concepcion Sr., who had a 23-year riding career, was the winning jockey in the first New York Derby in 1969 aboard Happy Turning. The family eventually settled in Kentucky, home of historic Churchill Downs and Keeneland Park.
"When I started high school, my father decided we would stay in one place, that's how we ended up in Louisville. He would continue the circuits out of town."
Ledezma graduated from Louisville Seneca High School in 1982 before continuing his studies at the University of Kentucky, where he added a French minor to his journalism degree. He is also fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole.
He and wife, Angela, an art teacher at Corinth Christian Academy (CCA) in Jennings, live in rural Live Oak. Their only child, 15-year-old son Joshua, is a freshman at CCA.
A member of First Baptist Church of Madison, Ledezma enjoys reading the Bible, watching his son compete in martial arts, leisure biking, boxing and traveling. He was a competitive runner and tennis player before "retiring" after hip-replacement surgery in 2014.
"My goal is to help preserve the level of excellence carried out by Riverbend News. I hope my small contribution adds to the already-excellent quality of coverage of the areas served. I'm blessed to be added to the team."