Member Spotlight Jeff and Jenna Mathis lean into Watersound® Club’s laid-back lifestyle as a respite from the Big Leagues.

F R O M T H E BIG LEAGUES T O T H E Beach

THE MATHIS family finds their slice of heaven, making Watersound their home.

SARAH & PAUL PHOTOGRAPHY

For a World Series winner, Watersound feels like home

Written By PRATT FARMER

BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! If you are an Atlanta Braves fan, those words were like music to your ears late last year when the Braves clinched the National League Championship Series and went on to become baseball’s world champions, defeating the Houston Astros. For Watersound® Club Members Jeff and Jenna Mathis those words were the crescendo to Jeff’s baseball career after just joining the Braves in May 2021.

Jeff is no stranger to Northwest Florida, as he played both football and baseball at Marianna High School. While football was the sport he enjoyed more, he was drafted right out of high school to play baseball for the California Angels in Anaheim. In high school, Jeff played shortstop and pitcher, and in his senior year, his coach transitioned him to catcher. He showed great skills in a remarkably difficult position to play. “I had planned to attend Florida State University and play baseball there,” he says. However, the offer to go straight to professional ball was just too enticing. It was during his time with the Angels that Jeff met his wife, Jenna, during a series against the New York Yankees. “I met Jeff through a mutual friend while the Angels were in New York where I was living,” says Jenna. “We just seemed to hit it off right away.”

When Jeff and Jenna decided to tie the knot, they chose the Chapel at Seaside as their wedding venue. “I had never been to 30A before coming down with Jeff, and having heard about the chapel, we went to see it. That’s all it took,” says Jenna. “As a matter of fact, when my dad spoke at our wedding, he was quick to tell Jeff that he had his best series when he met me.”

Over the next few years, the couple would come to 30A every chance they got.

In the ensuing years, Jeff played for the Rangers, Diamondbacks, Marlins and Blue Jays. It was his time with

the Blue Jays that ultimately brought him to the Braves. “Alex Anthopoulos was the general manager of the Blue Jays while I was there; we had a great relationship. In May of last year, Alex called and asked if I would come down to Atlanta, joining the taxi squad,” he says. Taxi squad is baseball parlance for five to six substitute players who shuffle between the major league team and its AAA affiliate depending on short-term needs. Jeff never went to the AAA team, Gwinnett Braves. Instead, he ended up as a catcher in the bullpen. “Playing in that role gave me an opportunity to really get to know the pitchers,” says Jeff.

One teammate described Jeff as a player-coach because he not only took great interest in every pitcher, he also spent lots of time working out, attending pregame scouting meetings and never left the bullpen. That is, until he was called from his place out beyond the home run fence. After Braves’ starting catcher Travis d’Arnaud was placed on the 10-day injured list and then Alex Jackson, who replaced d’Arnaud was injured, Jeff got the call. Thanks to his experience and his continued work to stay ready to play, he was prepared. As one sportswriter said of Jeff, “It is not hyperbole to label the 38-year-old Mathis a defensive savant behind the plate.”

The life of any professional athlete is challenging. For baseball players and their families, it’s especially trying. With 162 games each season, baseball players

We both love the laid-back beach lifestyle, so deciding on 30A as the place we wanted to live was easy. We would also be close to all of Jeff’s family, and that was important for both of us.

spend many nights away from home. “When possible, Jenna would travel to the games, and even when the kids were pre-school aged, she would be able to make many of the trips,” says Jeff. However, as the kids got older, the couple began thinking more about schools and finding a community where they could put down roots. “Community was very important to both of us. I grew up in a small town where everybody knew just about everybody,” Jeff says. While the idea of living in Northwest Florida was new to her, Jenna says that she just knew in her heart of hearts that being in the area felt “right.”

They settled on a house in the WaterSound® Beach community. “It’s a slice of heaven to us,” says Jenna. When not at home, you will find the family at the beach or the Watersound Beach Club. “I love that we can walk just about anywhere, and everyone is so gracious and friendly,” Jeff says.

Jenna agrees. “Our kids just love being at the Club. If they aren’t in the lazy river floating along, then they are having an ice cream. It’s just fabulous that we have so much at our fingertips,” she says.

When Jeff isn’t at the Club, you will most likely find him on one of the two Watersound Club golf courses or hunting. With an 8 handicap, Jeff says that he is partial to Camp Creek Golf Course. “I love the course, and I suppose it’s a favorite because I keep trying to ‘best’ the ninth hole. That hole always gets me with the marshes and bunkers. I really like Shark’s Tooth Golf Course as well, but with Camp Creek so close to the house, I can be there and on the course in a matter of minutes,” Jeff explains.

“I LOVE THAT we can walk just about anywhere and everyone is so gracious and friendly.” — Jeff Mathis

All of his life Jeff has been an avid outdoorsman. “We began hunting at an early age. Reminiscing about those times in a field or sitting in a deer stand with my dad and brother are priceless to me,” he says. At least once a year they still take a weeklong hunting trip. “I love to hunt for whitetail, but honestly, anything that gets me outdoors, I am game for,” he says.

Now that their oldest daughter is attending a nearby school, Jenna and the girls are traveling less and less with Jeff. “Part of putting down roots was being able to stay put, become active in our children’s school years and just catch our breath a bit,” Jenna says. “We loved being on the road with Jeff some of the time. But honestly, with the beach at our doorstep and the Club just a short walk away, it’s really hard to get us to think about anything else.”

When asked about the World Series, Jeff says that he was truly blessed to be given the opportunity to join the Braves. “They had many choices, and they chose me. I am humbled and flattered by that,” he says. Asked what’s next for him, Jeff says he is leaving his options open. “Whether I continue to play or consider a coaching opportunity is yet to be decided,” he says. It is important to note that Jeff played 17 major league baseball seasons, a huge accomplishment by any measure.

As for Jenna and the girls, you will most definitely find them at Beach Club or building sandcastles in the sugary white sand. That’s a grand slam!

They had many choices, and they chose me. I am humbled and flattered by that. Whether I continue to play or consider a coaching opportunity is yet to be decided. — Jeff Mathis

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