With the school year underway it’s time to get into school sports!
Working on the football preview this month, my excitement has continued to grow, and I honestly can’t wait for Friday night football games in October when it’s not humid and hot. Being a bigger fella, I don’t mind frolicking in the cold to watch
Football isn’t the only sport going on though, cross country, volleyball, and tennis and possibly some golf are going on in our area school districts and I hope all the athletes are feeling excited for another year. If there are any students on the fence about joining a sport, it doesn’t hurt to try something new and great memories can be made from it. My best friends and I played school sports together and I think that made those times in school more fun. Playing football in the fall, I also did powerlifting and baseball in the spring. I tried my hand at track, but I couldn’t commit to it. Sorry Coach Munoz.
In my opinion, football has been king for fall sports in Texas and especially in west Texas communities. However, I hope parents and community members will show smaller athletic teams and sports such as cross country and tennis the same level of support in their communities.
I’ve heard the conversation that school supporters show support for all programs the same, but I’ve seen firsthand that
I think it may be easier for smaller school such as Sundown, Smyer, Ropes, Whiteface and Whitharral, but if I am wrong, please let me know. The only reason I make that comment is because communities that are smaller tend to revolve around all the sports a school offers. As a sportswriter that attends different sporting events at different school, I have seen differences in attendance for various schools and different sized schools. Early mornings on a Saturday may not be the ideal way to spend your weekend but taking a trip to LCU for a cross country meet is not as bad as it
The cool crisp air in the morning and the smell of wet grass is something a sports fanatic will remember from their days of high school athletics.
Walking around a place in the early morning with the smell of fresh cut grass that was recently watered transports me to early morning back on the practice field behind the field house in Levelland. The nostalgia of early morning practices and morning workouts after a film session on a Friday are something I can’t forget. We encourage our athletes, students and kids to support other sports and I think it would be nice if parents and community members joined in on the action a little bit more. Back to those morning film sessions, we were “encouraged” or told to go across the parking lot to watch our volleyball teams play and show them support.
I know some of us dreaded the idea of watching an hour plus of volleyball, but once we were in the stands cheering for out classmates and friends, it turned out to be a great time. However, even during those fun times, I would look behind the student section and notice there weren’t a lot of people in the stands. Aside from parents and family friends, the attendance was scarce to say the least. For our Levelland sports enthusiasts, I’m all of us have noticed when a Loboette basketball game ends and then it becomes a mass evacuation before the Lobos take the court. It’s not something that is every said, but if I notice it from the court when I am covering the game then those students notice as well.
I know athletes shouldn’t be looking into the stands and should be focused on the game, but I’m sure a 16-year-old volleyball player or 17-year-old basketball player wouldn’t mind the extra encouragement.
I’ve mentioned before that I have begun to learn the importance of relationships and support between different entities within a town and its community. That is no different when we have kids within our community representing Levelland ISD, Morton ISD or Sundown ISD. Those school district are a part of the communities we love, and I hope we can all come together and show the students in whatever they are competing in some support and encouragement.
I think the same think can be said when it comes to our college campus here in Levelland. As an alumnus of the college and a sportswriter for the former Plainsman Press, those collegiate athletes have put the college in the national spotlight.
After talking to those coaches and students who eat, sleep, and breathe the program they are a part of, I know they wouldn’t mind seeing a couple of friendly faces at their competitions. The Texans and Lady Texan basketball team might be the easiest examples to point out. They have a lot more home games and are a little bit easier to plan for. Aside from students and longtime supporters, the Texan Dome could stand to see some more people that love basketball.
My mom and stepdad started attending Texan and Lady Texan games a few years back and I always wondered why. There’s a simple answer to that though, if you love sports and have a chance to watch it at competitive level for a great price, why not spend an evening supporting your local college and their program.
I hope we can come together and enjoy watching our kids and students participate in all athletic activities.
Now, I hope everyone can jump on board with me on this, but let’s try to be a little more understanding of our coaches and officials.
I know news of coaches and officials being hard to find is floating around social media and different news mediums, but if we keep flying off the handle, we won’t have anyone coaching our kids or officiating games.
We’ve all seen the awful videos of altercations at youth league games and it’s another scenario of it wouldn’t happen here for some folks. However, all sports levels shouldn’t have to deal with these types of problems.
It’s fine not agreeing with calls, or the way coaches are coaching, but there is a fine line. Both coaches and officials have dedicated their time to make these athletic programs and sporting events possible, the saying if you can do better than why not try it yourself is something I whole heartedly believe.
It’s a game. It’s not life of death and it’s something that should bring us together. I love a great rivalry and competitive game. Covid-19 took sports away from us and we must remember it can be taken away again.
Enjoy all these sporting events. Support all our local athletes regardless of the community and rivalry. I hope to see people who love sports in the stands and on the field this year.
Even while I cover the news, I can assure everyone that I still breathe sports. From youth sports, high school, college and professional, feel free to stop me and we can chat about it all.