Welcome to the August 2010 edition of In The Game High School Sports Magazine!

Summer has flown by and the 2010-2011 school year is upon us. We cover 21 schools in this South Georgia Edition and it seems like each of them begin their year at a different time, a few as late as September 7.  At any rate, we all know it’s time for some football!

I don’t know about you, but July seems like the longest month while waiting for full practices to begin. But the season seems to start earlier each year; several teams play their scrimmage game on August 13 and begin their regular season on August 20. I know it’s tough to play during the hottest part of the year; I believe there must be some validity to the global warming concept as it is much hotter now as compared to 30 years ago. I remember attending games in September and drinking hot chocolate because it was so cold!

I say it every year and it’s true every year: This area of South Georgia has some of the best football in the country. Region 1-5A now has only five teams: Coffee, Colquitt, Lowndes, Valdosta and Tift. All five are in our coverage area and Region 1-5A will still be among the toughest in the nation. It will be exciting to see how the season unfolds, as the region championship will probably not be decided until the last game. There are also five teams from competitive Region 1-2A in this coverage area, several of whom will play 5A opponents in their non-region games. Playing that level of competition really prepares them for region play later in the season. I’d also like to welcome the Thomas County schools to the coverage area. Thomasville, Thomas County Central and Brookwood have quality teams and it’s great to have them as part of the South Georgia Edition.

There are many elements involved in the Friday night football experience. Coaches and players have worked hard all year preparing for the season, as have the cheerleaders, band members, booster clubs, administrators and the local community. Friday nights across South Georgia are truly special.

While football is big in South Georgia, there are several other fall sports equally important to those participating. Please support your softball teams, competition cheerleading teams, volleyball teams and cross country teams.

We have a brand-new forum for high school sports on our website!  Anyone may join and share information about their favorite team. With so much talent in the area, we cannot possibly know about everyone. If you have an idea for a positive story related to local high school athletics, just let us know, and don’t forget to send us your nominations for upcoming features.

If your school is not represented within these pages, please encourage them to get involved. We give every school the opportunity to participate and would like to see each and every one represented.

This is our fourth year covering high school sports in South Georgia. The previous three were fun, inspiring and a lot of work! Our goal is to improve each year as we bring you positive, inspirational stories about local high school athletes. I hope you enjoy In The Game High School Sports Magazine.

Until Next Month,