Before Section 1 sports coverage, a quick word on back to school energy

August 16, 2022 Examiner Media

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Gearing up for local fall athletics

I’ll never forget walking through Pleasantville, in Sept. of 2007, an early print edition of The Examiner having just begun its circulation around the village on a Tuesday afternoon.

I saw a pack of local teens outside the pizza shop, huddled around the newspaper, rifling through the sports section, looking for photos of themselves and their friends. They were exuding that uniquely teenage brand of excited energy.

In that moment, it felt like affirmation that what we were setting out to achieve was quickly resonating.

After I politely but firmly rebuked them for making a mess with extra copies — didn’t want to lose a distribution spot! — I thanked them for reading. You might have expected some rebellious pushback but they eagerly accommodated my request, putting copies in neat piles, grateful for the coverage.

It was exciting to see our efforts to forge community and conversation, including among young people, take physical form.

This time of year, mid to late August, has such a different mood than July. The meat of the summer is over — sorry! — and you can feel people preparing to return to back to school reality.

Local youth athletics still glues communities together, even in an era when communities feel partially fractured. It’s often the adhesive that’s still able to bind people together, amidst all of our real differences.

With all that in mind, for you local school sports fans out there, enjoy Examiner Sports Editor Ray Gallagher’s excellent bird’s eye view look at the Section 1 scene this fall.

Here you go, this week’s “Direct Ray’s” column:

https://www.theexaminernews.com/lots-to-look-forward-to-as-2022-fall-prep-seasons-approach/