The sports section you are currently holding in your hands is something I hope will become a habit for you each week.
For with this edition, Barrow County has a new player on the sports scene. I guess you could call it a new contender to use an old boxing analogy.
I think you will like our approach to sports coverage. I’m not a “Johnny Come Lately” when it comes to covering local sports. I’ve been at it a long time. Professionally, I’ve covered sports since 1993 although I’ve been on the sidelines, in gyms and at local fields even longer than that.
I have a strong understanding of what an important learning tool high school, middle school and recreation sports can be when used right. I also understand what local coaches go through when it comes to directing their programs.
When you follow high school sports as closely as I have, for as long as I have, you see up close the work coaches put in, the hours they are away from their families and the overall little reward they receive financially for it. What I hope to do is help you understand that overall process.
It will also be our role to follow both high schools and document what their student-athletes accomplish. We have no preference for one school over the other. We want both schools to succeed equally. I’ve previously worked at a newspaper where I covered four high schools so having two major schools to follow is nothing new for me.
Sports coverage is something we will take seriously at our paper. We realize having a top notch sports section is important to readers in a community like Winder and all of Barrow County. We will do our best to provide you with that each week. From keeping you informed on the progress of our local teams to keeping in touch with former local standouts to in depth features, we hope to offer something for all readers within our sports pages. What you see in our debut issue this week is a good example of what you will see on a regular basis.
Already the feedback we have received has been strong. It’s a great sign to have such a positive reaction from the community — sports and otherwise — before you even have your first edition roll off the press. Hopefully, this premier issue will only encourage you to support this product more.
I welcome your suggestions for this paper’s sports section. If you know of a former local athlete who is now competing at the collegiate level, please let me know about him or her. If you have an idea for a sports related feature, I would love to hear about.
In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you on the sidelines during the remainder of football season and at winter sports when those campaigns begin in coming weeks.
It is an exciting time for Barrow County sports and we are proud to be here to document it. We hope you will eventually get to the point where you consider us your No. 1 source for sports news in Winder and Barrow County for that is our ultimate goal.
