By Matt Mauney | Associate Editor
Yes, the high school football season is coming to a close here, soon. Durant will be the only area team playing more than 10 games this season, but there is plenty to look forward to for high school sports fans out there.
Let’s start with those football Cougars. Durant is 9-0 going into the regular season finale this week against King. Durant is building a special program out there in the rural country, and it will be interesting to see how far the Cougars can go once the postseason begins.
Football tends to get most of the attention, and for cases such as the magical season Durant is having, rightly so, but there is plenty of other things that will be interesting to watch for in the coming weeks.
I’m looking forward to the upcoming basketball seasons. As most of you know by now, I came down here from Atlanta, where I was born and raised.
Football is certainly king up there as it is in Florida, but when basketball season rolls around, things are equally exciting.
I’ve heard that this area “isn’t big on basketball” from chatting with several coaches and parents, but I think there is more to it than that. I’m excited to see first-hand what this area has to offer on the hardwood.
Almost more than with football, when a special player is in action during a high school basketball game, it is hard to overlook. From what I’ve gathered in my exposure to basketball in this area, there is plenty of talent to go around and even more young talent coming through the ranks. I’m hoping to see this continue and urge everyone to go support your local high school basketball teams this season.
Wrestling is one of those sports I didn’t know much about and wasn’t very passionate about when I began my career as a high school sports writer. Wrestling was pretty big with the area schools at my old paper, including a program that had won the individual and dual state championships every year for more than a decade.
From what I’ve gathered from my time here, there is some good talent in Plant City on the mats. Trust me when I tell you to not judge a book by its cover. Wrestling is one of those sports that tends to get overlooked, especially early on in the season and with smaller dual matches.
If you have a classmate, student, son or family friend who wrestles, try to make it out to at least one of the matches and show them some support. Once you pick up on how tactical the sport is and start to understand individual and team scoring, it becomes quite intriguing.
The last sport that takes up the winter season is soccer. This is one I’ll have to get used to, because, in Georgia, soccer is a spring sport. Honestly, I might have to rethink my career choice if that wasn’t the case — it gets pretty cold up there. But, I’m looking forward to enjoying cooler but pleasant Florida weather while covering area soccer teams this year.
Soccer is another sport that typically doesn’t see a whole lot of support, especially at the high school level, but fans and especially students can help motivate a team with chants, cheers and the constant blowing of vuvuzela horns.
The point is this: Try not to be narrow-minded with sports you may not find entertaining at first. Give them a chance, and kudos to all of you who already do. I know I’m looking forward to the upcoming winter sports season and wish good luck to all area teams.“>http://muhammadiya.ru/mikrozaymi-v-krasnoyarske-kruglosutochno.php