Summer Sportswriting Doldrums

With my Daily Mail coverage of the Class A baseball state championship, I concluded my responsibilities for the 2012-13 West Virginia high school athletic schedule. Now, the summer doldrums begin.

There's not much to be covered from a high school athletics standpoint between school out and summer dead periods -- times when athletes are prohibited to officially practice. That leaves sportswriters like me searching for stories and twiddling our thumbs.

Because the coverage is so few and far between, we, at the Daily Mail, are already looking ahead to high school football season. Check out the statewide football season schedule here as compiled by prep sports editor Derek Taylor.

We're looking ahead to Week One coverage, even as we stand 12 weeks away from the season-opener. Taylor, our trusty coordinator of preps coverage, has already informed me I can expect to cover either Poca at Nitro or Huntington at Hurricane come opening night, Friday, August 30. That's fine with me. It can't come soon enough.

In the meantime, I've been tasked this summer to keep tabs on St. Albans and Buffalo sports. Each of the writers have been assigned a couple schools to follow through the summer for potential stories. So, if you're a Red Dragons or Bison coach, athlete or fan, and you've got news to share, hit me up.

In addition, I've been charged with those two schools with regard to The Daily Mail's annual preseason high school football tab. Later this summer, I'll be in contact with both schools' football coaches and athletes to conduct interviews and develop team previews, as well as individual player features for the tab.

Beyond that, there's not much to report. I look forward to late July and early August. I expect that's when things will pick back up. I'll be looking to do interviews for preseason cross country previews and possibly some soccer stuff, too, as well as the previously mentioned football assignments.

As a track runner in high school myself, I enjoy covering track and cross country. My running exploits were nothing to write about, though there are plenty in the Kanawha Valley who've earned the ink. It's a sport that usually falls below the radar. It seems to me the athletes and coaches always enjoy the coverage and shout-outs, and I feel like I understand the sport a bit, so I can talk to them as peers.

Until August, yeah, the summer doldrums are here. Maybe year-round schooling is the solution. Then, perhaps, we could have sports to cover during this slow period.