Reporter’s Notebook
RICK HOLTZ
This may just be my favorite time of the year.
School is back in session (sorry kids) and the weather is starting to get cooler. And student athletes are back on the field and court competing once again.
High school sports are back.
Softball and girls golf are underway and volleyball matches start this week. Then on Friday night the lights will shine bright.
Teams have been putting in the work in the off season and now is the time that all the hard work pays off. Last season is over. Everyone starts out 0-0.
The thing I like watching the most is seeing which athletes rise to the occasion and take their team to the next level. Each year teams have holes that are left from the previous year’s graduated seniors. Sometimes there are athletes waiting and ready to step into that leadership role, other times you see the unexpected person step-up and pickup the ball and run with it.
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College football is back and you know what that means — so is the Polk County News Football Contest.
You may have seen the promotional ads the last few weeks, well this is the week you have been waiting for. Inside today’s newspaper you will find a page with all the games and complete rules and all you have to do is pick the winning team for your chance to win. Each week there is a $25 prize. Then at the end of the contest a $100 Season Prize will be selected from all the entries.
There is a limit of two $25 prizes per person. The odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
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Are you going to be out at sporting events this year? Snap a picture and send it our way.
As much as we want to get out to every event it can be difficult some times.
But you can help.
E-mail us a picture from the event. We will print it in the newspaper and on our web site. All you have to do is send it to polkcountynews@yahoo.com.
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Do you know of any Polk County residents playing college sports? Let us know so we can follow their seasons.
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Coaches, don’t forget to send your stats and game results to us. We want to print as many results are we possibly can and the only way we can do that is if we hear from you. Results need to be submitted no later than noon each Monday to make it into the next edition. If you post your scores online just let us know.
Thanks in advance.
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We recently had a poll on our website asking which high school sports teams you follow. I was surprised by the response. We had just under 300 people vote. Of all the responses, 46 percent selected Osceola, while 36 percent selected Shelby-Rising City.
Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s a completely unscientific poll, but as a numbers nerd it was fun to keep track of the results throughout the week.
Thanks for voting.
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I’m looking for some outside the box sports stories to work on in the coming weeks. Game stories are great, but if you know of a good feature let me know.
Who are the biggest superfans for each school? Have you been following your team for 60+ years? Shoot me an email (it’s appeared multiple times above in this column), give me a call in the office at (402) 764-5341 or stop by the office (I’m here Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) Let’s talk.
Rick Holtz is a reporter of the Polk County News. Find his column, Reporter’s Notebook, from time to time in the newspaper and online at www.polkcountynews.net.
