When covering prep sports, parents often wonder why all athletes who play are not mentioned in coverage.

The truth is that all players couldn’t possibly receive an equal amount of coverage, because that’s accounting for hundreds of kids every season. All athletes, however, can receive support from the community in every sport.

Cross Country and volleyball are also being played this fall in addition to football. The athletes of each sport work just as hard as the football players do, which is not even including the long hours that band members and cheerleaders put in as well.

If you’re a member of the community who wants to support other local members of the town, then you should show up to a game in another sport and show the young athletes that you care about them too.

Football is king in the south without a doubt, but encouraging another student-athlete who might not be used to the attention can raise their self-esteem and bring the community closer because everyone is bonding more.

This fall, step out of your comfort zone of only stepping out on Friday nights and watch a high school volleyball match on a Thursday afternoon. If you really wanted to become more active in the Greater Valley Area, take a step even further and congratulate the cross country runners as they cross the finish line at a meet on a Saturday morning.

The possibilities to be involved and active in support aren’t even limited to high schools. You can go to a soccer match at Point University or catch a Skyhawks football game at Ram Stadium, where all the games should end by 4 p.m. just in time to still catch primetime college football on national T.V. that night.

This fall, expand your local entertainment options in the Greater Valley Area because you can’t knock it if you never tried it.