Over the course of the coming week, the Greater Valley Area will be flush with tournament baseball and softball, as a quartet of local teams are preparing to take part in state tournament play.

The 10U softball All-Stars are opening state tournament play today in Augusta, the 12U softball All-Stars begin play today at Mell Kelley Park, the West Point 10U baseball All-Stars begin play today in Athens and the 16U softball All-Stars begin state tournament play to defend their title on Sunday at Crawford Creek Park, after being granted a first-round bye.

In addition, from July 13-18, the City of West Point will host the 14U baseball state tournament.

Each and every local team in competition this weekend is comprised of some of the best young athletic talent in the Greater Valley Area.

Storylines and narratives vary across the four teams as well, from defending state champions to newcomers.

The 16U softball team brings back a number of returning players from last year’s championship team, while the West Point 10U baseball team has qualified for the state tournament this year for the first time in four years.

All state tournaments use the double-elimination format, so one loss will not automatically eliminate any of the four teams competing, and each team is guaranteed at least two games in their respective tournament.

In the doldrums of summer, athletic news is often sparse. We all are looking forward to the fall and the dawn of a new football season, however, those September Friday nights are still far away.

The prospect of top-level, local athletic competition in July should be enough to interest even the most casual local sports fan. In addition, community support of local sports teams remains an integral piece to their success.

We encourage all those who are able to get outside this weekend, brave the hot temperatures, and lend a supportive voice to our local youth.

“We hope everybody comes out and supports them,” West Point Parks and Recreation coordinator George Greene said. “Come out, watch some good baseball and support the home team.”

We couldn’t agree more.