Covering high school football is difficult but rewarding

My alarm went off and all I wanted to do was hit snooze.

It was still dark out — roughly 5:30 in the morning — and I just wanted to get some more sleep. But I knew I couldn’t. Why? It was July 30, and football was about to begin.

Fast forward to 11 p.m. the same day.

Nine practices, 100plus photos later, I’m exhausted and just want to go to bed. But I’m also satisfied. Why? It was July 30, and football had just begun. This season marks my fifth year at the helm of the football beat for The Morning Journal, but each season I feel like it’s still my first. There’s the nervous anticipation of the first practices, the excitement of watching the big plays.

But most of all, the enjoyable interactions and relationships I get to either begin or continue each year.

Coming off of the summer, it sometimes feels like the start of the fall sports season is a bit of a reunion.

I spent time at the various practices catching up with coaches, athletic directors and players. I heard about their summers, how their families were doing, about how their kids learned to walk or they were expecting a child.

And I in turn told the players, coaches and athletic directors about my summer, my family, my son.

We talked about which teams would be the surprise of the season. Which teams might underachieve. We talked about the craziness of the Patriot Athletic Conference breakup and where the various schools ended up in new conferences.

Everywhere I went, I was welcomed with open arms.

And that’s one of the reasons I love this time of year so much.

Don’t get me wrong. The hours in the fall are rough. Any semblance of a social life goes out the door. Minimal sleep becomes the norm.

But, truthfully, it’s all worth it.

Over the course of the day on July 30, I tweeted pictures from all of my various stops. The response I received to those tweets was, quite frankly, humbling.

Over 300 likes, 125 retweets and 50 gained followers over the course of 17 hours.

It is that sort of a response that reminds me why I do what I do despite the exhaustion and frustration that can come with the high school football beat. It’s a reminder that people care about what you are doing. That you are producing physical memories for the players, coaches and families. That you are documenting the stories of these young athletes that they may well use some day to tell their own children and grandchildren about their time playing.

So, bring on the long days, the exciting Friday nights and the (hopefully) 15 weeks of Morning Journal area success on the gridiron.

I’m ready.

Jon Behm