Not Your Average Joe

Allow me to introduce myself. I am the new sports editor for the Courier. I am replacing, as far as I can tell, a beloved member of the Courier and the community in Joseph Terry. So to use a cliche, I have some big shoes to fill.

But hopefully, I will be able to bring the local sports scene to you, through this paper, in a way that will make you feel a part of the passion, even if you can't be at times.

First, I want to thank all of you for enduring last winters brutality while dialing up this beautiful "winter" for me; considering I had never seen a snowfall before, this has even been cold for me.

But I am settling in fine as everybody has been warm and welcoming and I already personally covered my first event, the Glasgow vs. Conrad Divisional Basketball game on Thursday. As many of you probably saw, I was the guy on the baseline taking pictures of everything I could, or at least trying to.

It was good to see that amount of fan fare and support for the local team. It has been a long time since I have seen such pageantry at the high-school level. I was born and raised in Southern California and have never lived out of state until now. Needless to say, it is definitely a different lifestyle here than I am used to. But if that is the type of support this community provides for others, I have a feeling I will do just fine.

I just graduated from college in December where I covered college and minor league professional teams. It was mostly business-like as fans would show up, cheer a bit for their team and then, many times, leave before the game was over. But here, this is the type of place that is just as passionate about sports as I am.

Baseball has always been my first true "love." I grew up watching Mike Piazza and Orel Hershiser (my family are Dodgers fan, as you can tell) and later, watched my favorite team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, win a wild and unifying World Series after the horrors of 9/11.

Baseball has, and always will be, a large part of my life. Which is why my ultimate dream is to cover professional baseball as a beat writer or columnist.

But in the meantime, I am enthused with the idea of covering the young, talented and prideful group of high-school athletes here in Valley County and surrounding areas.

Long story short, I am excited about this opportunity and hope to serve this paper and community to the best of my ability.