So where did the summer go?

Every year it seems the summer ends sooner. The unofficial end of summer is traditionally viewed as Labor Day (even though there’s plenty of nice weather left for at least another month).

Here in the sports department, the end of summer is usually gauged by the start of the first high school athletic event. That means our summer ended last Friday when Manktao East entertained Waseca in a nonconference girls tennis meet.

Girls tennis, of course, is just the starting point of the fall sports season. Boys and girls soccer, volleyball and girls swimming begin today for a number of Mankato schools. Boys and girls cross country kicks off on Tuesday and, a few days later, high school football begins.

Most readers have probably figured all this out simply by looking at the number of previews we’ve been running on the sports pages lately. All totaled, the three Mankato high schools will field 22 varsity teams this fall.

That’s a lot of information that needs to be gathered, a lot of photos that need to be shot, a lot of stories that need to be written. I know what you’re saying: “Hey, come and read this. The Free Press guys are whining about how hard they work again.”

That’s not the intent of this column.

The truth is, we welcome the start of the fall sports season because it, sort of, justifies our existence. Covering high school and local college sports is what we do.

It’s a frenzied couple of weeks between the time high school practices begin and the start of their seasons. Yes, it does seem to come upon us all at once, but it’s kind of like our preseason camp, too.

We’re whipping ourselves into shape. We’re getting back into the groove of local coverage. The fact is, immerse ourselves in the various sports, re-connecting with coaches, and getting to know some of the new faces on area teams will serve us well once the games begin in earnest.

Our wave of high school previews comes to a peak on Friday, Aug. 29, when our annual Pigskin Preview hits the streets. Most area schools will be included in the section, complete with team photos. (My apologies in advance to the teams that were left out).

That Pigskin Preview signals the end of the beginning. The end of the previews, the beginning of the season.

We’ll see you on the field, or court, or trail, or pool, or whatever the case may be.

Good luck to everyone.