This is why some people leave outdoor Christmas lights up year-round.

By the time you take them down, it’s time to put them back up.

The seasons seem to whiz by in a flash, and such is the case this week as Montana, and Idaho, high school sports teams begin practicing for the rapidly upcoming 2023-24 season.

First up for the Fall season will be football, volleyball and cross country.

St. Regis, which is a football co-op partner with Mullan, Idaho and plays the overwhelming majority of its games each Fall in Idaho under Idaho rules, began practice this past Monday.

The Tigers/Tigers combo will officially open the season with a road game Friday, August 18 in Clark Fork, Idaho. St. Regis/Mullan will play the first of two games in Montana the following Saturday when they travel east on I-90 for a game against always strong Superior.

Plains, which will be seeking its first football win in more than two years, kicks off its season Friday, August 25 when the Horsemen host Mission, an eight-player playoff team from last season.

Superior’s first game will be the August 26 match up with St. Regis/Mullan. The Bobcats will play their second home game in a row on Friday, September 1 when they take on the visiting Horsemen from Plains.

In six-player opening football games, Hot Springs and their promising group of underclassmen begin the season with a long road trip to West Yellowstone to take on the Wolves Saturday, August 26. The area’s other six-man teams, Noxon and Alberton, which played a slate of JV games last year in their first year playing sports, meet in Alberton Friday, August 25.

Meanwhile, Thompson Falls, which was moved to the 11-player level last year and finished the season with a win, opens its 2023 campaign with a home game against Conrad, Friday, August 25.

The 2023 volleyball season gets underway Thursday, August 24 when Noxon hosts Valley Christian. St. Regis will play the second game of the new season Friday, August 25 when always tough Seeley comes to town.

Several volleyball squads will kick off the season the following night, August 26. Playoff participant Superior, which will be looking to replace several key graduating seniors, travels to St. Ignatius that Saturday to take part in the Mission Invitational.

Hot Springs and Alberton both hit the road the 26th to compete in the Drummond Invitational tourney.

The region’s two Class B teams, Plains and Thompson Falls kick off their seasons on the 26th and 29th respectively. Plains will take part in the Mission Invitational Saturday the 26th, while Thompson Falls opens their 2023 season on the 29th with a home game versus Loyola Sacred Heart.

While St. Regis/Mullan kicked off football practice this past Monday under Idaho rules, all other Montana teams will begin practice this Friday, August 11.

Sanders County’s two high school cross country teams also get underway this month, with Thompson Falls traveling to Deer Lodge Saturday, August 26th for the Deer Lodge Invitational.

No schedule was listed yet on the Plains school website for their cross country team. And Hot Springs, which competed last year, will not have a cross country team this Fall.