MOSES LAKE – The end of August might be one of my favorite times of the year. It signifies the best season, fall. I’ll finally get to dust off my favorite cardigan and I won’t bore you with the pumpkin spice latte hype.  

Most important of all, fall sports have returned. Whether it’s football, volleyball, cross country or girls soccer, it is always exciting to see the high school athletes hit the field or court.  

Having grown up in a city, I never remembered high school athletics carrying the same atmosphere as you find in rural communities. In August 2023, I covered my first high school football game. It was in a rural county called Licking County, and the team I covered was the Granville Blue Aces.  

Within the first few weeks of that game, I was introduced to this new atmosphere. No matter the team’s record, fans packed the stands. Marching bands blared their instruments, and the players gave everything they had. This is not to say that it did not exist in a metropolitan area like Columbus, Ohio — but it did not feel as widespread as this.  

That year, I fell in love with covering rural athletics. It makes me feel so lucky to start my career in journalism here in the Columbia Basin, covering the passionate fan bases I have seen already.  

As some may have seen throughout the summer, I have spent a lot of time catching up with athletes at the collegiate level who still call towns like Moses Lake, Ephrata, Quincy or Othello home. As I have spoken with them, I have come to realize the level of dedication Basin athletes have to their sports. The same goes for the coaches and athletic directors.  

When I first moved here in May, it didn't take me long to learn about everything surrounding the Moses Lake School District Levy. As I learned more through talking with the coaches and Athletic Director Loren Sandhop, the community response told me everything I needed to know about Moses Lake’s support for student athletes.  

It was moving to see the coaches do everything they could to ensure their players had a season last year. Additionally, the Community Athletics and Activities group impressed with its support of Mavericks athletics.  

I’ve had the opportunity to speak with a few coaches regarding the community's support during a trying time. Mavs girls soccer head coach Alysha Overland shared a lot of gratitude. 

“I don't think it's as known how appreciative all of us are, and all our athletes are, to have actually been able to participate. I know even talking with some of the seniors (last year), when it sounded doubtful, how upset they were to think they weren't going to get to participate in their senior year,” she said.  

As we look toward a new season, I am excited to do my part in supporting local athletes. No matter where it may be in Grant and Adams County.  

I want to encourage our readers to do the same. This could be supporting the athletic boosters at your respective schools. Giving an athlete a ride to practice or a game – with parental approval, of course. Or better yet, packing the stands and showering them with passion.  

Also, you, the community members, deserve to see your support paying off. In any town, athletes feed off the support and feel a difference when they’re on the field. Coach Overland put it fittingly.  

“I think it would be great for community members to come out and see what they were able to help accomplish, and show what their work actually went toward,” she said. “Which is seeing the happy athletes on the field, the successful athletes on the field. And I think it would go vice versa, for the athletes to be able to see the support both outside of the field and watching them take on what they were able to accomplish.” 

    MAYNARD