One of the questions that I am often asked is where I have developed such a passion for sports and not just one sport but many different ones.

For me, I guess it was growing up in an era where there weren’t as many technological toys as exist today such as video games and robotics.

The kids in my neighborhood from the earliest time in my childhood memory I can remember entertained ourselves by accumulating on one of the larger yards and engaged in activities like roll and hit the bat, touch football, H-O-R-S-E, tag, kick the can, kickball, volleyball, and a few other competitive games.

I also had a grandfather that loved baseball and we would spend countless hours in the yard with him throwing baseball and hitting me grounders and popups to help prepare me to play baseball from little league all the way through my teenage years.

The boys I grew up with were always close and if one played elementary basketball, we all wanted to make the team and it was the same for Little League baseball and football until we graduated.

Although I may not have been superstar quality, I truly enjoyed participating in sports of various kinds which also included a love for fishing and hunting which many don’t recognize to be a form of sports.

As I have grown older, I still love to watch sports either in person or on television and I am still amazed at some of the things that I see today’s athletes do.

Most saw my coverage of the Food City 500 recently and to be honest I didn’t follow NASCAR too much until my son got me hooked a while back and now it is another sport added to my favorite’s list.

I like to participate as well be it fishing and hunting which I haven’t had much time to do but I hope to change that soon or playing a round of golf when afforded the opportunity.

The bottom line is that while many couldn’t give a flip about sports, for others it has been a way of life from their childhood like myself.

It doesn’t mean something is wrong with someone if they don’t like a good baseball or football game just like it doesn’t mean there is an issue if someone doesn’t like reading a large novel or utilizing the latest technology.

From a sports writer’s perspective, however, it is a desire to make sure that when covering a local sporting event be it a youth league T-ball game to a state championship football showdown that the kids who have the same love and passion for their sport as I do can receive the accolades they are due.

That’s why I love being on the beat for the STAR—just having the opportunity to shine the spotlight on as many of the local athletes that I can because I have been in their shoes and I know how important it is for them to be a contributing part to their team, school and community.

I have always tried to keep things on a positive and upbeat side as well, even in a loss, because I can promise you that enough negative things are being said in the world that our young people don’t need to be exposed to any more negativity.

Sports are important because they have kept many a good boy and girl away from things in life that could have changed their life for the worse, so I would much rather see someone drop a pass for the winning touchdown rather than read a demoralizing statistic in another section of the paper.

Yes, sports are not for everyone, but I just wanted to take a moment and thank God that I have been given the love of writing and the love of sports and have been able to put the two together in a way that allows me to brag on young and old alike while giving Him glory for the ability to do so.