Once or twice a year, I make an impassioned plea for readers' help to make this a better sports section.
Those are not empty words. I just can't be everywhere at once or, for that matter, be everywhere I want to be or need to be.
I often look at a schedule that has multiple games on the same night and have to decide which game I should cover. Often, the decision is difficult, but I make it and move on.
During the school year, I do my best to cover as many high school games as possible. Most weeks, I cover four games and occasionally I'll cover five or six games during tournament time. I don't mind rearranging my schedule to attend a college signing ceremony or some other special event.
We at the News Bulletin want to increase our coverage of local youth and recreational leagues. This is a community newspaper, after all, and we realize high school sports are only one part of the community sports scene.
Unfortunately, I'm not able to cover youth league games, as there are dozens being played on any given evening. But with the help of a network of coaches, parents and league administrators, we can give our children and adult recreation league warriors the spotlight they deserve.
One of the most famous movie lines of all time simply says, "If you build it, he will come." That line, of course, is to persuade Ray Kinsella to build a baseball diamond in an Iowa cornfield in "Field of Dreams."
To paraphrase that line, "If you submit it, it will appear in the paper."
OK, so it doesn't have the same zip as a mysterious voice in a cornfield, but we are serious about creating space for our local youth and adult recreational leagues.
If your league or team as a Facebook page or website that has updated information you would permit us to use, we would welcome and appreciate that opportunity.
In the coming weeks, we hope to expand our sports section to include more submitted material from our local leagues, but we can't do it without your help.
If you are an administrator, coach or parent of one of our youth leagues' teams or someone associated with an adult league who can help, please email me. Thanks for your help.
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Wanted: recreational league news, announcements