There are plenty of great atmospheres in sports. A full high school arena can fit right up there at the top.
It may not rattle the ears like the inside of Ford Field or Comerica Park, but high school sports can stick with you all the same.
That’s one thing I’ve learned in my first 18 months on the Detroit Free Press sports desk. As a utility infielder — general assignment and trending writer — I experienced plenty between helping with pro, college and high school sports coverage.
Like when Howell knocked off top-ranked Belleville in the final week of the high school football regular season. The entire town showed up for the showdown of the unbeaten teams, and watched the Highlanders snap Bryce Underwood and his Tigers' three-year regular season winning streak on a last-second touchdown. The Howell crowd stormed the field as everyone knew the team had pulled off an instant classic.
Or the intensity that hung in the air when Detroit Renaissance hosted U-D Jesuit in a back-and-forth battle during the boys basketball playoffs in front of a sold-out gym. The Breslin Center scene when East Lansing finished its run to the Division 1 state championship was pretty remarkable, too.
Those moments stick in my head just like the Lions' home crowds and the Tigers’ heroics throughout 2024.
I am thrilled to be able to write about more of those moments all the time. I am moving from my utility infielder role to a full-time focus on high school sports to amplify those moments weekly and share the stories of athletes across Southeast Michigan and the state.
I am ready to dive into stories on the up-and-coming generation of athletes in Michigan across the sports under the MHSAA umbrella, and showcase what they mean to their respective teams and communities through features, analysis and spotlight stories. The players and their impact are the central focus of high school sports coverage, and as a Michigan native, I know the passion for high school sports here.
There are big shoes to fill on the beat as the first full-time high school sports writer in nine years.
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