This is an opinion piece.

It’s close, friends.

The start of the 2024-2025 high school athletic year is now a little over a month away.

Cross country, swimming and diving, volleyball and football teams can begin their seasons on Aug. 22.

And I’ve got some additional good news.

We’ve added to our high school sports team at AL.com. On Monday, Thomas Ashworth officially joins our staff. Thomas comes to us from the Anniston Star. He will be based in the Huntsville area and will help boost our coverage in the north part of the state particularly.

Thomas will strengthen our team, which also includes Dennis Victory and Mike Perrin in Birmingham, myself on the Gulf Coast and a host of loyal correspondents who help us on Friday nights as well as covering major high school events across the state.

Former Press-Register sports editor and current Mobile radio talk show host Randy Kennedy also continues to be a big part of our plan moving forward. Randy, the 2023 winner of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Mel Allen Media Award, will help us with recruiting coverage – including rankings and our annual A-List of top seniors in the state – as well as our ongoing Wednesday series focusing on the greatest moments, players and coaches in high school history.

I’m really looking forward to some new features we are working on in the coming weeks as well. Next weekend, I will begin a series of stories focusing on an anonymous survey I sent to high school football coaches earlier this summer. Some of the topics include NIL, high school transfers and top players in Alabama history. I think you will find their thoughts interesting.

In August, Randy will spearhead our countdown of the top 60 senior football recruits in the Southeast. As previously mentioned, we also will have our annual A-List of the top senior recruits in the state and multiple features heading into the start of another season in late August. We also will have our A-List of top volleyball players in the state.

Also, as you may have already noticed, we’re going to be asking you the reader to weigh in more on different topics, and we will report on your responses.

Subscribers can read all of these stories in the daily digital editions of the Huntsville Times, The Birmingham News and the Press-Register, or at al.com/highschoolsports/

If you’re not yet a digital edition subscriber, visit al.com/subscribe/ and get set before the season starts. Your supports powers our local journalism, including our award-winning sports coverage.

Meanwhile, on my mind this week …

Still waiting at Vigor

More than a month after Markus Cook was relieved of his head football coaching duties at Vigor, we are still waiting on an official replacement to be named.

Mobile County Public Schools announced on June 13 that Cook had been relieved of his duties. An MCPSS Board meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday where a new coach should be approved.

AL.com will host Mobile County Media Days on July 30-31 at the IHeart Radio Studios. The Wolves will be represented at the event by senior running back Carlos Benjamin, senior defensive back and athlete Kevin Malone and, we assume, the new coach.

Vigor’s first game is the annual “Battle of Prichard” at rival Blount on Aug. 23.

New coach at Central-Coosa

Daniel Flowers is the new head football coach at Central-Coosa in Rockford.

He replaces Sundell Russaw, who was 4-16 in two seasons at the school.

Flowers spent seven seasons as head coach at Southside-Selma, two at Wenonah and was head coach at Dallas County in Plantersville a year ago.

The Cougars last made the playoffs in 2015. Their only playoff win came 24 years ago.

Staying with Auburn

Despite getting picked in this week’s Major League Baseball draft by the Los Angeles Angels, Baker star Connor Gatwood is sticking with his commitment to play college baseball at Auburn.

Gatwood, a right-handed pitcher with a fastball that has touched 98 miles per hour, was selected by the Angles in the 19th round on Tuesday but will pass on his pro baseball career for now, he told Jason Caldwell of Auburn Undercover.

“You go through this process not knowing what your future holds, but honestly it’s a huge relief because I get to look forward to getting an education and playing for my dream school,” he said.

Gatwood made only a handful of starts on the mound as a senior for Baker due to various injuries, but still was an All-State selection as a designated hitter. He also confirmed his plan to play baseball at Auburn to AL.com on Thursday morning.

Thought for the week

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” – C.S. Lewis.

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.