The fall high school season was repeatedly interrupted by COVID-19. There were no state tournaments played. And yet our sports staff continually reported the meaning the season held for the athletes who were competing and of their overwhelming gratitude at the opportunities they were given.

The Day traditionally recognizes an All-Area team for each sport, along with a Player of the Year, as chosen by our sports department, Dave Davis, Mike DiMauro, Vickie Fulkerson, Ned Griffen and Gavin Keefe. This fall, we felt it would be difficult to pick all-star teams; some athletes competed only once over an entire season. However, we still believed it would be appropriate to assign some form of All-Area honor to represent the efforts of all the high school athletes who shared their stories with us.

Beginning Friday, The Day will feature a Player of the Year in each fall sport. We hope you enjoy getting to know these remarkable young athletes, scholars and leaders as much as we did. The schedule for publication is as follows: Friday, volleyball; Saturday, swimming; Sunday, boys' cross country; Monday, girls' cross country; Tuesday, field hockey; Wednesday, Dec. 23, boys' soccer; and Thursday, Dec. 24, girls' soccer.

We did not choose a Player of the Year in football since the ECC offered only an alternative 7 vs. 7 passing league and linemen's challenges. If a traditional season is played prior to the spring, The Day looks forward to picking a Player of the Year then. In the meantime, we are in the process of selecting our first All-Decade football team and look forward to unveiling all of the honorees on Christmas Day.

Thank you for reading.

Chuck Banning, Sports Editor