The El Paso Times is kicking off its newest initiative with a heavy focus on outdoor adventure and youth sports.
On the print side, every Thursday in the Living section, the El Paso Times will spotlight an under-served demographic in our readership area — those who enjoy the great outdoors, the weekend warriors and the the future stars in our many youth sports leagues.
We will feature profiles on the people — young and old — who make the area a special place to run, bike and play.
Our outdoor recreation coverage will include leisure and competitive pursuits such as backpacking, bicycling, camping, canoeing, caving, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, rock climbing, running and skiing.
Whether you can run it, ride it, hike it, camp it or hunt it — from Big Bend National Park on the banks of the Rio Grande to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument off Highway 15 — the El Paso Times promises to bring news and information from the great outdoors.
On the youth sports side, as a former competitive youth baseball and basketball coach for close to 20 years, I know the struggles fellow coaches and parents face with travel, playing time and the pressure of making everyone happy.
We’ll also focus on key issues in the world of youth sports that affect parents, coaches and administrators — anything from the merits of having 5- and 6-year-old T-ball players try out for teams to addressing advocates of equal playing time in all youth leagues.
In a city this size, it’s impossible to get out to all the volleyball, soccer, baseball and basketball league and tournament games and other sporting events, which is why we are asking our readers to submit short announcements and photos detailing accomplishments of their teams and players. We want photos of your young athlete in action or of you mountain climbing, hiking, biking or anything else you like to do outdoors.
We are looking at this simply as a way to interact with our readers and provide them an opportunity to see themselves or their loved ones in the newspaper and online. It is here where you'll find basic information about leagues, tournament results and extended commentary.
We are excited about providing outdoor enthusiasts with a one-stop place to discover a great new fishing spot as well as giving fans of youth sports an outlet to share the accomplishments of El Paso’s youth.
As always, your comments, suggestions and story ideas are always welcomed.
I want introduce you to a new website focusing on players, coaches, schools, and sports related organizations that will help athletes find the best coaches as they make a choice on a particular sports team.
As a bit of a history, this site was started as part of a college project in 2008. Our site is about coach evaluations. We aren't your typical "ratings site" -- we try to rise above them. We're building our site as a tool to help players find a coach who best fits them, a tool to help coaches constantly improve, and a tool for schools and clubs to manage coaches and help them improve.
Visit www.ratemycoaches.com.
Posted by: David Zak | 02/14/2012 at 07:37 PM
It's a great that your new blog will help kids and the youth to participate in sports activities! Kids should start being active at an early age by playing the sport they want. Baseball and basketball are exciting sports. I hope effective interaction will take place here in your new blog. Cheers!
Posted by: Staci Burruel | 05/23/2012 at 11:32 AM