Editorial: There are no Fall sports at Charles City High School and it upsets me

It’s August, which mean Fall sports are back into full swing. And while New Kent and surrounding areas are now gearing up for the season at both the youth level and high school level, Charles City County has critics on the field.

Charles City County High School will not have Fall sports again this year and I am very upset about it.

I remember a time as a youth football player for the Charles City Jaguars where we would practice at Harrison Park. High schoolers would come over and talk to us, even practicing with us to help us get tougher and show us how we were supposed to hand our business on the field.

That was called leadership and building a better youth for the future. Now, we do not have anything, and I am sick of it. We have sides blaming each other, from parents aren’t doing this and staff not doing that. Charles City used to be a proud county, and everybody has some fault in what’s going on.

We have had successful teams and coaches at the high school camera. Charles City has a head coach in Terrell Brooks who is one of the better coaches in the state as he developed the progress of recent graduate Kameron Johnson. People should be flocking and moving to the county for that alone.

I think it’s an embarrassment not to have Fall sports while other schools are lit up on Friday nights. Charles City’s Friday night lights will be turned off for another year as a new scoreboard just sits there collecting dust. Where is the pride people?

I get sick of being asked when they are just going to close Charles City County Public Schools and send kids to other jurisdictions. These are questions I get asked all the time. I do not know who is at fault, but I do know that by this time next Fall, this issue needs to be resolved. Something can be done to increase enrollment in Charles City’s school system. Something can be done to get participation up.

As a Charles City alum, we must start making a way to get things done. No more talk, no more crying, and no more blaming. Get it done with solutions. This goes further beyond sports. These are life-changing aspects of life for a young person that can provide lifelong results.