ROCKLAND — As we prepare for the start of the fall sports season, I find myself getting excited to start my 15th year of covering school sports. This season finds the young athletes eager to be back on the field. Summer has been good for most, with work, summer sports, and hanging out. But fall sports means the start of another school year and while most might tell you they are not happy to be back at school, don’t let them fool you. 

Teams are where their friends are, the ones with whom they grow and learn, and become young men and women. Now, it is back to practice and the athletes are fresh from a summer of rest, ready to get another year under way. 

This is the best season to for me to shoot photos.  I love photographing field hockey, probably my favorite, along with cross country running.

Soccer allows us to be outside enjoying sports into November. There may be as much soccer played in the Midcoast as basketball. There is the fall, spring and summer seasons at school, along with club teams, and the newer facility of the Pitch, on Route 90 in Warren, which focuses on soccer as well as other turf field sports, such as lacrosse and field hockey. 

Fall is a beautiful time to take photographs of cross country runners passing through the woods and fields — and occasionally through rain and water puddles. It all makes for great photos. 

Golf is also another good sport for photography. Golf courses are usually in great shape come autumn and again, beautiful photos are relatively common to get.

But, golfers are so easily distracted. I believe that had Tiger Woods never had the power and the influence that he had, taking a photo during the swing would not matter.

It has always amazed me that a baseball player can have a ball thrown at the plate at 100 miles per hour with 40,000 fans screaming for a strikeout and hit a home run; however, a golfer cannot stand still and hit a ball sitting still off a tee holding it up if someone makes a noise or a camera clicks. I don’t get it. Maybe it’s part of the reason the sport is falling in popularity. And if you don’t believe that ask any golf club. It is not pretty. 

And then, we have the ultimate fall sport, football!

Yes, the sport that every fan thinks is the new American sport. Well, I hate to be the one to break the news, but football does not even come close. The National Federation of High School Sports’ latest statistics for participation is the 2013-2014 school season that indicates that soccer and basketball have more participants.  And boys soccer, as well as girls soccer, have more participants than football.

Soccer was the number one sport in Maine high schools, with 7,830 male and female players.

Next, there was basketball with a combined 6,542 participants.

Football had 3,768 participants, and fourth was baseball with 3,340. 

Based on the numbers, schools that have lights for football should perhaps think about Friday or Saturday night soccer under the lights.

I think you would see a larger turnout of paying customers than any local football team sees.

Perhaps the success of the sport has something to do with that; however, it just makes sense if you have more than twice as many playing one sport — soccer, over football — it might make for a better tradition and athletic department income to feature soccer, as well. 

Soccer is also a sport that almost anyone can play, whether it’s with organized school sports, club or just a pickup neighborhood game. It is relatively inexpensive, with the required a mouth guard and shin pads. 

I also like the hours of the fall sports season. Games start at usually 3:30 or 4 p.m. and I can go cover a game and be home in time to get the story up that night (often). 

I also love to see the freshmen come and try to make a name for themselves.

Some freshmen come in being the star of their middle school team and find the level of competition to be so far advanced they make the freshman team or perhaps the JV. Rarely does one make varsity and if they do, it is because they are good enough to be starters. The previous year freshmen and JV players are hot to grab an open varsity spot, as well. So the competition is intense, and the players who worked on their games will be the ones to move up inevitably. 

This year with all the changes in school’s classifications the fall sports season will be a testing grounds for some schools to adjust to the different travel schedules.

Classification comes from the Maine Principals’ Association and varies by sport to determine the cutoff number per class. For example, cross county and soccer become Class A  when schools with an enrollment of 725-plus students. Other sports Class A enrollment numbers are field hockey (750-plus), football (775-plus) and golf (650-plus). Classifications are done for two-year periods of time and this year is a new classification that runs through the 2017 season. 

With the changes, Camden Hills will play Class A soccer and golf.

The school will play Class B field hockey, and cross country. Football will be Class D.  

Medomak Valley, Oceanside, Belfast and Mount View all stay in Class B except with football where Medomak and Mount View join Camden in Class D while Oceanside and Belfast will compete in Class C. 

What this means is for schools like Camden Hills, soccer will entail a lot more travel expense. Other teams, while still in Class B, also have some new teams they will be playing in different sports. 

The bottom line is this: The teams will be ready to play, or they will not. That depends on the coaching and the willingness of the athletes to buy into the coaches plan. Do that and you are on your way to a successful fall season. 

Most importantly most everyone thinks winning at the varsity level is most important. It's not the most important. 

Athletes learning and growing, playing as hard as they can, doing the best job they can and giving their team every opportunity it can to win is what actually describes a successful athletic season in school sports. 

Good luck to all the coaches and athletes, we will see you out on the fields soon. Don't forget to smile!

For more information on school sports participation, visit nfhs.org/ParticipationStatics/PDF/2013-14_Participation_Survey_PDF.pdf

Ron Hawkes can be reached at sports@penbaypilot.com