The front doors to Washoe County School District high schools won’t open to students for a few more days. Still, there are student athletes who will be plenty busy even before the new school year officially begins. That’s because the 2010-11 school year begins Monday, but the new high school football season kicks off Friday night. And all three Sparks schools are in action.

The opening weeks of a new school year should be a fun time. The stress level for coaches and students alike should be non-existent, following the easy-going months of June, July and August. Everyone should be refreshed after some down time. Plus, Mother Nature is still blessing us with warmth and sunshine, leaving time for some final escapades of fun in the sun. Is there a better time to be a high school athlete?

It’s no secret that our niche here at the Sparks Tribune is covering the Rail City’s trio of high school athletic programs. For our sports staff, late August means getting fired up for another school year. It always feels like a fun, fresh start.

Every school year brings special, celebratory stories. Spanish Springs softball winning a third state title in four years and Sparks boys basketball capturing its first state crown in 70 years are two from last school year. Reed football rolling to a Northern 4A championship was another.

The Reed girls basketball team continued its recent run of prowess, taking their success all the way to the state title game before falling to 4A power Bishop Gorman.

So I’m curious, which northern Nevada high school squads will steal the spotlight for the fast approaching new school year?

I wonder if the Reed football team can extend its streak of at least reaching the Northern 4A semifinals to seven years? Will the Reed girls soccer team make another run at a North State title, after falling short in its bid to win four straight last fall? Is this the year Sparks boys soccer breaks through and beats the Lake schools to capture a league, region and or state crown.

After more than a decade of dominance leading the Reed Raiders on the softball diamond, will Ray Charles be able to transition his coaching talents to the baseball diamond and help the RHS crew find success again? My guess is yes, but we’ll be see.

Perhaps the biggest issue to watch this new school year will be realignment. The NIAA, Nevada’s governing body for prep sports, has its realignemnt plan, aimed at curtailing expenses for school districts statewide, in place. Will the plan work or will the cost savings not be worth potential competitive imbalances, especially in the small school ranks?

These are all curious and interesting questions to chat about. The next nine-plus months should bring answers or enlightenment about them all.

Still, my guess is most of us agree on this. Right about now, most sports fans are ready for some gridiron action. The full contact under Friday Night Lights is the most popular high school sport. Attendance figures certainly support that claim. I hope supporters from family and friends to many, many students will be out in full force Friday as the Reed, Sparks and Spanish Springs football teams make their season debuts. After all, what else is more enjoyable on a warm late summer evening?

Dan Eckles is the Sparks Tribune’s sports editor. He can be reached via email at: deckles@dailysparkstribune.com