It seemed like there was a time not all that long ago when there was a buffer between high school sports seasons, particularly during the summer.

Everyone would be able to get in a nice extended break before starting things up all over again.

So here's a scary thought: As I type this in the waning hours of June, we are about a month and a half away from the start of fall sports with golf teeing off and a little less than two months away from the kickoff of high school football.

Football in this area has always been fascinating to me in the sense it seems like the season never really quite ends. Bring it up at any given point in a calendar year, and someone will inevitably want to talk about it. That's wonderful, mind you - it just shows the power of its popularity.

Fall always runs into winter - just ask any athletic director who has had to change up a basketball schedule because of a playoff run in football.

Winter always runs into spring - just ask any of us who have had to stand outside at a track and field meet when it's 37 degrees in April.

And spring always runs into summer - it's always seemed odd to call, say, track and field a "spring sport" when we're standing at the state meet in the first week of June.

Mix in conditioning and club endeavors and indoor versions of certain sports, and it never really ends.

So as a vacation week awaits in early July, I'm going to enjoy getting away, but will be fully aware that another high school sports year - my (gulp) 15th at The News-Herald - isn't terribly far off.

- Chris Lillstrung | @CLillstrungNH