It’s been 72 days since the last high school sports season came to an end, but the 2023-24 calendar officially got underway Monday with the start of fall sports practices. 

Football, soccer, volleyball and cross country athletes will all tighten up their shoe laces, grab their water bottles and hit the practice fields, courts and courses. Although, the scorching heat wave might dictate when exactly our local student-athletes get a chance to get things underway. 

The OSAA policy on practicing during a heat wave suggests moving practices to another time or canceling workouts if temperatures climb above 95 degrees. The National Weather Service is predicting triple digit temps for the highs in the Umpqua Basin through Thursday. That might mean a lot of early morning or late evening practices for high school athletes. 

As the seasons get underway, there will be some teams and athletes looking to follow up a successful fall from last year.

Oakland football will attempt to defend its Class 2A state title. North Douglas volleyball reached the 2A/1A state championship game and finished second. Roseburg and Oakland volleyball both earned 6th place trophies at state last year. And the Roseburg boys and girls cross country teams were both represented at last year’s state meet and return their top runners in Timothy Johnson and Sylvia Eckman.