The sound of coaches whistles could be heard throughout Saratoga County Monday as high school teams started practicing for the fall sports season.
Most sports start after Labor Day, but golf is starting early. Saratoga Central Catholic’s first golf match took place Wednesday against Western Athletic Conference for Northville. Ballston Spa, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Saratoga Springs and Shenendehowa have their first golf matches next week.
Some area soccer teams will also have an early start. BH-BL is hosting both boys and girls soccer tournaments Labor Day weekend, while Shen welcomes St. John the Baptist from West Islip and Section III power Liverpool to Clifton Park that same weekend.
Football teams begin their season the weekend of Sept. 5 and 6. That list includes Saratoga Central Catholic, which is bringing back the sport to the varsity level for the first time in decades.
The other county football teams find themselves with revamped schedules after several schools changed classes. Shen, Saratoga and Ballston Spa remain in the same class AA division, but Albany and Schenectady have been added to replace Queensbury, which dropped to class A. BH-BL is now in a division with Glens Falls and Amsterdam.`