Across Alabama, Ohio, Florida, and New Jersey, communities are gearing up for high school sports seasons — the Friday night lights and Saturday morning matches that actually bind neighborhoods together. While bureaucrats in Washington mandate gender theory and critical race curricula, parents in these towns are focused on something real: their kids, their teams, their pride.
In Alabama, AL.com surveyed coaches across the state to rank the top special teams players in Class 6A public football. Thirty of 32 teams responded. Auburn High alone boasts two elite kicking prospects, including senior Zain Al-Riyami, rated a 4-star kicker by Kohl's Kicking. Tigers coach Keith Etheredge said Al-Riyami is "really consistent" and will handle field goals from 40 yards and in. Opelika's Reese Beasley, a 5-star punter and 4.5-star kicker nationally, led the state with 14 field goals last season and earned first-team all-state honors — with a 3.8 GPA and full-ride scholarship offers from Alabama State and Jacksonville State. Enterprise junior Gavin Boatwright hits 50-yarders and carries a 4.22 GPA with a 29 ACT.
The pipeline runs deep. Sports Illustrated reports Alabama leads all colleges with eight players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026 list — Jahmyr Gibbs, Pat Surtain II, Will Anderson Jr., Derrick Henry, Jalen Hurts, Xavier McKinney, Josh Jacobs, and Bryce Young. That's nine consecutive years the state's flagship program has produced the most NFL players. These are local kids who became national stars, and their hometowns remember it.
In Ohio, cleveland.com is letting readers vote on the best Division III lineman in the state after surveying coaches. More than 60 candidates made the list — kids from Newark Licking Valley to Steubenville, from Benedictine to KIPP Columbus. No federal grant required. No DEI consultant needed. Just coaches naming players and communities deciding who's best.
The Gainesville Sun acknowledges what every small-town parent already knows: fall sports beyond football get ignored. So they're putting swimming and diving front and center, opening a poll for 26 boys and girls athletes from the 2025 All-Area teams and coach submissions. Eastside has dominated recently, but Buchholz, Gainesville High, and P.K. Yonge keep pushing.
In Morris and Sussex counties in New Jersey, NorthJersey.com is previewing boys soccer season team by team. Dover went 13-1 last year and returns senior midfielder Cesar Aguilar, who notched four goals and 14 assists. Madison won the Group 2 state championship at 20-1-2 and wants to repeat. North Warren, with 11 returning seniors, expects continued success. These are coaches and parents building something — not administrators checking compliance boxes.
This is what community looks like. Not a federal mandate. Not a curriculum audit from the Department of Education. Local coaches surveying their own rosters. Local papers giving kids their due. Local fans voting in polls because they actually care who starts at linebacker or lines up at striker.
The question isn't whether these communities can govern themselves. They already do. The question is when Washington will stop pretending it knows better.
