May 2018 – Big Country Preps

Welcome to BigCountryPreps.com, soon to be the most comprehensive source for Big Country high school sports information on the internet. By now, we hope you’ve had a chance to take a look around and that you’re starting to get an idea of what we’re in the process of building here.

While you’re becoming acquainted with the site, which will launch in earnest with our football preview content in August, we want to let you know what you can expect as a member of the Big Country Preps community.

First and foremost, you can expect a positive experience. This site, founded and operated by Evan Ren and myself — two experienced sports journalists with a combined 23 years in the area, was created with one goal in mind: to highlight the accomplishments of the Big Country’s athletes, coaches and teams in an inclusive and community-friendly way.

And that’s exactly what we’re committed to doing.

So what does that mean?

For us, it means building the website that we, as Big Country sports fans ourselves, would want to be a part of. One that not only keeps folks informed of what’s happening with their own teams but also celebrates the ties that bind residents from all corners of the Big Country, regardless of the town they call home and the colors they wear on game nights.

You don’t have to spend much time here to know this is a unique part of the state. And one of the things that makes it special is the sense of community you feel as you go from town to town across this vast swath of land.

There’s a pride and hospitality you won’t find a lot of other places, and at no point are those qualities brought into clearer focus than during the school year when our towns rally around their local high school teams and often one another. It’s our goal to feed that further by creating our own community where fans of Big Country athletics can find good discussion and all the information they’re looking for on their own teams and the others throughout the area.

So what will that look like? Like no other site that currently exists.

That starts with team pages for the football, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball and softball squads from 40 featured area schools.

Among the information included on those pages, you’ll find:

A collection of the most recent content elements (stories, videos, photo galleries, etc.) on your school
Complete district standings
Team schedules and results
Updated rosters with linked player profiles
Team statistics
Updated coaching information

But that’s only a fraction of what you, as a member, will get with your subscription, which costs just $3 to $5 per month, depending on the duration of your membership plan. You’ll also unlock all of our premium written content (player features, previews, columns, game stories, district recaps, etc.) and multi-media content (photo galleries, videos, podcasts, etc.), as well as gain access to our exclusive members-only “Big Country Diehards” message board.

And know that even this is just a cursory description of everything provided on our site, which will place a strong emphasis on interactivity and will ultimately be molded to you, our audience.

As more and more local news outlets lose touch with those they claim to serve, we’re more committed than ever to the Big Country and its sports fans. And we truly care what you think.

If you see something we could be doing better or have an idea that would improve our audience’s experience, please let us know through our “Contact“ section. We welcome all feedback and will incorporate ideas where possible and practical.

At the end of the day, this is your site. And we want you to be as excited about it as we are.

BigCountryPreps.com

All Big Country. All high school. All the time.

Welcome home.

All Big Country. All high school. All the time.

If one were to summarize the reason for BigCountryPreps.com’s existence — boiling it all down to one word — “preservation” might be the best choice.

The website you are currently viewing is in place to preserve a consistent means of high school sports coverage within the vast expanse of West Central Texas commonly known as the Big Country.

Constructed and operated by former Abilene Reporter-News sports writers Daniel Youngblood and Evan Ren, BigCountryPreps.com is the culmination of more than 28 years of combined journalism experience, months of planning and a knowledge of area athletic programs that is unsurpassed by any media source in the Big Country.

It is here where a very special region of Texas’ high school athletics has found a lasting home. And it is here where Big Country high school coverage will be dictated by Big Country people.

“Big Country Preps, to me, is about one thing: making coverage of Big Country athletics local and personal again,” said Youngblood, a Baylor graduate and third-generation sports writer. “I want this to be a place where local and area sports fans can follow their teams in a way that celebrates all the things that make high school sports in this region special and unique.”

All the while, this product will evolve. It will evolve around what area coaches, players and fans are seeking — placing high value on their input. It also will retain a philosophical approach that runs contrary to that of most corporately owned newspapers.

While many in the news industry have cut their circulation areas to save money, that is a slippery slope Big Country Preps will avoid.

BCP will succeed or fail by reinvesting in the people of the area — always keeping an eye on possible expansion into bordering communities that are starving for coverage.

Where others have been reluctant to invest time, energy and resources, Big Country Preps will be aggressive.

“To me, it’s about passion and honesty,” said Ren, who worked for five years at the Killeen Daily Herald before his 12-year stint with the Reporter-News. “People can see when you care about them and they’re quick to spot something phony.

“If you’re passionate about what you’re doing and deal with people honestly, they will respond.”

BigCountryPreps.com

All Big Country. All high school. All the time.

Welcome home.