It's late June and that can mean only one thing if you're known as "the guru" of high school football in Tennessee. The magazine is at the printer!

Yes, I know how much high school football fans anxiously await the arrival of my annual preseason guide to prep football in the Volunteer State. But even more importantly to me is the date that signifies the publication has moved out of my computer and onto the presses.

As is generally the case, it will take the printers about three weeks to print, collate, perfect bind, box and ship the magazines to my doorstep. Then, it's up to me to distribute the annual publication across the state.

I'll hit the road in mid-July, making trips to Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Jackson and Memphis. I'll also make stops in literally dozens and dozens of small towns in Tennessee, visiting with coaches and delivering magazines to booster club representatives.

In those last two weeks of July, I will log more than 2,000 miles and hopefully see more than 150 coaches in our state. For those of you who have been following the COACHING CHANGES section of our website, many of these coaches will be new to the school that now is their employer.

It will be my first opportunity to meet with many of these new coaches and personally thank them for participating in the survey process that guarantees their school is represented in my magazine.

Participation is up this year but it's still far from perfect. After trying to highlight thousands of high school football players across the state for more than 20 years, it still puzzles me as to why coaches will not spend 20-30 minutes of their time to include their players in my magazine.

To those coaches who truly understand the importance of publicizing their programs and the young men who play high school football for them, I thank you. The players thank you. The parents thank you. The fans thank you.

It has always been my belief that people like to see their name in print. To an ever-increasing number of today's young people, that means seeing their name on a detention list or on a police record.

I prefer to seek out the good that these young people possess. It's in all of us. Sometimes, we just have to look a little harder. And that's what high school coaches do.

This year's issue of the magazine will be available at the following retail locations. You can also order directly by sending $15.00 (includes postage and handling) to the address below:

BRENTWOOD: Borders - 330 Franklin Road

CARTHAGE: Quik-N-Easy - 39 Dixon Spgs. Hwy.

CHATTANOOGA: Sweeney’s Bar-B-Q – 3147 Broad St.

COLUMBIA: Jones & Lang – 1412 Trotwood Ave.

FRANKLIN: 545 Cool Springs Blvd.

GERMANTOWN: Borders - 6685 Poplar Ave.

HARTSVILLE: Piggly Wiggly - 130 McMurry Blvd.

HENDERSONVILLE: Sports World - 28-B Volunteer Dr.

JACKSON: Great American Sports - 125 Old Hickory Blvd., East

KINGSPORT: Wallace News - 205 Broad St.

KNOXVILLE: Borders - 11235 Parkside Dr. (Turkey Creek), Borders – 202 Morrell Rd., Suite 100

MARYVILLE: Hastings - 501 Foothills Plaza

MCKENZIE: McKenzie Banner - 3 Banner Row

MILAN: Milan Mirror

MURFREESBORO: Agee Sporting Goods - Mercury Blvd. and Hastings - Memorial Blvd.

NASHVILLE: Borders - 2501 West End Ave. and Tennessee Sports Fan - Opry Mills

SOUTH CARTHAGE: Quik-N-Easy - 22 Cookeville Hwy.

TULLAHOMA: Sports Plus, N. Atlantic St.

WHITWELL: Raceway Convenience Store

Persons can also order an advance copy by sending a $15 check or money order to:

Murphy Fair, Publisher
TN High School Football
121 April Lane
Readyville, TN 37149