With the high school sports season on the doorstep, it’s exciting to continue to build the Nebpreps brand across our state. We truly love interacting with athletes, coaches, parents and fans in a special and unique way.

And, now, we are excited to announce another member to our team. Beatrice native Clark Grell will be filling up the tree house with us all school year long. His first story will be posted tonight and you won’t want to miss his profile the Noonan family and their competitive spirit — hint, they don’t get it all from NFL dad Danny.

We welcome Clark, and he penned some words about joining our team.

Nebraska is a special place for so many reasons, and it has nothing to do with cheese Runzas, or cinnamon rolls with chili. Well, those are pretty good, but there’s more.

Among our state treasures is the passion and enthusiasm Nebraskans have for high school sports. Drive through the state on a Friday night, follow the tall, bright lights and you’ll know what I’m taking about.

Growing up in Beatrice gave me a taste of it. Covering high school sports got me closer to it and hooked. Now I’m blessed with an opportunity to keep it going.

Grell

I’m excited for the opportunity to contribute to Nebpreps’ excellent coverage of the Cornhusker State. A big thanks goes out to Mike Sautter, Tony Chapman and Taylor Siebert. When it comes to high school content, these guys have set a very high bar, and I look forward to making a small contribution to their coverage.

As some may know, I’m a newspaper guy at heart. After stops in Columbus and St. Joseph (Missouri), I landed at the Lincoln Journal Star in 2005. In 2014, I was promoted to Sports Editor and a couple years later I was heavily involved with the Journal Star’s high school coverage, with an emphasis on girls hoops and softball. It was easily the best part of my job.

In May, I stepped down as Sports Editor and away from newspapers, wanting to pursue new challenges outside the business. I’m extremely thankful about where I’m at in my working career. Still, I knew stepping away from the Journal Star meant steering away from something near and dear to my heart — high school sports.

You learn quite fast that there are an unlimited number of stories to tell, and this state is full of talented and hard-working kids, legendary coaches and tradition-rich schools.

A former boss once told me that high school sports coverage is the backbone of any media outlet and I always took that to heart. In many places, it’s the lifeblood of a community.

I won’t be grinding every day on the prep scene (I still have a full-time job that helps pay for the cinnamon rolls and chili), but the hope is to contribute every week and touch on as many sports as possible. Nebpreps has a motto that really struck me: “Celebrate the story differently.”

I can’t wait to do just that. See you all at the fields and courts!