Summer is normally not the best season for the sports calendar. Spring football games have been played, school is out and people are more focused on taking vacations and enjoying some time off of work or school.

But for some athletes in Limestone County, this summer has been a season for them to show off their talent and prove how good they are.

The latest news just happened earlier this week when Ardmore pitcher Bill Williams announced he was committing to play baseball at Mississippi State University. Williams is the second local baseball player to announce a decision to play at an SEC school. Earlier this month, Athens High pitcher and second baseman Jacob McNairy announced he was committing to play at the University of Alabama.

Earlier this summer, Ardmore first baseman Jason Hogan committed to play college baseball at Tennessee Tech, meaning numerous Limestone County athletes will be making an impact in college baseball in the coming years.

It’s not just high school baseball players who are showing their stuff. The youth of the county is showing it has great talent as well. The 13U Limestone County All-Star baseball team, which included seven players from Elkmont, three from Lindsey Lane, one from Ardmore, one from Athens and one who recently moved from Lindsey Lane to Madison Academy, won the Dizzy Dean World Series in Southaven, Mississippi, by outscoring its opponents 57-4 in four games.

Softball also had a champion in 11-year-old Mac Clark of Ardmore, who won first place in the bunting competition at the USSSA World Series in Gulf Shores last month. Clark is normally a power hitter for her USSSA travel team, but her coach surprisingly entered her in the bunting competition and she showed she is multi-talented with a bat in her hands.

Limestone County also had a championship team in basketball, as the North Alabama Flames Elite, which has players from Athens, Lindsey Lane, Clements and Tanner, won the Super 100 National Tournament in Atlanta the weekend of July 8-9.

Local golfers have also had a big summer. Athens High’s Justin Vincent and Clements’ Matt Smith played in the 72nd Alabama Boys State Junior Championships, held at Goose Pond Colony Resort in Scottsboro in late July. Both players made the cut and performed well against the best male golfers in the state.

Athens High girls golfer Ally Williams also had a big summer, helping Team Alabama take a dominating win in the Southern Junior Cup, which took place in Oxford, Mississippi. Williams, the No. 2 ranked girls golfer in the state, also competed in the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur Championship in Missouri.

All this success in a season where sports is put on the back burner for many people. That just goes to show what kind of talent there is in Limestone County. Now that school is back in session and scholastic sports are about to start up, I can’t wait to see the continued success of our great student-athletes.