Vance: Looking forward great fall teams and great fall coverage

Hello Wilsonville.

Hello to our readers in Lake Oswego and West Linn, too.

I am thrilled to be back as sports editor at the Lake Oswego Review, West Linn Tidings and Wilsonville Spokesman, and I am beyond excited that I once again get to cover the awesome teams and athletes at Lake Oswego, Lakeridge, West Linn and Wilsonville high schools.

For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Miles Vance and I’ve covered high school sports for 35 years, the past eight of those in Lake Oswego and West Linn. I also wrote about Wilsonville’s best teams and athletes in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.

During the course of my career, my work has helped preserve memories, highlight accomplishments, enable college recruitment and much, much more.

I plan on doing just that in spades for the athletes at Lake Oswego, Lakeridge, West Linn and Wilsonville high schools beginning again this fall.

I am going to write more stories on more athletes and more teams in those three cities than anyone else. I’m going to shoot and share more photos of more athletes and more teams at those four schools than anyone else. And I will interview and publish quotes from more local athletes than anyone else.

Over the course of the 2024-25 school year, I will offer complete and balanced coverage of the varsity teams at Lake Oswego, Lakeridge, West Linn and Wilsonville. I’ll write stories on all the biggest and best postseason events. And I’ll report on the local selections to every all-league and all-state team.

The school year will be capped by the continuation of the annual Athlete of the Year stories, which are comprehensive year-long looks at the top graduated athlete (male or female) from each of the four high schools.

In all of the event stories I write — filled with highlights, details and background — there will be quotes from local athletes. Lots and lots and lots of quotes. And there will be photos — lots and lots of them — featuring those same local athletes doing what they do best.

And I’m going to do it — covering your local high school teams and athletes — better than anyone in the state.

During my career, I’ve been honored in almost every way possible. I’ve won every sports writing and sports photography award in Oregon many times over. I was given a lifetime achievement award for my 20 years covering the Metro League. I was given an award for service from Valley Catholic High School. I was named Oregon District 4 Little League Volunteer of the Year (for my work leading up to and including coverage of the 2006 Little League World Series). And I was named Oregon Wrestling Media Person of the Year.

While I am — obviously — a long-time veteran of the high school sports game, I am still healthy, motivated and excited about what I do. It’s a recipe for excellence that will bring honor to the best Lakers, Pacers, Lions and Wildcats.

I hope you’ll join me by becoming a subscriber to Lake Oswego (https://tinyurl.com/48zdre7y), West Linn (https://tinyurl.com/2823b7vp) or Wilsonville (https://tinyurl.com/bdz2prdv).