Last week, it was for Olympic swimming prelims. Those were over Friday morning. This morning a lot of high school athletes had their alarms set for ‘before the sun comes up’ because it’s the first day of practice for many fall sports in the 2012-13 school year.

Softball, boys tennis and girls golf and tennis teams all begin practicing today — one softball team is set to go at 6:15 a.m. Sure hope they’re using glow-in-the-dark balls.

The first softball, tennis and golf events are set for Aug. 16. Could be a sign that rain is on the way as well. At least one weekend softball tournament each season seems to get cancelled because of rain. No one will complain after this summer.

Like they said in London on July 27 — Let the Games Begin. And coaches, don’t forget to send in those preview sheets!