The football coaches evidently can’t wait until August for their first showdown of the year.

Jeff Rutledge, a former player and coach in the NFL and NCAA Champion quarterback at the University of Alabama, has been hired as the head football coach at Valley Christian High School.

A family fundraising event will be from 1 to 7 p.m. on May 19 at the parking lot at Foothills Park Plaza, Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard. This is a chance for the community to come out and support all levels of Blue and Gold football.

Norris Vaughan looked at peace sitting at his desk in the football office after a recent spring football practice.

Sydney and Eryn Schmisseur found the sport of synchronized swimming somewhat serendipitously.

If you are returning to the dating world after a long time away or if you have not had the dating life you hoped for, maybe it is time to try something different.

Team Phoenix, a youth basketball program in Ahwatukee Foothills, will have a Family Fun Movie Night and Raffle Fundraiser on Friday at the AMC Ahwatukee 24, 4915 E. Ray Road.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Soccer Club has had plenty of success since forming in 1999, and yet the club was able to pull off a first on May 4.

Higley Unified School District athletic director Art Wagner, 42, was found dead near Higley High School Wednesday morning, according to the Gilbert Police Department. Police say the matter is still under investigation, but believe Wagner died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Molly Barlow of Ahwatukee-Foothills recently graduated summa cum laude and alpha chi from High Point University in North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a minor in coaching. Barlow played four years of NCAA Division I volleyball and finished her career as the eighth player in HPU’s Div. I history to reach 1,000 career digs. She was named the 2012-2013 Big South Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The success of the spring sports kept me away from all but one day of three weeks of spring football.

A lacrosse stick is a simple piece of equipment: a metal pole, a plastic head and some coarse netting.

Something I didn’t get a chance to acknowledge at the time was the very cool gesture by the Gilbert volleyball team.

The scenes were about 20 miles and three hours apart on Thursday, but nonetheless felt much the same.

Lisa Spini has always had an eye for talent and 12 years ago, Stefani Catour caught her eye.

Horizon Honors will be hosting a Back-2-Basics Basketball Skills Camp June 24-28 at the school, 16233 S. 48th St.

There are times when the most satisfying part of a meal is the appetizer.

As thick dark clouds rolled in over Chaparral High School and a light drizzle started to fall, it seemed like Mother Nature stole some of Desert Vista’s thunder.

Positive Coaching Alliance has announced the official kick off of its new Phoenix Chapter. Established in 1998, Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is a national nonprofit organization providing all youth and high school athletes a positive, character-building youth sports experience.

The Desert Vista boys volleyball team nearly climbed out of the depths of elimination Thursday but it proved to be too much for the top-seeded Thunder.

Ninety feet is the perfect distance between bases, but on Thursday afternoon it must have felt more like 90 miles for Mountain Pointe.