At the professional level, the summertime is when a lot of champions are crowned. The Pittsburgh Penguins just recently defeated the San Jose Sharks to claim the Stanley Cup. Today, the Golden State Warriors have their eye on another NBA Championship when they head to Cleveland for Game 6 with the Cavaliers. The Copa America and UEFA Europe are currently going on, too.

At just about every other level, though, the summer is a time for development. It won’t be long before Beaufort County’s college-bound athletes are reporting for summer conditioning and practice.

A lot of the athletes still in high school are already back on the field. Football practice is already underway for Washington, Northside and Southside. Kickoff is roughly two months away, but each team has already put in plenty of hours to build toward success this fall.

Some teams are looking a lot further ahead than later this year. Baseball season just recently ended of high school, but summer scholastic league and American Legion baseball are already underway.

The Beaufort County Post 15 Pirates, comprised of some of the area’s top baseball players, are seven games into the season. The team has gelled quickly and built impressive chemistry despite being made up of players from four different schools.

Some of the Pam Pack players on the Post 15 squad are getting a double dose of baseball this summer. Washington is fielding two summer teams — varsity and junior varsity groups — this summer. It’s a bit more laid back then the regular season in the spring, but coach Kevin Leggett stressed taking it seriously, saying that last summer’s work played an important role in this spring’s success.

It goes all the way down to the recreation level, too. The local recreation baseball and softball seasons recently came to a close, meaning the all-star seasons are just around the corner.

Even those that aren’t on an organized team are taking the break from school as an opportunity to hone their craft. There are numerous camps being held for volleyball, soccer, football, baseball and many other sports.

Many spend the summer at the pool, beach, taking family vacations and the like. But that’s not the case for everyone. Beaufort County’s athletes are forgoing a lot of that leisure time to become better. A lot of folks won’t notice all of this work until the season starts, but it’s there and it’s there at every level.

All this work paid off big in a lot of way this past year. The area’s athletes are continuing to put in the work, making this upcoming school year an exciting one for Beaufort County athletics.