Friday night lights — what every kid looks forward to when it comes to high school football. All the blood, sweat and tears each player puts in don’t go unnoticed as they work their way to victory. Concord is lucky to have five high schools with great football programs to... Read more

Overnight And Destination Camps Should Regain Popularity This Summer, And A Series Of Running Camps In Oregon May Be Among The Most Appealing • If last summer was a soft re-opening for summer camps and clinics, 2022 appears ready to blow the doors open. With much of the pandemic seemingly... Read more

Fall High School Football Is Back, But “Normal” Is Defined Differently Campus To Campus. Coaches Weigh In On What Is Normal As The Lights Prepare To Come Back On • On a typically hot mid-August afternoon, everything felt normal at College Park High School. About an hour after the first... Read more

Athletic Directors And League Commissioners Want Nothing More Than To See Kids Back Competing — But Getting To That Point Has Never Taken More Work. So are the administrators who make high school sports tick breathing a sigh of relief that sports are coming back? Only if by some miracle... Read more

CHACE BRYSON: One Last Tale From Our 2010 NCS Football Oral History Interviews — How One Concord Coach Nearly Lost His House Days Before The Game • We’ve come to December of what can only be referred to as a challenging year in high school sports.  And we decided it... Read more

Revered As One Of The Past Decade’s Best NCS Football Championships, We’ve Used Several Interviews To Recreate The 2010 Classic Between Concord And Rancho Cotate • Not all great championship games are equal.  Over the magazine’s first decade, SportStars has covered its share of championship games across many sports. There... Read more

Series By The Clayton Pioneer Digs Into The Names Behind School Sports Facilities, Starting With Mt. Diablo High, Concord’s Original • Mt. Diablo High School opened in 1901 and its rich athletic history includes championship teams and outstanding athletes like Dan Colchico, who played for the San Francisco 49ers and... Read more

If High School Sports Happen In 2021, It Will Likely Coincide With A Brave New World Of Collaboration With Certain Club Sports • In a world filled with “ifs,” there is one large question for youth sports. If current scenarios stand, could Northern California high school and club sports coexist in the... Read more

For Our 10th Annual High School Football Preview, SportStars Sought To Find Reasons Players And Coaches Still Embrace A Sport With Obvious Health Risks • Below is our “Why We Play” collection: A list of responses obtained through the course of our reporting for the main feature of our 2019... Read more

After Quarterbacking Liberty-Brentwood To Its First Section And CIF Bowl Titles In Consecutive Seasons, Jay Butterfield Isn’t Afraid To Ask ‘What’s Next?’ • Jay Butterfield has done it all in two short seasons.  He is a 2018 CIF 1-A State Bowl champion, a college committed athlete and has gone 17-1... Read more

Popular, Affordable 5K Benefitting The Armed Forces And Its Veterans Takes Place At Newhall Park • On Nov. 11, Diablo Valley Federal Credit Union will present the Concord 5000 5K Run/Walk to benefit the Contra Costa Blue Star Moms.  The Blue Star Moms are a non-profit organization devoted to supporting... Read more

Underrated and Understated, Concord High’s Rayna Stanziano Has Quietly Become One Of The East Bay’s Best Distance Runners • Rayna Stanziano reflects the tranquil nature of Concord High’s cross country team, appreciating more subtle aspects of competition and sport, rather than the trophies and banners that larger programs collect like... Read more