In the professional world, it’s not unusual for an employee to be asked where they see themselves five years from now. The concept might seem odd to some, and understandably so. You might not know where you envision yourself tomorrow in a multitude of ways. So how could you possibly envision where you might be in five years? The procrastination trait deep within us all will likely cringe at the thought. But it might be worth taking a moment this week, even well more than three years out, and realize what a massive opportunity sports in the United States — yes, including at the high school level — has on its hands. Because, for the first time since Atlanta hosted in 1996, a Summer Olympics is closing in on home soil in 2028 in Los Angeles. Not just the sports that occupy so much of our lives year to year in a high school capacity. Not just the sports that generate the most interest for viewership. Not just the sports that can lead to lucrative sponsorship for its best and brightest. All sports at the grassroots have a unique chance right in front of them to grow their numbers and grow their interest, capitalizing on 2028 in L.A. as an impetus. It’s said, for many reasons including greed, corruption and an inability to make it feel it still strikes to close to home, that the Olympics don’t resonate the way it perhaps once did. Yet it seems as if having the world coming to America makes it a much different circumstance. As is occasionally the case in this space, this is a story I have told previously. But for this purpose, it’s worth sharing again. When Atlanta was the host for the 1996 Summer Games, the torch relay went across the country. It just so happened that the route for the torch that year went past my mother’s house in Painesville. In turn, in between my sophomore and junior years at Harvey, there I was in 1996, sitting on my porch as a teenager watching the torch for a fleeting moment being run past my house. Even at that age, you do have a sense of symbolism — not as refined as it is when you get older, but just enough to get the point. This enduring symbol of the Olympic movement, this unifying element to so many across the world in a sports sense, is before your eyes, about to be seen by many more until the cauldron is lit. To mark the 25th anniversary of that Olympics, in 2021, I made it a point to head to Atlanta while on vacation, spending considerable time in Centennial Olympic Park. There, the Olympic rings, statues and memorials are dedicated to the summer in 1996 when the world came to Georgia. Sadly, some facets of that Olympics, including the Cauldron sitting at the corner of a busy intersection just outside downtown, have for all intents and purposes been forgotten by time and people alike. Yet there’s still the notion of what an Olympics can do for its sports — and for its people — with enough long-term vision. If efforts aren’t already underway in every Olympic sport to raise profile — having clinics, encouraging new blood, in general getting the word out — then this is wasted time that cannot be replicated. Again, not just track and field. Not just gymnastics. Not just basketball and swimming. Not just the higher-profile sports. In Paris last year, there were 45 crafts contested for the Olympics. There are archery facilities in local parks. Maybe the best archer in the world doesn’t know it yet and just needs prompting to get to a target and be encouraged to pursue it further. Some of the best canoeing in the world is less than day’s drive away. Maybe the fastest person needs to be shown a canoe, some open water and what they can do with it. We’ve all seen rowers on the Cuyahoga River and elsewhere. Maybe the next Olympian needs the invite to join in. Sport climbing is gaining in popularity and made for a fun watch in Paris. What if a potential gold medalist is climbing walls somewhere just as a hobby and isn’t fully aware of where it could lead? Cycling. Fencing. Sailing. Triathlon. The list goes on. Then, of course, there’s the Paralympics. One of my all-time News-Herald coverage area track and field favorites will always be Brittni Mason, the affable West Geauga graduate and multiple-time Paralympic medalist as a sprinter in her para classification. West Geauga grad Brittni Mason savoring Paralympic world meet whirlwind When Mason and I last spoke after Paris, one of her passions was clearly trying to grow the athlete base in para. Her story embodies reaching a wider audience: She didn't even know she was para eligible until her college track and field career was winding up at Eastern Michigan. Before she knew it, she was a world-class para sprinter, now with her sights set on L.A. in 2028. West Geauga grad Brittni Mason embracing second Paralympics, prominent role in American para movement The point to all this is, an American-based Olympics — yes, even one more than three years away — should be embraced as an opportunity. It should be motivational in driving participation. It should be motivational in reaching out to locales near and far to find the next great athletes in a craft they may not envision now but easily could with encouragement. The idea of L.A. and 2028 in and of itself should be at the forefront of every sport's approach from now until the cauldron is lit. It should be all over social media, television and online. One of the legacies of an Olympics should be not just welcoming the world who already has its eyes on 2028. It should also be about those who don't necessarily just yet. So here's to hoping, as the clock ticks toward that opening ceremony in L.A., that numbers increase in the youth ranks. That those who are introduced take it with them to the high school level if applicable for their sport. That a nation is inspired to make the 2028 Summer Olympics not just about those few weeks in and of themselves. Five years may seem like a lot in the professional world. Three years in this case doesn't seem like nearly enough. ...read more read less