Thank You & Happy Holidays

It feels good to be back on the sidelines, and you have helped make that happen.

When the 2024 football season started, I made a decision. I planned to go to one high school football game each week, and with encouragement from my family (and their flexibility in letting me be on a sideline instead of at home at least once each weekend), I did just that.

I made it out to West Seattle Stadium and Pop Keeney. I was back at Memorial Stadium for the first time since it was the practice facility for the Seattle Dragons. I stood on the sideline at Husky Stadium for a historic O’Dea championship.

The goal was simple: create images that would be a marketing tool for my photography business. But it wasn’t enough. Every week, I’d go to a game, share photos, create a Reel, post on TikTok—but it felt like something was missing.

Then, on a cold night at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood, Seattle Prep knocked off Lakes to advance to the school’s first quarterfinal appearance since 1991. On the way home, it hit me: I should have interviewed Panthers QB Beau Oaksmith.

It bothered me for days. It was so obvious. Why had I been putting so much distance between writing and photography?

While dabbling on my photography website blog, masonkelleyphotography.com, I started to form an idea: go back to where it all began and cover high school sports as a one-man band.

It was former Bellevue standout Connor Mawhinney who mentioned Substack to me during a conversation on Instagram. I hadn’t really thought about using the platform before.

Now, here we are—with several weeks of content on the page and a new podcast with two episodes on Spotify and two more recorded.

This is what I want to be doing: telling stories. I’m writing this right now because of everyone who has taken the time to open an email or click on a link from their social feeds. I’m here because local athletic directors like Sam Reed (Seattle Prep) and Stacey Stoutt (Eastside Catholic), and coaches like Michael Kneip (Bellevue football) and Mike Kelly (Woodinville basketball), have provided opportunities to create photos and content for their schools and programs.

Now, through Substack, the plan is to keep growing. There are great stories to be told, and very few people telling them. I remember being in college at the University of Washington when The Seattle Times started a campaign that said the paper was sending their reporters back to high school.

That’s how I feel now. I’m going back to high school sidelines, and hopefully, the community will embrace it and collaborate. Please never hesitate to reach out with a good idea.

With that being said, if you enjoy the content and want more, a paid subscription goes a long way in making that happen.

And while holiday tournament season has arrived for high school basketball programs, here’s to hoping everyone reading this gets the chance to spend some quality time with loved ones.

Since I skipped the introduction post, let’s consider this both a welcome and a thank you. Oh, and Connor, if you’re reading, thanks for the suggestion to start this account.