Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

The first practices for the 2010-11 fall sports season begin in less than one week, with games starting less than two weeks from today. As we continue to gear up for what should be an exciting sports year, we are proud to announce a few additions and changes that will be coming to our site in the coming weeks. Among them will be the addition of boys soccer as the 15th sport covered on WisSports.net and a site redesign that will give a fresh new look to the homepage, sports pages, and more.



Boys soccer to become 15th sport featured on WSN



Girls soccer became the 14th sport to be included on WisSports.net in the spring, broadening coverage for the increasingly popular sport to a larger statewide audience. Building on that successful launch, boys soccer will be added for this season as well, with all the same great coverage you've come to expect from the state's #1 high school sports site.



Just as with the other sports covered by WSN, there will be a wealth of information available on the boys soccer site. Schedules, rosters, scores, standings, and stats are all part of the basic information available, and content including articles and stories will be delivered via an exciting new partnership. 



A big part of the successful launch of girls soccer was a partnership between WSN and Wisconsin Soccer Central (WSC). That partnership will continue to grow with the launch of boys soccer this fall. Eric Anderson, publisher and executive editor at WSC, is a longtime soccer enthusiast and bringing WSC on-board was a win-win for both companies. 



"Wisconsin Soccer Central started in 2003 with the goal to promote the beautiful game across the state," Anderson said. "While we still have a long way to go, we're pleased with what we've done so far. Now we're taking another step forward, partnering with the Wisconsin Sports Network." 



WSN president and founder Nicholas Kartos agrees.  



"Ever since we expanded beyond football and basketball a few years back, the one question I got more than any other was, 'When are you going to add soccer?' " Kartos said. "Well the time has come, we have found a great partner in WSC and we will be working hard to forge a relationship with the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association and soccer coaches statewide." 



Support from the WSCA and individual coaches has been outstanding, and beneficial for both parties.



"The members of WSCA are excited to grow and find more ways to help promote the game of soccer," WSCA board member and Communications committee co-chair Andy Montalbano said. "As the coverage expanded with girls soccer in the spring, we are thrilled to have that same coverage for our boys teams. WSN has proven, in all the sports they cover, they do a tremendous job of focusing in on the high school athlete and the experiences of sport at the high school age, in addition to many other arenas. 



"We are looking forward to helping in any way we can, as an organization, to promote the efforts of the girls, boys and coaches who support soccer throughout the state of Wisconsin."



Support from soccer coaches has been outstanding, and many have already contacted us to set up free accounts to update their team's information (rosters, schedules, scores, stats) directly on our site. If you are a coach interested in maintaining accurate information for your team, please use the Contact Us option and be sure to include your name, school, and sport when requesting an account. 



The boys soccer site will launch in the coming days, so be sure to check back frequently.



Site redesign to provide fresh look and easier navigation



WisSports.net will get a bit of a facelift soon as part of a sitewide redesign that will not only give a fresh new look but also provide for easier navigation on all our webpages. The front page of the site will be reorganized to provide a smoother jumping off point for content from all sports. 



Sports pages will also get updates, with information organized in a cleaner and easier to navigate layout. With expandable dropdown menus, you'll be able to search for and get to more pages directly from the home page.



Readers will also notice minor changes in the layout of blogs and articles that will widen the text columns for easier reading and to allow for more content in those spaces.



These and other changes will be rolled out over the coming weeks.