EAST OF TAMPA

LOCAL SPORTS
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

ATHLETE OF THE
WEEK

Every week we celebrate one athlete from every program in the county. You send a name, a photo and one line. We build the post. There is no cost, no catch, and nothing to sign.

Example East of Tampa Athlete of the Week post
Sample post. Names and photos are illustrative.
SUBMIT BY SATURDAY 11:59 PM  ·  POSTS GO UP SUNDAY
36SCHOOLS COVERED
10K–50KIMPRESSIONS PER POST
$0COST TO YOUR PROGRAM

Why we do this

I grew up playing football in Northern Michigan. We played Friday nights, then stayed up until eleven to see if we made the news, and got up Saturday morning to see if our name was in the paper.

That barely exists anymore. East of Tampa is a local newsletter and social platform covering Hillsborough County. Think of it as a modern version of the newspaper and the nightly news. We cover restaurants, road closings and everything else, but sports is the part I care most about.

I am the athletic director for the FishHawk Spartans youth tackle program, my wife is the president, and I played linebacker at Army. We have four sons and the oldest just started high school. I waited up for the eleven o'clock news. He refreshes Instagram. Same kid, different screen.

It is one thing when your own program posts you. It hits differently when a third party does. That is the whole idea here.

JOHN PLUMSTEAD  ·  EAST OF TAMPA

How it works

Three minutes on your phone, once a week. That is the entire ask.

01

YOU SEND THREE THINGS

An athlete name, a photo, and one line about what they did. Position and number help but are optional. A phone photo is fine.

02

WE BUILD THE POST

Built to celebrate the athlete, in your school colors, with your mascot and your handle on it. Same look every week so it becomes recognizable.

03

IT POSTS SUNDAY

We post it and tag your program. You are welcome to repost it, and so are the athlete and their family. Most of the reach comes from that.

Submit this week's athlete

Deadline is Saturday at 11:59 PM for a Sunday post. Miss it and we will run your athlete the following week.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK SUBMISSION
Youth, travel, club, middle school. Anything not on the list above.
Numbers get highlighted on the card. No stats is fine too.

Submissions only come through this form. It is the only way we can get the photo, and it is what lets us turn these around by Sunday.

Questions we get

Does this cost anything?

No. There is no cost and nothing to sign. A local business sponsors the series, which is what pays for it.

Who picks the athlete?

You do. You know your team. We are not ranking anybody or comparing programs against each other. Every program gets its own post.

What if we don't have a good photo?

Send whatever you have. A sideline phone photo, a roster photo, a screenshot from film. The post is built to handle all of it.

Can we pick someone who doesn't put up stats?

Please do. The lineman, the defensive specialist, the kid who never comes off the practice field. Those get shared the hardest, because that athlete has never been celebrated publicly before.

Do we have to do it every week?

No. Send one when you have one. Nothing happens if you skip a week.

Can we repost it?

Yes, and we hope you do. Repost it, save it, print it, put it on a wall. It is yours.