We’re into the final days of 2017, which means it’s time to put the past year to bed and pledge to do it all a little bit better in 2018. It’s a time for reflection, for hope, and for wishes of a better year to come.

In that vein, here are a few wishes and resolutions for our local sports scene:

• It’s uncertain if the timeline for the new youth sports complex will have it built by this time next year, but let’s all resolve to keep making progress on it. I’ve been here for 20 years and “the new sports complex” has become the local equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot. Lots of people talk about it, some claim to have seen it (or at least the plans for it), but it’s never been more than a myth.

The current proposal appears to have a better chance of succeeding than any of its predecessors. Perhaps by the end of 2018, it will finally be a reality or close to it.

• For Warren Central’s baseball and football teams, here’s a wish for a couple of state championships.
The football Vikings have been one play away from breaking through each of the past two years. The baseball team has slowly loaded up on talent and is expected to emerge as a state power when the season begins in February.

It takes as much luck as skill to have things break your way during a championship run. So here’s a wish that luck is on the Vikings’ sides.

• For Vicksburg High football players Nick Anderson, Jo’Mon O’Neal, Joe Johnson and Michael Sullivan, a wish that they get a chance to play Division I football. Those four have led the Gators through a few years of ups and downs on the field, and are good young men and students off of it.

If any coaches read this, these guys will represent your program well. They deserve a shot.

• And one more wish for Porter’s Chapel Academy’s girls’ basketball team to have continued success. The Lady Eagles have endured a lot of hopeless moments in the past 10 years. It’s nice to see their hard work paying off in some wins this season.

• I’ll close this with a note of thanks to all of the players, coaches, parents, administrators, readers and anyone else who has given me a moment of their time in the past year. It’s impossible to do this job without your help and cooperation. Thank you all. We’ll see you on the other side.

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Ernest Bowker is a sports writer for The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com