Attention fans, coaches and student athletes, the Cape Coral Breeze is bringing back its “Athlete of the Week” feature after more than a decade, where two athletes in our coverage area will be highlighted for their accomplishments across all high school sports platforms in print and online.

The sports staff of Cape Coral’s hometown paper for more than six decades will have its ears to the ground and eyes peeled around the area looking to give kudos to many of the area’s talented and gifted athletes, newspaper officials said.

The Breeze will focus on seven schools in the Cape Coral/North Fort Myers area, including: Cape Coral High School, Mariner High School, Ida Baker High School, Island Coast High School, North Fort Myers High School, Bishop Verot High School and Oasis High School. The Breeze staff will make selections each week and at the end of each month, will honor the “Athlete of the Month” in an online poll open to all.

“The Breeze already is involved in several different programs that recognize student achievement in the classroom and community and bringing back the Athlete of the Week program seems like a nice way to round that out,” said Breeze Newspapers Publisher Ray Eckenrode.

The Breeze sports staff has spent years becoming familiarized with local teams and their players and is eager to be able to spread the word of amazing on-field accomplishments throughout each sports season, he said.

Throughout the year, The Breeze will ask fans, coaches, players and their families to share highlights with us via social media on Facebook and Twitter (@CapeCoralDaily).

“There are so many standout athletes and programs in Southwest Florida and this program gives us an opportunity to do what we do best, shine the spotlight on things going on in our local communities,” Eckenrode continued.

Look for Breeze Associate Sports Editor CJ Haddad and Photographer Michael Pistella on the sidelines throughout the year and for Michael’s photo galleries on Breeze social media platforms.

Breeze sports department staff looks forward to its interactions with local high school student-athletes this year and really homing in on local players in the Cape Coral/North Fort Myers area.

–Connect with Associate Sports Editor CJ Haddad on Twitter: @haddad_cj