It’s a wrap. Summer is unofficially over with the arrival of September, Labor Day Weekend and the start of high school football.

But August certainly went out with a bang, locally and regionally. So it’s time to itemize:

ITEM: Alvirne principal Steve Beals takes over varsity girls soccer coaching duties.

When yours truly first heard early last week that there was some major disruption in the Broncos girls soccer program with regard to coaches, the thought that Beals would be on the sidelines in some capacity came quickly to mind.

“Look, anything that happens it’s not about me, the focus should be on these players,” the Bronco soccer alum and former boys soccer coach said. “There’s a number of kids who have had some success at the varsity level. I’m looking for kids stepping up and assuming a role of leadership.”

He’ll get that. Beals is a hands-on principal, well-respected, and even though he says that the school has had some good coaches and that “there’s no way this old guy can be the same thing they are”, don’t buy it for a second. He’s a natural leader.

But the fact that this coaching situation just snowballed is an alarm sounding that it’s, as we’ve said in this space before, extremely difficult to find capable coaches. “It’s getting tougher and tougher,” Beals said.

We’d love to know who else applied for the girls varsity job. Hiring a kid right out of college to take over a varsity program certainly suggests the Broncos back in June or early July were in a tough spot. Yes, Beals to the rescue, but this situation clearly needs to be avoided in the future.

ITEM: It’s cutdown weekend in the NFL. Hundreds of football players will hit the streets or be dealt to a new home, the process having begun Friday. A player to watch is Nashua’s own Kendall Reyes, who signed with the New York Jets a week after training camp began, was listed fourth on the depth chart, and has played in the last three preseason games.

The disconcerting thing is Reyes played in Thursday’s fourth and final game, a game usually reserved for bubble players and those who aren’t going to make the team – but can get scouted so they can possibly hook on elsewhere. If he doesn’t stick with the Jets, Reyes should get a shot elsewhere, as Thursday he had two tackles and a sack in a 10-9 loss to the Eagles. Remember the words of Patriots coach Bill Belichick in his media conference call Friday. “There’s always some situations that are more clear-cut than others.”

ITEM: Nashua Silver Knights owner Drew Weber does not retain Rick Muntean as general manager.

We’ve hashed this out already, but the fact is it’s the first puff of what should be a lot of smoke coming out of Holman Stadium. There’s the lease, the naming of a new GM, other staff changes, etc. Circle the date October 16 on your calendars, that’s supposedly when the Futures League will hold its annual GM/owner meetings. There are a ton of things needed to be discussed.

ITEM: Rob Gronkowski gets incentive dollars added to his contract.

Everyone wants to know how the New England Patriots get these players like Gronkowski and Tom Brady to take less than market value. Easy. They give them a choice: Do they want to win or go for as much money as they can in Foxborough or elsewhere? Don’t buy the fact the salary cap can be manipulated, etc. One factor in the Patriots success has always been their roster depth, depth that the rest of the AFC lacks. It’s not like baseball, where you can shell out whatever you want to a player. Fans often forget that.

Happy football.

Tom King can be reached at 594-1251,tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or@Telegraph _TomK.