As the days start to cool off -- finally -- and the daylight disappears before dinner, the action in the local sports world has gone in the opposite direction.

With several teams in postseason, more in the preseason, and others somewhere in between, this might be the best time of the year to catch a game of your choice.

As evidence of this seasonal change, one need look no further than the Key West High Back Yard on Thursday afternoon.

The football team got in its final practice leading up to its biggest game of the year -- tonight's road date at Miami Jackson that will make or break the Conchs' postseason aspirations. On the track around the field, the school's wrestling team got in some conditioning work as it prepares for its upcoming preseason meet, scheduled for next Thursday at Chaminade-Madonna.

The wrestlers, as well as the few track athletes who also worked out on the quarter-mile oval, had more to worry about than a stray football coming their way.

On the adjoining practice fields, soccer balls littered the air from seemingly all angles as both the boys and girls soccer teams got in some training heading into their upcoming matches. The boys will open the season Nov. 12 at Mater Academy, while the girls, who opened with a loss on Monday, will continue their early season schedule today at 4 p.m. with a match at county-rival Coral Shores.

Away from the outdoor fields, which were also home to cheerleading practices, the boys and girls basketball teams continued their preseason practices inside the Bobby Menendez Gymnasium.

With head coach Paul Davis still on the football field, where he is the Conchs' defensive coordinator, the boys, who just started working out this week and haven't narrowed down their varsity or JV rosters, ran drills and got in some conditioning ahead of their scheduled Dec. 1 season-opener at District 16-4A foe Mater Academy.

Following the boys practice, the girls took over the gym and continued their early workouts under head coach Glenn Hayes. The Conchs' girls team, which is looking to build on last season's Class 4A regional quarterfinal appearance, will get its first look Tuesday on the opening day of the Key West Preseason Classic against visiting Olympic Heights. Marathon and Parkway Academy will also take part in the two-day event.

And those are just the teams that were around. Several county swimmers and divers, as well as some cross country runners, are continuing to move deeper into the postseason as they chase that prized state championship.

If ever there were a time to get out and go see some local athletes in action, this is it.

Assistant Sports Editor Willis Jacobson's column appears exclusively each Friday in The Citizen. He can be reached at 305-292-7777, Ext. 223, or at wjacobson@keysnews.com.