DON'T LOOK now, but the fall sports seasons are about to begin. Teams already are in preseason camps, and the big jamboree scrimmages are about to begin.

First up in the Queen City: a weekend of soccer at West Memorial Field.

The Queen City girls' jamboree will be held one week from today, Saturday, Aug. 18, with 13 games on the schedule, beginning with a 9 a.m. match between Nashua North and Pembroke Academy.

The rest of the schedule includes Manchester Memorial vs. Bishop Guertin of Nashua (9:45), North vs. Memorial (10:30), Pembroke vs. BG (11:15), Timberlane of Plaistow vs. Manchester Central (noon), Merrimack vs. Trinity of Nashua (12:45 p.m.), Nashua South vs. Merrimack (1:30), Trinity vs. Timberlane (2:15), Central vs. South (3 p.m.), Alvirne of Hudson vs. Goffstown (3:45), Manchester West vs. Belmont (4:30), Goffstown-Belmont (5:15) and West-Alvirne (6 p.m.).

On Sunday, Aug. 19, the boys' jamboree will feature 13 teams at West Memorial. The match-ups: Nashua South vs. Goffstown (9 a.m.), Timberlane-Central (9:45), Nashua South-Timberlane (10:30), Goffstown-Central (11:15), Nashua North-Trinity (noon), Memorial-Bishop Guertin (12:45), Nashua North-Merrimack (1:30), Trinity-Bishop Guertin (2:15), Memorial-Merrimack (3:00), Winnisquam-Pembroke (3:45), West-Winnisquam (4:30), Alvirne-Pembroke (5:15) and West-Alvirne at 6 p.m.

On the same day most of those teams open the regular season, Friday, Aug. 24, local football squads will get their last big tune-up during the 23rd annual Bo Dickson Memorial Queen City Football Jamboree, at Gill Stadium.

The match-ups there include Souhegan of Amherst vs. Manchester West (4:30 p.m.), Manchester Memorial vs. Trinity (5:30), and Timberlane vs. Pinkerton Academy of Derry (6:30), Central vs. Goffstown (7:30) and Salem vs. Bishop Guertin (8:30).

“The jamboree is always treated like the dress rehearsal, just a week before the start of the regular season,” said Central coach Ryan Ray. “You've got the big crowd, game officials and the lights. We tried our best to match teams who are equally competitive and who won't see each other during the regular season.”

Varsity teams aren't the only ones gearing up for the regular season. An annual freshman football jamboree will feature five games: West vs. Nashua South (4:30 p.m.), Bedford vs. Nashua North (5:30), Bishop Guertin vs. Exeter (6:30), Pinkerton vs. Central (7:30) and Memorial vs. Salem (8:30).

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ONE OF the state's all-time best soccer players is coming back to coach at her alma mater.

Alyssa Thayer, a 2006 graduate of Manchester West who led West to three Class L state titles (2002, 2004-05) and attained All-America status during her senior season, has been named the head coach of the Blue Knights girls' program.

“She was a tremendous soccer and basketball player at West, and we're fortunate to have her,” said Dave Gosselin, director of athletics for the city's public schools.

Thayer, a four-time coaches association all-state selection, played one season of college ball at Siena College before transferring to finish her career at Southern New Hampshire University. According to her bio page on the SNHU website, she set West records for career (95) and single-season goals. She also was a 1,000-point scorer and an coaches association all-state selection in basketball.

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GOSSELIN ALSO confirmed that Chris Florek, a Memorial soccer standout under former coach Peter Perich in the late '80s, was named the varsity head coach of the Crusaders boys' program.

Memorial never had a losing season during Florek's four-year varsity career. He recently served as an assistant coach at Central for 10 seasons under Chris Laberge. John Wall is the junior varsity coach and Micah Blanchette runs the freshman program under Florek.

Two more coaching appointments announced by Gosselin: Tracy Razzano as head varsity field hockey coach at Memorial and John Rodgers as head girls' volleyball coach at West.

Replacing Pat Smith as varsity girls' basketball head coach at Trinity High, meanwhile, is Matt Courchesne.

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GEORGE ABOOD, the ageless wonder who continues to play a mean game of softball well into his 60s, is seeking teams for the 49th annual One Pitch Tournament. It will be held Friday and Saturday, Aug. 17-18, at Wolfe Park and Brown-Mitchell Field. Each team is guaranteed three round-robin games before the top teams advance. Call 674-0604 to register.

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“City Sports” appears Saturdays in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Email staff reporter John Habib at jhabib@unionleader.com.