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EUP Coaches Plan for Changes in School Sports Seasons
The most pressing need in the EUP will be for more trained basketball officials and coaches.
Michigan has been the only state in the nation in which high school girls basketball and volleyball were played in opposite seasons from college ball, but next school year, that will change. While waiting for a succession of appeals, athletic directors in the EUP began plotting the best use of available resources, and although plans are far from finished, all say they will be ready when the game whistle blows this fall. Coaches are faced with the same amount of gymnasium time and same number of qualified basketball officials they had last year, so they need to find ways to offer girls and boys sports simultaneously, without compromising participation.
Planning at all schools has begun with high school team schedules as a first priority. The Straits Area and Eastern Upper Peninsula conferences each plan to meet soon to plan schedules for junior high programs. No programs will be eliminated for the younger players as a result of the change in seasons, athletic directors say. St. Ignace At LaSalle High School, athletes in three sports will be affected by the changes, girls basketball, volleyball, and golf. A strong point for the school district will be its three full gymnasiums, which most schools don't have. A new junior varsity basketball coach will be hired at St. Ignace, and an upcoming meeting will soon set plans for junior high and elementary sports programs. Saints golf play will move from fall to spring, which may also impact the baseball program. Moving from fall to spring play may mean less playing time for high school golfers, owing to the uncertainties of spring weather, said Saints Golf Coach Ben Brown. Golfers will compete at the state level in the U.P. now, rather than downstate, which Coach Brown sees as a disadvantage for his athletes. "We move from competing at the state level in the Lower Peninsula during the fall, to the Upper Peninsula in the spring for the state finals in Division 2," he said. "The fall is much better to play high school golf, with the courses in excellent shape from the summer growth, [and] our spring season will be much shorter after dealing with the weather." Mr. Brown noted that high school golfers, including his son, scholarship winner Joe Brown, probably got better exposure to scholarship opportunities when they played at the state level in the Lower Peninsula in the fall. "I don't think Joe would have received the scholarship if he had been playing in the spring," Coach Brown said. While St. Ignace coaches say they don't favor the change in sports seasons, all will work now to schedule practices to avoid conflicts with Sunday and Wednesday church programs, upholding a longstanding tradition in the EUP. The high school basketball program schedule is already set. "We have our schedule ready for next year," said Marty Spencer, athletic director at LaSalle High School. "I have only five Wednesday evenings scheduled for basketball games and, because of the youth programs in churches, hope to keep the dates at a minimum." Saints basketball games will be played Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The first day of girls practice is Monday, November 12, with the first game scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving. The boys first day of practice is Monday, November 12, and the first game will be the week of December 3. "We have to deal with the change," said Saints girls coach Dorene Ingalls. "One aspect that I hope we don't have to deal with is using Sundays as a practice day if we have to play Monday games. I feel that Sunday should be set aside for church and family." Because Doug and Dorene Ingalls both coach at the varsity level, Mr. Ingalls will no longer be available to coach the junior varsity girls in the fall. "We are going to have to find a junior varsity coach," said Mrs. Ingalls. Mr. Ingalls said he would have liked to see games scheduled on the same nights for girls and boys teams, to save money on travel. "We had an awesome chance to use this as a positive change, with playing the girls and boys games on the same nights," he said. "It would cut our transportation costs down traveling together, and fans would see both teams on the same night." The system would have been worth a try, he added. Rudyard Rudyard will also be affected in three sports and has two gymnasiums to use for basketball practice. The girls field varsity and junior varsity teams, while the boys have varsity, junior varsity, and freshman squads. Another consideration is the wrestling team, which needs space to practice. Ron VanSloten, Bulldogs baseball and golf coach, has made the decision to coach just baseball. Athletes who are strong in two sports may have to choose one over the other, too, he said. "I wish I could coach both, but, with the move, it will be impossible to give each position justice," said Mr. VanSloten. "Junior Craig Wallis was named All-State for both baseball and golf and he will have to make a decision about what sport he will play for his senior season. It will be a tough decision for a young student-athlete to make."
Agolf coach replacement for Mr. VanSloten has not yet been hired. The EUPC has made tentative plans to play league games on Thursdays and Fridays and nonconference games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with the girls and boys rotating game days. The junior high schedule has not been decided. The challenge in scheduling nonconference games will be in working with leagues that include Straits Area, Lake Michigan, North Star, Central Upper Peninsula, and Skyline. Cedarville Cedarville has one full-size gymnasium and one smaller facility that could be used. David Duncan is the Trojans boys varsity coach and athletic director and his wife, Sonja Duncan, is the girls varsity coach. With two sons, Jordan and Jason, and a daughter, Jessie, playing at the varsity level, the Duncans are aware of the effort families make to attend children's sporting events, particularly when schedules will overlap. "It is going to be hard to see every game the kids are playing," said Mr. Duncan. "We will do the best we can." "My biggest concern is not gym time - we will make time for everyone - but finding officials for all the games, whether they are at the high school or junior high level," added Mr. Duncan. Pickford Challenges in finding enough officials and gymnasium time face Pickford Athletic Director Chuck Bennin. Pickford has one full gymnasium and one smaller court. "We will work on the practice schedule for all the teams, but everyone's concern is finding enough officials," said Mr. Bennin. "Our non-conference schedule includes teams from the SAC and games from two Lower Peninsula and one Upper Peninsula league." Engadine Engadine has two gymnasiums to work with, and along with the changes in the season, the Eagles will have new coaches in the girls varsity and junior varsity programs. Daryl Browning will take over the varsity position and Hugh Bigelow will be the new junior varsity girls coach. "There are positive and negative situations to the change," said Coach Browning. "One part of the change that worries me is the fan support for both teams playing at the same time. I hope this will work out." Engadine will work the nonconference schedule with teams from the Central Upper Peninsula and Skyline Conferences. Finding less competition for gym time will be the "upside" for the volleyball team, said Kathy Miller, Eagles volleyball coach. "This will not hurt our program, but will give us more gym time by not competing with another team, as football is the other sport played in the fall," she said. "There are positive and negative changes to everything, and everyone will work to make this positive." Northern Lakes Conference and Ski Valley Conference Mackinaw City The Comets, with one gymnasium, have yet to come up with a permanent basketball schedule. "We have met, but have not finalized anything, and we are on spring break from April 9 to April 13," said Mackinaw City Athletic Director Dave Paquet last week. "We have discussed schedules with the Ski Valley Conference (SVC) and EUPC. Our league, overall, plays non-conference games with more teams from the SVC than the EUPC." The SVC has put together a tentative schedule, with girls games on Wednesdays and Fridays and boys on Tuesdays and Thursdays. "We are looking at both the EUPC and SVC schedules," added Mr. Paquet. Mackinaw City is struggling with low numbers at the junior varsity and junior high levels for both boys and girls. Northern Lights League Mackinac Island School administrators were to meet Wednesday, April 18, to decide the schedule for Lakers athletic teams. The boys basketball and girls volleyball teams travel together, but with volleyball moving to the fall, the idea of adding girls basketball for the winter months has been discussed. Maplewood Baptist Academy The Black Bears are not affiliated with any conference, but play the same format as the NLL. The change in seasons may result in a new opportunity for female athletes at the school in Kinross. "We are looking at maybe starting a girls basketball program for the winter months, after volleyball is moved to the fall," said Pastor Tim Rader, school founder. Longtime Basketball Officials See Need for More Trained Referees One other challenge facing athletic directors is finding enough referees for girls, boys, and junior high basketball programs during the winter season. Joel Peffers of Pickford, Joe Baker and Steve Fountain of Cedarville, and Steve Gorsuch of Dafter have more than 100 years of combined experience as basketball referees, and all anticipate a busy season next school year. "We are probably going to work three to four nights a week," said Mr. Peffers. "With five officials, we will be able to have a night off, if needed." "My biggest concern is the lack of young officials," said Mr. Baker. "The state needs to push to find more men and women to fill the vacancies." Jim Lamoreaux of St. Ignace, who just completed his 54th season as a basketball official, plans to referee for another year with partners Bob Lee of St. Ignace and Tony Hakola of Cedarville. Mr. Lamoreaux is not happy with the change in sports seasons. "This will take away from the girls program with the boys and girls competing at the same time, and with the lack of officials, [it] has to be a huge concern for all the athletic directors," said Mr. Lamoreaux. "I hope I can work maybe two games per week," said Mr. Lee. "Job and family play a factor in my decision." Scheduling Around Church Programs With some games being planned for Wednesday evenings, church youth groups meeting may conflict. "I am pleased to hear that all the Wednesday dates are not full, and that we could keep our youth programs on Wednesdays," said Mike Lane, pastor at Glen Memorial Baptist Church of St. Ignace. "Our youth group has more than 35 [students] in the sixth-to-12th-grade program, and 25 in the second-tofifth grade. The youths are not just from our congregation, but from other churches." Mr. Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA, in his April 2 statement to all superintendents, principals, and athletic directors, said even though the mandated change has not widely found favor in the school athletic community, the time has come to move forward. "There are two lessons of high school sports that are relevant here: guts and grace," Mr. Roberts said. "In school sports, you must have the guts, courage, and persistence to play the full contest. When the going gets tough, coaches ask their athletes to make a gut check. A good high school athlete doesn't quit before the contest is complete, and we did not quit either. "A second lesson of high school sports is that you must accept the outcome with grace. Sometimes you win when you deserve to lose, and sometimes you lose when you deserve to win. But in either case, accepting the result gracefully is what we expect of our athletes and it is what we expect of ourselves now." |
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