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March 27, 2005Schools prep for switchMove is to align high school with college seasonsEditor's note: This is the first in a three-day series examining the possible change in high school sports seasons. See the list of other articles at the end of this story.By Record-Eagle sports editor TRAVERSE CITY - In 1975, the state's girls basketball coaches were polled to see when they wanted to play their season. "We said we wanted it to line up with the NCAA," said Anne Perry, an instructor at Traverse City West Junior High. "We wanted it in the winter." Thirty years later, that might finally happen. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide this spring if it will hear a case that could force the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) to switch six high school sports seasons. The major change - one that ignited a lawsuit by Communities for Equity - would move girls volleyball to fall and girls basketball to winter. That would bring those sports into alignment with the NCAA and nearly every other state. In addition, girls tennis would move to spring and boys tennis to fall, while girls golf would switch to fall and boys golf to spring. "It's the right thing to do," said Perry, the gender equity coordinator for the Traverse City Area Public Schools. "If you have disadvantageous seasons, it's only fair that boys and girls have an equal number of sports in disadvantageous seasons. At this point, it's not that way. It's six for the girls, zero for the boys. "Our boys' seasons are traditionally in alignment with the NCAA seasons. They're lucky." Area athletic directors, under instruction from the MHSAA, are devising two sets of schedules for the 2005-06 season - one if there's a change, another if it remains status quo. "We're all on the edge of our seats waiting for something to be decided so we can move forward," said Harbor Springs athletic director Randy Bingham. Several athletic directors believe it's not a matter of if the seasons will be switched, but when. "Through this whole process I've become accustomed to the fact it's going to happen ... so just go with the flow and be prepared for anything," said Suttons Bay athletic director Cody Inglis. According to John Johnson, MHSAA communications director, schools should know sometime between mid-April and mid-June. "If the Supreme Court decides not to hear the case, the case is over, seasons change this fall," said Johnson. The worst case scenario, Johnson added, would be if the court refuses to take the case, but doesn't reach that conclusion until June. That would give athletes, coaches and school officials, many of whom are on vacation in the summer, just two months notice before the start of the fall sports season. If the Supreme Court elects to hear it, seasons will probably not change in the fall, Johnson said, since a ruling would come too late to make alterations. The Supreme Court could also remand parts or all of the case back to the lower courts. "If anything is remanded back to the lower courts," said Johnson, "the seasons won't change until that runs its course." A CASE STUDY Holly Orban, a junior at Suttons Bay, just completed a 15-page report on the issue for her English class. Orban will be directly affected by a switch since she plays volleyball and basketball. Orban said she examined all the positives and negatives and concluded "it's pretty much equal." Orban believes the switch could enhance recruiting opportunities, especially in volleyball. She also likes the idea of playing basketball on Friday nights when crowds are typically larger, and she thinks it would be fun to experience the phenomenon known as March Madness The girls tournament is currently held the first weekend in December, and Friday nights during the fall season are dominated by prep football. A number of leagues are scheduling girls basketball games on Friday nights - for at least half the winter - if the seasons change. "It's always fun after the school week ends to go to a Friday night game," said Orban. "That's the night most people from town get out (to attend a game) because they don't have to work the next morning." Orban said she is concerned about potential conflicts over gym time and a possible shortage of game officials. She also wonders if girls basketball will be overshadowed by boys basketball during the winter, resulting in "a loss of recognition" since the teams will be competing for fans and media attention. "I think girls basketball still comes out on the short end in the long run," Pellston athletic director Tom Litzner said. "Now they don't even have their own season." Orban, who normally attends basketball camps in the summer to prepare for the fall season, plans to play beach volleyball this summer. "It's great conditioning and it will make the transition easier (if the switch occurs)," she said. Regardless of what happens, Orban said she'll accept it and move on. "I can roll with anything," she said. RECRUITING Diane Madsen and Jay Roberts-Eveland, who had daughters playing volleyball, led the crusade to fight the alleged discrimination in scheduling. It was their group, Communities for Equity, that filed the federal lawsuit in 1998. The group argues that by playing in non-traditional seasons, it sends a message that girls are inferior. It also is harmful because it lessens their ability to be recruited and earn a college scholarship. Particularly in volleyball. "That's accurate," said Perry. "Colleges are allowed to give out scholarships in mid November. "Let's use an example. Say you're the Pepperdine (volleyball) coach. You're looking at a kid from Ohio and a kid from Michigan. The Ohio kid is done. Her season was completed in November. She's played her senior season, her knees are intact and she's All-State. The Michigan kid, who was pretty good last year but not quite All-State, still has her season to play. As the Pepperdine coach, are you going to save a scholarship for that Michigan kid, who might not have good knees, who might not be All-State? "I wouldn't wait. I'd take the Ohio kid. She's done. She's ready." College coaches - basketball and volleyball - recruit heavily during the AAU seasons. AAU teams are usually comprised of all-star players who form teams representing regions or states. Those teams often play in national tournaments - venues that allow college coaches to assess a number of skilled players in one setting. In basketball, spring and summer are peak times on the AAU trail. In volleyball, Perry said, it's winter. "After the fall volleyball season, high school players throughout the country play AAU volleyball in the winter," she said. "At the same time, high schools here are playing their season. That's disadvantageous for Michigan women, who are prohibited from playing MHSAA and AAU volleyball at the same time. "They have these huge (AAU) tournaments - Chicago, Las Vegas, Colorado, California," she added. "Michigan players are thinking, 'Will they (college coaches) have time to see us?' They're not going to see the Michigan kids. Maybe Michigan (college) coaches will. But coaches at schools like Pepperdine, they're going to go to Las Vegas to watch the best of the best. They're not going to fly to Michigan. "Some kids will get picked up by Michigan schools. But if you look at the number of (out of state) schools that recruit players here, it's not very many. I bet in the last 10 years you could count them on one hand." Perry said it makes financial sense for college volleyball coaches to scout AAU tournaments and pass up high school games in Michigan. "They have less travel money, less scouting money," she said. "They have to be very careful with their dollars." Perry thinks the switch will benefit girls basketball, too, particularly in the classroom. She notes that girls now play on two weekday school nights - Tuesday and Thursday - compared to one for the boys. "Yet the girls are expected to get the same grade point average and compete for the same academic scholarships at the end of the year," said Perry. OPPORTUNITIES Inglis is among those opposed to the switch. "I think what it does is limit the opportunities for kids," he said. "Look at Michigan, and its participation numbers with our current system. We're ranked ninth in the nation in terms of total population, but we're ranked fourth in the nation in terms of participation in high school athletics. "That tells me the system we have is working for kids because it's increasing opportunities. "No one knows if the switch will dramatically increase or decrease that number, but my feeling is that it will decrease because it's going to force some kids to make a decision (about what sport they'll play)." A number of athletes will be affected if the switch occurs. Freshman Emily Kring, who helped St. Francis win a Class B-C-D state downhill ski title last month, plans to drop the sport to play basketball. Other athletes will be forced to make similar decisions. At Harbor Springs, Bingham said the switch could help the volleyball program, but hurt winter and spring sports. "The only girls sport we offer in the fall that would go head-to-head with volleyball is cross country," he said. "Moving girls tennis to spring is a concern because now we'll have three of our most popular girls sports going against each other - track, tennis and soccer. Traditionally, we've been strong in all three. "Our soccer players are also our tennis players. So we'll have girls tennis and soccer and boys tennis and soccer competing (for athletes). I see that as a potential problem. Kids are going to have to make some very difficult choices. It's going to hurt some teams ... and the smaller schools that don't have quite as many kids, they're really going to be hurting." Some athletes, though, will benefit. Glen Lake's Marissa Treece is one. She played basketball and ran cross country last fall. If the seasons change, she'll be able to concentrate solely on both sports. OFFICIALS Inglis is also concerned about the pool of officials available to work boys and girls basketball games in the winter. "I'm worried about the ability to get officials, the ability to get good officials and about burning out officials," he said. "Right now, officials work six to seven months out of the year in basketball. They only work two to three times a week. When this goes through, they may work three to four months a year, but they're going to be working five to six days a week and that's difficult. "In talking to officials, I don't see them wanting to do that. They're going to be forced to drop something and what they'll probably drop are the lower level games - freshmen, middle school. "The bottom line is we're hurting for officials anyway and this I think makes it worse. I tell people all the time - if you want a job become an official. It's one job (market) that's growing." Several schools are considering keeping junior high volleyball and basketball seasons as they are now to help alleviate the crunch on officials. Inglis also said some schools could run into problems scheduling gym time in the winter. "We're lucky at Suttons Bay," he said. "We have three gyms. Some schools in our conference, though, are going to be practicing at 6 in the morning and going until 10 at night." SCHEDULING Inglis said the sport that the lawsuit was intended to help - volleyball - could be hurt the most. "The volleyball season will be shortened by three weeks," he said. "We're having trouble trying to fit all our invitationals into a 13- or 14-week season when we used to have 16 or 17 weeks." Inglis said volleyball could also lose its state finals site - Western Michigan University. "They said if it moves to fall we will not host it," he said. "Kalamazoo is a natural setting. That's the best venue for any MHSAA final, bar none." Inglis said Eastern Michigan has offered to host. "The problem is that (next season's) finals are scheduled on the same weekend of the Michigan-Ohio State football game in Ann Arbor," he said. "There's not going to be a hotel room available in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area for 50 miles. Now, all of a sudden, you would have to put 16 teams down there in hotels." Jack Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA, sees a couple more problems. "Many of our volleyball officials work college volleyball and they will no longer be available to us, at least as frequently as they are now," he said. "Many of our schools also use college coaches and players as coaches. They will not be available to us. "I think the sport that is going to be negatively impacted is volleyball." Volleyball will benefit in some aspects, however. "They're going to have the facilities to themselves," Bingham said. "The gyms are theirs and with that comes attention." Volleyball will also enjoy a continuation in its season - from the beach to the court. "It will be an extension of their season," said St. Francis athletic director Tom Hardy. "No break." GOLF AND TENNIS Boys golf and girls tennis have used summer programs to their benefit in the past. Players have been able to play in tournaments to hone skills in anticipation of their high school seasons, which start in August. Now those two sports could go 17 months between seasons. "I think it's going to be harmful for both sports," said Traverse City Central girls tennis coach Larry Nykerk. Athletic directors also see two other potential problems for boys golf. One issue involves finding course time. "Look outside right now," Inglis said. "I don't know of a lot of courses that are going to be able to open before mid-April. And we have dramatically more (boys golf teams than girls) for golf courses to handle. The golf courses in northern Michigan have been very good to us. That's one advantage we have in northern Michigan and we use it to our advantage. That's why golf in northern Michigan is so good. The problem is you're going to be forcing golf courses to make tough (financial) decisions. Unfortunately, they're going to have to make those tough decisions based on the bottom line." The other issue involves class time. "One of my biggest fears, and it's one nobody is talking about, is the amount of school kids will miss," Hardy said. "In our league, we get three of our five 18-hole matches in before school starts. If we change, we're going to be playing those matches, plus others, during the school day." Feelings aside, officials are ready to act if the seasons are changed, although it might take a year or two to iron out the wrinkles. "Nobody has it all figured out," Inglis said. "We're going to make mistakes. We're going to mess some things up the first couple years. We just have to make sure we do what's best for kids, what's best for students." Bingham, agreed. "Everybody is comfortable with the situation now," he said. "Sometimes change is difficult. "In the long run, five years from now, if the change happens, everybody will get accustomed to it." See Related Stories: Athletes face some tough choices - March 27, 2005 ... as do area game officials - March 27, 2005 Girls get equal basketball time on Friday night - March 28, 2005 Athletic directors expect lower gate receipts - March 29, 2005 Winning programs have edge in crowds - March 29, 2005
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