Most people with no direct connection to high school athletics probably assume that the fall is the busiest time of the year for those who do work in that area.
The large shadow of football in Alabama is probably the main reason for that perception. But the simple truth is that the busiest time of the year is right now.
Think about it: Indoor track and wrestling determined their championships within the last two weeks. The basketball regionals are in full swing. Soccer has already started. Baseball and softball open this week. Outdoor track and field season is just around the corner.
And, oh yes, the college football signing date just came and went.
Any way you want to slice it, that’s a lot. Do schools really need to have so much going on at once, or is there a better way?
There was a time when sports fell well within their natural seasons. Football was for the autumn months along with volleyball and cross country. As the weather got colder, activities moved indoors with basketball, wrestling and indoor track. As winter gave way to spring, the cycle went back to outdoor sports, most notably baseball, softball, soccer and outdoor track, not to mention golf and tennis.
Now there is much more overlap. Football ends in December, weeks after basketball begins. Basketball ends in March, weeks after baseball, softball and soccer begin. Only indoor and outdoor track seem to have clear lines of demarcation for beginning and end–and that’s largely because it’s the same athletes participating in the same events.
Football’s December ending isn’t a big deal because it’s early in the month and involves only the small number of teams which reach the championship finals. But basketball’s early start does handicap those programs–particularly at smaller schools–that are heavily dependent on football players for their pool of basketball athletes.
The early March finish for basketball isn’t so bad either, particularly when you remember that the colleges don’t finish until early April and the NBA doesn’t complete its playoffs until June.
What I will never understand, however, is why baseball, softball and soccer need to start in February.
Even if you discount the rarity of the recent snowstorms that paralyzed our community, February is almost always one of the coldest months of the years. As any loyal fan or devoted parent can testify, there are few things more miserable than shivering through a baseball or softball game when the wind is blowing and it’s 38 degrees, particularly at night. The cold temperatures can impact players as well. Baseball, softball and soccer are called spring sports for a reason: That’s when they were meant to be played.
Looking at a typical Class 6A baseball schedule in Alabama, you see that counting tournaments, doubleheaders and possible playoff games, a team can easily play more than 60 games in a season. And with each area often containing only three or four schools, a team will find itself playing a handful of games which count toward reaching the playoffs.
In the 1970s, the high school baseball season didn’t even begin until after spring break, and a typical schedule offered 25 games, not counting playoffs. In 2014, most baseball teams in Alabama will have played 25 games by spring break.
Nobody is advocating going back to the 1970s, but is there any real reason why we couldn’t push back the season for spring sports to at least the first or second week in March? Teams could still use their spring breaks to play games in Florida or participate in local tournaments.
Does a baseball or softball team really need a 40 to 50-game regular season? And maybe we should take a look at the playoff formats, too. Why not shorten the season a little at both ends and begin the playoffs earlier?
There are other activities on a young person’s mind in the spring months besides sports. Seniors have college trips and, of course, the prom. A few years ago, one of the state’s most prominent soccer programs had to play a postseason game without its seniors because the game conflicted with the prom, and the upperclassmen chose dancing with their dates over kicking soccer balls. Fortunately, the team won anyway and the coach didn’t suspend the players, but more often it seems sports are forcing teenagers into too many choices at times in their lives they will never experience again.
I am not singling out spring sports. I’ve been covering them for 36 years. Nobody enjoys a well-played baseball, softball or soccer game more than I do. But now that the Alabama High School Athletic Association has finished its new classifications, the organization needs to take a long look at scheduling.
Parkas and mittens are not spectator-appropriate attire for spring sports.
