By Bill Mullaly

The ax has fallen on the unique high school sports season that the state of Michigan has been able to use the past 30 plus years. The girl's sports season in Michigan for high school and middle school athletics was dealt a severe blow to the status quo as a week ago Monday the United State Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal thus rendering an earlier lower court decision to stand. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled in 2004 that the current seasons had to change but the MHSAA appealed all the way to the Supreme Court and the high court's refusal to hear the case ends the lawsuit. The meaning is not good for the purists in the state of Michigan who like things just the way they are with girls basketball being played in the fall and girls volleyball in the winter. That special season of play is no more and is now history.

In the 2007-08 school year the seasons will change with volleyball being played now in the fall and basketball for girls in the winter. These are not the only sports seasons changed by the successful lawsuit that began in 1998 and wound its way through the courts for nine years before finally coming to an end last week. Boy's golf will be played in the spring next year and not in the fall and girl's golf will switch from the spring to the fall. Thus, the 2007 girls season will end in June and start back up in August. Boy's tennis heads to the fall after being played in the spring and the girls will be just the opposite next year playing in the spring instead of the fall. All in all it's going to be a mess with these six sports changing and a lot of people are not pleased. At Hudson High School the only sports not affected are boys and girls tennis as those sports are not offered here but the effect on the main topic of girls basketball and volleyball will be felt locally. At Hudson High School the girls basketball team has been playing in the fall since 1972 but that is changing now. "I like things the way the were and I'm really not looking forward to the change in seasons," said Hudson head girls hoop coach Tom Romanowski.

"Right now we are used to playing during the summer in tournaments and leagues along with camps and then we start our season. I don't like this switch very much at all as we will have a long time from the end of summer to the start of the season in November. Currently, we practice each day after school with the gym to ourselves but now we will be sharing it with the boys. Overall, I don't think the change in seasons is good for the girls basketball program."

Romanowski thinks that the one lone bright spot for his program could be larger crowds that could come to watch the girl's games but he still isn't convinced the new system is better. "It was fine the way it was and we had a program for the younger kids in the winter but now that will be during our season or we will have to do the young kids program in the fall."

The flip side to this equation is that now the girl's volleyball squad will be the main team sport in the fall. "I'm very excited by the change in the sports season and we have a summer program scheduled and the volleyball players can go right from that into their school season," said Lady Tiger volleyball head coach Connie Varney. "We will get these girls at the start of their school year when everyone is fresh and excited about being able to play. The first sport of the school year always seems to start off on a positive note for the players and the sport they are in. I like that the seasons are switching and we will now have the gym to ourselves in the fall instead of sharing it with the boys as we did in the winter."

One coach who didn't seem too interested in the Supreme Court 's decision was Hudson head boys basketball coach Wayne Perry. The decision will not effect his coaching of the boy's team this winter but he is worried about having enough quality game officials. "It seems the referees will be spending their time trying to pick between doing boys or girls games and I don't' know if there will be enough officials to go around or at least enough good ones," said Perry, who isn't worried about having to play games on different nights. Some leagues are going to play games on Tuesday and Friday one week with the boys and the girls will play say Monday and Thursday then the next week the boys would play the Monday and Thursday and the girls the Tuesday and Friday. There are many different scenarios as to whom will play what nights and at what locations and all the area leagues and are still trying to finalize their schedules. "If we have to play other then the usual Tuesday and Friday that will not be a big deal," said Perry. "I'm not to worried about practice times and use of the gym either as things will work itself out I'm sure."

The change of seasons is going to take some getting used to for players, coaches, parents, fans, officials and athletic directors. One example will a girl who used to run cross country in the fall and played volleyball in the winter will have to make a choice as to what sport they might play. Likewise, a boy that golfed in the fall and played baseball in the spring will now have to make a choice next school year. In the end things are going to be different and that is the only thing that is certain. All good things must come to an end and for Michigan and its unique high school sports seasons the end is near and as they say it's time to move on and deal with it whether you like it or not. The courts have spoken and in this case we are talking about the high court and not the ones you dribble on.
                                                    To  Index