After coaching boys and girls basketball in Oxford for over 30 years, Walter Studinger will now have to decide whether he wants to coach the Oxford High School JV boys? team or the freshman girls? team come this fall.
‘The decision is one that I think is unfortunate because I truly enjoy coaching both boys and girls,? he said. ‘To think that I’d have to give up either one is disappointing.?
Studinger has to choose between coaching the teams because of a recent United States Supreme Court decision forcing the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) to adjust the high school sports seasons.
Beginning next fall, girls? basketball will move from fall to winter, same as boys? basketball; girls? volleyball will move from winter to fall; boys? golf will move from fall to spring and girls? golf from spring to fall. Tennis seasons also were changed, but it won’t apply to Oxford because they don’t have a team.
The change originated from a class-action lawsuit filed by two Grand Rapids area mothers in 1998 who felt that their children were being deprived of the opportunity to be scouted and recruited by colleges because of the basketball and volleyball seasons.
U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen ruled in 2001 that the MHSAA’s sports schedule violates Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The MHSAA appealed the decision, requesting the Supreme Court hear the case.
With the Supreme Court appeal denied early last week, the 2007-08 high school sports season will be the first to see the changes.
‘We’ll be OK,? said Oxford Athletic Director Patrick Ball. ‘It’s one of those things where we’re fortunate that our indoor facilities can cover this.?
Although he said participation may drop in some sports due to a conflicting schedule, Ball said he’s not worried that it will effect the sports team’s turnout too much.
He said he’s spoken with girls on the volleyball team who were also on the swim team during the fall that will have to choose between sports.
‘There is that internal conflict as far as how it affects the students,? he said. ‘But I think our number one goal (right now) is to inform people of the changes.?
According to the Flint Metro League’s website, the three boys? and girls? basketball teams will play their games at opposite sites on Tuesdays.
Boys? and girls? freshman and JV teams will play at opposite sites on Thursdays, while Fridays will feature a boys and girls varsity game.
But coach Studinger believes this schedule will cause each team to lose half their fan base by playing at opposite locations.
‘The girls? program is supported very strongly by the boys? program and vice versa,? he said.
Studinger’s solution to the problem is to have what he called the ‘Saturday Solution,? where the girls? JV and varsity teams play Monday and Thursday nights, the boys? JV and varsity play Tuesday and Friday nights, and the freshman teams would play Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons. He would then have the boys? and girls? teams switch schedules mid-season.
‘That would provide everybody the latitude to be available to see games and to maintain support for each of them by opening up that weekend,? he said.
Also a concern for Studinger is how all of the teams will safely and effectively practice in the two gyms at the same time. He’s contacted Oxford Middle School Principal Ken Weaver about using their gym for practices.
Another coach affected by the MHSAA’s season change is varsity golf coach Terry Kelley.
Kelley’s main concern is who will and won’t turn out for each golf team due to a conflicting sports schedule.
‘We will no doubt lose some players that we’ve been cultivating and working with,? he said.
Kelley is also upset that the FML athletic directors have dropped one of the two tournaments the girls? golf team usually participates in.
‘The coaches feel that (tournaments) are valuable and want to retain them,? he said. ‘We barely get enough course time as it is.?
Varsity volleyball coach Kristi McDevitt, unlike Studinger and Kelley, is ‘on the fence? about the changes she will incur this fall.
Although she will have to focus on building her team early this summer by finding the proper camps and scheduling scrimmages, with both her and her atheletes losing vacation time, McDevitt is happy that she won’t have to compete with other sports for gym practice times in the fall.
‘Now, I will have the whole summer to prepare for our season and get ahead on a lot of skills,? she said. ‘It will put our athletes in a better position come the start of tryouts.?
Like Kelley, McDevitt said the biggest drawback for the change is athletes having to choose between sports.
‘We may lose a few athletes that prefer these other sports instead of volleyball,? she said. ‘No matter what, the change has happened and we have to deal with it.?