High School Sports: Efforts for a smoother transition from fall to winter sports

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Ask any phys-ed program leader and chances are they won’t be shy to tell you: the period of the school year where fall and winter sports overlap is one of the most challenging and frustrating times of the year.

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Some fall sport teams are gearing up for playoffs, awaiting 11th-hour schedule developments to set their schedules, while other fall sport teams are finishing their season, which means uniform and fee collections.

At the same time, announcements and sign-up posts herald the arrival of winter sports, followed quickly by coaches at the door awaiting gym time assignments and uniforms of their own.

On top of all this, individual sports like cross-country and golf are sending qualifiers to NOSSA and perhaps even OFSAA, with transportation and accommodation arrangements required and conflicts with community sports and other school teams considered and adjusted.

And this year will make matters even more challenging. The new mod-mester timetable that schools are using during the pandemic means that often PLs and multi-sport coaches are teaching 2/2 courses in a day, leaving zero time for extra-curricular organization.

To wit, I’m fielding more emails after hours and on weekends than ever, understanding that this is the only opportunity many have to put their sports ducks in a row.

So, with all this in mind, things are going to proceed a little differently this season, with a view towards tamping down the workload somewhat at this time of the year.

Winter sport confirmations will be requested some 10 days later than usual this school year, Nov. 17, with pre-season meetings hosted the week of Nov. 22 and winter sport team schedules starting the week of Nov. 29.

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While this may serve to condense some winter sport seasons, in particular boys basketball, curling and perhaps wrestling, in the end fewer mistakes, less headaches and better team preparation is almost certainly to be the end result.

High school notes

We’re moving into the heat of fall sport playoffs at this time of the year, with no less than five championship banners up for grabs as follows:

– Wednesday, Nov. 3: Junior girls flag football final, 7:30 p.m. at James Jerome.

– Thursday, Nov. 4: Senior boys football final, 4 p.m. at James Jerome.

– Friday, Nov. 5: Senior girls flag football finals, B at 4:30 p.m., A at 7 p.m., both at James Jerome.

– Sunday, Nov. 7: Senior girls Division I basketball final, 6 p.m. at senior highest school.

And last but certainly not least, a SDSSAA delegation will be heading to Lakefield on Friday for OFSAA cross-country. The top two teams and top five individuals not on qualifying teams will qualify from NOSSA results, not yet known at time of this writing.

Dave Makela is the athletic administrator for the Sudbury District Secondary Schools Athletic Association. His column has returned for the high school sports season.