With high school sports wrapping up in the Cherokee Scout’s coverage area on May 20 and the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s 2021-22 year wrapping up on June 4, I’ve had some time to reflect on my first full-year covering high school sports.
I came here in April 2021, in the midst of a COVID-induced, jam-packed schedule. That meant the end of a spring football season, with baseball and track and field being pushed back to the end of June. COVID still affected sports this year, but only to reschedule games and not the entire NCHSAA sports calendar.
With a (mostly) normal sports year under my belt, I feel like I have a decent handle on how sports operate in western North Carolina. That’s allowed me to think about some changes that could help things run more smoothly, though they’re mostly minor. If you’re looking for another treatise about what to do with charter and private schools, this isn’t the column for you.
I discuss two of the suggestions below, which focus on things that can change locally. I’ll have two more next week about the state level. Since I know how much people don’t like change, don’t worry, I’m not recommending anything major.
All info on MaxPreps
To be fair, the teams here are much better about this than ones I covered as a free-lance writer in Maryland. Every team put their schedule on the site, and almost all put in game results up in a timely manner. Almost as many had their rosters uploaded to the site.
Still, that doesn’t mean things can’t be better. Internet access can be tough to find in parts of this county, though sports at each of the three main Cherokee County high schools have gotten some information on the site for their respective teams. If they have the capability to get something like a roster or schedule on the site, that means they have the capability to get statistics on the site as well.
Plus, it’s not like teams can hide information. In this area, many of the athletes have been playing with and against each other since they were 5 years old. Everyone knows who the best players are.
Teams have many outlets to find the opponent’s film too, so teams aren’t keeping secrets by not putting statistics on MaxPreps. Not only would it make my job easier and allow me to provide better coverage, I’d be able to better report on trends over a season – not just what happens from game to game.
No more 4 games in 1 night
I understand the convenience of playing both junior varsity and varsity basketball games in the same gym. However, I’m not sure it’s beneficial to all involved.
Boys varsity games are usually the last game of the night and are scheduled to tip off around 8 p.m. In many four game nights this year, I would see a packed house for the girls varsity game, then a near empty gym by the end of the boys varsity game. When Murphy hosted Cherokee in January, the final game did not end until after 10 p.m.
That’s too late to be playing
during the week, and too late for many people who want to attend games. It’s also a disservice to both varsity teams, who deserve to have the best possible atmosphere for their games.
Where I grew up, all teams would play the same opponent, but the boys teams would play at one school and the girls at the other. They could do the same here, even though it would take some getting used to.
The junior varsity and varsity teams have the same coaches, so you wouldn’t be splitting up the coaching staff. Referees rarely officiate all four games in an evening, so splitting them wouldn’t exacerbate the officiating shortage.
This could lead to a small drop in attendance, but teams would have the chance to make up for it since they have two sets of home games with certain teams instead of one. Add in shorter nights for everyone involved, and this could be worth it.
Justin Fitzgerald is sports writer for the Cherokee Scout. Contact him at 837-5122, Ext. 18, or sports@cherokeescout.com.