An article in the Des Moines Register last summer
focused on a topic that has been debated quite a bit recently: whether high
school baseball and softball in Iowa should be played in the spring rather than
the summer. That discussion has not
reached many rural parts of the state, other than perhaps the coaches of those
two sports, but it is a topic that has generated a lot of conversations in the
cities and surrounding areas, as well as in the media. Before I go any further, it needs to be said
that Rick Wulkow, Executive Director of the Iowa High School Athletic
Association, has publically stated that moving baseball to the spring is not
under consideration at all at this time as the most recent surveys of member
schools are strongly opposed to that change.
From my perspective, it is an
interesting debate as I am a huge fan of both sports, have kids that play, and
yet am on the school side of the equation as well. When I read this article and others, and
listen to those who advocate moving to the spring, the only ones I have heard
talk about it favorably are from metropolitan areas. That is not to say that there aren’t folks
from small schools that support this, but it really does come down to a big
school-small school debate. On the
surface, there is no way that smaller schools could support softball and
baseball in the spring and maintain the traditional spring sports, track and
golf. Soccer and tennis are in place in
some schools at the same time of the year.
Adding baseball and softball would certainly deplete the pool of
available athletes. At North Fayette
Valley, it would create some very difficult decisions because there has been
track and golf success, as well as strong baseball and softball teams. If students had to make a choice, what
direction would they go? Regardless,
something would be weakened. That would
not necessarily be the case in big schools as there are more student-athletes
and specialization already in place.
In Iowa the strongest negative
for spring ball is the weather. Having
two nephews that play in the spring in Nebraska, half of their twenty-some
scheduled games were cancelled this year due to weather. Most coaches are opposed due to a narrower
period to schedule games, which would result in a much shorter schedule. Those that are the strongest advocates point
out that Iowa kids are at a definite disadvantage in terms of college
opportunities and for baseball, the ability to play in front of professional
scouts, because they have wrapped up their efforts by the time summer games get
going. Unless Iowa players are on travel
teams in the spring or fall, they do not get exposure in front of these
coaches. And this is where the heart of
the argument lies. Does it make sense to
shift seasons so that a small percentage of student-athletes have better
opportunities to catch the eye of coaches and earn college scholarships? Of course, parents of those kids would say
yes, as well as coaches at schools that have the opportunity to work with kids
that are more specialized in their sports.
There are positives for this
move for schools like NFV, one of which is cost. Because we wouldn’t play as many games, our
costs would drop almost in half. We
wouldn’t have to employ coaches and some administration in the summer. Students would actually have more of their
summer off, and those that really love baseball or softball could hook up with
legion or club teams. But is that what
people want? A few weeks ago my dad, a
hardcore baseball and softball fan that has watched high school games for
decades made the comment to me out of the blue that “Iowa should never get rid
of summer ball.” He has five grandkids
that play high school baseball in the spring, legion, high school baseball,
high school softball, and ASA softball in the summer, and, high school and club
softball in the fall, and he believes it would be the worst thing that could
happen to the games in Iowa to move it away from the summer. Personally, I have mixed feelings, but my
opinion right now is that perhaps it is the time to offer those kids that
really want to play in college other opportunities to play, and if they choose
to play for someone other than their high school team, that’s their
prerogative. That way that majority of
folks could keep doing what they want to do.
