MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It wasn’t the best timing when Gov. Jim Justice announced winter sports would be delayed to March 1. It especially didn’t help that he was caught up in The Greenbrier’s gala scandal to ring in 2021, but Justice may find some reprieve now that winter sports have been pushed forward, slated to kick off Feb. 14.
Practices, at least; contests won’t start until March 3. Still, it’s a relief to local coaches and student-athletes, such as Morgantown High girls’ basketball coach Jason White.
“I’ve had a little extra pep in my step, I guess; a little extra life to me,” White said. “It was kind of a punch in the gut when [the start date] got moved back to March 1 and to see it come back to the middle of February now is promising. It feels like we’re catching a break like something’s going our way.”
With winter seasons pushed forward by half a month, basketball players will have 16-18 games over a six weeks period – roughly three games a week to not stress the players’ bodies – and White noted his phone has been blowing up with coaches asking to schedule games.
“We’re all [the other coaches] are all friends in this, and we’re always texting and chatting back and forth,” White said. “Everybody is out there trying to get games now. As maddening as it is to cram games into a six-week schedule, it’s something I couldn’t be happier to be doing.”
One issue with a crunched schedule is playing close to the playoffs. White noted he’s never been a fan of playing close to the sectional tournament as he wants his players to be able to properly rest, plus his planning time for opponents is now shorter.
“What I’m seeing early on with this condensed of a schedule is it’s a lot of teams wanting to play those Friday-Saturday dates,” he said. “Obviously you don’t want to travel on a school night if you don’t have to. So what I’m finding now is those weekends are booking up fast – now you’re just trying to piece in games around that. You don’t want to spread your kids too thin.
“I’m also a big proponent on preparation. Once seeing [a team] on film and trying to take things away they do well, for us to do that we need days to prepare. While that gives us time to prepare it also gives our bodies time to rest. I know there are plenty of people out there who will say, ‘Well you’ve had months to rest,’ and that’s true but it will also take these kids a little while to get back to going.”
The kids are excited, too, naturally. While gyms and public facilities have been open during this time, players have been maintaining their practice regimens and workouts to be ready when the time came.
As for their first game, the Mohigans still don’t have someone penciled in. In White’s experience, it’s hard to get a team to agree to open up against MHS, but he’s confident a coach will commit soon. For now, he’s scheduled games with Wheeling Park, University, Parkersburg South, Bridgeport, Spring Valley, Woodrow Wilson and South Charleston.
“It has the potential to be another loaded schedule,” he said. “We had agreed in January to play two with GW, and they’ve got the state player of the year returning so that’s somebody you want to reach out to and play. I hope I can work that out with coach Lemasters and we can get them on the schedule for a couple of dates. I’m a big believer that it doesn’t matter what your regular season record is, it’s all about preparing to play on what is now April 13, in that sectional tournament. Which sounds so weird to say; April 13.”
White isn’t sure if the announcement to push the dates forward had anything to do with the Greenbrier debacle, but rather imagines after watching Justice’s press conferences that he has been eluding to starting the season sooner.
“From things I’ve heard and from watching his press conferences, it sounds like the medical people in his ear are starting to say, ‘Hey, we think it’s maybe going to be safe by that time.’
“I know he’s going to make some tweaks to the county map which I’m sure will be maddening to most people, but as a coach, I look at it like we’re getting eerily close to that date where it’s been deemed safe to put kids back in the classroom, and I think if that’s the case [that] it’s OK for them to sit in this small classroom I’m sitting in now talking to you then I think a gym with 20 kids is plenty safe.”
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