Column: I’ve got spring fever, do you?

Published 4:42 pm Friday, March 14, 2008

By Staff
I'm not much of a weather forecaster, but I can feel spring coming.
I say that because I just wrapped up the spring sports preview section and have started preparing to go out and cover sports if Mother Nature cooperates.
I am looking forward to getting out and watching our soccer, golf, tennis, track, baseball and softball teams compete.
To be honest, I usually am ready to switch a little past the halfway point of the previous season, but with the way winter was this year, I haven't been ready until now.
I expect big things from many of our spring sports teams. There is a lot of talent at the six schools we cover here at Leader Publications on a regular basis.
There are teams that are going to be trying to build off the success they had last season, while others are hoping to surprise a few folks before it is all said and done.
With the coming of spring sports, we wrap up our first season under the new alignment. Some sports have been aided by the switching of seasons for some of our athletic teams, while others have been hurt by it.
We won't know the full story of course until sometime this summer when the Michigan High School Athletic Association takes a look at all the numbers, for both participation and attendance at state tournaments.
I was a little surprised by a decline in volleyball participation last fall. I expected that number to increase because that sport was one of the driving factors for the switching of seasons, along with girls basketball.
On the flip side, volleyball set a new attendance record at the state finals this year.
Cross country had a dramatic increase in participation last fall according to the MHSAA. I know I noticed some new faces out on the courses.
It's too early to tell how girls basketball did participation wise, or for that matter, at the state finals.
I know in talking to a lot of people around the area that attendance for regular season games, both boys and girls, seemed to be down.
I don't know if it was just too much basketball or fans just aren't used to teams playing on Monday and Thursday nights, as well as Tuesdays and Fridays.
In preparing the spring sports previews, I know that tennis and golf coaches are concerned about the affects of a layoff of nearly a year and a half for their athletes.
Some coaches were disappointed that they lost kids to other sports, while others were taking a wait-and-see attitude about the whole situation.
I just hope it all works out in the end for everyone. I am sure, as we come around to next fall that things will seem a little more routine that they were this past year.
So let's all think positively that spring is just around the corner and the weather continues to improve. I can't wait to get out there and cover some sports and to get a chance to talk with some people I may not have seen since last spring.