John Raffel
Sports Scene
The state tournament in volleyball this November will mark the fifth time that the tournament will occur in the fall for Michigan high school teams. Whether or not the switch from the winter season to the fall season, which took place under court order in 2007, has been a plus or minus is still open for debate.
Jim Conway of Mount Pleasant is of the opinion that the change in seasons has not made “much of a difference.” He said that the numbers of participants have stayed about the same at his school.
The advantage for volleyball, he indicated, is having an open facility.
“Travel is much nicer due to fall weather over winter weather,” he said.
Gary Stanglewicz of St. Louis sees many benefits from a fall season.
“Fall volleyball allows us to go from our summer program directly into the season,” he said. “The two-a-day practices in summer gives us added prep time before the first contest. The athletes are fresher coming directly into volleyball. Gym time is easier to come by. There are fewer breaks to contend with.”
But the numbers of volleyball participants “seem to have fallen some, although they were up again this year,” he said. “It may be cyclical.”
Stanglewicz did note some negatives in the fall schedule. “Drawbacks include scheduling around Homecoming activities and the loss of a big part of the summer in August,” he said. “We lost our ability to hire college players as sub-varsity coaches. Colleges are not involved with high school volleyball, as they are in their seasons as well. Club volleyball (AAU, USAV) has become more important. College coaches no longer recruit at high school tournaments. They only get an opportunity to see players in club ball. Players that don’t play for large club teams are finding it harder to be recruited. Schools that don’t have access to year-round club teams have fallen behind those that do.”
However, Stanglewicz also acknowledged that it’s reached the point that fall vs. winter volleyball is no longer a major issue among players and coaches.
“The current players have always had fall volleyball,” he said. “They know nothing else. Coaches have adjusted.”
Nick Scheible, athletic director at Big Rapids, wasn’t around when the transition in seasons was made, but he indicated that the numbers have stayed about the same.
He indicated that there have been “no real benefits. I believe playing volleyball and basketball where they used to be was a benefit to Michigan schools because of recruiting and the time available for college coaches to see our student-athletes outside of their college season,” he said.