Could Recent Snow Affect Basketball Season's Outcome?
Scheduling changes after several inches of ice and snow earlier this month pose different dilemmas for local athletics programs.
We're paying dearly for that freak week of weather. Retailers lost money, of course. So did cities and the state.
For local sports fans, Snow Storm 2011 (one of many churlish monikers thrown around) could also have a bearing on a delicately poised 5A-AAA girls title race between St. Pius and North Atlanta.
Like kids and teachers making up missed days, teams have to make up those lost games. So next week, St. Pius faces three match-ups in five days – two of them on consecutive nights.
Here's the problem, and it's not just tired legs. Without rest–and one day isn't enough–injury and fatigue become genuine concerns.
It's a coach's conundrum. Do you field a weaker team one night and a stronger team the next? Or risk your best players both nights? Maybe rotate more?
The fact is, these decisions shouldn't be on Kyle Snipes' mind. Games could have been re-scheduled with adequate rest periods, making it fair on everyone. Let's take next week, for example.
Monday's wide open, so why not move Tuesday's game forward a day? That would allow players some rest while making up the schedule.
County schools athletic departments, no doubt, would argue that no-one gains a discernible advantage because they're all having to make up missed games.
That's only marginally true. Too many games pose different problems for different programs. Bigger ones, which rotate and rest players, absorb it easier. Smaller ones, obviously, are at a disadvantage. A fatigued team is more likely to have an off night and lose. A fatigued team is more likely to suffer injuries to key players. These can define a season.
With region encounters dominating next week's agenda, such threats are even more acute. In St.Pius' case, the Lady Golden Lions face rival Grady the night after entertaining Woodward Academy.
As the Lady Golden Lions don't rotate that much, key performers can't afford a quiet night. So, likely, they'll play and strain all the way to the buzzer. Hopefully they'll come through this test still healthy.
They must, for the program's sake. Two weeks later, St. Pius face North Atlanta for the final time in what's likely to be a title decider. It's just a shame that it comes the night after another game with Grady.
