Monday, October 16, 2006
Junior High Season Begins
Tonight the basketball season begins as the 7th and 8th grade girls "lace them up". I hear numbers are going to be low for the 8th graders. This concerns me as we have been struggling with getting enough players to go out for hoops over the last two or three years.
This “low number trend” is not just a basketball thing. Low numbers have been plaguing a number of our sports here at PRHS. This year the volleyball team has only one senior on the roster, only one girl is competing on the soccer team and we will only have three senior girls on the basketball team.
Having only three seniors is not really a new thing for the program. Generally we are sitting at 3 to 5 seniors with three being more of the norm. What has really hurt us over the past couple of years is that the girls are dropping out of the program earlier than before and it is really hurting our ability to field solid C and B teams.
The Valkyries Dance Line has been a popular option for some of the girls and the dance line has definitely offered more competition to our numbers than the gymnastics team did in years past. However, I just think we are experiencing a period where the number of female athletes just seems to be low. A number of schools in our area are also victims of this trend which is evident by the number of schools that are not fielding C-teams.
This trend may soon end at PRHS as the seventh grade may once again produce solid numbers. Not only are the numbers good but also the potential for these young athletes to become really good players is very high. I like what I see in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Judging from the camps, clinics, programs, etc. . . that we hold for our younger players, the athletic ability of these girls seems to be above average. I am excited to see this group progress through the ranks. I am also hoping to see more of these players stick with the program for a longer period of time.
Ideally, I would encourage a player to play through there sophomore year before they make the decision to drop out of basketball. By this time they will have developed physically and will also have a solid grasp of their future in the program. They will be able to see what type of role they will play and then be able to look at the time commitment it would take to stick with the activity. So much can change from junior high to senior high that dropping out because of a perceived lack of basketball skills or playing time can really be the wrong decision. Between a players sophomore and junior year just seems to be the point at which the players and coaches know what can be expected.
This “low number trend” is not just a basketball thing. Low numbers have been plaguing a number of our sports here at PRHS. This year the volleyball team has only one senior on the roster, only one girl is competing on the soccer team and we will only have three senior girls on the basketball team.
Having only three seniors is not really a new thing for the program. Generally we are sitting at 3 to 5 seniors with three being more of the norm. What has really hurt us over the past couple of years is that the girls are dropping out of the program earlier than before and it is really hurting our ability to field solid C and B teams.
The Valkyries Dance Line has been a popular option for some of the girls and the dance line has definitely offered more competition to our numbers than the gymnastics team did in years past. However, I just think we are experiencing a period where the number of female athletes just seems to be low. A number of schools in our area are also victims of this trend which is evident by the number of schools that are not fielding C-teams.
This trend may soon end at PRHS as the seventh grade may once again produce solid numbers. Not only are the numbers good but also the potential for these young athletes to become really good players is very high. I like what I see in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Judging from the camps, clinics, programs, etc. . . that we hold for our younger players, the athletic ability of these girls seems to be above average. I am excited to see this group progress through the ranks. I am also hoping to see more of these players stick with the program for a longer period of time.
Ideally, I would encourage a player to play through there sophomore year before they make the decision to drop out of basketball. By this time they will have developed physically and will also have a solid grasp of their future in the program. They will be able to see what type of role they will play and then be able to look at the time commitment it would take to stick with the activity. So much can change from junior high to senior high that dropping out because of a perceived lack of basketball skills or playing time can really be the wrong decision. Between a players sophomore and junior year just seems to be the point at which the players and coaches know what can be expected.
# posted by Viking Warrior @ 11:05 AM 
