School Looks To Resurrect Girls Basketball Program
Changes to MHSAA Sports Seasons Give Girls Tough Decisions
By Ryan Schlehuber

With high school sports seasons changing, female athletes on Mackinac Island now need to decide whether they want to play co-ed soccer, volleyball, or both in the fall season. Girls basketball will be the only winter sport available for Island female athletes.

Girls basketball may be resurrected on Mackinac Island, now that Michigan high school athletic seasons will be rearranged, starting next school year. Girls volleyball is scheduled to be moved from winter to the fall, creating a vacancy for girls sports in the winter. Co-ed soccer is also played in the fall.

If Mackinac Island and the rest of the Northern Lights League can muster enough girls to field teams, the league may have its first girls basketball season since the early 1990s.

The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear the latest appeal from Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) was announced Monday, April 2, ending a nine-year battle against a gender equity suit filed by Communities for Equity. The group argued that MHSAA discriminated against female athletes and violated the 14th Amendment and Title IX, which protects equal rights within any education program or activity receiving federal funds.

Michigan has been the only state in which high school girls play basketball in the fall and volleyball in the winter.

Superintendent Roger Schrock told the school board Thursday, April 19, he has verbal commitments from eight girls in grades eight through 12, which would provide five starters and at least three reserve players.

"It's been awhile since we've had a girls team," he said, "but talking with the girls, they seemed pretty excited about it."

A schedule could be worked out by the time school lets out in June.

Jimmy Fisher, the boys basketball coach, may also coach the girls team, since both teams will be scheduled to play consecutive games on the same days.

Soccer in the Upper Peninsula, however, will not coincide with MHSAA's soccer season in the Lower Peninsula. After MHSAA announced it will hold soccer season in the spring, U.P. schools agreed that spring would be too early to play in the north.

"I don't think MHSAA realized how long our winters can be up here," said Dr. Schrock.

MHSAA announced the first day of soccer practice next spring would be March 10, but Paradise still had 10 inches of snow on the ground at that time this year, he said.

The Northern Lights League is still developing a post-season tournament for all U.P. teams.

"We were successful in holding a post-season basketball tournament in the league, Dr. Schrock said, "and I think holding one for soccer would be just as successful."

While some female athletes may want to choose between playing volleyball and co-ed soccer, Dr. Schrock said many of the girls are interested in trying to play both.

"It would be strenuous for them, but we do have a number of girls who said they want to do that," he said. "The tough thing really will be making both practices."

The Northern Lights League has discussed holding only 32- minute soccer games instead of 40 minutes and allowing teams to field a minimum of seven players instead of a standard 11-player team.