The boys and girls varsity basketball teams will share two Friday night games this year where the girls will play at 6:00 p.m. and the boys will play at 7:30 p.m. Most of the time, the boys have games on Tuesday nights and Friday nights and the girls have games on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings.
Throughout the last couple of years, it was brought up to the OHSAA that it is unfair that the girls have to play on Saturday mornings and that it does not promote equal opportunity between boys and girls. Because of this, schools from all across Ohio are setting aside two games a year for both varsity teams to play on Friday night. The first double-header night will be December 15 against Solon at Wadsworth and the second double-header night will be January 26 at Solon.
This schedule change is different from what both programs are used to because last year was the first year that it was put into action. Jessie Crookston, senior captain for the Lady Grizzlies, says that she is excited about this transition, but it will also change a lot of what her team is used to.
“Our game day routine will definitely be changed by this,” Crookston said. “Not having a JV game before ours will affect when we eat our meals and how we get ready before the game.”
The girls will have a completely different experience by playing at 6:00 p.m. as they will not have as much warm-up time as they usually do, which involves getting shots up during the JV game and studying their scouting report. The boys, however, will not have much of a change as they will just treat the girl’s game as their JV game.
Dennis Schrock, varsity head coach for the boy’s program, says that he likes the idea of boys and girls playing on the same night but has one concern regarding the changes the double-header will bring.
“The only thing that I see affecting us is how we schedule practice the next day while the JV plays,” Schrock said. “Especially when our JV team has an away game we will have to change our normal Saturday practice routine.”
Coach Schrock stated that he enjoys watching the girl’s games and the double-header makes it easier to do so. He is a big proponent of double varsity nights.
“I think it is neat to do it a few times a year,” Schrock said. “It makes games on those nights extra special for both teams.”
The biggest change that these programs will face is the amount of fans in attendance. Typically, the boy’s team gets more fans and a bigger student section than the girl’s team. Although this is the case, senior captain Callaghan Corell thinks that both teams will have something to gain.
“I think both the boys and girls will gain fans from this experience because the boys fans will probably come earlier to see the girls and the girls fans will stay later for the boys game,” Corell said.
Last year, the two teams shared one Friday night game against the Nordonia Knights. The girls took advantage of the double-header and showcased themselves in a strong 66-18 win against the Knights. This year, the girls are excited to play the Solon Comets instead.
“Solon is new to our league and is going to be one of the best teams,” Crookston said. “I think it’ll be a much more exciting game and will be more fun to watch.”
Last year, the boys team fell short to the Knights by a score of 68-73. Corell said that the team is looking to redeem themselves this year against the Solon Comets and believes that they will also be a good matchup for them since they are new to the league. Corell thinks that fans are in store for a great night of varsity basketball.
Both JV teams will play against Solon on the following Saturday morning, the boys at 11:30 a.m. and the girls at 1:00 p.m.
