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Winter activities just around corner

Area tryouts and practices are under way.

By VINCENT THOMAS
Published October 25, 2005

If you popped by Springstead's campus last week, you would've seen coach Randy Strat and some of the girls soccer players on the practice field before football workouts began.

New basketball coach Craig Swartout had a few of his players jogging around the track. Greg Linley oversaw a couple girls shooting around in the gym. They all were precursors to this week, when winter sports tryouts and practices officially begin.

There will be a few absentees, though.

Seth Metz won't be practicing with the Springstead wrestling team.

Lauren Wajerski will be in Orlando on Wednesday with the Nature Coast volleyball squad instead of in Brooksville practicing with the girls basketball team. Wajerski's schoolmate, Josh Ortiz, won't start practicing with the boys basketball squad until Nov.7, after the Sharks' football season ends.

Ditto for Central tight end Tim Plumadore.

Jason and Jeff Haynes might even miss some games, if the Eagles football team advance far into the postseason.

Protocol for Hernando County schools dictates, in most all cases, that athletes remain with their current teams - whether swimming, volleyball, football, cross country - until seasons end before participating with the next season's sport.

This has the biggest impact on basketball, with close to 20 football players who will take off their cleats and lace up the high-tops in November.

But as for right now ...

"Football. That's what's on my mind right now. That's all I'm thinking about."

That's what Ortiz had to say, last week, sitting in football coach Jamie Joyner's office. Ortiz is an all-county hooper and probably the Sharks' best player. Practice for boys basketball begins Monday, about a week after the other winter sports. Mike Cole, Jon Woodberry and Ortiz will miss a full week of practice.

"It gets a little difficult," said Nature Coast basketball coach Travis Priddy. "To have three of your best players not with you for a week. ... It's going to be a struggle."

Central will be without Plumadore (one of the Bears better players) and newcomers Gary Owens and Chad Walker for a week of practice. Bears coach John Sedlack says the schedule conflict creates situations where players are getting too much thrown at them too quickly.

"What are you going to say, "Don't halfcourt-trap us, because we haven't covered that defense yet,"' quipped Sedlack.

Moving the season up one week, said Florida High School Athletic Association commissioner John Stewart, was a compromise: basketball preseason might conflict with the tail end football's regular season and the subsequent playoffs, but not FCAT testing.

"The state gives us a two week window in February for when the FCAT testing is going to be," he said. "We didn't want for basketball season to still be going on during the testing."

At times, coaches throughout Florida have been known to grumble about the high school sports calendar catering to football. Stewart thinks that type of thinking is defeatist.

"Instead of looking at football -- which generates the most revenue and allow a lot of these other sports to exist -- with an envious eye," he said. "All the sports should support each other and help each others programs be successful."

"I'm a Springstead Eagles football fan," said Swartout. "One of my main concerns is seeing them advance as far in the playoffs as possible.

"I've got confidence in my other basketball players that we'll be able to compensate for the guys that aren't here right away."

--Vincent Thomas can be reached at vthomas@sptimes.com or 352 424-0177.

[Last modified October 25, 2005, 03:00:29]