Things are clearing up down south. Toledo and Kalama are playing for the district championship next Fri in Chehalis and then will host the #4 and 5 from up north the following week. These two split in the regular season so should be a good matchup. The unknowns are the 3 and 4. Tenino got upset its first game and then Kalama beat Hoquim so they ended up in the same bracket. One of these will go home. LaCenter who is back at full strength plays Woodland, who has really been the surprise of the tourney, will play off for the other berth. Tenino has the edge on Hoquim although they split in the regular season. Hoquim lost a kid to surgery a couple of weeks ago and then had 3 kids became academically ineligible last week. I know 2 started, a 6'6 kid and a 6'3 kid who were big contributors. LaCenter has been playing well lately but they are up and down so it will be interesting to see who comes out of that game, but I think it will be LaCenter.
On another note there was a lot of talk last wk about fatigue and there were people on both sides of the issue. I know from having coached for a number of yrs prior to retirement that it does become an issue the further into the season you get. Especially in todays sports, where kids are playing one sport or another yr round. High school sports has changed a whole bunch from even 20 yrs ago where kids only played their sport in season and most had most of their summers off. And with good athletes today, the demand is even higher. You have to remember these are 16-18 yr old kids who start basketball in Nov and they are bigger, stronger, the style of play is much more physical, and demands and expectations are higher. Factor in illnesses, which many teams are experiencing now in the flu and the bronchial crud, and the strain on the body goes even higher. Now that coaches have a place in the calendar where they have a week long break, they could consider giving kids a couple of days to let their bodies rest, do light shootarounds on day 2, use it to watch game film, then get back into the routine. Going into the playoffs, you need to be good, but you also need to be healthy and lucky. Don't know, that's just my 2 cents worth. I know it's almost over and I'm already starting to miss it.
On another note there was a lot of talk last wk about fatigue and there were people on both sides of the issue. I know from having coached for a number of yrs prior to retirement that it does become an issue the further into the season you get. Especially in todays sports, where kids are playing one sport or another yr round. High school sports has changed a whole bunch from even 20 yrs ago where kids only played their sport in season and most had most of their summers off. And with good athletes today, the demand is even higher. You have to remember these are 16-18 yr old kids who start basketball in Nov and they are bigger, stronger, the style of play is much more physical, and demands and expectations are higher. Factor in illnesses, which many teams are experiencing now in the flu and the bronchial crud, and the strain on the body goes even higher. Now that coaches have a place in the calendar where they have a week long break, they could consider giving kids a couple of days to let their bodies rest, do light shootarounds on day 2, use it to watch game film, then get back into the routine. Going into the playoffs, you need to be good, but you also need to be healthy and lucky. Don't know, that's just my 2 cents worth. I know it's almost over and I'm already starting to miss it.