50171
by Keith Brake
Will Montezuma High School varsity basketball teams and their guests be playing with an operational 35-second shot clock this winter?
Yes.
Girls wrestling has been authorized by the Iowa girls union. Will Montezuma have it?
Maybe.
And, the availability of high-paying jobs that students can get . . .will it hurt numbers of student-athletes available for high school athletics?
I don’t know . . .but it could.
I visited with Montezuma Activities Director Tim Burgess about these topics last week.
The shot clock was authorized by the boys and girls unions for this coming year’s play.
That requires an outlay to purchase the equipment. Locally, that has already been taken care of. Burgess said former Superintendent Nathan Wood and most schools used their Physical Plant and Equipment (PPEL) funds for this purchase.
Perhaps of greater concern is getting personnel to run the equipment.
“We will be having discussions with potential candidates for this job,” Burgess said. “My hope is that we can find a person who is consistently at every varsity boys and girls contest.”
“No one has been approached but if someone is interested, I would be happy to speak to them. This is something we will explore in the months ahead,” he said.
The 35-second clock is an attempt to make games go more up-tempo – which should be a delight to both Montezuma teams at the varsity level. They’re both up-tempo anyway. The flip side to that is teams won’t be able to hold the ball for long stretches at the end of quarters.
Girls wrestling is another item approved by the girls union, this one earlier this year.
“Female athletes interested in wrestling will have the opportunity to wrestle,” Burgess said.
“What that exactly looks like is still being discussed for Montezuma and has not been officially determined,” he added.
Could that mean separate boys and girls teams? Joint practices? One head coach or two? And how many girls in Montezuma High are interested?
Burgess has been listening to the chatter within the activities director’s world. “I wanted to wait and make sure the dust settled, so to speak, before moving forward,” he said.
“I have spoken a few times with the IGHSAU (girls union) and feel confident with where things are at,” Burgess said. “I have explored options all along and have spoken with officials at neighboring districts.”
“I will be in collaboration with our new superintendent and school board to create a plan that is best for Montezuma,” he said. “I anticipate that a final decision will be made in September.”
Earlier, I said girls wrestling was a ‘maybe.’ Move that to a ‘definite maybe’ and much will depend if there are girls who want to compete in this sport.
Now, the last topic . . .kids not coming out for sports because of job opportunities, or other reasons.
That one hit Montezuma’s baseball program this summer. Last year, the Braves went 13-7, on the heels of a 7-7 team that followed four straight losing seasons.
But this year, almost half of Montezuma’s potential returning players didn’t come out. Eddie Burgess had a commitment to his college football program that prevented his participation.
“We also had a couple guys graduate at the end of the first semester of their senior year, thus losing their baseball eligibility,” Tim Burgess said.
“We had a number of guys work. Some decided to focus on other sports,” Burgess said. “Baseball is a major summer commitment and just didn’t work out for us this year,” the activities director said.
The Braves won just one game, but improved throughout the year. They went most of the season with 10 players until calling up some eighth graders late in the campaign.
Montezuma made every date and I never heard Coach Josh Anderson complain about this situation or use it as an excuse. The Braves were great representatives of the school and community.
“Hopefully, our numbers will return to the point where we will be able to have junior varsity and varsity baseball teams in the years to come,” Burgess said.
Nationally, employers are offering some great hourly wages, so this could be an issue for athletic programs well into the future.