Confusing? Yes, but coaches loving Region VI-5A schedule changes

By nature, coaches expect their teams to be ready — regardless of what the schedule says.

Still, for Conway girls basketball coach Shamae Hemingway, the notion of playing last Thursday night took a little getting used to.

“It’s a little tough to keep track of sometimes,” she said. “For us, it’s been kind of new to be playing on different days than the boys.”

As the large majority of other leagues statewide remain on a traditional Tuesday-Friday basketball schedule, Region VI-5A has gone against the grain with its 2017 slate.

Citing the want for varsity coaches to further observe junior varsity teams, athletic directors in the conference opted to schedule boys and girls contests on separate days. As a result, in addition to Tuesday and Friday nights, some teams have found themselves playing on a random Monday, Wednesday or Thursday night.

“It’s something us as (Region VI-5A) athletic directors talked about a few months back,” said Carolina Forest athletic director Tripp Satterwhite. “We pretty much thought it would be a good thing for coaches to be able to see their junior varsity teams play, and offer input if necessary during these games.”

Under the more widely recognized model, varsity coaches would rarely be able to see the junior varsity squad in game-like situations.

“It’s very valuable that we spend time looking, seeing and watching them in a lot of game-like situations,” said Carolina Forest boys basketball coach Brian Brunson. “I think it’s been a positive effect for both programs. Our girls basketball coach gets to watch her jayvees a little bit more.

“Even though we are here for the home games, we don’t necessarily get to go to the away games, because we are here practicing. Now we get to see every game. It’s very valuable, you get to see young kids, evaluate strengths and weaknesses, and also be able to work with the coaching staff. It really helps both the boys and girls teams effectively build their programs.”

According to Satterwhite, the league scheduled games in a similar fashion a few years ago, finding few opposed to the idea. In weeks, region athletic directors will survey their basketball coaches, opinions along with other factors potentially affecting whether the move becomes a permanent one.

“We’ll look at everything — how the coaches like it or dislike it, see how it affected things financially as well,” Satterwhite said. “But so far, I haven’t heard too many all that opposed to how we’ve done the schedule this year.”

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Confusing? Yes, but coaches loving Region VI-5A schedule changes."