When you hear the news of a high school team shuttering plans for the upcoming season at the varsity level, you cringe. Even just one doing so makes you question what is happening in that sport, community and area.
The eyes get a little bigger when two have officially done just that weeks before the season tips. When three, four maybe even five are planning on doing just that, you have a serious problem on your hands.
That is what the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union could be facing this coming winter on the hardwood. It has already been reported that both Sibley-Ocheyedan and West Sioux will not compete in varsity girls basketball throughout the 2024-25 season.
As that news made the rounds on social media, reports started coming in that other schools are possibly doing the exact same.
The reason for at least Sibley-Ocheyedan and West Sioux ending the varsity season before it tips is a lack of numbers. The other schools – who all have not made anything – would likely be for the same reason.
Needless to say, there is a serious problem around girls basketball in the state at the moment. This is quite surprising considering one of the biggest names in the sport – Caitlin Clark – previously competed within the borders.
A lack of students going out for sports is not just an issue for girls basketball. Dwindling numbers in football have caused the same problem over the years. Baseball and softball rosters are smaller and smaller each summer.
But another area that needs to be addressed is the final scoreboard many nights around gyms in the state.
In Class 5A last year, five different schools ended the season with an average margin of victory of at least 20 points. In 4A, that number reached seven, with 3A having six, 2A having 10 and 1A having 13. That comes out to 36 schools ending each night – on average – leading by at least 20 points, and those numbers include postseason games that took place.
The point I’m trying to make is that nobody wants to be involved in a game that has a lopsided score of 50, 60, 70 or even 80 points by the time the final horn sounds. That doesn’t do the winning team any favors, and it definitely doesn’t do the losing team – and more importantly, its players – any favors.
Those kids are stuck out on the court as their family and friends are watching for 32 minutes all while they do everything they can to just try and make it a contest.
