Fall Sports Season

With public schools set to open up next week after Labor Day, that means the fall high school sporting season will also get underway, if it hasn't already. High school sports are huge in the Upper Peninsula - especially when you consider that the closest pro sports franchise from the U.P. is the Green Bay Packers, whom have a huge following up here. High school sports that take place in the fall here in the Upper Peninsula include football, girls volleyball, cross country (running), and girls tennis. The universities up here also have sports starting in the fall, with the biggest being (no surprise), football.

The school I attended when I was in high school was too small to support a football team. There was talk for a brief time of starting up a squad, but ultimately it never happened. Between getting all the gear needed to play the sport to having a field in which to play on - it just wasn't feasible. Then came the issue of having enough players to support a team. It seemed like there was enough interest, but as with starting any new sports program, money was a big obstacle. This year, my high school is starting a football program for the first time. However, it'll be a self-supported operation, meaning the school is not putting any money into it. It'll consist of an eight-man squad, which is smaller than the typical 11-man squad. It's supported by the Michigan High School Athletic Association as a means of allowing smaller schools across the state to participate in football, when they otherwise couldn't. It'll be interesting to see how the first inaugural season takes place for the old high school.

High School football has a huge following peninsula-wide. Despite declining enrollment for virtually every school in the U.P., high school sports continue to receive support from every community that has a school. I was never able to be a part of a football team at high school and never experienced the frenzy that exists while attending a high school football game. But I can tell from watching clips on television and on-line that it's an amazing experience. I think I would've enjoyed participating on a football team. I realize that it's a physically demanding sport and injuries are common. But you only live once - and I think I would've done quite well on a football team. How nice it is to see students from my high school finally being able to get that chance and to participate on a football program at the school. It was all but a dream when I went to school there.

As of now, there will not be a state-wide tournament at the end of the eight-man football regular season. After all, this is the inaugural season for the program in the state of Michigan. However, with declining enrollment continuing to be a problem not only in the Upper Peninsula, but in the entire state, more schools may consider having smaller football teams to make ends meet. I know of some high school teams that are struggling to attract players to an 11-man squad. This could provide an alternative for them and with more schools participating, then the MHSAA would considering holding a state-wide tournament after the regular season has concluded. It all depends on how this first season goes. And if there's growing interest from here on out, it may be a thing of the future for many smaller schools across the state.