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Change unites varsity hoops

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By DAREK SHARP

dsharp@tampatrib.com

Published: November 11, 2009

PLANT CITY - Life will be a little easier for fans who enjoy watching both boys and girls high school basketball.

Last week, Hillsborough County Athletic Director Lanness Robinson confirmed a major change to the hoops schedule. Beginning when the boys season starts, schools will have their boys and girls varsity teams play the same night at the same school.

In the past, boys teams have played at one site, with the junior varsity team playing first followed by the varsity game. The girls, JV and varsity, have played separately.

Plant City fans get their first crack at a doubleheader Dec. 1 when the Raiders host Brandon. On the same night Durant's teams are at Tampa Bay Tech, and Strawberry Crest is at East Bay.

"It's a great idea," Plant City boys head coach Dale Chambers said. "This reminds me of my playing days when the girls and boys played on the same night and supported each other."

The change was necessitated as more than a few schools - seven in the county last year - were unable to field junior varsity squads.

"Several JV teams didn't get their full complement of games," Robinson said. "Jefferson was the best example. They had Robinson, Leto and Middleton all in their district and none had JV teams. That's six games Jefferson's JV lost."

Jefferson's program was no joke, either; its varsity team went 26-1 in the regular season and reached the regional finals.

The JV teams will also be getting a new look. All of the JV games now move to Saturdays, and into a round-robin format. Three teams will gather at one site, with each squad playing two games. The first game will be at 9 a.m., followed by 10:30 and noon starts.

Each JV team will end up with 12 contests, or six Saturdays' worth.

"Allowing the JV to play on Saturday is a good thing in my opinion," Chambers said. "They can focus on school work and make it home at a reasonable time now instead of having to participate in late evening practices and games."

And from a county budget point of view, having the teams travel together certainly makes things a little easier. Robinson said the change was planned with the idea suggested to county coaches as early as last season's end.

The switch will certainly add a new level of excitement to an already-charged rivalry between Plant City and Durant. Last season, in a bad quirk of the schedule, on Jan. 9 Plant City and Durant's girls were playing at Plant City while the boys rivals were in action at the same time at the Cougars' gym.

Plant City - boys and girls teams of course - go to Durant on Dec. 16.

The scheduling idea is not without precedent. Swimming, soccer and track and field are other sports where both girls and boys teams play in the same location on the same night. The same goes for baseball and softball.

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