If you follow my regional sporting exploits, you'll know that I spend a lot of time in Iowa in the summer.
I love covering high school baseball and softball there because it's the only state that still plays summer ball - you know, the way it should be.
However, that also means I get to brush up on my Iowa sports news.
Recently the IHSAA and IGHSAU (the two state organizations that run high shcool sports - the WIAA equivalent except that there's a separate boys and girls group) passed a measure that allows eight graders to participate in high school sports.
Now, this isn't a new thing. Eighth graders have been part of baseball and softball in Iowa for years. However, those sports happen after most schools release for the summer. Iowa's base/softball seasons start at the beginning of May and are just now starting their postseason tournaments.
To me, it's a fair transition into the full high school sports culture. The nature of play is different than the physical violence that football or wrestling offer. Even basketball and volleyball make things a little different.
I think it's okay to ask if adding eighth grade competitors is a good idea for us here in Wisconsin. There's no harm in wondeirng, right?
For some sports it would work. Tennis, golf and cross country are all sports in which it could work. The added numbers would be fine.
In wrestling you could fill a few more weights.
My big issue is that a measure like this still doesn't solve our declining participation issue. We just artificially inflate our rosters by stretching deeper into the reserves.
I would hate to think we're so desperate to fill out our high school teams that we need to draft bodies from the junior high.
Would allowing junior high kids the chance to play against high schoolers help for development? Why not leave certain privileges to be unlocked at certain ages? Why not just include seventh or sixth graders in the mix?
If you're as engaged in a topic like this as I am, it should unlock plenty of discussion.
There's a lot to unpack with this topic.
