Six Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school football games postponed by rain Friday have been moved a third time.
The juggling left some coaches frustrated about preparation time and concerned about recovery time, as several teams will play three games in eight days.
“We're getting jerked around like we don't matter,” said Independence coach Tom Knotts, whose team is No. 1 in the N.C. 4A poll. “No consideration about the kids.”
The games were originally rescheduled for Monday. But that interfered with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish holiday which lasts from sundown today until sundown Wednesday. So the games were moved to Wednesday night.
That changed Monday morning, when CMS pushed the games back to 7 p.m. next Monday.
The six games are West Charlotte at Hopewell; Ardrey Kell at Butler; South Mecklenburg at East Mecklenburg; Myers Park at Independence; West Mecklenburg at Garinger; and Waddell at Harding.
Knotts' staff, like many, spent Friday and Saturday preparing for Myers Park (Wednesday's opponent). When that game was pushed back to next Monday, Independence and other teams had to switch preparations to the original opponent.
“It's like being in algebra class, studying for a test, then being told the test won't be on algebra,” Knotts said. “I've been coaching 27 years, and no one has ever mentioned Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur.”
Vicki Hamilton, CMS athletics director, said several scenarios were discussed Friday morning through the weekend. Playing the rained-out games on Saturday or Monday afternoon would have been difficult because of staffing issues (police officers, game officials, etc.).
“Yes, it did call for some revamping with our coaches, and some re-thinking,” Hamilton said. “That's about the best the (school) system could do.”
Chip Sigmon, manager of OrthoCarolina's Epicenter for Sports Performance in Ballantyne and former strength coach for the Charlotte Hornets, said three games in a week will be similar to three NBA games in three nights.
“It's going to be tough on the kids, just from the standpoint of energy,” Sigmon said. “It's hard to comprehend CMS is going to do that. It's just going to be hard.”
Sigmon said the bigger concern would be the time from the Friday-to-Monday games. He recommended players staying off their feet Sunday, drinking plenty of liquids, eating carbohydrates and stretching often.
“They play at such a high intensity,” he said. “From an injury standpoint, they will be fatigued. And when you're tired, injuries are going to occur more often.”
“It bothers me,” South Mecklenburg coach James Martin said.
“On a Saturday after a game, our kids will be tired and sore anyway. It makes it hard knowing on Monday we won't have a practice, but a game.
“We're asking kids to do something they don't normally do. But that's the decision of the district, and we have to live with it. Coaches have got to be smart about it, and do the best with what we've got.”
Butler coach Mike Newsome said he was concerned about the compressed schedule.
“Three games in eight days is tough on players' bodies,” he said. “There is a reason football is played once a week.”
@Nyx.CommentBody@