State titles, district tourneys and the dreaded coin flip

State titles

With success comes high expectations, a truism in all walks of life, including sports.

Sandpoint High School sports has an unusually rich athletic tradition, boasting a wealth of state titles in fall, winter and spring sports alike. When it happens frequently enough, it can almost be taken for granted.

But sports are nothing, if not cyclical, and sometimes it takes a season like the current one to serve as a reminder that it’s not easy to win state titles, either as a team or individual.

With the winter sports season recently concluded, the Bulldogs have yet to win a state title, despite coming ever-so-close. Swimmer Chris Mann finished second in the 400 meters, the Sandpoint girls soccer team finished second, and most recently, wrestler Garret Belgarde notched a runner up finish.

The reality is that state titles are tough to win, period. While this year might be an aberration for title-rich Sandpoint, many 4A schools across the state routinely go years in between state titles of any kind.

With spring sports starting up the opportunity still exists to claim a state title this season, but as the other sports have shown, it certainly won’t come easy.

Win or go home

I don’t usually weigh in on administrative matters, leaving that to the folks who know far more about the issues than I do. That said, the recent 4A Region 1 boys basketball tournament brought to light several questions that I believe should be addressed.

First, why does a three-team league play a true double-elimination tournament in basketball? After both the Bears and Bulldogs boys hoops teams went 3-1 in league play, the Bulldogs lost the tie-breaker (most 5A opponents), thus earning the highly-unfair right to make not one, but two — some years it’s even three — white-knuckle bus trips down to Moscow in the dead of winter.

Second, why is the basketball tournament double-elimination when the soccer tournament isn’t? I’m sure the Sandpoint boys soccer players would have loved another shot — or two, most likely — at Moscow in the district championship, but alas it was single elimination. I understand why volleyball or tennis are double-elimination, as teams can play several matches in a day if need be, but that isn’t the case for sports like football, hoops and soccer.

Third, in an era of dwindling school budgets, why not just opt for single elimination in all district tournaments? For my menial two cents, it would be just as fair, cost less money, be much more exciting and far less drawn out.

Heads or tails?

A coin flip is a hell of a way to determine anything, let alone home court advantage in a district tournament, but sometimes it’s the most fair way.

The Clark Fork boys basketball team learned that lesson the hard way after tying Mullan in league play and splitting the head-to-head matchups.

Because the Mullan girls had to travel the nearly three hour bus ride to Clark Fork in the girls district tournament, the Tiger boys got to call the coin toss, with principals from both schools on hand. They called heads, and thus the Wampus Cat boys had to hit the road in the single elimination tournament.

The Tigers were due to win the coin toss though, since their girls team had lost a coin flip with Kootenai just two weeks earlier.

If the sports gods have any say in it, or if probability does indeed exist, Clark Fork will win the next coin flip.

n Let it melt

Singing “let it snow, let it snow, let it snow” in December is one thing, especially for the skiing set in Sandpoint. But I can guarantee you SHS baseball coach Chris Young, softball coach Derek Dickinson, track coach Dave DeMers, golf coach Jim Alsager and tennis coach Kent Anderson are not humming the tune these days.

Here’s hoping for a balmy March, and a long-overdue sunny and dry spring sports season in Sandpoint.

Hope springs eternal, right?

For comments, suggestions or story ideas, he can be reached at (208) 263-9534, ext. 226, or via e-mail at eplummer@bonnercountydailybee.com.