Day 1 in the books…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
A rather uneventful Day 1 from the OCA’s coaches clinic in Tulsa. Don’t remember from last year if that was the case as well, but it didn’t feel like there were as many coaches.
Then again, the setup is vastly different from how it is in Oklahoma City. Displays are scattered throughout the Marriott.
Didn’t see too many football coaches around but did catch up with Kingfisher coach Jeff Myers. And after talking to him about how this year’s team is, quickly turned the conversation to the “super” 3A class in 2010.
“Whoever wins that will definitely have deserved it. It’s going to be a dogfight every week.”
No doubt about that. In most cases in the playoffs, if you’re a top seed, you’re banking on winning comfortably in the first and second rounds.
After that, who knows? But if 3A pans out the way it should, not only will just about every playoff game be crazy in terms of intensity, but there will be a lot of perennial playoff contenders who probably won’t make the cut.
There should be more football and basketball coaches later in the week as it was a pretty slow day in that department.
That doesn’t mean I did find time to talk with people as two of my “babies,” swimming and tennis, here their coaches association meetings.
Big difference in tennis is coaches will be allowed to coach their players at all times as long as it doesn’t interfere with the flow of play.
This was tested out last year and worked during the regular season. It wasn’t utilized at regional and the state tournament.
The OTCA and the OSSAA have approved it, so that will be a new wrinkle. Don’t know why it took this long. I’ve never understood the whole “no coaching” during a tennis match. Where else could you see that?
As for swimming, the biggest cause of concern coming last year’s state tournament was the overcrowded-ness of it all.
Problem solved as Class 6A and 5A will be split up for the finals. The prelims will run the same way.
But for the final, 5A is going to start at 10:15 a.m., followed by 6A at 4:15 p.m. Yep, that means a long day for anyone who has to cover both of them (namely me), but it also means a long day for any coach that does both as Edmond coach Steve Riggs pointed out. He’s not one of them, but there are a few such as the Lawton trio of schools as well as Mid-Del (Midwest City, Del City and Carl Albert).
Also went to the swim meet. Swimming and wrestling have got to be the two sports where you don’t know what kind of shape the kids will be in.
There’s no cutting weight or anything like that and for some of them, it might be like four or five months since they’ve hit the pool or mat.
It was the first time it was at Bixby. Not bad for a school venue and appreciate the support the Bixby staff gave me in making sure I had everything I needed.
Altus coach Linda Wiginton was named the Coach of the Year while Jill Enge of Edmond Memorial and Nelson Head of Union were named the Girls and Boys Swimmer of the Year.
And for the record, the East won both portions of the competition.
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