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Photo Credit: Dion Clisso

After a long wait the Missouri classifications and district assignments are set to be released this week. That is a sentence that has been uttered in mid to late August in the past but here we are on the first official day of fall.

Ok, so there have been a few things going on that has caused the delay. Most teams are playing while parts of the state, namely St. Louis, have yet to start their season. The St. Louis situation is a bit of a mess and who knows what will come of it. That’s a different column for a different time.

The classes and districts are being released now because the Missouri State High School Activities Association delayed allowing schools to sort out their situation for fall sports. As each district delt with Covid-19 and its response to the situation they had to answer the question of playing seasons at all.

Several changes have happened since early August including an alternate fall season played in the Spring. Schools had the choice of waiting and playing in the spring when they felt it may be safer to play. A few have done that so we will see what happens with those schools in March.

I’m just going to come out on the record and say I have been critical of MSHSAA in the past because it took longer than other state associations to determine their classifications. Kansas would take a count in September and announce in October. Seemed easy enough, count, turn in your numbers, do the math and publish classes.

For years MSHSAA would take their count in the fall and announce in the Spring after adjustments were made. A few years ago that count was moved to the spring and the release was moved to a week before the season started.

I was not a fan. I felt like if you can count and release within a month just like Kansas. Why wait? It helped with scheduling and everyone got an early look at what the next year would look like.

That’s how I felt in normal times. These are not normal times. This year has shown that being flexible and able to change on a dime is the name of the game. To its credit MSHSAA has done that. There have been several rules that have been changed or relaxed to allow schools to find a way for students to play sports.

Let me say this again. MSHSAA has done a great job trying to find a way for the most schools and athletes to participate in activities. Do the changes fit everyone? No and they never will but there are lots of options.

Ok it’s a crazy season. I say lean into it. Go ahead and release the classifications now and then one week before the playoffs when you know who will be playing in the postseason go ahead and put the districts together. That way you don’t end up a district that has two teams versus a district that has six, seven or eight.

Go ahead and seed them out based on each side of the bracket. Try some things. Look at baseball with seven inning double headers and tie breaking extra inning rules. When you have a year with as many challenges as this one why not try things you normally wouldn’t?

I’m sure there are people who will say if all schools aren’t playing it won’t be a real championship. People are entitled to their opinions but if there is a championship, and I think there will be, it will be real, and those champions will have persevered through a season like no other.