Appreciating the differences in Texas and Indiana high school sports

Every now and then, I have a small break in my schedule and can help out our sports editor, Carey.

I always enjoy going to the junior high and high school sporting events as, at times, I have been labeled a sports fanatic.

In fact, my first venture into the journalism field was as the beat writer for the Stephen F. Austin State University's men's basketball team and the sports editor for the college yearbook.

The more I have been able to cover sports here for The Times, I have been able to see the differences in how things play out on the high school level here and in my hometown in Texas.

Back home, only three teams from each district have the possibility of making the playoffs in nearly every sport, but here, every team makes it to the postseason.

At first, it was a bit of a shock to me because I felt as if the regular season didn't have meaning.

But then I realized the main difference for the disparity: the Houston area has nearly as big of a population base as the entire state of Indiana. So obviously, cutting down the number of potential playoff teams would take away from the excitement.

I was checking up on my high school team the other day and realized they played more games before the calendar flipped to 2009 than Northview has on its regular season schedule.

The La Porte Bulldogs were entering the new year with a record of 15-7, and were preparing for their 14-game district schedule.

Yes, their schedule started a little bit before area teams tipped their seasons off, but not by much.

The Bulldogs' season began Nov. 18, and playing 22 games within 44 days is quite a hefty schedule for a high school team.

But both systems have their advantages.

In Texas, limiting the number of playoff teams maintains a high competition level throughout the season, but the length of the season may wear players out and reduce the energy level of the playoffs.

On the other hand, Indiana's sectional system provides the potential of any team becoming a "Cinderella."

Although teams have been separated into different classes, teams that had a beyond mediocre regular season still have a chance to put together a storybook "Hoosiers" style ending to their year.

But whatever the layout of the season may be, players on all the teams, including Northview and Clay City locally, always play hard and give their respective fans something to cheer about.