THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: The changing of the seasons in Idaho preps

The recent headline was the Idaho High School Activities Association voting to shorten the winter sports season by one week. 

The state tournaments would still be on the same weekends — girls basketball, followed by wrestling, concluding with boys basketball. 

But the first day of practice for each sport would be pushed back a week. 

Plus, each basketball team would play two less games in the regular season. 

Post Falls High athletic director Craig Christensen had a better idea. 

“What I’d really like is if they’d extend the spring season,” Christensen said. “They want to start messing with calendars, give us a couple more weeks on the end of spring sports. ... there’s more pressing things.”

SPRING SPORTS seem like they’re over before you know it. 

Teams are lucky to get in two weeks of games before taking a week off for spring break.  

Then, six weeks later, it’s state tournament time. 

“We're not getting in a lot before spring break,” Christensen said. “Luckily we can get to the Tri-Cities and Boise for baseball and softball ... it’s just crammed into such a small window.” 

Years ago, spring state tournaments usually concluded over Memorial Day weekend. 

But state has moved up a week in the spring in recent years. 

If not ... 

"Some of the schools graduate so early, they would have to have state after graduation,” Christensen said. 

Really? 

Yes. 

Turns out, the Boise-area schools start weeks before North Idaho schools, and thus graduate weeks earlier as well. 

The four Boise School District high schools had graduations the week after state — Capital on May 18, Timberline on May 19, Boise on May 20 and Borah on May 21, all at Boise State’s ExtraMile Arena. 

In the Meridian School District, Meridian High graduated on May 26. Owyhee graduated May 20, Rocky Mountain and Centennial on May 19, Mountain View on May 18. 

Nampa High graduated May 28. Skyview graduated May 25, and Columbia graduated on May 22. 

In Caldwell, Vallivue High graduated May 18, Caldwell on May 20. 

Anyway, you get the drift. 

Boise-area schools begin in mid-August, while most North Idaho schools start right after Labor Day. 

BACK TO winter sports. 

Part of the argument for pushing the start of the season back a week — if a girl played in the state volleyball tournament, then turned out for basketball, she could have exactly one day of rest between sports. 

“At least now, they have a week (between sports),” Christensen said. 

However, many girls basketball teams play their first games at the end of that second week of practice — as soon as possible after the necessary 10 practices.  

“We’ve traditionally played that Thursday, Friday, Saturday that week against Boise schools, then we move into Thanksgiving,” Christensen said. “So we’re going to have to move some things around, figure out what games we’re not going to play, which tournaments we’re not going to play in.” 

Christensen said originally they talked about pushing the start of the boys season back two weeks instead of one, which would have took them into December. Add in two weeks of practice before the first game, and that would have made it tough on boys teams, many of which play a good chunk of their schedules in December, with tournaments and other road trips.  

School officials are hopeful a way can be found to still play 21 regular-season games in a season that lasts one less week. 

Dropping to 19 games seems like a step backwards. 

“Yeah, that’s not good,” Christensen said.

IT’S CONFUSING enough that schools can now petition up or down in specific sports — so they can be, say, 6A in most sports, but 5A in some sports. 

At Post Falls, where most of its sports are in 6A, the girls soccer team will remain in 5A for a second straight (two-year) classification. 

But the Trojan boys soccer team will move back up to 6A after two years in 5A. 

“The boys, it was tough for me to have them stay down when they were in the top 3 in 5A (in the Inland Empire League) the year before,” Christensen said. Post Falls was a No. 2 seed to regionals and hosted a tournament game, but lost to Moscow.   

“And I think they’re ready (to move up to 6A),” Christensen said. “We had nine freshmen on our boys team this past fall, so they’re trending in the right direction, and with the addition of Gabe (Lawson, who is returning for his third stint as coach), I think we’re going to be good.” 

The Post Falls girls won just one game each of the past two seasons as a 5A school, and have not won a league game since 2021. 

But Christensen said playing down a level the past two years has been good for the program. 

“I know the girls have built their numbers up,” he said. “They’ve been able to build a JV team this last year. It’s helped with being more competitive; instead of playing (6A schools) Coeur d’Alene and Lake City twice, we can go out and schedule (Coeur d'Alene) Charter (a strong 4A school) ... they’re on the right path; they’re at the right level that we need to be at competitively.” 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.