The powers (WHSAA) to be will never let soccer become a fall sport in WYO. Not because they're afraid soccer won't succeed, but because it might (and hurt FB). Soccer has hurt the depth in WYO T&F. I'm not primarily talking about the record-setters, but the middle of the field athlete. Look at the percentage of 1A & 2A athletes that qualify for the Wyoming Classic (or the old Meet of Champions) BS (before soccer) vs AS (after soccer). I knew a kid that in '80 ran 110m H (15.3), HJ (6'2") & TJ (42'+) and didn't qualify for the Meet of Champions. Also, in '79 (before qualifying standards) Lance Deal couldn't qualify for state in the discus with a 140' throw at regionals. I think the 1st place performances have increased in the past 30 years, but is doesn't seem the 5th (and lower) places have increased at a similar rate.

The WHSAA should move it back to Europe where it belongs.

In ND soccer is played by boys in the fall and girls in the spring. It is a sport played mainly by the large schools so interference with FB, and T&F isn't necessarily a big deal as far as numbers go. This seems to work well for ND, not sure how it would work in WY. We also have baseball in the spring, as well as golf.

Tough call. I have felt for a long time that it is too bad that the women's sports that offers the most chances for participation by a large number of athletes are offered during the same season, in this case, the spring. The trouble with soccer in the spring is that in most schools, the football stadium also doubles as the futbol pitch, and the practice areas are also the same. Could be a scheduling nightmare, especially when a fall blizzard rolls through. Practice areas are a scheduling problem now in the spring with spring blizzards. I don't really know if the season will ever be changed, but I do know of at least one young man that is playing in the Shrine Bowl that may not be doing so if he had to choose between the football and futbol.

It seems to be an advantage to have golf and tennis in the fall. Student athletes have the summer to prepare, if they so choose, to enter the short season at a competitive level.

High School baseball, baseball, baseball in the spring.... Soccer is a wonderful girls sport and can stay in the spring. Eliminate boys soccer and replace it with baseball....

On the baseball theme, do like Iowa and put HS baseball (& softball) in the summer for a 4th season. Get rid of American Legion BB (its out lived its usefulness) and have WYO HS BB run by WHSAA so that consitent partcipation standards can be established and enforced. Also, put golf and tennis in the summer time so they can have a longer season with the possiblity of more appropraite weather conditions. Personally, about soccer I tend to agree with Wolverine73.

I would do away with all other sports. There's a reason Soccer is BY FAR the most popular sport in the world and fastest growing sport in the US...it is simply superior. It currently has the 3rd most participants of any sport in the US and before long will be #1.

I'd like to see it in the fall to match up with most states, but Football, Volleyball, and Soccer would all suffer if that happened. Most communities just don't have enough kids to support these three sports happening together.

tmiller great idea about baseball. I think it would be a great late spring-early summer sport. Have it done by late June/early July. I also agree with Wolverine73 for high school. Keep it for the children in the rec. leagues.

Obviously, "The World's Game" you're a huge fan of soccer, and that's great, but don't let it warp your sense of reality. It may be "by far" the most popular game in the world, but here in the U.S. we tweaked the world's game of futbol, added some teeth rattling hitting, added a few more skills to it like passing and catching; and, despite what the world thinks, we're just pretty happy with our version of football. "When you're the big dog on the porch, you just don't get too worked up about all the other little dogs chasing a ball around in the yard"

And despite your enthusiasm, it would be a big mistake for soccer to move into the fall and compete with football and volleyball. It may take a few athletes from each program, but not nearly enough to make a competitive soccer league.

I do like the idea of a WHSAA sponsored baseball league that started late spring and ran through June. It seems that baseball, statewide, at the 15 yr old and older age group is suffering in numbers. If you through girls softball into the mix, I think you could attract a lot of athletes that have currently lost interest and went onto something else. I know the WASA has discussed pushing for high school softball for years. But, once again, in Wyoming you run into a numbers problem. Soccer has already devastated the T&F programs in a lot of schools and to overlap another sport would be too much. That's what I like about tmiller's idea of pushing it out beyond the school year. Guess we've kind of veered off Patrick's blog subject.

But, just like the game itself, I guess even talking about soccer is boring.... ha ha

It's cool. We need to discuss this kind of stuff. Moving soccer, and/or adding baseball or softball, has ramifications that need to be discussed.

Online reader's point about tennis and golf is taken well, as is tmillerwyo's point about those in power wanting to keep football as the dominant sport in the fall. Those two together would likely keep soccer in the spring.

And I think you could add WHSAA-sponsored baseball without affecting soccer (or track), if you go Iowa-style and do it in the summer. But the American Legion baseball program has close to a century of a head start in this state, and despite any problems the Legion baseball program has now, that type of tradition and history can't be taken lightly.

--patrick

Maybe if soccer was allowed to compete with football, it would put an end to the wasteful and idiotic sport of football. I still can't beleive the wages and ticket prices people are willing to pay to watch such short-term stars. For every player that makes it rich off their big 'ol muscles in the NFL, they leave behind thousands of young men who let their educations go in the hopes that they, too, could make it rich my simply playing a game instead of studying hard and contributing to American society and economy. It's a sad, sad problem . . . maybe soccer is the answer. I bet the UW soccer coach will never make more money than the UW president (unlike football). Someone should figure out NOW how to stop soccer from becoming over-commercialized and wasteful, too...before it happens.

Now wait just a minute, if I counted correctly Wyoming is surrounded by 6 states (MT, ID, UT, CO, NE and SD). Five of those states already play soccer, SD just caught up with the rest of the world. Three of those five play soccer in the fall (ID, MT, CO) two of them in the spring (NE, UT). So if SD plays their season in the spring there will be an even number of surrounding states playing in each season.

I think that a state needs to look at their own unique situation and make their best decision. I believe that for WY soccer in the spring is the best decision. I love all sports but soccer is my passion. I will not go on and bash any other sport. I think that they are all fun and serve a purpose in young people's lives.

I am in a 5A football community and if we ran soccer in the fall we had have about 15 kids who would have to choose between football and soccer. In this community about half would do football and the other half soccer. If there were no soccer in the spring of the 40 kids who played soccer for our school I would guess only 5 would go out for track. Maybe it is different in other communities. But we have to face it, football is the most popular sport in the US. And many older people never played soccer and don't understand it thus they "hate it". But according to ESPN soccer is the sport with the most participation in the US. The WHSAA and those who make these decision have to do what it best for kids, not the grumpy old guy who has no idea what offsides or a nutmeg is. Kids love the sport of soccer and they have proven that they will support it even in small communities. It is here to stay in the state of WY and should continue to be played in the spring.

Good entry "i meg for fun" (??) I'm one of those "grumpy old guys". Actually I did get a chance to play it in grade school P.E. in of all places, Jeffrey City. I can watch any competition and cheer for my home town; so I don't hate the sport (though it's fun to bad mouth it and get the passionates' blood pressure up) and usually try show up at a few each year to support the local team. Actually when my "goal dog" gets trained up, I think I will enjoy it more because he's being trained to bark anytime there is a shot on goal so I don't miss any of the precious few points that are scored... I tend to want to fall asleep.

I'm kidding, of course (about the goal dog), but you're right; most of us baby boomer don't understand the game. I know that the team with the most goals win, so I find the sport very boring as a spectator given that there may only be one or two goals scored the whole long game. That would be like if most football games ended up 3-0 or 7-0; I would probably lose a lot of interest in it too.

I'm not disputing eveyone's claim (including ESPN) that soccer has the most participation, but that is also a little misleading. It is one of the very few organized sports that is truely coed in nature, and maybe the only one that starts the kids right after their second birthday or when they are potty trained whichever comes first.

With all the fun aside, you are right though; soccer has a place in the spring because that is where it works best for Wyoming. And you're right, it's here to stay, though the thought of Monday Night Futbol on ABC scares me to death.....

hey i love the idea of the late spring/summer baseball idea. one problem is that we need to have someone try to get it proposed to the whsaa. everyone vents in this column, but we need to get it out in the open. Lets see what the entire state thinks about it. Patrick, you should write an article and post what replies you get from around the state. Lets, try to get baseball in Wyoming.