Eventually, the sun will shine ...
April 25, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We all believe that, right?
Rain – and snow for some – has been the buzzword of this spring sports season. Just about every newspaper is writing about it and every athletic director, coach, player and parent is dreading it on a now-daily basis.
But eventually, we expect the weather to clear up and teams to play catch-up. To that end, there are limitations teams in some sports face when attempting to make up their games – but also opportunities to take advantage of while trying to fill out their regular-season schedules.
- Girls soccer and girls and boys lacrosse teams may play only three games during a week, Monday through Sunday. A weekend tournament – which generally includes 2 to 3 shortened games – counts as only one in this equation.
- Baseball and softball teams can play as many games as they want in a week, but no more than two on a school day – and baseball pitchers must not pitch for two days following their 30th out in a week.
- For tennis, an individual may not play more than three matches in one day – unless she or he is playing in a league championship tournament featuring more than eight schools for which a fourth match would decide the championship. That player also could not have played more than six sets that day heading into that fourth and final match.
- Golf and Track and Field do not have weekly contest limitations. Track and field athletes can compete in only four events per day.
As expected, a number of teams – especially for baseball and softball – are scheduling to smash in as many contests as possible into the next four weeks. Postseason play for tennis and lacrosse begins May 16 – three weeks from today.
But teams do have options.
One rarely used but anticipated to be used more this spring is an opportunity to continue playing regular-season contests through the final day of the MHSAA tournament in that sport. For example, a baseball team can continue making up games through June 15, the day of the MHSAA Finals in Battle Creek. A tennis team can play regular-season matches through June 1, etc.
Also, the MHSAA Executive Committee approved Thursday to allow for this spring two additional multi-team tournament dates for soccer and lacrosse, which will give those teams an opportunity to get in a few more games. That means soccer teams will be allowed to play in four multi-team tournaments instead of two, boys lacrosse four instead of two and girls lacrosse five instead of three.
Teams will have to do some juggling, no doubt, and all other tournament stipulations still apply (games generally are shortened so more can be played, etc.). But with a little creativity, teams could at least get in a few of their make-up games in this way.
Also, the Executive Committee approved a motion to waive the four-contest MHSAA tournament entry requirement for all Upper Peninsula schools in all sports this spring. As of the weekend, snow still covered parts of the U.P.
Gaps shrinking
Much has been discussed about minimums for all four MHSAA classes for 2013-14, and how they are the lowest student totals in at least a decade.
It’s true. The floor in Class A is 893 (down from 911 this school year), Class B starts at 429 (down from 449), Class C at 207 (down from 217) and Class D at 206 (down from 216).
However, there is a better way to crunch the numbers: Consider the shrinking gaps between the largest and smallest schools in each class.
For 2013-14, the gap in Class A is 1,888 students – 261 students fewer than 2007-08 and nearly 900 students fewer than in 2005-06. The gaps between largest and smallest in Classes B, C and D also are trending smaller – which means each class actually includes schools more similar in size, instead of a perceived other way around.
SAC 2013-14 on the way
We’re thankful for a valuable group of students who help us throughout the school year – our 16-member Student Advisory Council, made up of eight seniors and eight juniors from all over the state who are charged with providing feedback on issues impacting educational athletics from a student’s perspective, while also assisting at MHSAA championships and with special projects like the “Battle of the Fans.”
Selecting the next class to join is a highlight of every spring – but hardly an easy process.
A six-member selection committee, myself included, considered 62 sophomore applicants today from all over the Lower and Upper Peninsulas, representing all four of our classes and nearly every sport we sponsor.
Every candidate is impressive for a variety of reasons. That’s what makes this difficult – we could pick any number of combinations to make up our new SAC class, and no doubt leaders galore will emerge from another impressive group.
But there are only eight spots on the council. And we’ll announce who received them later next week.
PHOTO: A golfer attempts to keep warm during a round on a dreary day earlier this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Puzzle Coming Together as Goodrich Aims to Claim School's 1st Girls Soccer Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
May 6, 2026
Baylor Lauinger just can’t get enough of winning at Goodrich.
The junior has earned a pair of Finals titles with the Martians, as part of the Division 2 girls cross country champion in 2024 and the Division 2 girls basketball champion this past March.
Now, Lauinger and her Goodrich soccer teammates are looking to add to the school’s overflowing trophy case.
“I mean, it’s hard not to do all three of them when all three teams are very successful,” Lauinger said. “That’s just something that you want to be part of when you have a winning culture like we do. If you see a team having that success, I feel like other girls would want to join that. And it makes us push harder when we see all these other teams in our school that are winning.”
Behind a strong core of returning players in the midfield and back end who have been joined by a talented group of newcomers up front, Goodrich is off to a 10-2-1 start to the season and ranked No. 1 in the latest Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association Division 3 poll.
That combination of talent and the depth of his roster have Goodrich coach Josh Back excited about the opportunities ahead.
“I always say I have all my puzzle pieces,” Back said. “This is the fifth year I’ve had (the program), and I have lots of puzzle pieces that I get to play with.”
Lauinger leads that returning group as an attacking midfielder. She’s already dished out 13 assists despite missing four of the Martians’ 13 matches, including both of their losses (Clarkston and Oxford).
“Last year, she was our goal scorer,” Back said. “She’s an awesome leader. These younger kids that come in, it doesn’t faze her one bit that the other girls are doing the scoring. She just wants to win.”
She’s finding success playing the ball forward to a completely new starting front line for Goodrich, which features freshmen Elliana Back and Sydney Place, as well as sophomore Bristol Cook.
Back has 18 goals and eight assists already, while Place has added seven goals. All three have years of club experience.
“This is the most soccer-savvy group I’ve had,” Josh Back said. “At times, there’s a learning curve with freshmen, but this year, they’ve stepped right in. They have that savviness and understanding of the game at the highest level. We lost our whole offense last year, and those two came in with our sophomore (Cook). As young as they are, the experience is there.”
The varsity experience is behind them, particularly at center back where Goodrich starts a pair of seniors in Lily May and Kaylee Eickhoff. They lead a defense in front of sophomore keeper Abigail Gagnon, who Josh Back called a “rockstar who doesn’t get enough praise,” who has allowed just eight goals through 13 games and has eight shutouts.
“They’re very important,” Lauinger said. “They’re the foundation of our back line, and they keep us ready. I think those two have been playing together for a long time now. Honestly, their defense really helps us with the goals, too. Their defense translates to offense.”
The pieces didn’t have much time to come together before being thrown into the fire. Not only were the newcomers asked to get up to speed early, but six members of the basketball team – Lauinger, Eickhoff, May, Place, junior Olivia Millerd and freshman Katerina Frederick – were playing in the season opener two days after claiming their Finals title at the Breslin Center.
And it wasn’t exactly a warm-up.
The Martians opened against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, the No. 6-ranked team in Division 3, and followed that up with a trip two days later to Troy Athens, which is ranked No. 13 in Division 1.
They came out of their opening week 1-0-1, defeating NDP 6-0 and playing Athens to a 1-1 draw.
“I just think those two games were kind of like a wake-up call to show what we can do,” Lauinger said. “It shows how we can compete with high-level teams and shows the state what we are able to do. It definitely gets us ready for later.”
Later is coming up quickly, as the District tournament begins May 26 at Lake Fenton. Goodrich has won four straight District titles after not having won one since 2004. But Josh Back knows this team is capable of taking the next step, as all of the last four years ended with Regional losses, including shootout defeats against DeWitt both of the past two years.
“Hopefully this could be the first state title for Goodrich (in girls soccer),” he said. “But we have to get through the Districts and Regionals first – just one game at a time. The kids, they’re focused on the next one up. They just worry about tomorrow’s game. But I still think our goal of a state title is well within reach.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Goodrich’s Baylor Lauinger (4) leads a rush downfield during a game this season against Ortonville Brandon. (Middle) The Martians’ Elliana Back (4) makes a move toward the net. (Photos by Tonya Wyczalek.)