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.)
Huron to Take Next Step in Magnificent Rise with 1st Semifinal Appearance
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
October 28, 2025
When Luis Gomez Dominguez became a head soccer coach, he started thinking about what programs he wanted to emulate.
He found one in Troy Athens.
On Wednesday, Gomez-Dominguez gets a chance to knock Athens out of the playoffs and lift Ann Arbor Huron to the Division 1 Final.
“They do a great job,” Gomez-Dominguez said. “They do things the right way, even little things like having Grandparents Day. It’s a great program.”
New soccer coaches in the state would be on the right track if they start emulating what Gomez-Dominguez has done at Huron. He’s been head coach for seven seasons, oversees a program of nearly 90 soccer players, and Wednesday takes his 16-1-3 squad to Troy for a Semifinal game against the Red Hawks (14-3-4).
“I like to say it’s been a process, a three-year process,” Gomez-Dominguez said.
Last week the River Rats captured the school’s first Regional title. They won the Southeastern Conference and have steadily increased their number of wins each season, from four both of his first two seasons in 2019 and 2020 to 16 this year.
“We started building the program,” he said. “After COVID, our numbers just exploded.”
With the huge interest in soccer, Huron made the decision not to cut players.
Instead, the program drew up a plan for a freshman team, two junior varsity teams – an A and a B – and the varsity team.
“I think it gives players a clear path,” Gomez-Dominguez said. “You start with the program on the freshman team, progress to the first JV team as a sophomore, maybe play on the ‘A’ JV team as a junior and as a senior, you are ready to contribute to the varsity.”
Sometimes, of course, players jump that progression.
Three years ago, a substantial group of sophomores were on the varsity. Nasser Diarra, Kyle Johnsen, Kinley Poole, Philip Leucht, Amadou Sidibe and Matthew Pletcher all made the top team as the River Rats won 11 games.
“They were the core,” Gomez-Dominguez said. “We thought if we keep them together and add a few pieces around them, we would see the success.”
The plan worked. Those six are now seniors, part of an 18-senior varsity squad.
“We have a lot of experience,” Gomez-Dominguez said.
Poole is among the top scorers on the team with 12 goals and 10 assists. He’s a four-sport athlete at Huron, playing wide receiver on the football team, guard on the basketball team and sprinter in track. He’s likely to run track in college, Gomez-Dominguez said.
Pletcher is the starting goalkeeper. He’s allowed just four goals all season. Leucht has seven goals and three assists. Sidibe is a do-everything defender.
“He’s a lockdown defender,” Gomez-Dominguez said. “He’s our Swiss Army knife. He manages the other team’s attacking players. He can play anywhere on defense, and we line him up as a midfielder for defensive duties.”
Senior Malic Kasham is the team’s top goal scorer with 13. Jules Heskia has five goals, as does sophomore Kaito Yoshida.
Two more seniors – Unejs Ramaxhiku and Christopher Zou – joined the program this year after playing for MLS NEXT, a year-round club program. Zou has four goals and four assists.
“I think they saw the kind of fun we were having and wanted to be part of it,” Gomez-Dominguez said.
This season’s team, ranked No. 2 in Division 1, includes five sophomores and seven juniors.
The River Rats already have had a historic season when it comes to defense. They have given up just seven goals all fall.
“We are keeping an eye on the record book for that,” Gomez-Dominguez said.
The coach grew up in the Ann Arbor area, graduated from Pioneer and played college soccer at Madonna. He was an assistant coach with the River Rats when the head coach moved to California, and was named head coach. He has 65 wins over his seven seasons.
Huron has embraced a program-wide attitude. Gomez-Dominguez has five assistant coaches; the team is active on social media and lists its goals and expectations on a website dedicated to the program.
Huron defeated Troy Athens earlier this season, 2-1, but Gomez-Dominguez isn’t taking Wednesday’s game lightly.
“A lot has changed since then,” he said. “That game was played on a Saturday morning. It felt like a Saturday morning game. This one will be at night, at Troy High School, under the lights and we expect a big crowd. We are taking a fan bus. It will be a great atmosphere.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Huron players stand for the national anthem before a game this season. (Middle) Andrew Rooks controls the ball as he charges up field. (Below) Kinley Poole (left) and Malic Kasham celebrate a moment. (Photos courtesy of the Ann Arbor Huron boys soccer program.)