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.)
Petrick's Goals: 100 & Growing as New Boston Huron Continues Rise As Well
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2025
NEW BOSTON – Lately, New Boston Huron senior soccer player Ian Petrick has been immensely enjoying his newest bedroom decoration.
On his wall sits a soccer ball signed by teammates and his coaching staff commemorating a significant milestone he achieved Aug. 22 during a win over Flat Rock.
That’s when Petrick scored his 100th career varsity goal, and now the ball used to score that goal is something wonderful to stare at every day.
“It just kind of sits there,” he said. “It’s nice to look at it when I wake up in the morning to remind me of everything I’ve put in.”
Now with 118 goals for his career (and 30 this season), Patrick joined 43 other players in state history by getting to the 100-goal career mark.
“When it happened, it just meant everything to me,” he said. “All the training over the summer and work I had put in over the past four years at the high school level had really paid off in that moment.”
Petrick said he has played soccer since he was 3 years old, but for a majority of his career, preventing goals was more of his task.
He was a central defender for his club team until he was in seventh grade, when his coach decided to have him give the striker position a try.
Since then, scoring goals has become his passion on the field.
Petrick said there have been two main technical aspects of the striker/forward position he has tried to master since switching to the position.
One is knowing when to move without the ball, and what type of movements to make.
“When you see the midfielder pick their head up to send the ball, you start the run,” he said. “The runs can’t be just vertical. They’ve got to be diagonals, and they have to be overlaps.”
The other has been finishing in the box when he comes up on the goalkeeper with the ball.
“Finishing one-on-one with the keeper is huge,” he said. “I’ve trained on that so much. If you are running up the box from different sides of the field, you have to figure out where you need to shoot the ball. If you are coming from the left side, (the shot) has to be far post right side. If you’re coming from the right side, it’s got to be far post to the left. Sometimes it’s a chip over the keeper. It’s just all those different scenarios where the keeper comes out or the keeper stays in net. Making that final finishing touch to the shot is the most important thing.”
Huron head coach Matt Lividin said the way Petrick has contributed offensively of late has been one of his biggest transformations.
Lividin said during his underclassmen years, Petrick would score goals simply on his raw speed and strength. Now, he is becoming a more technically complete player who is scoring and generating more assists, something that should make him more attractive to college programs currently recruiting him.
“I think they have been kind of holding off to see if he’s more than just the speedster,” Lividin said. “To see if he’s someone they are looking for to add depth to their forward lines. This year, I think he’s trying to complete the full package to make sure the colleges are still interested in him.”
In addition to his individual accolades, Petrick has helped elevate the Huron program to heights not reached in a long time.
Last year, Huron (14-1-2) won its first District title in 18 years before falling to eventual Division 2 champion Warren De La Salle Collegiate in a Regional Semifinal.
With 12 seniors on this year’s roster back from last year’s team, Huron is understandably eyeing big things for when the MHSAA Tournament begins next week.
“That has meant everything to the school, to rejuvenate the soccer program,” said Petrick, who said he will run track in the spring, hoping to specialize in the 200-meter dash.
If Huron can win it all in the coming weeks, a Finals championship medal would be a nice display partner for that 100-goal ball in Petrick’s room.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) New Boston Huron’s Ian Petrick celebrates scoring a goal this season against Grosse Ile. (Middle) Petrick reached 100 career goals this August. (Photos courtesy of the Petrick family.)