Spirits high despite rain

By By Todd Thompson, Sports Editor
Hartselle’s spring football game with Sparkman was cancelled for the second straight season, but Tigers’ head coach Bob Godsey isn’t about to lose any sleep over the decision.
In fact, going through spring drills without a game just might have been a blessing for the Tigers, who are coming off a 12-1 season.
Hartselle was scheduled to play Sparkman in a spring game last week, but the wet weather this spring and Hartselle’s championship baseball season cut into the football team’s practice schedule.
So Godsey and the Hartselle coaches decided to scrap the game with Sparkman and concentrate on getting in 10 quality practice dates before the end of the school year.
Prep teams are allowed 10 practice days during a 15-day window, meaning that weather, graduation events and spring sports often play havoc with football’s spring schedule.
That time away from the football field allowed Hartselle to spend more time in group meetings, rather than to just concentrate on live practices.
There are drawbacks to not playing a spring game, though. Younger players don’t get that opportunity to get playing time in game-situations heading into the summer. And there is always the loss of revenue that a spring football game brings to high school programs that are feeling the effects of the economy and proration.
But Godsey can live with those drawbacks.
Hartselle’s spring gave the Tigers plenty of time for player evaluations and that was the goal. The rest will take care of itself in the fall.
Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com