Next school year, Clark County School District will start high school an hour later. At Shadow Ridge, coaches are already thinking about how the change could affect athletes, schoolwork, and daily routines.
Andrew Dubois, who coaches flag football and softball, said the extra time in the morning could help students in a few different ways.
“In theory, they should be able to have more time to rest, recover, and even eat a good breakfast and not be so rushed,” Dubois said.
Even though the later start may sound helpful, Dubois also pointed out that not every sport will be affected the same way.
“For some of the sports then practice will have to be more efficient to manage daylight,” Dubois said.
Outdoor teams like softball and baseball may have to adjust the most because they do not have lights on their fields.
The change could help athletes with rest and homework.
Dubois expresses, “I think it can have a good impact, the whole point of the time change is to let the high school kids get more rest.”
He added that students will still need to work on time management to balance sports, school, and other responsibilities.
William McCall, the baseball coach, had a similar view, but he also had concerns about outdoor sports.
“Hopefully athletes understand and use the extra time to sleep and how healthy it can be,” stated Coach McCall. “What is hard about baseball is that we are an outdoor sport without lights, so unfortunately practices will be shorter in the beginning,” McCall expressed.
He also said the schedule may not change much for away games because athletes may still have to leave early for baseball.
Both coaches agreed that the new start time could be a good change, but it will take some adjusting.
Dubois said athletes should not go into it expecting the worst.
“Don’t go in with a preconceived idea of how it is going to go, give it a shot. It may turn out to work really well,” Dubois encourages.
The later start is meant to help students, and for Shadow Ridge athletes, it might just be a chance to rest, refocus, and adjust to a new rhythm both in the classroom and on field.
