Tuesday or Thursday? That is the question.
Is it nobler to play middle school football games on Tuesday, when there are no high school junior varsity or freshman games, or to continue playing Thursday, when younger high school teams play?
It would seem logical to move middle school football games to Tuesday. Younger players would have their own night under the lights, separate from the county's junior varsity and freshman games.
I’m sure some parents would like this idea. It’s probably safe to say that more than one family has a son playing JV football and another on a middle school team.
Or perhaps they have one child playing JV football and another in the middle school band, which would also cause some problems with family logistics.
Davidson and Shoal River play games on Thursday, as do most Okaloosa County middle school teams. But Baker School’s middle school team plays on Tuesday against Jay, Freeport and other small schools.
If smaller middle schools can play on Tuesday, why can’t Okaloosa County move the rest of the games to Tuesday?
Part of the problem — and it’s a good one to have — is Okaloosa is one of the few areas in the state offering middle school sports.
To the best of my knowledge, Jay is Santa Rosa County's only middle school with an athletic program. I know of no Escambia County public middle schools that have interscholastic sports.
That I’m writing about this scheduling conflict is a tribute to our county's administrators, who see middle school sports' importance.
The list of athletes who have been successful without middle school sports would stretch the length of Highway 85, from Crestview to Fort Walton Beach.
But that doesn’t mean middle school sports aren’t important.
Middle school sports serve an important role in our young athletes' development. They also serve as a filter of sorts, helping kids to see if they like a sport before trying it in high school.
Not every middle school star will be a high school star. As is often the case at any level, today’s middle school star might be a shooting star. For a few games, or a couple of years, that young man or young lady might be the best at Shoal River or Davidson.
Sometimes, like that shooting star, kids burn out on sports. There are other times when they hit their talent ceiling, as other teammates begin to realize their full athletic potential.
Moving middle school football games to Tuesday night might allow those stars to shine a little brighter.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DICKSON: Why not middle school football on Tuesday?