Coaches thankful for shortened All-Star week

Maurice Moody
Maurice Moody

CONWAY -- Maurice Moody's first all-star game experience was memorable, just not enjoyable.

Moody was a member of the 2008 East football coaching staff when the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star Games were played in Northwest Arkansas. Players reported to their dorms on Sunday, went through four days of practices and played on Friday night.

"It was in Fayetteville, it was a week long and it was brutal," said Moody, the Little Rock McClellan coach who was then the head coach at Earle. "I was ready to go [home]. I was dragging. I was tired. And the kids, they were worn out. It was too long."

Change has arrived for the annual high school gathering. In previous years, eight all-star games were spread out over four days. This year those same events will all be played within a 28-hour window today and Saturday.

"I like it," said Moody, who is the head coach of this year's East squad. "Everything has been compressed down to a few days. ... The kids aren't here as long. Coaches aren't away from their families as long. I think everybody's excited about it. And I think we're getting more kids excited about playing in the game."

Football players reported to the University of Central Arkansas campus on Wednesday afternoon for Saturday's game at Estes Stadium. Athletes for the other five sports started arriving on Thursday and most of those athletes will have only a few hours to get to know their teammates before competing.

"We'll see. This is the first year we've done it this way," said Marion volleyball Coach Lisa Beasley. "If the girls haven't been doing much, it's going to be hard to get back into the swing of things."

Beasley has been a member of several all-star coaching staffs, including the first year the sport was added to the all-star game roster and on this year's staff.

"I think the shortened format will be good as far as participation and getting people here," Beasley said. "The girls are not giving up the whole week to play in it."

The short week will not be a big change for the baseball and softball coaches and players. Since those two sports were added to the All-Star week, those players arrived on Monday and played on Tuesday. This year, the baseball and softball players arrived on Thursday and play tonight.

"You don't really get a chance to know them, but they're not in dorm for a week," said Horatio Coach Lance Spigner, who is the head coach for the West All-Stars. "You can enjoy part of your summer vacation without spending a week at practice."

Watson Chapel Coach Jared Dutton represented Star City as an offensive lineman in the 2004 All-Star Game. Dutton will be an assistant coach for the West team Saturday.

"Then you had a full week of practice and now it's basically two days of practice," Dutton said. "It's a lot of information the kids have to learn in a short amount of time. ... But after one practice they seemed to pick up on it. I think we're going to have a great week."

Arkadelphia Coach J.R. Eldridge, the West team's head coach this week, agreed that the shortened format is a positive for everybody.

"Just to be able to condense it a little bit is great because it's all about these players coming to have a great experience," said Eldridge, who played in the 1996 All-Star Game while representing Fayetteville. "Being able to condense it down helps them want to be here. ... These are great athletes out here. Some of them are committed to a summer baseball team and some are getting prepared to play college football. They've got a lot of other commitments."

While Moody said the shortened format is a step in the right direction, he also said the coaches association needs to do more to make playing in the All-Star game more enticing.

"The interest may not be there. The big-time players may not want to come out," Moody said. "We need to do something as coaches in the state of Arkansas to get the interest back up to where it needs to be. We need to have the Division I players -- the big-time kids -- playing in this game.

"We got great kids here, but we as coaches need to get together and figure out a format that's best for everybody. Maybe it's playing an all-star game against a neighboring state or playing the game in December. Whatever the case may be, we need to get a plan and act on it fast because the interest just isn't where it needs to be right now."

All-Star schedule

At University of Central Arkansas Conway

TODAY’S GAMES

BASEBALL

Bear Field, DH, 4 p.m.

SOFTBALL

Farris Field, DH, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER

Estes Stadium, 5 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL

Farris Center, 6 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER

Estes Stadium, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Farris Center, 1 p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Farris Center, 3 p.m.

FOOTBALL

Estes Stadium, 6 p.m.

Sports on 06/22/2018

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