While the snow and the subsequent school cancellations might have been a welcome sight for students across the area, it’s causing nothing but headaches for high school athletics.

Poor driving conditions forced the cancelation of every basketball game in the area, and although most schools are planning to make up Tuesday’s games tonight, the fact that the weather isn’t improving has that possibility in doubt.

“We’re all about 95 percent sure that it’s not going to happen,” said North Hall coach Benjie Wood, whose Trojans were scheduled to visit Lumpkin County on Tuesday. “For now, all I’m doing is playing with my wife and daughter in the snow.”
After all, that’s all Wood and the rest of the area coaches and players can do.

Practices have been cancelled, games have been postponed, and all anyone can do now is wait for the snow and ice to melt.

“The kids can’t get there,” West Hall coach Warren Sellers said about the lack of practice. “It’s still pretty bad out there, and the forecast doesn’t look good, but hopefully we can get back to practice (today).”

When they do resume play, Sellers knows what will be in store for his players. Running, running and more running.

“They were off Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, so we’re going to have to get the conditioning up,” Sellers said. “We’ll be running like we’re coming off a Christmas break.”

That’s not good news for the players, who were just beginning the subregion schedule when the inclement weather hit.

If the weather cancelled non-subregion games, the making up of those contests wouldn’t be important, but since subregion games factor into region standings and ultimately playoff seeding, it’s imperative that the coaches figure out a way to play the games.

If the games can’t be played tonight, Feb. 5 is a likely make up date for a lot of the teams. Regardless of when the games are played, it’s going to cause some “chaos,” according to Wood.

Not playing tonight could force a week down the road where teams have to play three games in three nights.

“It’s not good for us, especially the way we play,” Wood said. “We’ll just have to go out and do what we have to do.”

Sellers had the same mentality, and he thinks the possibility of playing more games in a week could result into a tournament like schedule.

“It doesn’t give you a lot of time to game plan,” Sellers said. “It’ll almost be like Lanierland when we had three games in three days.

“You just hope that what you have installed will carry over for throughout those games.”

West Hall was scheduled to play Walnut Grove on Tuesday, and Sellers said there is no make up date as of yet.

Other games that were on the schedule for Tuesday were: Buford vs. Cross Keys, Chestatee vs. Stephens County, Banks County at Rabun County, Commerce at Tallulah Falls, East Hall at Dawson County, Flowery Branch at Apalachee, Johnson at Gainesville, Winder-Barrow at Habersham Central, Jackson County at East Jackson,
Loganville Christian Academy at North Georgia Christian, Union County at Fannin County, White County at Franklin County and Riverside Military at Lakeview Academy.