As frigid temperatures continue to control the schedule of the men’s and women’s basketball teams, coaches and players learn to adapt to change. Both teams have experienced numerous schedule changes throughout their seasons, as weather has not always been in their favor.

“We were luckily able to get our Marion game in and save ourselves a three game week. Unfortunately the men were not so lucky,” says women’s basketball head coach Steph Miller.

As games are being rescheduled due to weather, teams are booking heavy weeks with as many as three contests in a week. These rescheduled games continue to put more pressure on athletes’ academic schedules.

“The game changes [due to weather] have made my academic schedule more compact. Our sports schedule is a lot more difficult when we have more games in a shorter amount of time,” says men’s basketball player Jerron Jamerson.

Both the men’s and women’s teams have experienced different schedule changes due to weather this season, but it has been the men that have been impacted most. The men have had to adapt to full weeks and unpredictable rescheduled games, while the women’s team has had better luck with moving games tipoffs to accommodate icy roads for visiting teams.

“Leaving earlier and trying to predict travel times have been something we have had to deal with. Teams have been accommodating to adjust start times to avoid having to reschedule,” says Miller.

Coaches and players are not the only ones who have been affected by these game and practice changes, however. Head athletic trainer Linda Kaminskis has also had to move her schedule around on numerous occasions to accommodate weather related changes.

“As an athletic trainer you learn to be very adaptable,” says Kaminskis. “You learn to keep communicating with coaches and go with the flow in rescheduling. It’s just what you have to do.”

The most recent change to the basketball schedule was the rescheduling of Tuesday night’s conference contest against the Bethel Pilots. Both teams had to reschedule to Wednesday evening as most of the area was under a cold temperature related state of emergency Monday and Tuesday. The women will be traveling to Mishawaka and the men will play at Goshen College with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.

As the winter continues to give teams travel hassle, the Goshen College men’s and women’s basketball teams will continue to adapt, doing whatever it takes to get their games in.