University s head coach Joe Schmidle (Photo by Will Wotring)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Nearly twelve months have come off the calendar since Joe Schmidle led his University High School boys basketball team onto the court in a competitive setting. A COVID-lengthened offseason will finally end when the Hawks travel to face Spring Mills on March 5.
Official preseason practices begin for all winter sports teams around the state on Monday. Schmidle has been able to host a pair of conditioning workouts this week.
“It was similar to the summertime when you go a month and a half without seeing your kids between the three-week program and the start of school. After that amount of time, you are like, ‘Holy cow, this kid grew two inches since the last time I saw him’. It was just good to see them all. They are kind of like your family. You are used to seeing them everyday and then you don’t get to see them. You obviously miss them,” Schmidle said.