TRAVERSE CITY -- This November, Suttons Bay boys golf coach Todd Hursey was attending a meeting at the Michigan High School Athletic Association office.
Hursey stopped for a moment to look at the photos of the recent state champions, including his Division 4 championship squad.
He recalls thinking about how it seemed so long ago. That's because it was.
"It feels like we missed a season," Hursey said. "It felt like (boys) golf didn't happen in 2007. That's because it didn't."
After a long legal battle, the MHSAA lost its lawsuit filed by a Grand Rapids parents group to switch the sports seasons to better align with those in college.
As a result, volleyball was moved to the fall and replaced in the winter season by girls basketball. Boys golf and girls tennis were also moved to the spring, replaced by the corresponding gender in the fall.
So Suttons Bay, which won a state golf title on Oct. 21, 2006, won't have a chance to defend its crown until June 6-7, 2008.
Of course, it was going to be a different team anyway for the Norse, which graduated four of its five players from the state championship team.
"It might be a little less strange for us because we had so many seniors," Hursey said.
But the switch in seasons was still an adjustment for all. The MHSAA reported all three sports whose seasons were moved to the fall reported a decrease in participation.
The state said girls volleyball was down 3 percent, girls golf nearly 9 percent and boys tennis off nearly 111/2.
Larry Nykerk, who coaches both boys and girls tennis at TC Central, said the bigger schools didn't feel the shift as much this fall. He said he actually gained seven or eight players from baseball and lost five or six to soccer when boys golf was moved to the fall.
"What it really did was affect the smaller schools," Nykerk said. "They don't have enough athletes and enough kids. For Northport, it shut them down entirely and Glen Lake almost."
Patti Tibaldi, girls basketball coach and athletic director at TC West, was against moving to the winter season for the start.
"I think Michigan was doing it right having it in the fall," she said. "I'm sure 10 years from now it'll be fine. But for right now, my greatest hesitation, particularly for smaller schools, was it was taking away teaching time."
Tibaldi said two of her other concerns were about finding enough qualified game officials and increased reliance on recruiting club teams in volleyball.
As an athletic director, Tibaldi said she's already seen attendance numbers drop.
"I think the crowds for both boys and girls basketball is greatly reduced," Tibaldi said. "Fans, no matter how dedicated they are, they're not going to attend four games a week."
While some coaches didn't like switching seasons, it was far from unanimous.
Pellston volleyball coach Tim McNitt said most of his peers like the move to the fall. McNitt said not having to travel in the winter was a big factor for him.
"Who might have had a volleyball tournament this weekend wiped out by all that snow that came down?" said McNitt, who also coaches girls basketball. "All that money, all that time and all that effort with no chance to make it up. That's the biggest reason I like it. It's No. 1."
Most coaches said the switch will get easier in each successive year, but forced a lot of kids to make some tough decisions in year one.
"It'll hurt just as bad (in girls tennis) because they'll have to choose from track, tennis, softball and especially soccer," Nykerk said. "I think the numbers all across the state will be down. It will level off after a couple of years, but right now it cuts right in."
"Three or four years down the road everybody will be adjusted," Hursey said. "It'll be all we know and it will all be fine."
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