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determine conference champions. Teams in Skyland’s Delaware-East Division played one game against opponents in Delaware-West. Teams in the Raritan Division played opponents from the newly formed Valley Division twice.
One of those scenarios played out this season when Bridgewater-Raritan High School defeated 2006 state champion North Hunterdon High School during interdivision play. The meeting was a prelude to a state tournament game in which North Hunterdon avenged the loss.
With five new teams joining the Skyland Conference last season, league president Carl Weigner says the change was a good way to create built-in schedules for athletic directors. It also helped prepare teams for the level of competition they would see in the state tournament.
“Now, teams can compete against each other in the regular season and end up meeting again in the postseason,” Weigner says. “This gives you the incentive to play hard all the time, because there are no easy games in your crossovers.”
“Coaches want to play the best teams they can,” Weigner says. “They know that facing the strongest opponents will make their players better when it comes time for the postseason, whether it’s a county tournament or the state tournament.”
Bridgewater-Raritan Head Coach Sandy Baranowski says the new format helped make the season more meaningful and added a wrinkle to inseason strategies. “This creates new rivalries between teams that didn’t normally play each other as hard,” she
In New Jersey’s Skyland Conference, where interdivision play now counts in the final standings, North Hunterdon High School recovered from an early season loss to win the conference title.
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Catch 22 Miracle Field—St. Louis, Missouri Circle No. 103 CoachingManagement_2006_Baseball1 1
COACHING MANAGEMENT 7 4/11/07 11:09:24 AM