Schools the size of ADM have a smaller pool of students to draw athletes from, and as a result, the Tigers have more multi-sport athletes than many bigger schools. At those bigger schools, coaches often encourage their athletes to focus on one sport in order to maximize their potential.

One of the best examples at ADM is the boy’s basketball team, which will count on significant production from football standouts Joe Sloss, Johnny Reel, Jake Sloss, Elijah McCartney and Jacob Hardy. We’re now three weeks away from the team’s first official practice, and all of those players are still competing on the gridiron. ADM football heads to Carroll on Wednesday for the opening round of the playoffs.

Football takes a serious toll on the body, but boy’s basketball head coach Aaron Mager said he’s not concerned about those players being too physically and mentally drained heading into basketball season.

“Over the years it really hasn’t been a major factor,” Mager said. “Unless you make a real deep playoff run, there’s usually enough built in time where you have a week or so to unplug, let the body heal up a little bit, get your chance to get away from the routine of practice. The rules, they don’t allow you to do whole a lot with kids prior to that Nov. 17 date. You can open the gym, but that’s the extent of it, and so the state has kind of built in some safeguards there.”

Mager has already lost a player for the season due to a football injury, however. Junior running back Blake Crannell, who Mager said played well at the JV level last season and was primed to be a key contributor on varsity this season, tore his ACL in the first half of ADM’s win over Norwalk on Oct. 17.

The ADM boy’s team opens the season Monday, Nov. 24 at Saydel.