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With gas prices, you may not have a choice and neither will Jeff and Deanna Royston. The duo both coach at Kalkaska High School and had a fitting arrangement for child supervision. While Jeff coached the junior varsity football team in the fall, Deanna was watching their two children and vice versa when she coached varsity volleyball in the winter. Now, with the Michigan High School Athletic Association being forced to align high school sports seasons with colleges, football and volleyball both happen in the fall.

Now the couple is making plans for fall, when both will be coaching at the same time. Interestingly, she couldn't be happier about it. "To be honest, I am very excited about the transition," she said. "It doesn't give me too much of a break, but I love what I do."

While Royston is happy, many are not about the change. It forces some athletes to make decisions between which sport to play now and even some coaches into deciding which sport or gender to coach. She can sympathize with those people, because she too sees the potential hangups.

"One of the biggest problems that is poses, especially for schools like ours that share just a few gyms, there is simply not enough gym tme in the day for practices," Royston said. "Now you will have girls basketball, boys basketball, wrestling cheerleading and middle school basketball, all trying to share winter gym time. That makes a lot of work for administrators and the athletic department."

She also recognizes a potential difficulty in scheduling officials for events.

"Everyone will be working hard on scheduling referees for all those game nights," she said.

She believes that eventually, the process will smooth out, meanwhile the couple will continue coaching at Kalkaska.

"Jeff is a true Blue Blazer that graduated in 1997 an the season change has not affected him much yet, he's very focused," Royston said. "I think we may be one of a few coaching couples in northern Michigan, but ew are excited about all of it and we will do our best to take everything in stride."