This time of year is always bittersweet. I’m filled with anticipation and excitement for fall sports but dread the reality of what faces so many teams. The reality of success weighs heavily on many players of struggling programs.
I encourage the reenvisioning of the way classification is implemented in high school sports as a whole. I strongly encourage the PIAA and WPIAL to create a rubric to incorporate a holistic approach for sports team classification taking into account socioeconomics, demographics, competitive success (or lack thereof), geography, enrollment trends and participation rates. Simply using year-over-year enrollment statistics cannot accurately depict the competitive nature or makeup of a classification.
It becomes nearly essential for athletes in the largest enrollment communities to seek external training to make their respective team roster, which equates to increased performance levels. The winningest schools’ sponsorship dollars further compound the imbalance. Lack of success breeds lack of participation, in otherwise model schools for academic achievement.
High school athletics is one of the premier platforms for teaching young people invaluable lessons and life skills such as responsibility, work ethic, self-confidence, teamwork and time management. If humbleness is one of the most valuable lessons, the North Hills boys soccer players have attained mastery.
Colleen Mollenauer
West View