Elsewhere online, I wrote a story with the latest news about the proposed "super conference,"
The big news from that story is that Bethlehem Catholic and Central Catholic will be included with anything going forward, at least as far as the LVC is concerned. That's not to say, as Whitehall principal and LVC president Chris Schiffert said in the story, that an individual school couldn't decide to do something on its own. It's not totally out of the question, but not likely.
Here are some of my thoughts on this matter:
1. Not everybody is happy. There are still some very angry schools, particularly ADs, who really wanted the initial proposal to go forward and wanted to form a new league without Bethlehem Catholic involved. CCHS, it seems to me, has been held in higher regard throughout. But in regard to Becahi, there have been some pretty strong accusations -- albeit none on the record and none proven -- about how the Golden Hawks have attracted athletes in some sports.
2. Those same people will continue to be watching Becahi closely, and they will be putting their faith in principal John Petruzzelli to do the things necessary to keep his school in good standing with the rest of the league. Petruzzelli has vowed to do the right things, and certainly, he was caught off guard by the MVC's proposal. My sense in talking to Petruzzelli is that he understands the situation clearly and truly wants to do everything in his power to keep Becahi in the LVC. Playing as an independent would be very difficult to navigate.
3. This whole thing might be a positive in regard to better league relations because everything had to be put out on the table and discussed at these meetings, even if, as Schiffert said, some feelings were hurt. Sometimes a crisis like this is what is needed to get out ill feelings and vent. At the very least, if people were not aware of what people were saying, they are now. Some messages got through loud and clear.
4. Most in the Lehigh Valley community are not all that excited about joining forces with the MVC. No one I heard over the last several weeks said: "Heck yes, let's go up to the Mountain Valley again, and leave some schools behind!" There was a much stronger pro-MVC sentiment back in 1997 when Whitehall, Parkland, Easton, Liberty and Freedom bolted and Becahi, CCHS, Allen, Dieruff and Emmaus were left behind. Many people do like the LVC as is, believe it has worked, and have used the old "if it's not broke, why fix it" mentality. Although I think the travel concerns are overblown because it would be kept to minimum anyway, many are concerned about even the perception of increased travel costs in a time when school districts are forced to slash budgets.
5. I wonder how most of the MVC feels about joining the LVC. Just like there are schools in vastly different shape athletically in the LVC, there are some big differences in the MVC as well. Schools like Pleasant Valley and Stroudsburg are solid across the board and would be able to compete with some success in the LVC. I am not so sure about the Pocono Mountain and East Stroudsburg schools, however. They have to wonder what they have to gain by competing against Parkland, Emmaus, Easton, etc. in various sports. Pocono Mountain West, for example, is very good in boys basketball, But in sports like softball they really struggle. And I mean really struggle.
6. Where Bangor goes is still a mystery. Even though it's the largest school in the Colonial, the Slaters hardly dominate that league and you wonder how they would fair in a "Super Conference." Bangor would be fine in an all-MVC division playing teams like Pleasant Valley, Stroudsburg etc., but again it's hard to imagine the Slaters winning consistently against most current LVC members.
7. No one wants to hear this, especially as it relates to travel, but Allen and Dieruff are also a better fit demographically and competitively with schools from the MVC. People will look at the records of the Canaries and Huskies in football last year and say no progress was made, but there was. However, the gap between Allen and Dieruff and the rest of the LVC schools in a majority of sports is widening, particularly in the case of Dieruff.
8. If Bangor does leave the Colonial that would leave that league with 13 schools in 2014-15 in most sports, which doesn't work out very well. You'd wonder then if the Colonial would seek out more schools even though they were rejected recently by both Lehighton and Pleasant Valley. And the question comes to mind: Would they ever consider having an Allen and Dieruff, for example, join them? Because frankly, the two Allentown schools, despite their vast enrollment numbers, have 2A participation levels and might be a better fit in the Colonial than anywhere else, at least in terms of competitiveness.
9. Transfers of athletes have been going on for years. I was told it was rampant as far back as the 1950s and certainly not uncommon in the 1960s and 1970s either. But back then, you transferred, you sat for a period of time. I still believe that some cut-and-dried rule that mandated a specific time of non-participation at your new school after a transfer would curb much of the movement that goes on. Parents, right now, simply have a much different "It's all about my kid" mentality than the parents of past generations where tradition and going to a school in your own community was much more important. They are always going to seek the best avenue for their kids to play and earn that coveted college scholarship, even if the scholarship is more illusion than reality in many cases.
10. The AAU programs, the club teams, the travel leagues, whatever you want to call them, have become all the rage and the mentality of forming all-star teams, either by design or unintentionally, has become more and more prevalent in high school sports. Kids can hop around from AAU team to new AAU team, and many families believe that's how it should be in high school sports as well. With that kind of thinking on the rise, there's only going to be more movement, not less.
And one other thing, too, I have noticed is that transferring athletes are often in the eyes of the beholder.
If the student-athlete leaves your building for another school without a change of residency, there has to be recruiting and foul play involved.
However, if the student-athlete wants to come INTO your building, it amazes me how even the most anti-transfer people suddenly have a change of heart. They will strain themselves to justify and defend the motives of the incoming athlete and absolve their coaches of all blame when it comes to alleged recruiting.
But if the athlete is leaving, the accusations will fly and will fly fast and furious.
It's human nature I guess, but it's also hypocrisy of the highest degree.
I guess when the shoe is on the other foot, it doesn't look nearly as good as when it's on yours.
I am sure that there will be more news to come in the coming week. This isn't over yet.
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