Being familiar w/NY (not NYC) sports from decades-ago, I was saddened to see that prep enrollment in intrascholastic sports has fallen to the point where schools have to combine together to form "competitive teams."
What this means, is that there aren't enough students who want to play sports, so the NYS school athletic commission has allowed schools to combine their student bodies to be able to field teams.
We aren't talking of two 300-student schools combining district 'pools,' we're talking schools w/>1000 combining to create 2000+ student 'pools' to be-able to field teams. This is a real disappointment to me to-see the student interest in sports has declined to a point that this is the kind of 'fix' the districts have to use to get teams formed.
Yes in a way, it's good that there are opportunities for athletes to still be able to participate where apparently districts would choose not to fund teams where there wasn't enough interest to field a full team. Years-ago, that would mean that in football, having to play offense and defense, 'ironman' football. In wrestling, maybe having forfeits in some weight classes, so your team starts-out w/a score handicap against the kids.
Have the youth gotten so oriented into computers and video games that they would rather do that than try-out for a team? I find that sad and disappointing. :confused2:
Go watch 'Hoosiers' about an early 1950's basketball team from Hickory IN that had a handful of kids who won the state championship against a 'big-city' team. (fine acting jobs by Gene Hackman, Dennis Hopper, and Barbara Hershey) Guess that would never happen today, not-enough kids interested in playing, unless they formed a multi-school district team.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130825/SPORTS08/308250042/1026
http://www.newyorksportswriters.org...ester-city-school-district.shtml#.Uow8M3Io6Ul
Useless interesting trivia factoid: Sheb Wooley, who plays one of the townspeople in 'Hoosiers,' was also a singer of primarily humorous 'novelty' country-western songs, but he had a huge hit in 1958 (6 weeks at #1 in Billboard) with "Purple People Eater." I was just a kid, but I remember it well. Of course, 'youtube' has him performing it.
What this means, is that there aren't enough students who want to play sports, so the NYS school athletic commission has allowed schools to combine their student bodies to be able to field teams.
We aren't talking of two 300-student schools combining district 'pools,' we're talking schools w/>1000 combining to create 2000+ student 'pools' to be-able to field teams. This is a real disappointment to me to-see the student interest in sports has declined to a point that this is the kind of 'fix' the districts have to use to get teams formed.
Yes in a way, it's good that there are opportunities for athletes to still be able to participate where apparently districts would choose not to fund teams where there wasn't enough interest to field a full team. Years-ago, that would mean that in football, having to play offense and defense, 'ironman' football. In wrestling, maybe having forfeits in some weight classes, so your team starts-out w/a score handicap against the kids.
Have the youth gotten so oriented into computers and video games that they would rather do that than try-out for a team? I find that sad and disappointing. :confused2:
Go watch 'Hoosiers' about an early 1950's basketball team from Hickory IN that had a handful of kids who won the state championship against a 'big-city' team. (fine acting jobs by Gene Hackman, Dennis Hopper, and Barbara Hershey) Guess that would never happen today, not-enough kids interested in playing, unless they formed a multi-school district team.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130825/SPORTS08/308250042/1026
http://www.newyorksportswriters.org...ester-city-school-district.shtml#.Uow8M3Io6Ul
Useless interesting trivia factoid: Sheb Wooley, who plays one of the townspeople in 'Hoosiers,' was also a singer of primarily humorous 'novelty' country-western songs, but he had a huge hit in 1958 (6 weeks at #1 in Billboard) with "Purple People Eater." I was just a kid, but I remember it well. Of course, 'youtube' has him performing it.
