Playing for top high school programs, such as Bridgeport, Martinsburg, or George Washington high schools brings a certain set of challenges.
In a different way, however, so does playing for some of the smallest schools in the most remote of areas of West Virginia.
Schools such as Union, Paw Paw, and Harman field teams in sports such as volleyball, basketball, and occasionally baseball, softball, and track. These doughty athletes, both boys and girls, work just as hard as their single to quad A counterparts.
They love winning and hate losing as much as their big school counterparts, too.
Each season’s schedule, however, features almost no hope of a winning record, much less a championship.
They currently compete in class single A, but the gulf between a Harman and a Tygarts Valley, Pendleton County, or Pocahontas County is in practice as large as that separating a Webster County or a Calhoun County from a typical triple or quad A program.
Even more discouraging, some coaches even in bigger single A schools will admit that they dislike scheduling microschools. Some say that the level of competition is such that larger school teams lose their edge in the course of winning over them and struggle against the next scheduled opponent.
The plight of very small school athletics is not an issue that will rock the globe, the nation, the state, or even, often, their home county. For those in the county seats or other areas that are served by larger schools, games with microschools serve as a footnote to what the bigger programs are accomplishing.
But it is important to these remote communities whose children work hard to represent their towns and schools. It is important to these athletes, parents, and coaches who must find solace in little victories when they struggle to win games.
The West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission just went through a year’s worth of migraines related to reclassification. No tweaking of that can help the microschools, but there is a possible solution.
First of all, keep each of these small schools both in Class A and also in whatever athletic conference they currently compete. Also, however, create a new statewide conference just for schools whose ninth through 12th grade student population is below 200.
This could also include Hannan in Mason County, Pickens, and the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind. It could certainly include educational cooperatives who could satisfy WVSSAC guidelines.
Conference members could create creative ways to work together in issues such as scheduling, travel, and finding suitable venues. For example, one bus could take basketball teams from Paw Paw, Harman, and Union to Hannan for a tournament.
Most important, the microschool conference would have its own playoffs held prior to regular sectional and regional play. These playoffs would give such schools a chance to compete for a meaningful title on a more even playing field.
Losing often, usually by large amounts, creates a sense of discouragement that alienates all but the most committed. An opportunity to thrive will attract more athletes. More athletes playing varsity sports means more kids learn the right lessons that come from good competition while also having the chance to develop good health habits that last a lifetime.
Creating a microschool conference or league could also help schools like Pickens and the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind restart their own athletic programs on a basis that their small student populations could support.
At one time, WVSDB had a very active program that allowed students with certain disabilities to compete in sports
Additionally, the organization could honor the best talent from the smallest schools with all-conference or league honors.
The WVSSAC should consider this change. It would add no costs and detract in no way from the system in place. This plan would simply give student-athletes in smaller schools a fighting chance to have their own big games, memorable wins, and to earn trophies for the school case.
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On a different note . . .
At the Kyle Petty Charity Ride stop, a reader, in a manner of both asking and suggesting, inquired about why the Moorefield Examiner does not devote much space to covering local crime.
The question caught me off guard, so I could not give the question the thoughtful answer that it deserved.
Here is the issue with covering crime in a local newspaper. Criminal A commits a felony crime. A reporter has time to cover it and does so thoroughly. Perhaps a month later, Criminals B and C commit the same crime – or a crime that has the same level of severity. This week, either no reporter has the time to cover it or the newspaper has more vital stories to run.
In both cases, one is looking at a condition of limited resources forcing coverage choices.
Criminals, for the most part, have families and friends who have some level of regard for them no matter what they did. They would have the right to wonder why the misdeeds of the one they have as family or friends had their misdeeds revealed in full to the community on the pages of the newspaper while others did not.
That brings up a legitimate question of fairness and will almost always inevitably lead to accusations of bias or covering something up, despite the fact this does not enter consideration when making these choices.
The most fair way to approach this is to print the full list of grand jury indictments to inform the community and, for the most part, leave it at that. The trials, being matters of public record, can have their transcripts reviewed by anyone interested
This is a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. Some crimes at some points will, for whatever reason, warrant coverage. Big picture criminal trends outside of reporting on individual misdeeds also can be included.
Also, every inch of space devoted to this sort of bad news takes away from reporting on student accomplishments, local organizations’ good work, impressive individual lives, or other positive developments that shape the area in ways that provide benefit.
For the most part, unless there is an overriding need to report on it, criminal activity won’t be featured on these pages very often.
