Brownsville, California benefit from ‘sharing’ in soccer
Inter-scholastic rivalry has been put aside when it comes to high school soccer in the California and Brownsville Area school districts. This was the second year for a joint soccer program operated by the two districts, and combined athletic programs also are being considered for wrestling and middle school soccer as well.
“Sometimes in small districts you don’t have enough players for a team, but if you put two small schools together, you do,” said Dr. R. Tim Marks, the superintendent of the California Area School District.
Both the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) must approve all cooperative agreements.
“The cooperative sponsorship regulations were put into the WPIAL bylaws to accommodate small rural schools,” said Larry Hanley, the executive director of the WPIAL. “It’s become in some respects a conduit for parochial schools, K-8 particularly, to play at local public schools.”
Hanley said the league is accepting of the cooperative agreements, but doesn’t actively promote them. Hanley said the league’s philosophy is to be supportive of any opportunities for students to participate in sports and it will not support any agreement that would restrict participation. He said one district wanted an agreement with a private school that would have given preference to students who lived within the district, but the WPIAL and PIAA would not approve that agreement.
Hanley said some districts shy away from cooperative sports agreements because it may move them up in the league classifications, which are based on student enrollment. When districts enter cooperative agreements, they compete in the level of their combined enrollment, not their individual enrollments.
Hanley said there are a number of cooperative agreements in the WPIAL, including several in Washington, Greene and Allegheny counties.
He noted that Carmichaels and Jefferson Morgan in Greene County have joint agreements for soccer and wrestling, while South Fayette and Fort Cherry in Washington County have joint swimming and tennis programs for both boys and girls.
Hanley said that it’s easier to get approval for a jointure than it is to have that jointure dissolved.
“The PIAA doesn’t want them to dissolve,” Hanley said.
Hanley said all agreements must be for at least two years, since the PIAA classification system and scheduling are on a two-year rotation.
Mark Mammarella, Brownsville’s high school soccer coach, said six of his 24 players were from the California Area School District, with three of them serving as starting players.
“It works out real well. The best part is our youth programs are combined, so these kids have grown up playing together,” Mammarella said. “We don’t push the Brownsville thing. We just call it the Falcons.”
Mammarella said the players don’t seem to be too concerned about the name they play under. The youth program is called California Youth Soccer, even though the teams play at Patsy Hillman Park just outside of Brownsville.
“There is talk, and it is just talk right now, about having California host the middle school soccer program. Brownsville doesn’t actually have a middle school team right now,” Mammarella said.
There are currently 16 students participating in California’s middle school soccer program. The California school board recently tabled action on a joint agreement for middle school soccer and high school wrestling and renewal of the high school soccer agreement.
Marks said a joint program for high school wrestling would be hosted by the California Area School District.
“In wrestling, we’re going to survey to see if there’s enough interest,” Marks said.
Brownsville’s athletic director, Scooter Roebuck, said it’s possible that Brownsville wouldn’t have a high school soccer program if it hadn’t been for the jointure with California last school year.
“Two years ago, we forfeited the last game or two because we didn’t have the numbers. If we hadn’t joined with California, we probably would have lost our program,” Roebuck said.
“It’s a lot of work coordinating transportation between the two schools for practices and games, but it’s worth it.”
Roebuck said the Brownsville Area School District has shouldered the bulk of the cost of the high school soccer program for the past two seasons, but a new agreement is currently being considered that would balance the expenses more.
Marks said the joint programs could save both districts money in the long run, since there is no need to duplicate the facilities or coaching staff, though Roebuck pointed out that there are added expenses for transportation to and from games and practices.