Sobrato High officials have requested a withdrawal from the
Tri-County Athletic League in football this fall, a move that has
come under fire from other league schools.
By Brett Edgerton and Jim Johnson
Morgan Hill – Sobrato High officials have requested a withdrawal from the Tri-County Athletic League in football this fall, a move that has come under fire from other league schools.
According to Sobrato Principal Rich Knapp, a request was forwarded to TCAL Commissioner Jim Long last week to allow Sobrato to exit the league with the intention of playing an independent schedule next season. Knapp said Long told him the TCAL Board of Managers would hold an emergency meeting in the next few days to consider the request.
Knapp said the safety of Sobrato’s young football team, which will consist entirely of juniors and sophomores playing their first year at the varsity level, is the motivating factor.
“Physically, we’re concerned about playing the Gilroys and Hollisters and Salinases,” Knapp said. “I would have been remiss if I hadn’t raised the question. If we’re playing sophomores against teams with older players that have been (playing varsity) for a few years, is that dangerous? I think we have to ask if the other schools want to play Sobrato under those circumstances.”
The original plan was for Sobrato to join the TCAL for the 2005-06 season, then switch to the Blossom Valley Athletic League the following season. But now, Knapp, athletic director Dennis Martin and football coach Jeff Patterson want Sobrato to play an independent schedule in football next season, then join the BVAL after that.
The school’s other sports would remain in the TCAL for next season.
According to Knapp, a group of parents of Bulldog football players approached him with concerns about Sobrato’s football team playing against much larger TCAL schools – both in size and attendance – next season.
Martin and Patterson both confirmed that many parents had expressed concerns, and had even said they might limit their kids to junior varsity football next season.
“Personally, I think it’s best for our kids (to get out of the TCAL),” Patterson said. “I can’t imagine playing six games in the TCAL. It would be tough on our kids and on morale.”
Martin said he, Patterson and Knapp talked at length about how difficult it would be to play in the TCAL, but no one considered the possibility of asking out of the league and playing an independent schedule until the parents came forward with their concerns.
However, since Sobrato waited until now to ask out of the league, most TCAL football teams have already finalized their schedules – after originally altering them to accommodate Sobrato’s addition to the league schedule – and will have difficulty finding games to fill out their non-league schedules.
That has led to some disgruntled athletic directors.
Live Oak AD Mark Cummins, who said his team might be left with nine-game schedule, noted the league had to postpone finalizing its schedule for two months to allow Sobrato into the TCAL. He said he can’t understand why the issue wasn’t brought up earlier.
“It was a two-year process to have them enter the league and then in November we asked them if they were sure they wanted to be in the TCAL for football and they said yes. I can’t believe after all we went through that they’re trying to pull this. This doesn’t sit well with a lot of people.”
GHS AD Jack Daley said Sobrato officials didn’t even show up to the TCAL Board of Managers’ meeting at which the league’s football schedule was finalized, then asked out a few days later.
“I think the main bone of contention is that they haven’t been to a lot of these meetings,” Daley said. “I can see people saying, ‘Well, go independent in everything if you don’t show up and take part in our league discussions.'”
Martin said he realizes the situation Sobrato’s request would put the other TCAL teams into.
“I really feel kind of bad because of the late date on this,” he said. “I know this will create holes in the schedule.”
Patterson said he would like to keep some of the TCAL schools as non-league opponents, and has asked LO, Gilroy and North Salinas about playing in the future, with an eye toward building a few rivalries. He said he’s had no takers.
“If these coaches really think about it and (keeping Sobrato in the TCAL) is what they want to do, then we’ll do it. It’s not my decision.”
But Knapp said scheduling difficulties shouldn’t take precedence over student safety. “It would be easy for us to focus on scheduling and games, but we need to focus on the safety of the kids.”
