In July, the PIAA Board of Directors voted to eliminate the spring season for girls soccer, moving all girls soccer to the fall starting with the 2010-11 school year.

It would be a huge understatement to simply say that vote caused a lot of fuss, especially in the midstate area. That change will cause a lot of hard decisions to be made -- by schools, officials, coaches and players.

At least those decisions can now be put off for a little while.

On Oct. 9, the PIAA board voted to extend girls soccer in the spring through the 2012 season. At that time, it will move to the fall permanently. So those hard decisions will eventually have to be made, but at least there is more time to consider them.

Here's what you have to understand about Pennsylvania -- the reason for the split season was that in areas of the state in which field hockey was already established, such as the midstate and most of the east, schools felt it was in their best interests to play soccer in the spring because a lot of the same girls play both sports. Areas that do not have field hockey wanted soccer in the fall, its traditional season.

The PIAA allowed schools to choose which season to play soccer, and held state championships in both seasons. A majority of schools chose the fall, but not by a large margin.

Recently there have been legal challenges to this system, both in Pa. and other states, with some people wanting one true state champion in each class. It was also perceived

Advertisement
that girls who played in the fall got an advantage in recruiting.

The PIAA won a lawsuit in this matter, but it was expensive. And when a lawsuit in another state went the other way, the change became inevitable.

But here are the problems with moving girls soccer to the fall for everybody:

n It forces girls who already play other fall sports, especially field hockey, to choose one sport over the other.

n It taxes the facilities. Fields will get even more wear and tear during games and scheduling practices could be a nightmare for some schools.

n Coaches who previously coached both in the spring and fall will have to decide which to stick with.

n Quality officials, especially in some parts of the state, will be stretched thin to cover the entire schedule, which will also include junior high and JV teams. Can you guess which games will get the better officials? It won't be the girls.

n Here's the kicker for me: In the fall season, girls will have six sports to choose from (soccer, field hockey, volleyball, cross country, tennis and golf), as well as cheerleading and band. In the spring, there are two (track & field and softball). Girls lacrosse is an option, but very few schools currently offer that and with the economy the way it is, few schools will add another sport.

At least the PIAA's recent vote will delay all those issues.

Audrey Hall of McConnellsburg, who is on the PIAA board, said, "We brought back some justice for the girls who don't have to decide right away which sport to play."

Hall's point was that the July decision happened at the end of a long two-day session and some members may not have understood the vote.

"The whole discussion we had before the vote was based on starting it in 2012," Hall said. "Then the actual vote came and it was for 2010. I think there was confusion."

Hall and District 3 officials, including chairman Sam Elias of Hershey, worked to bring the issue up for vote again in October. And, after a compromise, it was voted unanimously to hold off for two years.

The compromise is that for the spring seasons of 2011 and 2012, there will be only one class competing for the title. During the same years, the fall teams will compete for championships in three classes. Both seasons had two classes before.

Warren Jones, who coaches the boys and girls teams for Shippensburg, said, "I was actually quite pleased to hear that because I didn't want to have to make that decision so soon. It should make for an easier transition having those two extra years."

While the delayed change will help, it doesn't solve the problem. There will still be six sports and a couple of other activities in the fall to stretch participation by girls. Some schools may have to drop certain sports, which will limit opportunities. Isn't the whole trend to try to give more avenues for participation, not fewer?

"What worries me about the girls is that they will have too many choices in the fall," Jones said.

His suggestion: Move girls volleyball to the spring, when the boys play, too. It would be the same as having boys and girls basketball in the winter and boys and girls soccer in the fall.

Hall is still not sure why a change had to be made at all.

She said, "If a wheel isn't broke, why are we trying to fix it?"

Exactly. But now that it has been "fixed" we're going to have to learn to live with it.

----------

Ed Gotwals can be reached at 262-4755 or egotwals@publicopinionnews.com