Football Coop’s and enrollment – Don’t forget the kids!

[SE Fan]

Thoughts from a tired and grumpy Southeastern parent:

What bothers me the most about this discussion / argument is it never takes into consideration the handful of kids from small schools who could never have an opportunity to compete in a high # sport like football. The Central – Southeastern football coop is one that gets thrown around (ridiculed) on this site quite often. “Southeastern only sends a handful of kids….” “Coop should be dropped if SE participation doesn’t improve…” It is tiring. Truly tiring.

Jake Klingele, Kraig Hiland, Adam Willard, Zach Dively, Cale Gastler, Josh Twidwell (and others I can’t think of) – All Southeastern boys who contributed mightily to the CSE football program and tradition. In a couple of instances they were superstars, but in most they were solid performers who more than held their own. Others who I don’t mention were role players, or practice-type guys who’s only contribution was to toe the line for 8 years busting their hump for CSE football. They did it for one thing: love of that simple game. Only recognition they got was to stand on the field of a sport they love for that one moment on senior day and hug Mom and Dad.

In interest of full disclosure, my son is in Junior High at Southeastern and plays on the CSE football team. He cut his teeth in Central’s flag football league as a 5 year old, and continued on into the 5th/6th tackle squad. He is hooked on football (much to concern of Mom & Dad, but that is another topic), and we put hundreds of miles on each year trucking him and his classmates to/from Bowen & Augusta for summer camps, season practices and games. He loves football. The bumps and bruises that he plays through each year make me cringe, but the kid just keeps plugging.

Football has changed my son from a youngest-child-almost-momma’s-boy, into a strong confident athlete. Yeah, he plays basketball, baseball and track; but for anyone who has played football, you know what I mean when I say it makes a man out of you. Discipline, toughness (mind & body), commitment to coach and team – there is a spot for everyone in football if they are willing to put in the work. That is the beauty of this sport.

But most importantly, some of the friendships my son has developed with Central kids are a beautiful thing to behold – bunch of kids playing football that don’t care a hoot about the fact that parents happen to live in a different geographical district. Keep all of this in mind when you start dissing CSE and coops in general. Southeastern is around 140 kids and boys like my son would never, ever get an opportunity to taste High School football, Friday night lights, crisp Saturday morning JH games, if it were not for the consideration given by Central. I am thankful we got the opportunity to taste it.

[allstarwannabe]

Nice post. Schools do need to make sure they are putting the best interest of the kids first. This is a great opportunity that kids should have.

[kokxtitansports]

Co-ops are very important especially when kids want to play and schools are not large enough to field a team or have small numbers. Especially in hancock county where it now down to three teams southeastern which goes in with most sports with central, illini west which has carthage, dallas city and laharpe which gives those kids a chance to play. And i have seen first hand west hancock which has hamilton, warsaw and nauvoo-colusa who can get kids from the western part of the county from niota to tioga and east to basco. Coach lewton is working to get more kids interested in the program and are getting more kids interested. It's very important and fun and hard work for the kids and makes them feel that they have accomplished something and can go back and remember what fun and the friendships they made over the years. Iowa and illinois are very fortunate to have these agreements for co-op because missouri small schools do not have them. I think clopton-elsberry for football is the only one in missouri. Maybe they can get smaller schools like canton and some of the tri-county conference schools interested which would help because in northeast missouri especially north shelby it would help with the number of kids available.

[wolverine55]

I think some people forget how far back the CSE co-op dates. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the 1997 season was the first year of it---kids like Ben Hamilton and Zach Gratton were the first SE athletes to get to play football. As a Nauvoo kid, we didn't get football unitl 1996 when we joined Warsaw and it's a decision that literally changed the course of my life. I wouldn't have played a sport at all my junior and senior seasons if it wasn't for football, I wouldn't have gone to Illinois College had it not been for football, and I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now if it wasn't for football. Good post, SE Fan!

And, not to hijack a thread, but since this is about CSE: does anyone have their 2O12 football schedule? I'd love to see what their first year of WIVC play has in store for them!

[remote]

CSE 2012 Football Schedule

Fri Aug 24 @ Carrollton
Fri Aug 31 vs. Pleasant Hill
Fri Sept 7 vs. Unity
Fri Sept 14 @Brown County
Fri Sept 21 @ Routt
Fri Sept 28 vs. Triopia
Fri Oct 5 @ ISD
Fri Oct 12 @ North Greene
Fri Oct 19 vs. Calhoun

[wolverine55]

May have caught a break on the crossover games--Weeks 1,2, 8, and 9--but even then I think Calhoun, Carollton, and PHill were all 5-4 last year! Tough schedule with a renewal of some local rivalries which is exactly why they wanted to join the WIVC!

[mrblue]

Long time reader, first time poster.

Sorry, but I just have to offer a perspective a little bit different than SE FAN. Let me begin by saying that I understand fully the benefits that come from participating in organized athletics. I myself was involved in multiple sports in high school. I learned a lot more than just the basics of the sports, I learned life lessons that have proved valuable to me. So I understand completely the viewpoint of SE FAN and Wolverine from the idea of the benefit to the kids of participation in athletics. However, I can not agree with the post thought process about sports co-ops.

I guess when I think about sports co-ops, I think of situations where both schools benefit from coming together to form a team. Situations where neither school could field a team on their own, where coming together gives kids from both schools an opportunity that they would not otherwise have had. And I think that situations for school districts can change where co-ops need to be reevaluated. Just because two schools come together at one point in time, doesn’t mean that that co-op must last forever. Situations change. Needs change. Neither school involved in any co-op should bury their head in the sand and automatically continue. Evaluate what is best for the continuing education of their students. Doing things a certain way just because you’ve done them that way in the past is a recipe for failure.

Specifically towards the CSE football co-op: I’m guessing here that there is no doubt that SE has made significant contributions to the program. But is SE obligated to the co-op forever? No. What if their board / administration feels it is no longer worth the cost in fuel, bus drivers, etc to transport fewer and fewer students to Camp Point every day for football? How many students makes it worth it? Would they continue for just one student? Should they?

What about Camp Point? If things needed to change for them, they should feel the freedom to do so as well. What if they needed a lower football enrollment for this different conference they are getting into? (Obviously they didn’t, I’m just trying to show scenarios and situations change every day.) Are Central administrators / board obligated to look out for SE students? No, they are obligated to look out for their own district.

Back to general statement: If a student lives in a district that does not offer a specific sport, how do their parents “guarantee” that their child gets to participate in that specific sport? Force a co-op? No, move to another district that offers that sport.

To me, sports co-ops are an option for schools to look at when they would otherwise have to drop a sport due to lack of participation. If two schools in that situation can work together for a win-win, then great. Sports co-ops should not be thought of as an entitlement that every student at every school has exactly the same opportunities.

[wolverine55]

Point taken...but I think your questions have already been answered. There's been years where SE was only providing 4-5 football players and the co-op went on, so I think that has been answered: yes, both schools seem to think it's still worth it in that situation. However, situations do indeed change. I think the basis of the Virginia/A-C Central co-op was the hope that it would eventually lead to consolidation. When it became clear that wasn't going to happen, A-C dropped out and joined with PORTA for sports co-ops. So, yes, circumstances do change as well.