IHSA class expansion elicits reactions from coaches (IL)

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Change is in the air
IHSA class expansion elicits reactions from coaches

BY THE PIONEER PRESS SPORTS STAFF

Winner-take-all. Competitive balance. King of the hill. Everybody's a winner.

What are your druthers? The IHSA has that very conundrum on its hands regarding its sports programs. After handing out an initial survey to gauge interest in expanding from the current two-class system, the state's sports governing body found a majority opinion favoring the expansion of classes.

Granted, a host of member schools never bothered to fill out and return the survey, but the response the IHSA received did prompt the organization to announce in January expansion for the 2007-08 school year.

Boys golf, as well as boys and girls track, will expand to three classes. Baseball, softball, boys basketball, girls basketball and girls volleyball will expand to four classes.

There are pros and cons to any system -- especially one involving that dirty word: change. Area coaches and administrators had their own takes on what this change means to high-school sports in Illinois.

"I am a purist at heart (and) I am crazy enough to think there should be one ultimate state champion crowned per sport," said Leyden athletic director Randy Conrad, a former state wrestling champ himself at East Leyden. "I know I am in the minority with my way of thinking. I do believe the IHSA has good intentions and a sound philosophy behind the expansion."

A school such as Leyden won't really be affected so much by the expansion due to the size of its student body. The Eagles will be competing against the same large schools they always have.

But take, for instance, a school such as Elmwood Park, which has lived on the border of Class A and AA for much of its existence. Instead of being the tiny school battling the big boys of AA, the Tigers might now have a chance to add some hardware to their trophy case.

"My initial reaction was that of excitement and a sense of hope for the upcoming campaigns," said Dallas Till, varsity head coach for girls basketball and boys baseball. "In the past, realistically speaking . . . we had no chance of experiencing much success in the state playoffs. However, this should even the playing field, so to speak, and should rejuvenate a number of schools, including my own."

Quite understandably, the general reaction at another small Class AA school, Norridge's Ridgewood, has generally been the same as that of their counterparts in the Suburban Prairie Conference. Longtime Ridgewood girls volleyball coach Dave Wlodarczyck has no reservations about his support.

"When I heard about (the class expansion), I breathed a huge sigh of relief," said Wlodarczyk, who also coached a number of years at Naperville Central, a much larger school. "It was like all of us could finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. We have had some good regular seasons over the years and then go into the playoffs and get obliterated by some big AA school. Now our girls can at least feel they have a chance by playing schools of our size. I think it is a very good decision by the IHSA, which obviously weighed the pros and cons. After all, there have been eight classes for football for years. Why not for the other sports?"

But clearly, not everyone feels the same way. Jim Lonergan, longtime Maine South boys track coach, cites some problems with equity in his sport.

"I don't believe it's a good move," Lonergan said. "But I guess it is just a reflection of society in general -- to water things down. I can understand the feelings of some of the coaches at the smaller schools and coaches of the team sports. But with track, it is primarily an individual sport, except for the same few powerhouse teams that battle every year for the state title. My main concern with the four-class system is that there are going to be some good athletes that don't get an opportunity to compete at the state level. Because they plan to keep the number of qualifiers the same, you could have a kid that may not make qualify in pole vault, for example, at say 13 feet in the larger class, and have another guy win the state title at that height because he had the best height in the smaller division.

"And the state meet itself would be a mess. As it is, conducting two (Class AA and A) meets is tough. But to run three state meets would be a nightmare. First of all, you would be adding another one-third of the time to the meet. The prelim time would take forever. You could have a kid who runs the (1600-meter) and the (3200) have as much as eight hours between his events. It is difficult enough trying to keep kids mentally sharp for long periods of time between events. Plus, it would not only be bad for the athletes, but for the spectators as well."

Other area track coaches agree.

"The pro is that it gives more kids recognition, especially in the smaller schools. It puts them in a more balanced playing field," said Prospect girls track head coach Dave Wurster. "But the biggest con of the whole deal is the way they're going to conduct the state meet. It will be a huge train wreck. With three classes, that's going to be an unbelievable mess unless they figure out a better way."

Prospect boys track head coach Mike Kamedula said, "You can't run all three classes the same day, and if they do that's a mistake. It's good to give more kids opportunities, but you have to do it the right way. There's no way you can host that many kids in one day. It will just extend the meet too long. A kid could be there for 10 hours."

Andy Trotter, Maine West boys track skipper, is no fan of the idea, either.

"Personally, I don't think three classes are needed. It's not 'broke' in track, so they're fixing something that's working great," he said. "I understand doing it in football, but my take on other sports is, the smaller number of classes the better. You just can't run three classes of (track) prelims."

Count Maine West girls track head coach Joe LeCastro among the non-supporters as well.

"I don't think it's needed. The two-class system works very well in track and field," he said. "If you've got three (classes), it waters down the competition. Plus, the state meet is long enough as it is. If they do it on the same day, it will be even longer and more confused."

Another member of Maine South's coaching staff, boys basketball skipper Tony Lavorato Jr., thinks the situation will eventually work out in a positive way.

"I was coaching in Indiana (at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne) when they implemented four classes," Lavorato said. "I didn't actually think they needed it there, because they don't have as many schools as we do in Illinois. And initial reaction by the bigger schools was negative, and small schools loved it. Eventually, it worked out and the people down there love it. If we implement it here, it will reorganize the way we conduct the state tournaments because of the change in the number of schools. And that will be better. Having to play three games in 24 hours (quarterfinals, semifinals and finals) is archaic."

Notre Dame High School athletic director and football head coach Mike Hennessey feels the class expansion will have a rewarding effect for more young people.

"We have had the two-class system for a long time," said Hennessey, whose all-boys school has an enrollment of around 800. "As far as I am concerned, what's the difference if there are two state champions or four? It doesn't make their achievement any less impressive. There is obviously going to be more celebrating and more kids experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. As long as the competition is still at a high level, it will be a good thing. I know it hasn't diluted football."

Maine West football skipper Ray Pettenuzzo said, "If it works in football, why not in other sports? Why not reward the kids? People don't like change, but sometimes change is good."

Jim Edison, Ken Keenan and Dan Long contributed to this report.