Administrators from all the Northern Nevada 4A schools will meet at Carson High on Monday, and the future of freshman team sports most likely will be one of the topics discussed.
The Washoe School District is facing heavy cuts, and there is a very strong possibility that freshman sports will be cut to save some much-needed money. If Washoe cuts freshman sports, look for Douglas and Carson to do the same. There wouldn't be any teams for them to play or no league to play in.
People around the region may be up in arms about the cut, but I agree with it. There are only four teams affected - girls volleyball, football, boys basketball and girls basketball - and that might represent maybe 70 student-athletes at any one school.
In the case of volleyball, the freshmen could get a head start on their club season. Ditto for basketball. There are plenty of AAU teams out there if you are willing to spend the money. The JV teams (both sexes) could enlarge their roster to take on a couple extra players.
With football, you could take the more physically mature players and move them up to JV. The smaller players could stay in Pop Warner or Sierra Youth Football for an extra year. In football you could have a true frosh-soph team with no juniors. They would have to be kept on varsity or cut.
Cutting freshman could hinder the progress of some players, but it's a step that school districts need to look at.
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I bumped into Luke Carter, a former three-sport star at Carson, at a local eatery recently.
His life has changed quite a bit since graduation. Carter received a financial package to attend Malone College in Ohio. He played on special teams as a freshman, and was certain to see more playing time the next season as a linebacker.
When Carter returned to school following his Christmas break he got a rude awakening. Somebody at the school had screwed up and there was a problem with his financial aid package. That was the end of his playing career.
"It's time to move on with my life," Carter said.
And, Carter has done exactly that. He has enlisted in the Army and is leaving soon for Fort Benning (Georgia) for basic training. Carter said he is hopeful of ending up in Special Forces.
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Carson High is hosting several different events next Saturday, including the High Desert Swim Championships at the Carson Aquatic Center, the 4A regional track & field trials, and JV and varsity softball doubleheaders.
The softball game(s) could decide the Sierra League championship unless Damonte or Carson stumble in games leading up to the weekend.
It's not exactly a great move to have softball games going on while a track meet is in progress. The shot put and discus area is just past the right field fence, and there is always a chance that a foul ball from the varsity diamond could reach the running track and hit an unsuspecting runner.
Carson officials have tried to get the softball game moved, but say they have met resistance from Damonte Ranch. Unless there is a prom at Damonte, what's wrong with playing Friday at Carson?
Carson also could look into Edmonds Sports Complex. The fields aren't the quality of Carson's, but they are certainly good enough for high schoolers to play on. The only thing I don't like is the outfield fences are pretty low.