May 4, 2007
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the Oregon School Activities Association's moving Salem-Keizer's six high schools into the same sports league as Redmond.
The Salem-Keizer, Eugene and Medford school districts now must decide whether to take the matter to the Oregon Supreme Court. As the powers that be ponder that decision, perhaps they and the OSAA would consider a parent's observation of the side effects of reclassification.
My daughter plays junior varsity softball for West Salem High School. On Wednesday, she traveled by Oregon Coachways bus (non-yellow with bathroom, DVD players, reclining seats) across the Santiam Pass for the second time in three weeks. I followed on a $41.
75 tank of gas.
My husband couldn't make it because he'd already used a vacation day for the first game, April 16.
This game, like last time, was almost anti-climactic compared to the trip and the weather.
With a bone-chilling wind factor, the two other parents who made the trek from Salem bundled under multiple blankets, scarves, gloves and parkas while the girls braved the field barehanded. After the game, the tired and cold JV and varsity softball and freshmen boys baseball teams headed for the warmth of the bus.
The driver, a seasoned veteran of the team ride by now, stopped at a roadside food oasis consisting of those paragons of healthy food: McDonald's, Starbucks and New York-style pizza.
Then the bus headed west in a drizzle that turned into about 4-foot visibility and snow at 3,000 feet. To his credit, the Oregon Coachways driver was a champ, almost worth the extra $837 per round trip (not a comment on his driving, just on spending the money in the first place).
When irritated and hurried drivers passed first my car, then the bus -- and then cut off the bus because they couldn't overtake the logging truck, too -- the Coachways driver took it all in stride, braking gently and giving the nitwits room.
Parents and the OSAA don't need to be concerned with the Coachways drivers, just all the other impatient motorists making their way down the mountain.
West officials estimate that the school will spend $15,000 to $17,000 this school year to send athletes over what some call the scenic route.
Here's what we saw: Headed east, we passed one SUV smashed into roadside rock at an angle perpendicular to the roadway.
We could only wonder how it ended up there as we inched past emergency vehicles.
Returning, we passed the burned-out hulk of a spun-around, overturned sedan and the flashing lights and orange cones of state police vehicles as we poked our way down the mountain in the snow and sleet of May 2.
One non-athlete mused during the initial opposition to the reclassification that Santiam Pass isn't K2, and he's correct.
But while we can ensure that the bus drivers are well-trained and level-headed, we can't compensate for the routinely impatient imbeciles on this particularly treacherous stretch of road. Exposing our children (Redmond's and Salem-Keizer's) to almost daily trips down this two-lane dangerous highway just to play sports is lunacy.
Need some more proof?
Sitting in the bleachers Wednesday, the scorekeeper for Redmond told us that nine of Redmond's junior varsity team had failing grades, and only a few had brought them up enough to continue playing. They'd had a large team, so they could absorb the loss, and they seemed to take this startling statistic in stride.
But not us.
I'd be willing to speculate, since the athletic director at Redmond didn't return my call, that maybe having to leave class early two or three times per week to make several 250-plus mile trips into Salem-Keizer has something to do with half of the JV team not getting passing grades.
Throw in cases like the Redmond boys traveling all the way to Salem on Wednesday only to take the field, have the game called for rain, and then have to travel back to Redmond, and I think you have defined academic malfeasance.
Our kids think it's a treat to get out of school early.
They bond on the bus -- witness a heartwarming incident where one kid made a pejorative remark and got 500 pushups from the coach. Her teammates rallied beside her on the cold Redmond concrete to take some of them from her. That's a wonderful lesson, but it can be learned a lot closer to home.
The solution, given that Redmond High has three high schools (one charter and two smaller learning community schools) within its borders, is to split the school into halves (build another with all that California cash equity flooding in) and have them play each other instead of trying to engineer all-star teams for each sport.
That's what all cities with growing pains do. Why should Redmond (and Salem) have to be different and costlier?
Carol McAlice Currie is a columnist for the Statesman Journal. Contact her at , P.O.
Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309; or (503) 399-6746.
Our coaches aren't going to do it. Going against the OSAA means these Coaches could be blacked balled and remember a couple of them were are part of the process of change.
There is very little loyality between our Coaches and our schools these days and many bolt for better money and the minute we make the change I bet many leave quickly.
Our Schoolboard and school Administrators do not have the guts, much less the time, to pull our schools out of the OSAA and form our own organization. I bet between us, Eugene and Medford we can put together a great organization that focuses on education and player development for College.
I would not be surprised if other school districts joined in.
Imagine our High Schools having two varsity teams, a JV and Freshman team. Play each team in league twice is 18 games all within the city.
Add a couple of games with Eugene and Medford. End the season with a 32 team tournement and that would give a lot more Salem kids the post season experience. Oh but what about the competition?
We are always told the the kids learn more when they face teams that know what they do. The game comes down to execution of the offense, focus and skill. I can't see a better way to make players better then that.
This answer would save money, save Salem Sports and put the sports program on a mission that is more intune to what our kids need while they are in school and for a change to explore sports at the college level.
So Carol now that you have shared your experience how can you lead us to a correct decision? Well lead others, I pulled my child out of sports this year and I am happy I did.
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