PTSA Conversation Series: WCHS Athletics Deparmtent

Final Installment

Well, we have reached the final installment of the of PTSA Conversation Series: Athletics Department.  The final installment appropriately is about all things SUMMER . . . 

On this topic, there was less engagement and the “extremely busy” schedules of the Administrators apparently didn’t permit our requested follow-up meeting.

Here Are the Concerns that Were Raised:

Summer League/Summer Practices:  The summer offerings should be published and a clear explanation provided that they are not mandatory (assuming that is true).  Coaches should conduct themselves in accordance with that explanation and not penalize players who do not attend summer offerings.

Unequal Access to Coaches Outside of School: Parents complained that students who attend off-season clinics offered by coaches are advantaged during tryouts.  Relatedly, parents expressed concerns that ninth graders, in particular, were encouraged to attend paid clinics that financially benefited the coach making that recommendation.

Untimely and/or Incomplete Information About Summer League/Fall Tryouts/Summer Practices:  Although participation in summer practices is elective and absences from fall tryouts are penalized, the schedules for practices and tryouts often are published long after parents schedule family vacations or other commitments for their children (e.g., summer school, summer employment, college visits, etc.). Students should not be unfairly penalized for absences in these situations, often beyond their control.

Here Are the Initial Responses PTSA Received:

Freshman Player Preclusion from Teams: Coaches visit the middle schools in the Spring to welcome incoming 9th graders and encourage them to try out. There is also an Open House at the end of May for incoming freshmen. Some coaches may have summer league teams that have limited rosters and as such, they only provide opportunities to returning players. Some players might have access to coaches “on out-of-season teams that are not affiliated with Churchill Athletics.”   These situations, however, do not exclude 9th graders from WCHS teams “in the future” and “it is not something athletics can monitor.”

Summer Participation:

There are multiple types of summer participation:

                            i.     Summer Leagues: These are leagues that are run by a non-MCPS entity. Our teams are allowed to participate in these leagues but are not under the supervision of MCPS Athletics and do not represent our school. We have no control over tryouts, who is chosen, when they play, where they play, or any other item related to these teams. These leagues are not able to begin until after the final MPSSAA Spring State Championship event has occurred.

                            ii.     Conditioning Workouts: WCHS teams are allowed to have voluntary workouts throughout the summer. These are organized and run by the team coaching staff. These workouts are purely optional.

                            iii.     Summer Practices: The MPSSAA introduced a new practice window in Maryland for all teams during the summer. Teams are allowed to conduct 12 practices from the day after the final MPSSAA State Championship event until the day before Fall tryouts begin. These practices are only allowed to be 2 hours long and they are coordinated with the Athletic Department to ensure they do not overlap with other sports. Again, these are elective workouts and are not managed by WCHS coaches.

AD Smith will share information about these offerings at the end of each school year, so that families understand what to expect and what they need to know for each sport.

Reactions from Your PTSA President:

Insofar as they go, these responses seem reasonable until as a parent you learn that your child’s failure to participate in summer league/practices may be construed as a lack of commitment to the sport (whereas participation in summer practices may be rewarded with selection as team captain and/or accolades at the end-of-season banquets) or his/her absence from Fall tryouts may be grounds for your child to be cut from the team (at the discretion of the coach) whether or not the absence was within the child’s control even occasioning such gratuitous advice from the coach as:

I hope you get this figured out before you attempt to be on another “team.”  This has to change before you get a job or have a family because right now you are not understanding what being committed means.

Source: Excerpt of Private Text from WCHS Coach to Student (8/15/2024), that Parent  Reported to Mr. Haas

The Administration’s Response to Such Concerns:

The parents that are sharing these concerns with you need to understand that when joining these teams, there is a commitment level that is required by the student athlete and the family just as there is with school itself. But it needs to be understood that being on these teams is a privilege and we are not required to bend the schedule to better fit the needs of the student athlete and family when we have to look at doing what is best for all in the program. As long as coaches are running their teams by the rules that govern their sport on the state and county level, then [AD Smith] will fully support the schedules in place. At the end of the day, if the commitment is too much for these student athletes and family, then [AD Smith] would suggest that they not participate and look at something less demanding.

___________________________

Alternatively, the Administration could look into whether the expectations are unrealistic or coaches’ treatment consistent and disclosed given the communication failures to students and their parents; for example, as of this writing, parents still don’t know over which weekends summer practices/Fall tryouts/summer leagues will be scheduled (or their dates and times). There has to be some room for a better response than accept it or your child should pursue another activity.

Although the end of the Conversation Series, not the end of the story.

 Enjoy the Summer Churchill Community!