Coaches, athletes bemoan policy

Del Sol’s football team suffered three straight losses to Las Vegas High in the Class 4A Sunrise Region title game.

But if a realignment proposed by the NIAA is passed, the Dragons might not get another crack at the Wildcats.

Under the proposal released Monday, Del Sol would be one of 12 schools currently competing at the large-school (4A) level that would drop to Division II, the middle classification in the new three-division alignment proposed by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.

“For our football program, it would just be a major blow not to be able to compete for a top-level state championship,” Del Sol coach Preston Goroff said. “That’s our goal every year.”

The realignment is part of an NIAA plan to cut more than 10 percent from its budget. The plan is expected to be voted on by the NIAA board of control in June.

The NIAA said it used a point system to rate the success of schools in all sports, giving out more points for playoff appearances and a state title. The most successful schools were placed in Division I, with others dropping to Division II.

But that left programs such as Goroff’s, which has been strong despite a lack of overall success at the school, in a difficult situation.

“It blows me away,” Goroff said. “It takes away something that these kids have lived to get to, these rivalry-type games. It’s completely changed the whole landscape of the tradition of the games.”

That loss of traditional rivalries could be especially tough for Basic, another school that would drop to Division II. It could end a bitter 20-year football rivalry with Green Valley, which would remain in Division I. It also could end a rivalry with nearby Foothill, which also would remain in Division I.

“It would be difficult for the kids, with as successful as we were last year, and to see their biggest rival and the kids that they hang with all the time at Foothill not going to the smaller division,” Basic  coach Jeff Cahill said. “They’d probably take that as a slap in the face.”

Cahill questioned whether Basic should be among the proposed schools moving down. The Wolves won a Sunrise Region girls basketball title in 2006, and Cahill pointed to recent successes in baseball and boys and girls volleyball.

“I don’t think it would be necessary for us to move down to be competitive in any sport, really,” Cahill said.

After helping the Basic boys volleyball team to a 3-2 win at Rancho in the quarterfinals of the Sunrise Region playoffs Tuesday, junior Daniel Holihan said he is opposed to the Wolves dropping to Division II.

“The division goes by population, so if some of the 4A schools move down, the 3A schools are going to complain,” he said. “And if the 4A schools don’t win, the 4A schools are going to complain.

“So it’s really just a big mess that we don’t need to get into. The divisions are fine. Leave it how it is and let things handle themselves.”

Nearly every school dropped to Division II would have a similar situation: at least one successful program at the school.

“There are some situations where certain programs are maybe not as competitive as others,” Canyon Springs boys basketball coach Daryl Branham said. “But any school you look at, there’s going to be pluses and minuses. I think that’s kind of an unfair way to do things.”

Branham’s Pioneers made it to the state tournament in their third season in 2007 and have made the playoffs each of the last two years. They expect to return seven players next season and would be one of the favorites in the 4A Sunrise Region if the current alignment remains.

“It would kind of hurt our kids,” Branham said. “We try to not only promote our kids, but put as much time in the gym as possible to get them to play at a level that’s expected of them. For them to not be put in the group of the so-called elites, it’s kind of disappointing.”

And schools such as Desert Oasis are just starting to make waves in 4A.

In their first season, the Diamondbacks qualified for the Sunset Region playoffs in softball but struggled in some sports. Under the NIAA proposal, this season could be Desert Oasis’ only one in the top division.

“Playing tougher teams definitely makes you grow as a team, and it helps you grow as a player,” said Desert Oasis junior softball player Andrea McIntosh, who along with older sister Amelia played for Sierra Vista last season.

“As long as I’ve got the chance to play somewhere, I’m happy,” McIntosh said. “It helps playing against better competition, but you should always want to play your best, no matter who you’re playing.”

Cahill said he won’t dwell on it if the proposal is passed.

“You’ve just got to roll with the punches,” Cahill said. “... You’ve got to look ahead and do what you can do and prove to everybody that you should be in the higher division by winning.”