Expansion AftershockAddition of Cane Bay, Ashley Ridge will likely impact athletic success of nearby teams By Philip M. Bowman (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Alan Hawes Stratford football coach Ray Stackley estimates he’s losing approximately 40 freshman and sophomore football players to Cane Bay. High school football coaches in Berkeley and Dorchester counties know the opening of Cane Bay and Ashley Ridge high schools will cause an athletic talent drain at their schools. The new schools were built to ease congestion but could temporarily erode some of the success the schools have had on the gridiron if past experience is any indication. In 1992, Fort Dorchester opened to ease congestion at Summerville. The Green Wave combined for a 23-4 record the first two years that Fort Dorchester was in business. But by the third year, it was evident Summerville didn't have the same depth it enjoyed just a few years earlier as 650 students who would have been freshmen and sophomores at Summerville in '92 were now juniors and seniors at Fort Dorchester. The Wave struggled, posting a 20-17 record the next three years before righting itself in '97. This time, perennial state power Stratford appears to be the school that will be affected most due to an opening of a new school. "Ninety-five percent of the students who will go to Cane Bay would have gone to Stratford," said Ray Stackley, the athletic director and football coach at Stratford. "We lost some outstanding student-athletes. Quite a few of our ninth- and 10th-graders will be at Cane Bay." Stackley estimates he lost 40 rising freshman and sophomore football players to Cane Bay. Most of the players would have seen little or no action at Stratford this fall because of their inexperience. But now many will be starters for the Cobras. Their absence won't be noted by the casual fan until they are juniors and seniors. "We have to find a way to replace those players," Stackley said. "We have to fill that void. When you have a split like that, it's going to affect you. We knew change was going to happen, and now we just have to roll with it. Berkeley County has done a great job with the new school, and a lot of excitement has been created. We would have loved to have them on our team. We wish them nothing but success." In York County, Rock Hill and Northwestern high schools experienced the talent drain when South Pointe opened its doors in 2005. Rock Hill took the biggest hit. The Bearcats were 14-2 in '04, winning the Big 16 state championship. They were solid the following year with a 9-3 mark. But the team began to feel the effects of losing players to South Pointe in '06 when the team went 6-7. The Bearcats were 4-8 last fall. Steve LaPrad knows what can happen to a high school football superpower when a new school opens and siphons off student-athletes. He was an assistant at Summerville when Fort Dorchester opened. "Summerville lost a lot of players when Fort Dorchester opened," said LaPrad, now head coach of the Patriots. "The opening of Ashley Ridge won't have as much a dramatic effect as the opening of Fort Dorchester. Still, any time you lose one football player, it can make a difference. Losing one player can hurt your program. Losing a handful of players can affect a team's chemistry." The Patriots' loss of players might not be as dramatic as Stratford's. But Ashley Ridge cost LaPrad the top rising sophomore in his program. Tre Deloach was on the Patriots' varsity roster last fall despite being a freshman. The defensive end had size (6-3, 230) and potential and reminded LaPrad of a young Carlos Dunlap, who now plays for the Florida Gators. "I even gave him Carlos' number," LaPrad said. "He wore number 8. He's a big old rascal and has great character. We had huge plans for him at defensive end. But now he's going to play defensive end/tight end at Ashley Ridge." Summerville coach John McKissick remembers his team's three lean years soon after the Fort opened. "You hope it won't happen again," said McKissick, who is in his 57th year at Summerville. "But it's kind of hard to predict. The area's still growing, and people are coming in and moving in. Ashley Ridge is going to provide a challenge. They have a good (coaching) staff and draw players from some good areas." Reach Philip M. Bowman at pbowman@postandcourier.com |
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Comments
This article has 3 comment(s)
Posted by McCoach on August 3, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This article is a great story, the three year rule for athletic decline proves true in other areas of the country, where schools have strict enrollment zones.
The opening of new schools is much more expensive than the expansion of current schools. New science labs, educational technology, athletic facilities, administrative costs, and doubling of high cost special academic programs are the easily identifiable expenses. Do new facilities attract new students(increased taxpayer costs) from local private schools and transient student families.
The loss of community support to regional schools is not quantifiable, but always present. An economic test that we identified, was that we counted the number of athletic signs sold at a high school football stadium prior to a split. Then we counted them at the divided schools two years later. It was never as large at the 2 or 3 schools as it was at one or two school(s). Summerville will not lose a sign, so that rule might not apply.
Athletic attendance can go up if the new rivalries are properly exploited and safely administrated. This is an easy way to measure increased school spirit. This usually does not happen as administraters see a few examples of vandalism or violence and attempt to minimize the rivalries.
New schools should be aligned with a clearly identified community. Stratford grew within Crowfield, Cane Bay should have similiar community support. Does Fort Dorchester have the community support, like Summerville? Will Ashley Ridge?
The areas of the country, where students have open enrollment, the effect of a new school is not as easily predicted. Blythewood (In a community that wanted and supports its HS) did not hurt Ridgeview, where it was supposed to draw it's students. It drew students back from Fairfield who had relatives in both counties, and Blythewood hurt Spring Valley. With no direct feeder middle schools, Richland2, encourages the recruitment of athletes by parents and competitive coaches. The effect of Blythewood was not easy to predict.
Just some ideas, who will benefit, who will be hurt. Is Berkeley part of the equation with Cane Bay? Do Summerville, Fort Dorchester, North Charleston, Stall,and Stratford draw from transient renters who can live in any school district.
Would a recession hurt SCISA private school enrollment, and their athletic successes? Would public schools benefit from a recession with a few of SCISA's athletes.
Posted by nocount on August 3, 2008 at 12:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is an excellent article. The opening of Stratford deeply affected Goose Creek in the early 80's. The opening of Fort Dorchester certainly affected Summerville in the 90's.Cane Bay is a sleeping giant in terms of athletics. I give them three years before they can compete on the 4A level. Many of Stratfords top athletes are drawn from Sangaree which now attend Cane Bay.Ashley Ridge will be able to compete from the amount of new people moving into Summerville which is astounding. The combination of the West Ashley schools is beginning to pay off with emerging community support and tremendous growth in the area as well.
This area might possibly have to have a new high school within ten years.
Posted by cte on August 3, 2008 at 10:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jeff Cruce...at least he'll be out of AA soon so he can stop whining about Bishop England.