Another setback for the youth of Morrisville. Big thumbs down to the administration and the board for not letting these kids participate. Looks like "stay on track" is keeping kids off the track.
Track team facing hurdles
By: GEMA MARIA DUARTE AND MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville teenagers just want to run.
But a recent independent move by a local coach to organize high school track tumbled because of a dispute over a signature.
Currently, 27 students from the high school and the Bucks County Technical School are eager to participate in the upcoming Dec. 10-11 meets under the supervision of Kevin McClease, who said he would coach them if the Morrisville High School principal or the athletic director were to sign a membership application to the Track and Field Coaches Association of Greater Philadelphia Inc.
The signature would prove that competing students attend Morrisville High School, and are athletically and academically eligible to compete, said Rich Swanker, executive secretary and treasurer of the coaches association.
But the situation is more complicated than just getting one signature, said Acting Superintendent William Ferrara.
Signing the dotted line would make the group a Morrisville High School sports team, and therefore the district would be responsible for it, Ferrara said. But in this case, the district itself never initiated the organization of a track team, he said. Instead, all the effort came from an outside source, namely McClease.
"If we were to start a track team, we would look at all the different aspects of starting it, such as student interest, how it would benefit the school, the funding," Ferrara said. "There are certain procedures we would have to follow. Then the board would have to approve it."
Plus, the district would want to register a new track team with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, not the coaches association, said Ferrara. The athletic association governs most of the high school's sports teams, except bowling. Those sports include football, coed soccer, cheerleading, field hockey, boys and girls basketball, baseball, girls softball and cross-country.
The coaches association has been around about 48 years, but Morrisville never has participated. About 100 Philadelphia area schools are members of the coaches association, which follows the athletic association guidelines, said Swanker.
McClease believes the district is just giving excuses for not signing the form. He and about 20 students made their voices heard at November's board meeting when they pleaded for the signature during public comment. Before attending the meeting, McClease couldn't get returned phone calls from district officials, he said.
He expects even more interested students after the football season is over, including his own kids. Participants can be from ninth grade through 12th grade.
McClease has interest from sponsors to support team expenses, including Novacare and Parx Casino, but they're pulling out because the district never signed the form.
Area parents, such as Annemarie Rivera, also wanted to have the form signed. Her son plays football for the high school and is looking forward to joining track.
"I don't understand why they would deny him. You have your football team and everything else. Certain kids can't get into colleges without athletic scholarships. Anything that can help my son, I'm all for it, but this is discouraging," Rivera said.
Ferrara reiterated Friday that the district can't sign a form for a group that wasn't organized by district officials. He wouldn't say whether or not Morrisville School District is planning to form a track team, given the interest.
"We're not saying we're not going to pursue it. We're just saying that we're not pursuing it at this time," he said.
Gema Maria Duarte can be reached at 215-949-4195 or gduarte@phillyBurbs.com. Follow Gema on Twitter at twitter.com/deadlineduarte. Manasee Wagh can be reached at 215-949-4206 or mwagh@phillyBurbs.com. Follow Manasee on Twitter at twitter.com/manaseewagh.
