Reply to Montgomery County Public Schools: Make Ice Hockey An Official Varsity Sport

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]MCPS can't offer recognition (awards, varsity letters, yearbook photos, etc.) to programs it doesn't run and administer.  Hockey is a great sport, as are many other sports that MCPS doesn't offer (skiing, rugby, etc.).

If MCPS were to "recognize" hockey, MCPS would have to administer and run hockey just like it does all it's other sports.  Liability issues of "recognizing" a sport requires this.  (FYI---technically hockey isn't even a "club sport" at their schools).  This means a litany of changes that would basically make it impossible for hockey to run as a separate league entity.

For example, this means background checks on coaches, concussion testing of students, coaches have to be certified in first AID/CPR.  Students would only be allowed to play for their home schools, GPA eligibiity rules apply, students would have to pay the ECA fee (and the school would have to monitor it).  Coaches could be hired/fired by teh school. This is just a small part of a MUCH larger list.

In essence it appears the petition is asking for something MCPS can't grant.

[/quote]

Stop implementing logic and reason to the discussion.  That is how you break the internet.[/quote]

OP: here are some thoughts for your project.   First, the poster above has some points, but the question in my mind is whether things have to be the way that the poster menions.  For example, the poster says "MCPS has to run the league".   Is that true? If so, why?  How do other states and school districts run sports.  For example, I would guess that Minnesota has public high school hockey.  How does that work?  How do they deal with kids that can't afford equipment?  Next, I wonder how do other counties in Md and Va deal with high school hockey.  These are better peer groups than a place like Minnesota, where hockey is part of the culture.  Do other local programs get varsity letters, recognition, and financial support in some small way that MCPS might consider?

Just because MCPS runs things a certain way, doesn't mean that is the best way.   Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.  Your project would be valuable if you were able to show different models of how high school sports/activities are run and then show how MCPS may be able to learn from this other approaches.  In the end, it is a political decision.   I am convinced that if the county wanted to support hockey, it could be done.  As you know, USA Hockey has certified coaches.  Also, things like GPA monitoring, baseline concussion testing, etc are easy to handle.   I still don't see the big deal (as long as there is support for it).

My only other thought is that this doesn't have to be a hockey issue.  I am sure other sports, like the mentioned rugby, are in the same position.  The idea would be how can MCPS support these other activities.

Good luck.[/quote]

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