On January 27th, 2020, the Excelsior Board of Directors released a letter notifying families that Excelsior would be suspending its football program “due to safety concerns”. The letter gives no further explanation as to what these concerns are, but goes on to guarantee that the CIF will allow student-athletes who wish to transfer because of this decision to do so without the usual sit-out period. Excelsior will also now be offering a boys' volleyball team. To address the questions and concerns of the affected families, Excelsior held an informational meeting on February 6th, 2020. During this meeting, the Excelsior Board of Directors further explained the reasoning behind their decision, whilst parents and students present reacted to their claims.
Why Was the Program Cancelled?
According to Excelsior’s Deputy Superintendent, Ronnie Henderson, the primary reason the football team was suspended is the safety concerns associated with low participation. As explained during the February 6th meeting, since Excelsior transitioned from 8-man to 11-man football in 2013, Excelsior’s teams haven’t been large enough to fully rotate during games (Quintero, 2020). This inability to allow players to rest increases the risk of a “catastrophic injury” —repeatedly referenced by Dr. Henderson and was explained to refer to incidents resulting in severe injuries such as paralysis.
It was also noted by Dr. Henderson that in contrast to Excelsior’s previous champion 8-man team, Excelsior’s recent team has suffered losses by an average of 35.1 points. Though parents and students were assured that winning and losing had no effect on the ultimate decision, the extent of the team’s losses does contribute to the “extreme competitive imbalance” that was said to endanger our players—particularly the underclassmen on the team since Excelsior disbanded the JV team.
Are These Fair Conclusions?
Despite the explanation provided in the informational meeting, many parents feel that Excelsior’s decision was unjustified and that the safety concerns raised by the Board of Directors were the fault of Excelsior staffing. As been pointed out by parents and players on the team, Excelsior’s athletics department has undergone numerous staffing changes over the past few years. One player explained, “We had a different head coach the last three years, and both the last two [years] the head coach didn’t even finish the season.” Parents reiterated their dissatisfaction with the coaching by claiming that even while leading the team, the coaches “pride themselves on kicking kids off the team.”
The inconsistent coaching could partially account for the amount of players who quit midseason. How many players that actually quit, however, continues to be disputed. According to Dr. Henderson, in 2019 Excelsior began its football season with 30 players but by the final game, had only 17. This was immediately contested by parents, and multiple players testified that they began with upwards of 40 players. Furthermore, according to the team captain, they “never dropped below around 23 players.”
Future of the Team
Many solutions have been proposed, but the outlook of getting the team back soon seems slim. Unfortunately, due to the size of Excelsior’s student body, Excelsior is not permitted under CIF guidelines to return to 8-man football, as some have suggested. In order to bring back the team, there would have to be a large increase in participation, which as pointed out by parents, is unlikely the longer the team is suspended.
The full effect suspending the team will have on Excelsior is not yet clear, but the potential of more players transferring from Excelsior—according to one player, two already have—remains. Players have expressed that they feel “discarded” by the sudden decision and without the ability to play for the remainder of high school, scholarship and training opportunities may be lost. According to one player, however, gaining scholarship opportunities has been difficult for the past two years. Players were told that they’d have access to recordings of games and stats, but never received them.
Excelsior offers many programs to its students—athletic, academic, and artistic—but to many, football embodies both school spirit and opportunity for student-athletes. As players scramble to adapt, we’ll see the ultimate effect this decision has on Excelsior culture and enrollment. Dr. Henderson has reassured players that "this is not a moratorium on Excelsior football," but only time will tell the fate of the Excelsior football program.
Works Cited
Quintero, Jose. “Prep Football: Excelsior 'Postpones' Football Program Due to 'Safety Concerns'.” Vvdailypress.com, Vvdailypress.com, 28 Jan. 2020, www.vvdailypress.com/sports/20200127/prep-football-excelsior-postpones-football-program-due-to-safety-concerns.
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