DATE: Thursday, October 23, 1997            TAG: 9710220190

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 16   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   99 lines

STANDINGS PROMPT DEBATE ON LACK OF PROGRAM

FIELD HOCKEY and football aside, Southeastern District standings offer a distinct trend: Chesapeake schools top the pack while Lakeland and Nansemond River reside at or near the bottom.

No one expected the Suffolk schools to walk right into the Group AAA district from the Group AA Bay Rivers District last year and grab a handful of championship banners.

Many supporters, though, don't see the programs being consistently competitive until Suffolk offers middle school sports programs, as Chesapeake does. However, it's a dead issue in Suffolk.

``All around the city, I keep hearing people talk about why we don't have middle school sports,'' Gregory Rountree, Lakeland assistant football and girls head track coach, said.

From the school system's perspective, the response is simple - priorities.

``We have to focus our efforts and resources on maximizing student achievement potential,'' said Milton R. Liverman, an assistant superintendent for Suffolk public schools. ``If they are staying after school for something, it should not be for middle school sports.''

The debate over middle school sports has been an informal one since Nansemond River and Lakeland were established in 1990. However, the grumbling has heightened since the announcement two years ago that the two schools would join the Southeastern District.

In the Bay Rivers District, the Suffolk schools were perennial powers. A handful of district and regional titles led to state championship appearances in boys basketball, girls tennis, softball, football and baseball. The Warriors won a pair of state basketball titles while Lakeland captured a girls tennis title in Group AA.

Last year, the two schools accounted for four Eastern Region tournament team berths but did not advance to a state tournament. Nansemond River's Damon Hill did win a wrestling title in the 171-pound weight class.

For many, it's not just the losing - there's a feeling of unfairness. Some argue that the two schools are not on a level playing field with their Chesapeake foes.

Suffolk, in 1990, became the first South Hampton Roads city to implement the 2.0 GPA rule for extra-curricular activities. Chesapeake is considering a similar policy. A survey reported that 21 percent of Chesapeake athletes would have been ineligible last year had the 2.0 rule been in effect.

Suffolk and Portsmouth are the only South Hampton Roads cities without middle school sports.

Chesapeake and Virginia Beach have well-established programs and Norfolk has gradually phased in middle school sports over the last two years.

``We definitely need middle school sports,'' Lakeland field hockey coach Sue Ardelji said. ``When they come out in ninth grade, it's the first time they are touching a stick.''

At Lakeland and Nansemond River, eighth-graders are eligible for junior varsity. However, there is a flaw in the system, particularly for football players.

``There is a tremendous amount of difference between eighth-graders, freshmen and sophomores,'' Nansemond River athletic director Phil Braswell said. ``Usually, eighth-graders are much smaller, slower and not as strong and the bigger kids beat them up so they don't play.''

Nansemond River senior football player Lavel Lawton played sandlot football as an adolescent but did not play high school ball until the 10th grade.

``I felt like I was behind,'' Lawton said. ``There were certain plays I wasn't used to.''

Lawton really noticed the disparity when the Warriors began to play the likes of Western Branch and Deep Creek last year.

``They're much bigger. They have a (middle school) team so they have been in the weight room.''

Robert McDonnell, one of nine eighth-graders on Nansemond River's junior varsity football team, notices the difference but enjoys playing with the bigger athletes.

However, some parents don't share McDonnell's sentiment.

Sixteen eighth-graders were on the team at the beginning of the year but some parents have since taken their sons off the team for fear of injury.

Despite the talk, no official proposal has been put together and presented to the school board. However, Rountree said he has conversations with Superintendent Joyce Trump to no avail.

``There is no funding available,'' Braswell said. ``If funding was available, there probably would be some consideration.''

According to Liverman, the middle school issue is not strictly economic. While an emphasis has been put on reducing classroom sizes and adding remedial programs and technology-based programs, Liverman suggests the drive for middle school sports is one-dimensional.

``The feeling is we need middle school sports to be competitive and I don't agree,'' Liverman said.

In Norfolk, the director of athletics, Bert Harrell, acknowledged that being more competitive on a high school level was one reason for adding middle school sports. Harrell, however, also offered other justifications.

Harrell said school sports for children between the ages of 12-15 provide a constructive way to spend afternoons. He also said it puts athletes on track academically if they plan to play high school sports.

``We require middle school kids to have a C average,'' Harrell said.

For now, only time will tell if the Suffolk school system changes its position or if the two schools will be competitive without the programs. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER

Junior varsity teams, like Lakeland High's, can attract a wide

difference in size and experience without a middle school feeder

program.

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