By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
When adults drop the ball, either by accident or intentionally, children pay the consequences.
That is the scenario that played out last week, when the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association banned the Westosha Central High School girls volleyball team from the playoffs, citing a 30-year-old bylaw pointed out by an undisclosed school.
The bylaw bars teams from participating in more than seven regular season volleyball tournaments, which was one too many for the Falcons volleyball team, leading to their disqualification.
Despite a push from frustrated parents, who had to explain to their children why they have to pay the consequences for a Westosha Central administrative error and a questionable motives from the unnamed school, the WIAA paid lip service while they listened to an appeal from heartbroken student-athletes on back-to-back days in Stevens Point.
The lip service stems from the WIAA Board of Control, which gave a dozen student-athletes a false sense of hope and further put a strain on parents willing to do anything for their children, in light of the fact the Board of Control never overturned an appeal.
If they have a history of declining appeals, why bother having a Board of Control, and why place more distress on parents that sacrifice their time and money to ensure their children have opportunities.
The appeal, rejected by an 8-1 vote, ended the hope of clemency for the student-athletes who simply wanted to play a sport they loved – the same students who worked hard inside the classroom to ensure they were eligible, and adhered to the school district Code of Conduct.
The rejection was clear, students and parents are left to suffer the consequences for a rule violation they never committed.
When the Report asked Todd Clark of the WIAA about the unintended consequences, he referred all concerns to Westosha Central administrators.
So, essentially, the WIAA chose not to look out for the best interests in students and families, leaving a community to clean up the mess left by the errors of a less than a handful of people.
In some ways, the WIAA does not adhere to the standards set forth by the National Federation of High Schools, which places an emphasis on student participation and the overall impact activities have on a community.
While the NFHS noted students must be protected by local schools, which Westosha Central claimed accountability for, it leaves open the question of what school felt compelled enough to report the violation to Athletic Director Jonathan Lindh just one day after they completed their eighth tournament.
According to the WIAA website, the organization’s mission is broken down into three parts – promoting opportunities for school participation, emphasizing partnership with other school activities fostering good citizenship and sportsmanship, and maintaining standards to prevent exploitation of the school program and the individual’s ability.
In some ways, the unnamed school had an opportunity to adhere to all three missions, if they reported it sooner.
While the rule is clearly stated, the unnamed school raises the overall question of ethics, moral responsibility and positive sportsmanship.
Controversy brewing?
Westosha Central High School, with a goal to make an appearance at the Resch Center in Green Bay, where the WIAA Division 1 state championship is held, had high hopes entering the season.
Entering the Southern Lakes Tournament, the team’s eighth, they were ranked No. 5 in Wisconsin and had the No. 1 seed in Region 6 to receive a first round bye.
While Lindh admits the team has played the same schedule for at least four years, it begs the question, what compelled another school to report a 30-year-old bylaw violation, conveniently after they just finished their eighth tournament?
Was the report an easy way for the undisclosed school to knock the team out of the tournament, therefore, giving them a clear path to the Resch Center?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But, it does raise the question of moral and ethical responsibility along with positive sportsmanship, since the undisclosed school likely knew the team of 12 varsity students were entering their eighth tournament, the last of which was held in Burlington.
Whether it is a coincidence or not, it should be noted the undisclosed school notified Westosha Central administration just one day after the team finished its eighth tournament.
It begs the question, was this opposing team watching and waiting?
Either way, adults had a responsibility to protect children from not only physical distress on the court, but also from emotional and mental anguish.
In a nutshell, none of this happened in this scenario, and students were left devastated, heartbroken and put their reputation as students in the classroom on the line during the appeals process.
Along with heartbroken students, their parents sacrificed vacation time to offer support.
As the students left the offices in Stevens Point with their heads held high, the undisclosed school has to live with the thought of all the hardship this caused not just the students, but the parents and Westosha Central community at large.
But, to some people, winning and following a bylaw is more important than allowing students to play the game they love.
This distress is undisputed.
Difficult process
One parting shot the volleyball team pushed onto the Board of Control was the hope for reform, but with more than 500 membership schools that include athletic directors, principals and thousands of coaches, chances are slim.
Based on my previous experience in Oconto County, where there are four schools with enrollment less than 400 each, it forces teams to travel extensively.
Two years ago, the Board of Control approved seeding an entire sectional, which places greater distress on Division 5 to 7 schools that have to travel more than three hours on a school night.
For example, Phelps was in the same sectional as three teams I covered, Gillett, Suring and Lena, and under the worst-case scenario, Phelps had to travel more than four hours to Sevastopol.
Consequently, student-athletes would have to get pulled from class early and, in turn, parents need to get out of work early just to see their own children play a road game.
Furthermore, students would return home well after midnight.
Through that experience, the WIAA offered schools an opportunity to play at a neutral site central to both teams, but that is not what teams signed up for when they earned the right to play a home game.
Clearly, the only way for parents to seek reform is to pressure school administrators, principals and coaches to make a pitch at their respective committee meetings.
But, the chance of more than 500 schools with differing enrollments coming together to amend any bylaw is slim.
You’d have a better chance of seeing a proposed bill pass through the state Legislature than any kind of reform at the WIAA Board of Control.