New Conference Provides Top Competition for Area Teams

October 24, 2013 by Jamie Ward

What was old appears to be new again.
Nine, possibly 10, teams will form the Western Reserve Conference, a former conference that disbanded in 2007.
Geauga County will feature two schools in the new alliance: Chardon of the Premier Athletic Conference and Kenston of the Chagrin Valley Conference. A third, West Geauga, was still on the fence as of Monday, according to principal Jay Bishop.
The Western Reserve will include other PAC schools: Willoughby-South, Eastlake-North, Riverside, Madison and Geneva, excluding University and Lakeside.
Lakeside was left out for geographic reasons. University, an all-boys private school, was presumably left out because of its lack of girls sports.
Mayfield and Brush, of the Northeast Ohio Conference, round out the league.
“We found a home,” said Kenston Principal Jeremy McDevitt, who said geography played a big role in the Bombers’ decision. “Also, we looked at the competitiveness of the program. We feel we can compete with all sports.”
After weeks of whispers and conversations via phone and text, CVC principals first surprised many when they announced 10 schools would leave that conference and start anew.
This spring Perry, Wickliffe, Orange, West Geauga, Chagrin Falls, Harvey, Kirtland, Independence, Beachwood and Hawken delivered a signed letter letting the CVC know they would be leaving at the end of 2015, the first available time they could exit.
“Kenston and Aurora are probably looking at an increase in enrollment; and schools like West Geauga are probably looking at a decline,” said Ken Burzanko, the CVC’s commissioner at the time.
“The hang-up was that Kenston and Aurora were outgrowing the league,” McDevitt said. “(The other schools) wanted to get out of the big division. A way of remedying that was looking at bringing in other schools.”
Aurora decided weeks ago to join the Suburban League, which has been around since 1949.
“I’ve been in education for 17 years, and I don’t know that I’ve seen this much movement in recent history,” said Chardon Principal Andy Fetchik. “It just seems like a cyclical thing that happens. For some reason, this time around it seems like everyone’s involved.”
Fetchik said Chardon was approached years ago about re-joining the CVC; the Hilltoppers left after 1995. Chardon let the PAC know it was considering the move, but after conversations with then-superintendent Joe Bergant, the decision was made to stay.
West Geauga originally decided to go to the WRC through the recommendation of Bishop, but it appears that decision has been put on hold.
“These are great schools, and they have great representations,” Bishop said.
West Geauga would be the smallest school in the conference, along with Geneva. That was something Bishop considered.
“We took it into consideration, and we feel comfortable that we are competitive,” he said.
But the Wolverines could still join CVC defectors in what is deemed the Greater Cleveland Conference, where it would be one of the larger schools.
“There are disadvantages to both,” Bishop said. “We’re weighing our options, and what we’re trying to do is what’s best for the students and the community.”
There appears to be division among West Geauga coaches, who have all been consulted, along with athletic director John Cardiero, who is the varsity basketball coach.
“We had an athletic council meeting, and we solicited their input,” Bishop said. “In talks with the two different conferences, we have an important decision to make.”
Bishop, Cardiero and Superintendent Geoff Palmer have until Nov. 1 — a date set by the WRC?– to recommend a course of action to the school board, a board that has been historically fractious and contentious when it comes to important decisions.
The decision, as it is for most of the schools, revolves around football and the consideration of computer points and the OHSAA playoffs.
“You hate to look at just football, but that drives a lot of these conferences’ breaking up,” Kenston’s McDevitt said.
Chardon, the third smallest school now in the WRC, considered its new place against much larger schools, such as Mayfield, Brush, North and South.
“That certainly was a concern,” Fetchik said of playing the larger opponents. “But we have the coaches in place right now that are prepared to compete at a higher level.”
He added that some of the WRC schools have declining enrollments; he expects Chardon’s to stay consistent, or even improve.
“You don’t go into conversations without doing some research with where your district’s going,” he said. “And actually pay-to-participate fees don’t help increase numbers, if those fees continue to grow.”
When the WRC starts play during the 2015-16 school year, the format will likely be all nine or 10 teams in one division, though a two-division system remains an option for the future.
“For startup purposes, we’d just do the 10 teams,” McDevitt said. “When we schedule the non-conference, we will look at our rivalries, like Chagrin Falls and Aurora. We have a pretty good neighborhood rivalry with each. We’ll let our head coaches give some input.”
“There are a number of ways we could do it,” Fetchik said. “We could do nine (league) games, one independent. Or you could do an east, west or big school/small school setup. Athletic directors will take the input from coaches.”
The advantage of competing in a conference goes beyond athletics, as students take advantage of inter-conference leadership programs and programs for the choir and band.
The WRC brings athletics, the arts and academics, all into a conference, said Bishop:?”All the students can participate in different events. These are great schools with great representations.”
There was a Western Reserve League about 50 years ago that included Chardon, Madison, Perry, Jefferson, Kirtland, Fairport Harbor and ended in 1968. Prior to that, it also included Edgewood, Ashtabula-Harbor, Conneaut and Geneva.
Of course, all this talk of new leagues depends on school board approval in each district — votes expected to be taken in November.