Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

12/15/2009 - Sports-Specific Way to Go

In my last blog, I broke down the changes to the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference for the next school year, changes I feel that will make the league much better as far as competition and travel are concerned.

But in the past I have brought up the possibility of the NJAC going sports-specific like the schools in Essex County have done this year in the newly-formed Super Essex Conference.

I asked John DiColo, Jefferson’s AD and the president of the NJAC, about the possibility of the loop heading in that direction and he said the chances of the league going sports-specific are slim to none, right now.

“If you go strength of schedule, you need the right criteria,” said DiColo. “Having the right criteria is so important because there are so many factors you have to consider. It would almost be a like a power-point system for each sport.

“You would have to look at the number of kids in each program, how teams do in state and county tournaments, and success on the sub-varsity level. There are pros and cons and there are some ADs that are proponents of it, but most right now are against it.”

I have asked several coaches their feelings on going sports-specific and they were split. There were two schools of thought on the subject. One was that the tougher competition would make programs stronger in the long run.

The other was that having all the top teams play each other would result in the schools beating up on each other and costing teams in that division good seeds for the state tournament and homefield advantage.

Both are valid points. And as I told DiColo, it is easy for a guy like me to say the league should go sports-specific because I don’t have to do the leg work and get 30-plus ADs on board.

But I can dream can’t I?

I would follow the Essex example which is based on what the professional soccer leagues in Great Britain do. Divisions would be reviewed every two years and teams would be placed in divisions based on performance.

For example, if a team is dominating the second division, it would move up to the first division, while a team in the first division that struggles would drop down. DiColo mentioned to me the “Legacy Principle” which is based on the premise that some schools success is cyclical.

So say a school has a great class of athletes and the school enjoys great success during their tenure. But after they graduate, the school will take a big hit and won’t be able to compete at that level anymore, and as a result, the school will take a beating for two years. Is that fair?

Well, I would hope part of the criteria for placing schools would factor that in. Hopatcong, for example, has had some outstanding wrestling teams in the past that battled with High Point and Kittatinny for supremacy in the old Sussex County Interscholastic League.

But now the Chiefs are not at that level, so those who oppose sports-specific divisions would cite the Chiefs as an example as team that year-in-and-year cannot compete with the top programs, but will have periodic success. Those schools would be yo-yos, constantly bouncing from one division to another.

I have also spoke to some coaches I know in Essex County and the feeling I got was they like the idea so far, but are still taking a wait-and-see approach for declaring it a success.

Let’s take a look at the top three divisions for boys basketball in the SEC for this season. American: Seton Hall Prep, Irvington, Science of Newark, Columbia, East Orange, Bloomfield Tech, Montclair and East Side.

National: Weequahic, Shabazz, West Orange, Bloomfield, University of Newark, Orange and High Tech.

Colonial: Barringer, West Essex, Caldwell, Bellville, Newark Academy, Central and Livingston.

If you follow boys hoops statewide, then you know how good those first two divisions are. It looks like the SEC did a very good job of placing the schools in the right divisions. There is no reason for Group 2 Caldwell to play Seton Hall Prep in hoops.

But Caldwell shouldn’t be playing Irvington in softball, either. The Chiefs are a perennial Group 2 power and would crush a lot of the bigger urban schools, so I’m sure that the divisions in softball would reflect that.

The point being that geography and school size shouldn’t be the end all for dividing schools. Like my friends at Wallkill Valley always tell me, you can’t change the location of your school, but your student population can change.

In fact, Wallkill’s outstanding AD, Todd Van Orden, told me that he feels the schools in the NJAC should be divided strictly by enrollment.

“I think it is the most fair way and I feel very strongly about it as did my predecessor Mike Van Zile,” Van Orden said. “Other states do it that way and I think we should.”

As a fan and a member of the media, I think it would be great to see the NJAC go sports-specific. This is how I would break down the top divisions in wrestling and boys and girls basketball.

And unlike the ADs, I have the luxury of placing teams strictly on my subjective opinion of covering these schools since 1988.

WRESTLING

AMERICAN DIVISION

High Point, Kittatinny, Newton, Roxbury, Randolph, Delbarton, Lenape Valley and Montville.

NATIONAL DIVISION

Wallkill Valley, Jefferson, Hackettstown, Hanover Park, Whippany Park, Madison, West Morris and Pequannock.

BOYS BASKETBALL

AMERICAN DIVISION

Mount Olive, Mendham, Roxbury, Sparta, Pope John, Vernon, Delbarton, and Jefferson.

NATIONAL DIVISION

West Morris, Morris Hills, Chatham, Newton, Hackettstown, Morris Knolls, Morristown and Montville.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

AMERICAN DIVISION

Chatham, West Morris, High Point, Pope John, Sparta, Morris Catholic, Randolph, and Jefferson.

NATIONAL DIVISION

Butler, Wallkill Valley, Mountain Lakes, Whippany Park, Hanover Park, Mendham, Roxbury and Villa Walsh.

I’m sure some people will disagree with the divisions, but the point is for the fans it would make for some great competition every night. Although I was a huge fan of the SCIL, there were certain games and matches you could circle on the schedule that you knew were going to be blowouts. Going sports-specific would almost eliminate that chance.

I know the NJAC is an ever-evolving league and there is a chance it might be busted up in a couple of years when the member schools of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association can bring up realignment again. But if it stays, going sports-specific would be the way to go.

RUMOR MILL…Over the last month or so I have heard many rumors about Vernon football coach Chuck Tepper leaving Vernon.

In fact, some of the stories were very specific and that Tepper was going to a Group 1 school in Bergen County that needed rebuilding.

Well, instead of adding to the gossip, I decided to call Tepper and flat-out ask him. His reply? Well, you will have to come back next week and read my blog to find out. Nah, I’m just messing with ya.

Tepper told me he is going nowhere and is staying at Vernon. He said there is no truth to the rumors and that he is excited about the Vikings playing in the new American Division next season with the return of almost everyone from a 1-9 squad that took its lumps, but learned a lot and improved.

Unfortunately, in this day-and-age of what have you done for me lately, Tepper’s job security became fodder for gossip after a rough 1-9 season. But you can’t forget the success Tepper has brought to the program in his 14 seasons.

After a few years at the helm, Tepper had the Vikings challenging for the SCIL title every season and the Vikes got a piece of the crown in 2000. The Vikings have consistently won 6-to-8 games a year in the second half of Tepper’s tenure and that is pretty darn good in my opinion.

Before Tepper, the Vikes were the epitome of a Legacy Principle team. They would have periodic success, but now Tepper made the program into a perennial contender every season.

I truly believe last season was just a blip on the radar and the Vikings will be back to their winning ways soon. There are critics out there that feel that the Vikings should be dominant every season because they are a Group 4 school.

There might be some truth to that, but even the most ardent of critics have to admit that consistent 7-2 seasons with a chance to win a title are much better than the 3-6 days of 15 years ago.

That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.

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Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

12/15/2009 - Sports-Specific Way to Go