Reasons For Getting Rid of Strong/Weak League For Track

It is extremely difficult to determine the standard upon which to place teams 
in the strong or weak league.

A school could have a strong boys team but a weak girls team.  Sould we allow 
the girls to get butchered while the boys are competitive?

In determining who should be placed in the strong division, what is more 
important - dual meet results or league meet results?  Some teams with a few 
good athletes can do very well at the league finals but do poorly in the dual 
meet	competition.

Should more weight be given to the varsity results rather than to 
the overall results when determing who should be placed in the stong league?

Should more weight be given to the results for more than one year in 
determining who should be in the strong league?

It is difficult to prepare a dual meet schedule when there are several 
different school districts.  We have seven different districts -- the 
FUHSD, the SCUHSD, the Los Gatos/Saratoga district, the Milpitas district, 
the Mt.View-Los Altos district the Palo Alto district, and St. Francis.

It is nice to have long-time rivalries.  This is difficult to have when 
schools keep changing leagues.

It is nice that the weak schools can compete against each other and one 
can say that it is the champion of the league.  But, how about the feelings of 
the good team in the strong league that goes winless.  Their morale gets destroyed.

The FUHSD and Los Gatos-Saratoge districts do not have buses.  Travel expense 
would be a lot less if they could compete against schools in their geogrphic area.
In addition, we are requiring young drivers to drive more and more distances
which increases the offs of accidents to occur.

Time out of class is an additional issue when traveling 30 minutes or more to a 
meet site.

The use of Private Coaches

More and more athletes are using Private Coaches and we are finding that this 
is causing an issue with the school coach.  

First off, private coaches are not always up-to-date on the League By-Laws 
(which can cause problems for the student athlete).

Second, the private coach may not be certified at the same level that is expected
of a school employed coach.  Thus, liability issues may arise in the case of
an emergency.

Third, High School coaches coach because they believe they can give, or get, the
best coaching for their athletes.  Coaches are not paid 'baby sitters'!

Fourth, lack of communication between Private coaches, high school coaches and
athletes is bound to happen unless they are all communicating on a regular basis
(which has not been the norm with most Private Coaches).

Fifth, team unity is rarely achieved when an athlete is privately coached.  How can
it be if they are not there working out with the team.  Annimosity between teammates 
will occur, hence breaking down the bonding that coaches strive to achieve.

If you were to sit down with other coaches, I'm sure a multitute of other reasons
would become evident.  What we are requesting is that the Board of Managers talk with
each member and have them establish a policy for how their school feels about using
Private Coaches.  This is a school issue and will become more visible as the years 
go on - address it now so that situations like the one we had this past track season 
are avoided in the future.