Amityville Memorial Excessive Faculty has had a soccer program that has gained a number of titles since 1950, however yesterday, the college abruptly introduced they weren’t having a varsity season this yr.
“I understand how exhausting my teammates had been working and searching ahead to this season,” stated Sekou Diallo, an Amityville senior who performs tight finish and linebacker. “Now we have a giant sport towards our rival Wyandanch quickly, solely to seek out out that we’re not gonna be capable to play. It’s so disappointing.”
In a letter to the college group, Superintendent Gina Talbert stated partly, “Taking into consideration quite a few participant accidents on the varsity stage, this system has made the choice to pause varsity competitors for the upcoming season and focus all assets on a junior varsity schedule. This determination facilities fully on student-athlete security and long-term program well being. Soccer is a bodily demanding sport, and fielding a varsity squad with out enough upperclassman depth creates pointless security dangers for youthful athletes.”
Talbert went on to jot down that “transitioning our focus to junior varsity permits our gamers to construct bodily power, grasp core fundamentals, and compete towards age-appropriate competitors in a managed, growth-oriented setting.”
For the seniors, this implies they won’t play their final highschool season.
“The brotherhood, particularly my teammates, the bond was in the end like the perfect. I simply love the brotherhood. It was like one other household a spot I may name dwelling, and now it’s over,” stated Diallo.
“No one’s injured,” stated senior Zaquai Pettway who disagrees with the explanation for dismantling the varsity workforce. “I believe we’ve a great workforce. Now we have some good gamers. We had been going to do good this yr.”
State and league laws prohibit seniors from enjoying on the junior varsity stage, however the district says it’s actively working to assist these younger males “by way of management roles throughout the program and by exploring all accessible avenues to honor their dedication.”
Junior athlete Anari Armstrong needs to play in school, however now that there’s no varsity season, he’s at a loss.
“I’ve been enjoying varsity for 3 years,” stated Armstrong. “What am I presupposed to do now?”
Amityville is the third highschool on Lengthy Island to drop its varsity soccer season this yr, following Port Jefferson and Holy Trinity. Part XI officers say with small faculties, it may be exhausting to subject a full roster and curiosity in sure sports activities might be cyclical.
For a few of these gamers, it’s a last season taken away earlier than it even started.
“I don’t know what to do,” stated senior Carl Rodriguez-Williams. “I went from having a schedule and having my yr deliberate, and this sort of messed every thing up.”
