There isn?t a rush order to get something done, according to Ledyard High School athletic director and football coach, Jim Buonocore, but it does pay to at least talk about the future of the CIAC football playoffs.
That?s what the football state committee is doing armed with the knowledge that anything they come up with now can?t be implemented until after the 2015 football season.
There are currently four football divisions in the CIAC ? Class S, M, L and LL. With eight teams from each division qualifying for the playoffs, 32 football teams play after Thanksgiving every season. But is it enough? Most think not, but finding an expansion plan everyone can agree on isn?t easy.
Last March, Buonocore offered a proposal to add a fifth division consisting of cooperative programs and those from the Tech schools.
It?s a proposal that would affect 22 programs, eight of which had winning records last season.
?I?m thinking about what is best for the kids,? Buonocore said. ?Kids just want a chance to compete for a state championship, but when those teams get into the state playoffs, look at the scores.?
There is a lot to be said for that and the football committee has had ?informal discussions? about the proposal according to CIAC associate executive director Paul Hoey.
But not all coaches seem to be pleased by it and you can easily see why.
Of the 22 teams it will affect, eight are in Class S and 12 are in Class M. There is only one cooperative and one tech program in Class L and there are none in Class LL.
It means more opportunities for those non-Tech and cooperative schools in Class M and S to make the state playoffs, not so much in the larger divisions.
Take Capital Prep/Hartford Classical and Prince Tech out of Class S and two public schools, Stonington and Oxford, would have made the playoffs this year. The same could be said in Class M where the absence of Ellington/Somers and Bullard Havens would have opened the door for Joel Barlow and Ledyard.
According to Hoey, he has heard of a new proposal, although it hasn?t been formally presented to the football committee, that would affect generally more of the larger school programs. That proposal calls for a new ?Open? division.
?I believe some of the coaches will ask us to consider that as an option as we move forward and start looking down the road,? Hoey said.
Since there is no formal proposal in front of the committee, Hoey and Buonocore could only guess what an ?Open? Division means. Who qualifies for it? Will schools have to declare to be eligible for it? How many Class M and S teams, outside of possibly an Ansonia, would even consider it?
?Who is this Open Division best for? The sports writers?? Buonocore questioned referring to the possibility of all the guess work that would have to take place to figure out which eight teams deserved to be in the Open Division.
While Buonocore?s plan favors the smaller schools, this one favors the larger schools.
?At this point, no, I don?t believe that is the way to go,? Hoey said of the possible ?Open? division proposal. ?The hockey committee looked at that recently and it was soundly defeated by the coaches. I need to know more before I could give you an informed decision as to whether I could support it or not. I do know that it is outside of what we do at this point, but I?m willing to look at any reasonable proposal that is brought forward that would help enhance any sport in the CIAC including football.?
Buonocore, meanwhile, said his proposal does have the support of the coaches that it helps, those from the tech and cooperative programs.
?They all want it,? Buonocore said. ?These coaches came to me and said, ?You have to help us.? The kids don?t care what the division is called, what they remember is that they played for a state championship team. We?ll see what happens.?
CHSCA Football
Buonocore has something much more immediate that will occupy his time as he has been named one of the head coaches for the inaugural Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame football classic. The game will be played at Rentschler Field in East Hartford at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 29.
It?s the first time the game will feature an All-Connecticut cast of high school seniors as the CHSCA broke away from its previous association with neighboring Rhode Island.
?It will certainly be a lot of work, but it?s a great honor to be selected by your peers,? Buonocore said.
The Ledyard High football coach has added an Eastern Connecticut Conference staff on his team which will be called Team National Guard. Norwich Free Academy coach Jemal Davis and Montville coach Tanner Grove will assist Buonocore. New London High coach Duane Maranda will be on the other sideline working as an assistant for Team Marines.
The teams will be determined by draft, meaning high school teammates could be playing against one another.
The eligible players to compete will be senior All-State players and any other senior on the recommendation of their coach. Those seniors will take part in a combine beginning at 9 a.m. next Sunday at Hillhouse High School in New Haven. The coaching staff will then draft from those seniors beginning at 6:30 p.m. on April 3 at Rentschler Field.
?I hope all the talented players in Connecticut come and try-out because it?s a good showcase for them,? Buonocore said.
Basketball all-star games
It?s going to be a bit of a wait for the senior football players for their all-star game, not so for their basketball counterparts.
Now that the basketball state championship games have been concluded, the senior all-star games will be played in rapid succession.
On Monday night, the Connecticut High School Coaches Association girls senior all-star basketball games will take place at North Branford High School. The games will begin with the Class S and Class M game at 6 p.m. followed by the L and LL game at 7:30 p.m.
The Ray Brousseau Putnam Rotary Club Senior All-Star Basketball Shootout follows the girls all-star tilt on Tuesday.
Two games will be played at Putnam High School with the senior girls playing at 6 p.m. followed by the boys game approximately a half an hour after the girls reaches its completion.
Seniors from Plainfield, Killingly, Ellis Tech, Griswold, Putnam, Tourtellotte, Woodstock, Marianapolis, Hyde-Woodstock, Pomfret, Parish Hill, Windham Tech and Putnam Science Academy have been invited to play.
?We?re hoping for a big turnout of fans to support the players as they play (basketball) for the last time as high school athletes,? Putnam Rotary Club president Paul Pikora said in a press release.
The two games will be broadcast live on WINY Radio (1350 AM).
On Wednesday, the CHSCA boys senior all-star games take place at Maloney High School in Meriden.
The first game at 6:15 p.m. features the top seniors from Class S and Class M playing one another.
Windham High School coach Bill Strand will be one of the coaches for Team Mohegan and will have two of his players on the court. Whippet seniors Kendall Marquez and Julian Sanchez will be joined by Lyman senior Chris Gonnelli on the floor. Another Eastern Connecticut product, Ledyard senior Thomas Whipple, will play for Team Pequot.
The best seniors from Class L and LL will get together following the first game at approximately 7:30 p.m. Woodstock Academy coach Greg Smith will be one of the coaches for Team Constitution which will feature one of Smith?s players, Ian Converse. East Lyme?s Wade McNamara will also be a member of that team.
New London?s Keith Porter will play on Team Charter Oak.
Fun opportunity
Former Eastern Connecticut Board 8 official Charlie Lee had a fun assignment this weekend. Lee was up at Middlebury College in Vermont officiating a Division-III NCAA tournament Sweet-16 game between Middlebury and Ithaca College on Saturday. He was joined on the three-man crew by another Eastern Connecticut product, Roberto Marquez.
?I don?t know the process, but it was quite an honor,? Lee said of being selected to officiate the game.
It?s been awhile since I?ve seen Lee on the local courts and there is a reason for that. Lee now splits time between Danielson and Wallingford because of his job and because of that, has switched to Board 10. Lee said he has done some high school games over the past two years, but for the most part concentrates on the Division-III college circuit.
Lee, a Killingly High graduate, has been a basketball official for 25 years.
Sports Editor Marc Allard writes a weekly column. Reach him at (860) 425-4212 or email mallard@norwichbulletin.com
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