By RYAN S. PUGH
Clarion News writer
It appears the North Clarion boys’ and girls’ soccer programs are willing to explore options regarding their respective futures.
Last spring, it looked like the North Clarion girls’ soccer players would have a new home for the fall of 2021 when the board voted to approve dissolving its cooperative agreement with Forest Area and entering into the current Clarion/Clarion-Limestone co-op but PIAA rules surrounding classification requirements resulted in North Clarion rescinding its agreement with Clarion/C-L and staying with Forest Area for 2021.
North Clarion High School Principal Ed Baumcratz updated the board on the matter at a Feb. 7 work session. Baumcratz shared a number of letters from the parents of North Clarion girls’ soccer players requesting the board revisit entering into the Clarion/C-L girls’ soccer co-op for the 2022 season or look into starting a North Clarion soccer program.
Baumcratz said if North Clarion planned on making move regarding the Clarion/C-L girls’ co-op, the paperwork regarding the move had to be submitted to the PIAA in October of 2021 so the PIAA could determine classifications for the two-year cycle beginning in the fall of 2022.
Baumcratz said if the PIAA were to approve North Clarion entering into the Clarion/C-L girls’ co-op for 2022, it would bump the program into a higher classification and the program might have to sit out of the playoffs in the first year of the co-op as a penalty.
If the district was to form its own program, it would likely start with a co-ed junior high program first and if there was enough interest, the district would likely move forward with varsity programs for the boys and the girls.
Board member Jill Foys was in favor of the district continuing its co-op with Forest Area. Foys said she believes Forest Area has been accommodating to the district in regard to all of the sports cooperatives and she doesn’t believe Forest Area should be abandoned.
Forest Area hosts cooperatives with North Clarion in boys’ and girls’ soccer as well as softball.
The board discussed if the district were to create its own soccer program, North Clarion could eventually host co-ops in both boys’ and girls’ varsity soccer.
Last year, the Forest Area/North Clarion co-ed junior high co-op had 10 players from North Clarion; six boys and four girls. However, according to Baumcratz, those four girls were not going to play varsity soccer next year because they are playing volleyball.
At the varsity level, of the 14 Forest/North Clarion boys’ co-op players, five were from North Clarion while eight of the 13 players on the Forest/North Clarion girls’ team were from North Clarion.
Baumcratz also informed the board the district was contacted by Forest Area Athletic Director Misty Hartle about resuming the baseball co-op with Forest Area the districts entered into in 2021. Baumcratz stated North Clarion has 15 boys signed up for the baseball team for this year while Forest Area has six players signed up. Baumcratz recommended North Clarion invite Forest Area into a co-op with North Clarion being the host.
North Clarion wants to host the co-op is so the district can use its refurbished baseball field. The field was renovated prior to the 2020 baseball season but due to the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 and North Clarion not having enough players to field its own team in 2021, the field has gone unused.