Soccer parents red card JHS on no soccer class

By GEORGIA PURDY
Newsboy Correspondent

Soccer players and their parents filled the JISD boardroom to capacity April 14, to support two speakers, Karen Kipp and Robbie Lovett, pleading the case for the addition of a soccer class at Jasper High School.

Kipp and Lovett, armed with data to support the request, came before the school board to speak  in open session.

Lovett, who started the Twisters Soccer Club and has been a volunteer coach for a number of years, said he had been to see a number of people in the school district but had not been able to make progress on this issue.

“We’ve been to see the principal, (Jasper Athletic Director Thomas Brooks) and Mr. (Chris) Coleman, and now we come before you to ask that a soccer class be a part of the athletic program,” he said. “Soccer is growing and our numbers are large compared to other schools with soccer programs.”

Karen Kipp, JHS Soccer Boosters President, said that the high school had two girls’ teams this season, with 17 athletes on the varsity team and 19 on junior varsity. The boys had a single varsity team that numbered 27. A number of these athletes helped field the cross country team.

“The girls’ soccer team was only one of seven 3A schools to make the playoffs,” Kipp said. “Track and cross country grow as a result of the number in soccer who also compete in these sports. Cross country teams, for example, went to Region this year.”

Lovett focused on the fact that even though the number of students in soccer exceeds some other sports, there is no class.

“Soccer numbers are higher than some of the other sports, yet there is no class,” he said. “For example, it’s larger than softball which does have a class.

There are a lot of kids in the youth programs who have been in soccer for a long time, but when they get to high school there is no class for them.”

Lovett presented board members with a prepared handout that lists numbers of female students in various sports at the high school as well as boys and girls who participate in community based programs below high school level.

There were 18 girls enrolled in basketball class and 26 participating in the sport, for example. Softball had 14 in the class; volleyball, 14; and golf, six.

The focus on girls’ high school programs comes about because there are numerous college soccer
scholarships for women as a result of Title IX, which ensures an equalization of scholarships in women and men’s sports.

Jasper’s community youth programs show the following average numbers: Jasper Youth Baseball Association, 350 and three select teams; Pee Wee Football, 90; Flag Football, 35; Little Dribbler Basketball, 60; Upwards Basketball, 70; softball, one select team; Pineywoods Youth Soccer League, 275 in the fall and 100 in the spring; and six select soccer teams, five of those from the Twisters Soccer Club and one independent team.

The significance of these numbers, according to supporters, is that it shows the increasing interest in the sport and the need to offer classes like those in other sports.

In a later interview, Kipp explained that while the girls’ varsity team did very well this year in advancing to the playoffs, there is an inherent disadvantage for small schools, especially when the  only meet after school.

“Soccer is the step-child of the UIL,” she said. “We have to compete with 4A
schools. Even in the playoffs, there is no separation of big schools from small schools. We lost our first playoff game against a big school that is able to play year-round because they have an off-season program and the ability to train and condition all the time.”

Kipp also said that soccer is so demanding that it requires long-term conditioning and that it might be possible to offer a class combined with another sport that relies on the same kind of training.

“We do want a soccer class,” she said. “One way might be to combine it with cross-country or track, one of those conditioning sports classes.”

Lovett also emphasized the need to ensure qualified coaches. Recreational soccer is highly organized and coaches at higher levels, such as select teams, require licensed coaches.

Texas schools have no uniform requirement for soccer coaches. Some are qualified;
some are pulled from other sports.

Based on the numbers who came to the JISD board room to hear Lovett and Kipp make the case for including a soccer class at the high school, there seems to be plenty of support for the request.