Schools will look at football options

WATKINS GLEN, ODESSA-MONTOUR--With Odessa-Montour's football season being prematurely cut short due to low team numbers, the prospect of potentially merging the program with Watkins Glen is again at the forefront of discussion. While the prospect faced significant public opposition prior to the season during a meeting of the Odessa-Montour school board, the fact the Indians were not able to field the minimum amount of players last season puts the program's future in doubt. The Watkins Glen school board recently passed a resolution at their last meeting to open discussions with Odessa-Montour regarding shared services, which includes athletics programs.

"We are certainly open to the idea [of a merger] but the decision really lies with the O-M board of education," Watkins Glen Superintendent Tom Phillips said. "The Watkins Glen Board passed a resolution on Monday [Dec. 1] stating 'The board of education shall request discussions with their colleagues at Odessa-Montour Central School District for the purposes of exploring ways for each district to share service, including athletics.' My hope is that they are willing to open a dialogue."
Meanwhile at Odessa-Montour, interim Superintendent Peter Punzo indicated while options for the program will be explored as they become available, he is unable to comment at this time as far as what the future may hold for the football program.
"As part of an ongoing effort to provide our students with a wide range of extracurricular opportunities, the Odessa-Montour Central School District is continuing to consider available options for its football program," Punzo said. "Since efforts are ongoing and no decisions have been made, any further comment by me would not be appropriate at this time. I will keep the community informed, should an option become viable for the district."
Phillips said at this point, the Watkins Glen Central School District will wait to hear from Odessa if they are willing to "create a dialogue." He said declining student populations are the reasons behind such issues, adding the issue will "require our community to come together for meetings and open dialogue with parents, students and community members."
"The reality is we (both communities) must find it within ourselves to openly discuss with one another what is best for the children of Schuyler County," Phillips said. "The fact is upstate New York has been experiencing a decline in population for years and that is impacting schools, towns and communities across the region. With declining student population the ability to field teams and develop quality programs for children is certainly being compromised."
Phillips said most of the issues involved with potentially merging the two teams are operational, such as where the team would practice, where the home games would be played, how the athletes would get from one district to the other and what student policies govern student conduct. Phillips added, "[It is] nothing that sitting down at a table and discussing couldn't solve."
"The coaching issue is personnel, so that would be driven by the host school employment contract," Phillips said. "As for the team name, uniform colors and alike, my preference would be to have a committee of student-athletes who are part of the combined teams come together and discuss their preferences and then make recommendations to the athletic coordinators."
Phillips said the community already has a model for such a program in Schuyler County Little League, Schuyler Small Fry Football and CVSA Soccer. He said the students already play together until they enter seventh grade, adding perhaps the districts could learn from this model.