Class By Themselves: Girls athletics also given lift

Ponce de Leon’s girls basketball program has been one of the gems in the area for many years. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the specter of private schools dulled some of their luster.

Success on a local and regional level only to be dominated on a statewide stage has been a familiar theme throughout this series. The point can’t be underscored enough, that smaller-enrollment schools in the Panhandle had little to no chance to achieve championship dreams as long as the competition level was skewed.

The Florida High School Athletic Association’s Rural classification will benefit those schools, and girls athletics is no exception. Girls basketball, softball and volleyball teams in Class 1A now will compete against schools from communities with similar populations.

It’s not impossible to transcend top private programs in some sports, as Wewahitchka accomplished the feat in both 2007 and 2008 with back-to-back Class 2A softball titles. It took Wewa seven years to finally break through, however. Those teams had some of the area’s best softball talent, and the dip in the program the past three seasons is an indicator that the talent pool in Panhandle areas won’t always be well stocked.

PDL reached consecutive Final Fours in Class 2A girls basketball in 2007-08. The Pirates were close in ’07, falling 65-55 to Tallahassee North Florida Christian. They weren’t nearly as competitive in 2008, when eventual champion Orlando First Academy rolled 65-30.

Since 2007, PDL and Cottondale have jockeyed for area supremacy in girls basketball. Graceville got into the act last season by advancing farther than both, but didn’t move beyond the regional final. The three teams are bunched into District 3-1A in basketball for the next two seasons.

“Certainly, year in and year out players come and go,” PDL coach Tim Alford said. “At least now when you have a good team you feel you have a good chance.

“It won’t be every year, that’s the nature of how it will go. But it will be the same for everyone. It puts everyone on a level playing field and you can say what you want, but it never really was.”

Alford continued the thought by adding that two of his top players from last year’s team, Sha-lea Yates and Hillary Harper, have graduated. Even with them, Graceville edged PDL for the right to play for a Final Four berth before losing to Mayo Lafayette, which also resides in the Rural division.

The turnover in roster will be the same throughout, Alford added. Unlike in softball, where Wewa was aided by a shutdown pitcher in Samantha Rich, sports such as basketball and volleyball require more than one standout player to have a fighting chance.

In volleyball, club teams haven’t been as prevalent in the Panhandle as they are throughout Central and South Florida. Some coaches are trying to help change that, such as larger school Mosley creating the successful Club Fusion feeder program. The new Rural division cuts out the programs down south that sometimes play volleyball year-round.

That could bode well for upstart programs at Sneads and Liberty County, which are in separate districts. Liberty County made its first and only Final Four appearance in 2005. It produced playoff runs in each of the next three seasons, but couldn’t duplicate the success.

Sneads advanced to its first regional final last season. It lost in straight sets to Tallahassee Maclay. Chipley (in 1982) and Blountstown are the only other rural schools to make it to a Final Four, the latter advancing that far in 2006.

The new alignments afford greater chances to advance to the regional round. District 3 in basketball, softball and volleyball includes all area teams, which means that two are guaranteed playoff berths. The odds also are strong in District 2 and 4, with a majority of area teams playing in those groupings.

Alford, also PDL’s athletic director, said successful seasons will build pride in girls programs. That also may lead to increased participation in the three sports and a greater opportunity for college scholarships.

“Now you have something to really be proud about around town,” Alford said. “It’s fine to play against a team on your level and lose. But not having a chance whatsoever makes it tough for everybody.”