A proposed change in scheduling for Arizona high school girls' soccer has some coaches and players in the state pointing to an unequal playing field.
The discussion within the Arizona Interscholastic Association proposes moving all of the fall girls' soccer season to the winter.
For most high school programs in the Valley, that’s not much of an issue. For teams like Blue Ridge High School in the White Mountains, the girls' high school coach there says when there are inches of snow sitting on a field for weeks, that’s a safety concern for the players on a frozen field.
“They’re going to get hurt, they’re going to get sick. We get 12 inches of snow in one snowfall... that takes two weeks to melt. We can’t go in the gym and play,” said Coach Britni Hamblin.
David Hines, the executive director for the AIA, told ABC15 there are fewer than 12 schools in the entire state that play girls' soccer in the fall.
He attributes the dwindling interest in girls' fall soccer, in part, to most teams playing in the winter and the growing popularity of flag football, which was just added this year.
“We had 57 schools playing flag football this year, it will be close to 90 next year, it is just growing leaps and bounds,” said Hines.
Hamblin says without the fall season being sanctioned by the AIA, the pursuit of a state championship is also taken away.
One proposal is for smaller schools that still want to play soccer in the fall to play in end-of-the-year tournaments or play intermural. However, those fall-only teams wouldn’t have the chance to play for a state title.
Hamblin says without a chance at a championship, there’s less opportunity for students to be seen by those looking to recruit for the next level. Especially those who can’t afford to play club soccer
”It’s very hurtful for these girls. A lot of the ways they get noticed and recognized in these state playoffs and state championship games,” said Hamblin.
When asked what AIA would say to those who feel there are fewer scholarship opportunities for teams that can’t play in pursuit of a state title, Hines said, “to be perfectly honest there’s very few soccer scholarships available at NCAA level.”
He gave an example saying girls' soccer typically has about 12 scholarships on a collegiate team and the team has only 30-35 players.
The AIA executive director says the discussion will continue with a possible vote on November 20th but says a vote is unlikely. They’re gathering feedback and proposing different scenarios right now.
