Graham will join the Mountain Empire District in 2011

By JERRY SCOTT/Correspondent

Citing the inability to be competitive in regional and state competition has landed Graham High School in the Mountain Empire District starting with the 2011 school year. Graham Principal John O’Neal applied for and was granted entrance into one of the Group A’s smaller districts by the Virginia High School League’s Reclassification and Redistricting committee on Tuesday, Jan. 26 in Charlottesville.
Graham has competed for many years in the Group AA, Region IV Southwest District but will now join the Group A, Region C MED for an at-least two-year period beginning in the fall of 2011. Fellow Southwest District school Grundy will also depart and join the Group A, Region D Black Diamond District in 2011, leaving the Southwest to compete with Richlands, Abingdon, Carroll County, Marion, and Tazewell.
“The bottom line is I think this is the best decision for the student-athletes at Graham High School right now,” O’Neal expressed in an interview with the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. “We’ll try it and if it doesn’t work, we’ll go back. For right now for us to have an opportunity come regional playoff time, this is something we need to do.”
At last count, Graham had approximately 550 students enrolled in grades 9-12. According to O’Neal that left Graham as the second smallest Group AA school in the state and that is behind Grundy. Tazewell has 655 students to rank third. Pulaski County, with 1,506 students, is the largest among Region IV schools.
O’Neal notes that Graham traditionally does very well when competing within its own Southwest District in its sports programs. It’s when regional play starts that the G-Men and G-Girls seem to struggle. That’s what prompted this recent request, a scenario that’s been some five years in the making.
He noted the Graham’s soccer team and its recent dilemmas. According to him, Graham has enjoyed two real good soccer seasons of late but were easily defeated in regional play by Salem and its 1,250 enrollment. No way to win championships or trophies or even have a fair shot in competition is O’Neal’s belief.
“Anyone we have to play in regions is about double our size,” O’Neal stated. “Due to divisional play, it’s no so much of a concern in football and basketball as it is with the other sports. Divisional play brings a more level playing field.”
O’Neal feels this is certainly the right move for Graham and couldn’t come at a better time. His goal is to bring his school to a better sense of pride and competitiveness.
“I think the kids look at some of the success we’ve had in district play and the lack of success in region play,” he said. “Sometimes that might think why should they bother, they’re not going anywhere anyway. Especially in the secondary sports, I’m hoping this will make them hungry again to get to regionals knowing they could advance.”
He did, however, stress that he wouldn’t tamper with some of the sports traditions that have made things exciting for Graham High School. He stated that he would still try to schedule the likes of Richlands, Tazewell, and Bluefield (WV), competitions that have produced tremendous rivalries over the years.
O’Neal noted that he chose requesting entrance into the MED mainly due to logistics and the fact that his school already schedules MED schools. Graham could possibly fall number two in enrollment in the MED as well behind Grayson County. In addition to Bland County, Narrows, Fort Chiswell, and Galax also compete.
“We already do a lot of the Single A thing anyway and it’s good competition,” O’Neal said. “Who can argue with the success of the Bland County girls’ basketball team or Narrows, which came up here and spanked us in volleyball, or Galax, which has one heck of a good soccer program.”
Graham could also provide better competition for the Galax golf or boys’ tennis programs, which no from the MED seems to have any answers for. Will the move by Graham be a detriment in the MED and take away from some of the in-district competitiveness the league already has?
“No, that’s not going to happen,” O’Neal stated. “Believe me, they’ve got some good programs. It’s not going to work like that. This isn’t going to be a cakewalk; we’re talking about schools with good programs.”
One would have to think this move is a good one for all parties concerned. O’Neal stressed the move was not really about winning and losing, but in reality, it is. That’s what they play the games for anyway.
“Just give us a chance, just put us in the game,” he stated. “You’ll win some and you’ll lose some, too. But right now, we’re not competing. We’re just showing up.”
Bland High School Principal Kevin Siers was certainly a proponent for the move by Graham to the MED. He cited several advantages it would present not only for the MED but for Region C as well.
“Currently the Mountain Empire District has an image problem within Region C,” he stated via email. “Our Division 2 schools have not been very competitive in regional play, especially in football. There have been instances when a 5-5 Grayson County team would keep an 8-2 or 9-1 team from another district out of the playoffs because they won the MED only to get beaten badly in the first round at region.”
Siers’ hope is that adding Graham will give the MED a little more credibility as a district, raise the level of competition, and infuse much needed funds into district accounts.
“As a district, we have been struggling since Pocahontas High School closed in now that we have only five district schools, some of whom don’t travel very well,” he stated. “Graham has strong athletic programs and a solid fan base. Adding them is a huge plus for the Mountain Empire District.”
According to Siers, member schools of the MED have been discussing the possibility of adding Graham for several months and every school was in favor of the move.
“We expect a smooth transition and look forward to working with their administration over the next several months to set up schedules and prepare everything for the 2011-12 school year.”