Friday, October 5, 2012

OUR OPINION: DHS Football Merger Needed Now

 
The proposed merger of DHS' football program with Milford is a no-brainer.  That is not easy for us to admit.

Most of the staff at the Dorchester Times are DHS parents and/or former DHS athletes, ourselves.

It pains us to even think of any team other than our beloved orange-and-black Longhorns representing our school on a fall Friday night.  But the DHS football program has entered a difficult era as the team's performance and morale are being hindered by small classes and a low student participation rate.

Just two weeks ago, the Longhorns were forced to forfeit a game due to injuries reducing an already small roster.

DHS (0-5 and facing Parkview Christian tonight at home) is weathering a cycle in which younger players -- freshmen and sophomores -- don't want to participate for fear they will be forced to play an entire game against stronger, bigger juniors and seniors.  Who can blame them? Football can be a bruising, unforgiving game.

As of this afternoon, with nearly 80 votes in our online poll, three-quarters of readers support the athletics co-op with Milford Junior High and Milford High School.  While none of our staffers vote in the Times' online poll, we agree with the majority.  We think the merger needs to happen.  Right away.  Starting next season.  Other sports, including girls athletics, may need to follow in coming years.  But for now, the football co-op should go forward.

Here's why: Consolidating football with Milford will give young Dorchester players a chance to play at a high level, but against competition their own age and skill level.  This will afford Dorchester kids the chance to learn the game at their own pace, while making friends in a thriving nearby community.

Merging football with Friend should have been a viable option.  But bad blood between certain parties from both towns prevented that from ever being a possibility.  Milford officials, on the other hand, seem to welcome Dorchester with open arms and open minds.  The merger will be on a two-year trial basis, which gives us a higher level of comfort.

If Dorchester's young football players are to again experience success on the gridiron and the life lessons that come with athletic participation, DHS and its football program need to take advantage of this opportunity to combine football squads -- as hard as it will be on our community ego.
 

11 comments:

  1. I hate agreeing with any thing u guys write but in theis case I cant argue

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  2. This is the beginning of the end for DHS. I give the board credit for being proactive and realizing something needs to be done. At the same time, how many new kids will enroll in a school that has no extracurricular activities in its town? If we want our town to be more than low income housing and a revolving door for problem kids, the board needs to co-op with a school that allows us to utilize at least some of our facilities.

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  3. I wholeheartedly agree with the bloggers. If you want to do the right thing for the long-term and not just the next 3 to 5 years, Merging temporarily with Millford is the right call. Merging with power-hungry friend Would be the beginning of the end for DHS

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  4. There was a time when small-town families would step up and work as a community to solve tough issues. Now it seems a few want to blame everything and everyone but themselves, take their ball and go somewhere else.

    This football consolidation seems to make sense but I'm getting awfully tired of hearing people threating or taking their kids elsewhere. Good luck in Crete and good luck in Friend ..... I have a feeling your problems will follow you like a shadow and you (and your kids) are always going to be discontent with life. Mostly because you exptect someone else to magically solve a problem you should have took on yourself.

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  5. I should add that when you do decide youre ready to work with the rest of us we will be ready to sit down with you and work thru your problems and concerns. We have to come together!

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  6. To those who keep saying we are going to not be using our facilities you need to be up to date on your information. We are NOT giving up all of our facilities in Dorchester. There will still be extra curricular activities in Dorchester. They will be used for drama, school plays, one act plays,volleyball and basketball. NOT ALL SPORTS and extra curricular activities ARE BEING CO-OPed with Milford.

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  7. LOYALTY...

    The key ingredient to a successful nation. The key ingredient to a successful family. The key ingredient to a successful community

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  8. .............................. its about time to do what should of been done long ago ................................... dorchester needs to merge alright ................... but not with milford ............................... not with friend ...................... instead dorchester needs to finally join forces with p. hill .................. it would be like trump and buffett combining ...............................

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  9. You have got to be kidding me. You are putting this... ("DHS (0-5 and facing Parkview Christian tonight at home) is weathering a cycle in which younger players -- freshmen and sophomores -- don't want to participate for fear they will be forced to play an entire game against stronger, bigger juniors and seniors. Who can blame them? Football can be a bruising, unforgiving game.") in the kids' mouths! They DO want to play, and they ARE NOT afraid of playing. You can tell that somebody never played high school sports. The 'younger players' earn the right to get to go out on the field and get to play. The problem isn't being too small of a school, but it is that not everybody goes out. Some of those who wish to can't because their parents won't let them. Others don't because they don't care. there were only about 1/2 of the possible players that went out that could have. Don't put words into people's mouths. I am not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing to co-op with Milford, but it needs to take smaller steps.

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