SVC TO FEDERAL Mixed feelings surround switch

Boardman and Fitch will leave the SVC for the Federal League in the fall.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- It's probably not the travel or the unfamiliar stadiums. Or the extra time it will cost him -- time that could be spent doing homework or working out or just hanging out.
Miles Williams can live with that.
But the Fitch junior didn't grow up dreaming of the day he'd get to play a football game against Canton GlenOak. Understand, it's nothing against that school or any other school in the Federal League.
It's just a fact of life in Youngstown.
"I'd probably rather play Steel Valley teams," said Williams, a wideout for Austintown Fitch who's headed to Ohio State. "It's gonna be my senior year. It's good competition, but I don't know if as many people are going to come to the games."
Does he have mixed feelings about the move? Definitely. And he's not alone. Just about every athlete at Boardman and Fitch greets the move with a mixture of excitement, apprehension and a little bit of helplessness.
Pros and cons
"I'm excited about going against new teams and better competition, but I think it's also going to be a waste of my time," said Boardman junior Sarah Grabert, who plays soccer, swims and runs track. "But I already travel a lot with swimming, so I'm used to the travel. I guess it affects some sports more than others."
It will also affect some athletes more than others. Matt Jones runs track and cross country at Boardman and he's used to traveling out of the area for bigger meets.
"It's not really that big of a difference," Jones said. "I'll miss the SVC because it's always fun to go against local teams. But it's sometimes good to change things up a little bit."
His teammate, Jon Creighton, isn't so sure.
"I don't like that it's so far away," he said. "We're gonna have more competition and better teams, but it's a long way to go. I have a lot of homework and driving an hour there and an hour back takes up a lot of time."
Not just for students, either. Parents and the fans also have to make the drive, and not everyone is convinced that they will.
"I've traveled before and I'm cool with that," Fitch sophomore Mo Hassen said. "But as far as the fans, they might have a little trouble."
More than football
In some SVC sports, however, the fans already aren't coming. Only about 200 fans came to Thursday's Steel Valley Conference track meet, a low figure even on a rainy night. Last year's Federal League track meet had close to 3,000 paying customers.
"You can't just look at football," said Dan Durkin, whose daughter, Brittany, plays three sports at Boardman. "Look, I played football at Ursuline. I'm a football guy. But when it comes to sports like track, we're barely getting 200 for a league meet.
"Over there, they support sports like track. They come to meets and they're not just watching, they're involved. That's how it should be."
Brittany Durkin will be affected by the move as much as anyone. She runs cross country and track and plays basketball, which leaves little free time during the school year. She's excited about the switch -- just not as much as her father.
"I don't know about other schools, but we get a lot of homework here," she said. "If it's just a regular meet or something in the middle of the week, we might not get back home until 10 p.m."
Uncertain future
And what about the athletes at Mooney, Ursuline and Warren Harding? Those schools will have to work harder -- and travel farther -- to find games. The area's best girls basketball rivalry -- Boardman versus Ursuline -- has already been cut for next year, something that really bothers Irish freshman Tyra Grant.
"I don't want Boardman to leave," Grant said. "I want to play them. I don't care if we have to join the Federal League. There's a lot of excitement and a lot of hype when you play Boardman and I get really pumped up. It won't be as much fun without them."
The league will still be around next season. Harding, Ursuline and Mooney voted to keep the league together at least through next school year.
But it won't be the same.
"It's real disappointing because when you're growing up and playing these teams in middle school, it was always about the SVC," said Harding junior Anthony Hoke, who is on the football and the track team. "And now I'll be a senior and I won't get to play them."
It won't ruin his season -- the Raiders still have the playoffs to play for -- but the games won't have as much meaning.
"We were mad at first, but life goes on," Hoke said. "But it was something we were looking forward to, and now it's gone."
scalzo@vindy.com