HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Beaver Local votes to join SVC, except in football

The school will join Warren JFK as new members of the expanding conference.
By KURT SNYDER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
The Steel Valley Conference is slowly expanding again.
After Warren John F. Kennedy began competing in all sports except football during the spring, Beaver Local now is prepared to join the conference under the same circumstances.
The Beaver Local Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to accept a proposal to join the SVC.
The proposal made by the school's athletic council has Beaver Local leaving the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference and beginning play in the SVC in all sports except football next spring.
While SVC commissioner Mike Butch said Beaver Local has not been officially accepted, Warren G. Harding athletic director Paul Trina confirmed Friday that Beaver Local has been extended an invitation to join and an official announcement on expansion is expected next week.
Beneficial
Beaver Local athletic director Tom Greenwood said while his school may not appear to fit with the four current SVC members on first glance, he said Beaver Local's addition will benefit everyone.
"We have played many of these schools, and I have a good relationship with many of the [athletic directors]," Greenwood said. "They are pretty open to how we want to participate, so it would be tough to turn our backs on them."
Greenwood cited scheduling flexibility but also mandatory scheduling as the biggest advantages to joining the SVC. Greenwood said a small conference schedule will allow his school to continue to play select OVAC schools. But he also said the OVAC's decision not to go to a mandatory schedule often left schedules in flux.
"This gives us a certainty," he said of scheduling. "We didn't know from one year to the next. People will drop you in football, and you have to hear it third-hand."
Others invited, too
Trina said Beaver Local is just one of several schools to be offered invitations to join the SVC during the past month. He said all invited have been given a June 30 deadline to decide.
While Trina would not confirm which schools received invitations, speculation is that Campbell Memorial, East Liverpool and all three Youngstown city schools have been offered.
Trina said SVC expansion finally appears to be moving forward because the conference has stepped out of the traditional expansion mold.
"We are not concerned if not every school has every sport. We are not concerned if not every school competes in football," he said. "We are going to extend ourselves for whatever sports they want to compete."
Similar component
Trina said he envisions Beaver Local as a similar component to what JFK brings to the conference. Even though JFK is significantly smaller than the other three schools in the conference -- Harding, Ursuline and Mooney, JFK still won league titles this past spring in tennis and girls track.
"With the exception of football and boys basketball, they fit," Trina said of JFK. "I see Beaver Local in the same light."
Greenwood said additional travel concerns have been raised when discussing the move to the SVC. Beaver Local is a 35-50 minute drive from each of the four current members. But Greenwood said travel has never been easy.
Distances
Beaver Local makes an hour and 45-minute drive to play Shadyside in basketball, and in the past has driven more than two hours to play Chardon and Eastlake North in football.
"I have had people ask me, 'What about travel?' " Greenwood said. "I said, 'What do you mean?' It's probably even shorter if you add it all up."
Greenwood said Beaver Local would be open to joining the SVC in football in the future if other schools join the conference.
Both he and Trina confirmed a multi-tier system has been discussed for football once expansion is complete.
As for the rest of the schools still discussing their options, Trina has made his pitch. He said an expanded SVC would offer increased league recognition for individuals and teams and allow athletes more exposure to media.
"Our doors are open," he said.
ksnyder@vindy.com