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Canfield board will allow spring break sports teams’ trips
CANFIELD
School board members reversed a November decision Tuesday that kept varsity baseball and softball players from traveling during spring break to play early season tournaments in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Members denied the trips’ approval Nov. 20 by a 3-2 vote, citing concerns over the booster-funded trip’s timing so close to the end of the school year, safety and necessity.
“I am concerned about the safety of the students,” board member Philip Bova said Tuesday. “I know what can happen. I know what has happened on occasions. … Frankly, I don’t want to put my name on this trip.”
But organizers already had booked the trips, expecting board approval. Some athletes’ parents had even booked lodging and requested vacation time at work.
Parents and the coaches asked the board Tuesday to change its mind. Angela Flak, mother of a senior baseball player, said the tournament “guarantees us games” during a time when teams struggle to fill their schedules due to poor and unpredictable weather.
“Our players truly need this experience and opportunity to compete against talent we wouldn’t normally face in regular play,” she said. “If we want to go deep into our own state tournament, we want to be prepared.”
Mary Gomez, a senior softball player, said, “This trip is about more than softball to us. We spend a whole week together as a team. This helps us become better friends and better teammates.”
After lengthy, sometimes heated discussion, board President David Wilkeson moved to close the meeting, but received no second. Board member Craig Olson introduced a motion to revisit the board’s decision.
“I think we’re, perhaps, correcting a wrong,” he said.
Wilkeson and Michael Roussos maintained their no votes; Olson and Traci DeCapua maintained their yes votes. Bova “reluctantly” voted yes, flipping the previous outcome.
Superintendent Alex Geordan said the teams must still consider transportation. District policy since 2005 prohibits parents from driving their kids on district-sponsored trips. Parents said Tuesday that rule has been ignored for years.