Commentary by Frank Schroth
Parents naturally seek to share their passions with their children. And so it happened that not one but two groups of parents and interested residents appeared before the school committee with plans to start up new sports: crew and rugby. While some may have found this exhilarating news, none of them was on the school committee. That elected body sat in silence with one exception, Mary Kelly, who adhered to what is becoming her standard “Just say no” approach.
The president of the Friends of Milton Crew, John Rhee, was working at the State Street Bank building on Granite Avenue when he happened to look out the window and saw a rowing team out on the Neponset River. Well what do you know, he thought. Rhee is a rower and officiates meets and regattas in Worcestor and Lowell. The challenge with rowing is proximity to water. Got that, he thought. So he went to work, together with Terry Driscoll, former director of Milton Parks and Recreation, and formed a group that includes local attorney Mike Ricciuti and Milton Academy faculty Brad Moriarty, a onetime member of the US National rowing team. They enlisted support from Chris Maietta who started and continues to manage the Wayland-Weston rowing program.
Ned Corcoran loves to play rugby. And now his son loves to play rugby, but his opportunities are limited. He asked his father, “What would it take to get a rugby team started at the high school?” His father’s response was to turn around and take a stab at doing just that. He contacted another Milton resident, Joe Dolan. Mr. Dolan has coached rugby at Brookline High for ~20 years. They held some clinics to gauge interest, had approximately 30 – 40 students show up, and they oriented them to the rules and the ball, which looks a little like the offspring of a football and a soccer ball.
At the school committee meeting, both presenting groups had each done a lot of research and had members that were familiar with the relevant sports leagues and insurance issues, etc. They also knew the schools could not fund the programs, and each had initiated fund-raising activities. Granted the costs of rugby (a ball and some shirts the same color) are not as high as those of crew (boats that cost $20K or more), but that is not the point. It is not about money. These parents know that money is a consideration and a challenge, and they will find a way to solve it. It is about opportunities for our children.
It is somewhat fitting that these men came before the school committee on the eve of the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s inaugural speech in which he implored Americans to work on behalf of their country. Revising that famous statement slightly, one might say, ” . . .ask what you can do for your community.” These men answered that. They may not be successful, but they are willing to give it a go and try to establish programs which, if successful, could benefit children for years to come.
This is why the school committee’s collective silence was deafening and disappointing. They said . . . nothing . . . with the exception of Ms. Kelly whose arguments against starting the programs lacked logic and ignored fact. Ms. Kelly was loathe to expand sports while cutting teachers (the schools may lose 11+ teachers if they need to abide by a level-funded budget) even though there is no connection between the two from a financial perspective. Corcoran estimates he will need approximately $6,000 to start the rugby program, which he is willing to raise.
Denying these programs will not save jobs. Opposing these groups simply limits opportunities for students. The notion that these programs might siphon off students from other sports is equally flawed. That line of argument is negative in nature and conveniently sidesteps its counterpart – what about all the kids who cannot play football or basketball or hockey? Both crew and rugby are sports one can enter in high school, and they therefore offer new opportunities for students who might not otherwise be involved in sports.
Mr. Pavlicek was successful (thank goodness) in having the committee agree to allow the crew to use the school for their upcoming information night and discuss further with administration staff. Ms. Gormley said that a process of on-boarding new sports activities would be drafted for this week’s committee meeting. At that time, we hope to hear from the school committee either their strong expressions of gratitude or their cogent arguments why starting these programs at this time would not be in the best interests of our students, or absent criticism (what could it be?), one can only hope for strong statements of support and enthusiasm for two more opportunities that can game change lives.