Should Lancaster leave the OCC and join a new league?

LANCASTER – Is it time for Lancaster to think about getting out of the Ohio Capital Conference and look for another league to play in?

There is no question the OCC is one of the best in the state. With 31 current members and another to join next season, one would be hard-pressed to find a more competitive league. However, as far as Lancaster is concerned the competitive balance in the OCC seems to be out of whack.

Consider this: In the last five years there have been 112 championships won in the OCC-Ohio Division, and during that time, Lancaster has only won six championships – four in wrestling and co-titles in football and volleyball.

The Ohio Division is made of Pickerington North, Pickerington Central, Gahanna, Reynoldsburg and Grove City. Newark and Groveport were in the league, but switched divisions this year during a realignment phase.

With Olentangy building a fourth high school, the OCC realignment committee recommended another realignment last month, but it was voted down 16-15. In the recommendation, the OCC-Ohio was to stay the same.

That did not sit well with Lancaster principal Scott Burre and athletic director Pam Bosser, who met with Logan officials on Nov. 21 to discuss forming a new league. Canal Winchester, Teays Valley, Reynoldsburg, Zanesville and Groveport were among the schools represented at the meeting with Logan.

“As an athletic director I want to put our kids in the best situation,” Bosser said. “I don’t want to go in a division where we win all the time. That’s not what I’m looking for. I’m looking for a division where we can compete.

"If that’s in the OCC in a realigned division, then that is obviously good for us, but if that doesn’t happen, and in order to do what is best for our kids and provide them with the best opportunity, maybe if that alignment doesn’t come back and is not favorable to us then maybe we will be open to what the Logan group has to say.”

Lancaster has been a member of the OCC since 1997, but the current division the Golden Gales play in is a gauntlet. There are a lot of factors that go into why the Gales haven’t won more league championships, but in the end, it is obvious they aren’t playing on an even field.

The suburban schools in the Columbus area not only have better facilities, but they are better off, economically. Fifty percent of Lancaster students get free or reduced lunch compared to less than 25 percent for the schools Lancaster competes against. The point is, whether people want to believe it or not, and it is not an excuse, those kids have a lot more opportunities.

“You have the have and the have-nots,” Bosser said. “A lot of our kids can’t pay to have the experiences other schools have, as far as extra coaching, going to camps, a swing coach in golf, things like that.”

After covering Lancaster teams the last four years, they are lucky to have excellent coaches that prepare their players to be as competitive as they can, and because of that, the Gales are more competitive than they should be.

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Unfortunately, the six championships in the last five years shows it is not quite good enough, and that is unfortunate because Lancaster’s athletes work so hard and aren’t getting rewarded for their efforts.

If things don’t change, to me, it is a no brainer. Lancaster needs to get out of the OCC and join a new league. The fact there is at least another option now is a huge positive moving forward.

“I have always been one to say the OCC is where we need to be,” Bosser said. “It makes our kids have to push themselves to compete. I’ve always been a proponent to be in the OCC, but I just think it is time for us to look at who we are competing against in our division. I don’t want people to think we are jumping ship, because we are not. We are just looking at our options and the OCC may come back with a great alignment.”

There is no question the OCC is a top-notch league, but it gets to the point where you are just fighting an uphill battle. If things don’t change as far as realignment is concerned, I think it is time for the Gales to move on.

The Lancaster student-athletes deserve that.

twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4358

Twitter: @twil2323