Many think it is only fair to have smaller schools in separate classes from the bigger schools. But what are downsides of this?  In some instances, there might be a completely dominant school winning state championships left and right while other schools are left in the dust. At some point the state championship could even become unsatisfying.

I suggest that high school sports be put in divisions.  I am aware that other high school activity associations call classes divisions, but this is not what I suggest.  I suggest that we have a promotion and relegation system for all high schools rather then classes decided by size. This would mean that teams with the worst records in the “top group” be moved down to the next group down. Divisions based on skill would force teams such as Lenexa St. James, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Kapuan Mt. Carmel to play more difficult teams, rather then beat smaller public schools and ease their way to a state championship.

BHS students were asked about their thoughts on this idea about playing top level competition.

BHS cross country had an optimistic attitude of mixed school classifications.

“I guess it would be harder, more competition,” sophomore Ethan Hartzell said.

The girls cross country team seemed especially optimistic about the idea of playing 6A opponents.

“I don’t think it would change the results, I think cross country is about coaches, not the size of the school,” sophomore Libby Verhaeghe said.

BHS soccer members were hesitant about the new idea.

“It would be really difficult for anybody other then a 6A team,” sophomore Nick Joslyn said.

Some Bulldogs were able to at least see benefits of playing 6A teams.

“It would feel pretty good to beat bigger schools,” sophomore Duncan Murray said.

But the Bulldogs saw the bottom line, it would be very difficult to win against 6A opponents.

“I’d be pretty upset because we’d be on the low end of the spectrum, but we’d get better refs,” senior Louis Joslyn said.

I personally believe that classes should be done by skill, not size. It is honestly not fair for private schools that get to recruit to play in 5A or 4A-1A division. My favorite example is St. Thomas Aquinas, who has won a total of 67 state championships, their most being in soccer with the boys winning 14 and girls 11. It would be more fair if they play 6A teams who have a better chance of beating them rather then the smaller 5A schools.

Another school that consistently wins state championships, especially in volleyball and girls soccer, is St. James Academy in Lenexa. Again, it could be suggested that they only allow a limited amount of students to attend their school so that they can stay 4A and win state championships. The new school, such as STA, can recruit because they are a private school. Again if they were put with 6A opponents, I would not have a problem with them.

This would also make it more fair for failing 6A schools to go play opponents that have nearly the same skill level as them. I suggest that this be in separate sports, because obviously schools do not have the same level of skill on every sport they play.

Going to classes (or divisions) based on skill is just a suggestion. Hopefully, maybe it will be supported in the future to further balance high school athletic structure.