Delcohoops.com

By Matt DeGeorge

When John Sarandrea said yes a year ago, he didn’t know how much weight was behind the question.

The WPIAL needed a new superintendent’s representative to its board, and Sarandrea, a former basketball coach now heading the New Castle Area School District, thought he was up to the task.

Soon into that endeavor, the role’s main task was explained: Superintendents wanted to delve into competitive balance in the PIAA. Would Sarandrea take the lead in canvassing District 7’s administrators?

That inquest led to the “PIAA Playoff Equity Summit” next Tuesday in State College, open to public-school administrators to ascertain how to rectify competitive imbalance that has led to an overwhelming proportion of PIAA championships won by private and charter (so-called “non-boundary”) schools. Topics on the agenda, like separate championships and even a possible secession from the PIAA, were once regarded as third rails in this conversation, but they’ve gained traction as animosity has mounted.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Scott Martin was a state championship wrestler at Lancaster Catholic. He was an instant standout on the football field at Millersville on the way to two All-American selections and an NFL training camp stint.

But when he returned home from his freshman year of college, none of those accolades prevented him from serving as a church handyman at his alma mater, fulfilling the number of hours needed to pay off grants to attend Lancaster Catholic. As the sixth of seven children to earn a Catholic education, from a blue-collar family as the son of a police officer, Martin understood the need to work for his opportunities.

“When I went through, I didn’t get scholarships,” Martin said by phone recently. “I got loans. I had to work them off, literally. I had to go back after I finished school because I still owed them a certain number of hours and I washed windows over the summer.”

The work ethic plays a part in how Martin, a Republican State Senator in the 13th District serving Lancaster County, ascended to such heights, athletically and professionally. It also sculpts his position on the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee (PAOC), a six-member body in the General Assembly that guides the PIAA’s operations.

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PaPrepLive’s five-part series on competitive balance in the PIAA

By Ed Palattella

Superintendents, other officials to hold statewide meeting to discuss “the possible formation of a separate entity” to oversee high school sports in Pennsylvania.

The call for separate playoffs for some high school sports in Pennsylvania has taken on another dimension — the possibility of replacing the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Superintendents and other officials from at least 75 public school districts from across the state are scheduled to meet in State College on July 24 to discuss “the current inequity” in the playoff system, which the PIAA now operates, according to an email that schools received on Tuesday about the meeting.

Another potential topic of discussion, according to the email, is “the possible formation of a separate entity to provide a fair, equitable playing field for all students and schools in Pennsylvania if appropriate action is not taken by either the PIAA or through legislation.”

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By Matthew DeGeorge

It was about an hour into a meeting in the bowels of the K. Leroy Irvis Building before the ill-fitting title of the committee meeting was broached.

“I’ve yet to hear anyone advocate that,” said State Sen. Scott Martin, R-13 of Lancaster.

The title of Monday’s meeting of the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee was a “Hearing on Public, Private Sports.” The subject that many public-school stakeholders want to discuss, separate championships for public and private schools, isn’t about to happen anytime soon.

But that fact doesn’t preclude progress on the issue of competitive imbalance, and the tone of optimism Monday indicates that it could be on the way sooner rather than later.

Public and private championships in a state of the size and sensibility of Pennsylvania are a non-starter. The mere terminology is prohibitively impenetrable: Monday’s meeting included Sean McAleer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, calling the distinction of boundary/non-boundary “a legal fiction,” while the testimony of PIAA executive director Dr. Robert Lombardi sought to cleave his body’s membership into “traditional schools” and “schools of choice.” It was a minor point in the proceedings, but rest assured that any attempt to put weight behind those terms would meet harsh rebuke.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

The PIAA is taking steps to address the competitive imbalance in district and state tournaments. The plan for evening the playing field, though, isn’t what the title of Monday’s hearing indicated.

At the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee’s meeting on, “Public, Private Sports,” the idea of conducting separate championships was not brought to the table for discussion. Instead, the PIAA is spearheading initiatives it hopes will lessen competitive imbalance by targeting the pressure points with which administrators and legislators are often presented.

“There’s no doubt that concern and criticism over this issue has intensified recently,” said Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, (R-18) of Bensalem, the chairman of the PAOC.

“Of all the issues, it’s one of the ones I hear about the most,” said Sen. Scott Martin (R-13) of Lancaster.

In the short-term, the PIAA has implemented or proposed several measures to root out and deter athletically motivated transfers. But as explained by PIAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Lombardi, a longer-term plan that has passed a first reading by the PIAA’s board would install a system that utilizes not just enrollment but transfers and a success factor to determine classification.

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By Harry Chaykun

Emerson Baynard is arguably one of the finest basketball players the city of Chester has produced. His legendary career is remembered by those who followed his performances in the late 1950s and early 1960s with awe.

His storied high school career has intrigued noted Delco author Jack Lemon to the extent that Mr. Lemon has decided to write a book about Emerson’s glory days. He has embarked on interviewing teammates, opponents, and fans who were aware of Emerson’s skills.

One such interview took place when Mr. Lemon contacted the retired and iconic University of Wisconsin basketball coach Bo Ryan. Bo himself had an outstanding Chester High basketball career while wearing the same number that Em wore – 42.

During the interview Bo learned that Emerson Baynard’s grave site in Haven Memorial Cemetery is unmarked. Bo took pause and made the offer to help raise the funds needed so that Emerson could have a proper memorial. He said that if others felt similarly, he would match the funds donated so that a fitting memorial could be installed.

In the event that the funds raised were to exceed the cost of the memorial selected by the management of Haven Memorial Cemetery, those additional funds would be shared equally by the Chester Boys and Girls Club and the Chester Biddy Basketball League.

Any party interested in making a donation to this cause should send a check to the Sports Legends of Delaware County (SLDC) Museum, which is located at 301 Iven Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087. Donors should note that the money is to be used for the Emerson Baynard memorial fund.

For more information, contact Jim Vankoski at 610-909-4919 or by email vankoski21@comcast.net.

In a 1997 article, former Daily Times sports editor Ed Gebhart said it best for all of us who saw the Big Em play when he wrote:

 “The Emerson Baynard I will remember will leap high into the air and ferociously snatch a rebound with one hand and smack it into the palm of the other. He will begin that deceptive lope down the court before throwing those fakes … head fakes, shoulder fakes, hip fakes. Suddenly, he’ll lift that magnificent body far above the defender and let fly, ever so delicately, a jump shot. As the ball settles into the net, he’ll head back up the court, pumping his fist and flashing that little smile we all knew so well. And I will cry a little, too, for the glory that was and for the glory that might have been.”