Move out of 3A upsets Waterford

For most 1A and 2A soccer programs, a league of their own is the best thing for the school and the teams.

For Sandy's Waterford School, it is disastrous.

"It's a devastating blow to our soccer programs and our students," said Ravens athletic director Craig Morris. "Soccer was the first sports program we had when we opened 25 years ago. We've had the same coach the entire time, and it's been an incredibly successful program for us."

Soccer began as an unsanctioned activity for the school's small student body.

"We just got games where we could," said head boys coach Bob Capener.

Today, the 2A school has about 240 students, highly regarded programs for both boys and girls, and about 1 in 5 students play soccer.

"When we originally did this, we were 1A at the time, and I told Bob, 'We're not going to win.' And he said, 'That's just fine. We just want to have good games every day,' " Morris said. "The experience is what we're about. We don't even have a trophy case at the school."

If they did, the Ravens could display the state championship trophy they won in boys soccer in 2003. The team also finished second in 2004. Waterford has been to at least the quarterfinals for the last five years and has been competitive with the 3A teams they've played for the last decade.

"I'm not saying some of these (1A/2A) teams aren't going to beat us, but we won't have the same level of competition from game to game," Morris said. "If we can't have some adjustment (in the decisions), we'll probably lose some of our players to the bigger schools around us. I'm not exactly sure what our options are."

Morris is baffled by the Utah High School Activities Association's Board of Trustees' decision to leave Waterford in the 1A/2A soccer league. School officials talked with the UHSAA staff and said if the trustees wouldn't allow the school to play 3A soccer anymore, the entire school was willing to move up to 3A.

"That would be one heck of a stretch for us, but we feel like we have great coaching and solid programs," Morris said. "Maybe we won't lose some of the basketball players we're losing now . . . But this is just a blow to the whole school. I really expected to be allowed to go 3A."