Comprehensive Plan for Athletic Department Presented at PVSD School Board Meeting
Matt Martinez, Pojoaque Valley Schools athletic director, presented a list of proposals to the PVSD school board Tuesday night that will hopefully enhance the athletic programs in the district.
The comprehensive plan includes random testing of athletes and a process for helping students that test positive for drugs or alcohol. Martinez said in the schools current drug policy, athletes tested positive for drugs are required, along with their parents, to sign a contract that stipulates a recovery process and therapy options before an athlete is allowed to resume competition.
The drug test, which is a saliva test, can reveal six different illegal drugs, excluding steroids. Martinez said the saliva test costs $6 and the test for steroids $25.
Stipends, or coaches’ salaries, were also on the agenda. Martinez said Pojoaque Valley is not competitive with area schools in terms of salaries offered coaches. He researched area schools and proposed a $6,500 stipend that would make Pojoaque Valley competitive with area schools.
“Our coaches get the same stipend year in and year out,” Martinez said. “A coach can work 30 years in our district and still earn just $4,000. Our stipend limitations make it more difficult to keep excellent coaches and recruit quality coaches.”
Adan Delgado, PVSD superintendent, said, “We’ve been recruiting coaches and a couple of real strong coaches kind of laughed at our stipend. Our stipend rate is a problem when it comes to recruiting quality coaches.”
Martinez addressed the high turnover rate for the Pojoaque High football program as an example of coaches who have left Pojoaque for higher salaries elsewhere.
Club sports were next up on the agenda. At the present time, Pojoaque Valley doesn’t offer wrestling, tennis, gold or swimming but that might change in the near future. A tennis club has found a volunteer coach and after two years at the club level the program will become a funded sport.
All club sports will not cost the district anything since all coaches are volunteers. “Parents and sponsors provide the money for the first two years,” Martinez said. “At the present time, we are sending out surveys to see what sports students are most interested in making a club sport.”
Next up for discussion was the use and misuse of athletic facilities. Martinez said the district allows various groups to use the gyms for free and they often leave the facilities in disarray because the district doesn’t have an employee on sight to monitor the cleanup activities.
Board members agreed supervision is needed and they will also discuss the possibility of charging fees to use the facilities.
The Youth League Programs were next up for discussion.
Martinez said there are many kids in the youth league programs that do not attend Pojoaque Valley Schools. In the current system, there’s no procedure for insuring Pojoaque Valley students are selected before out of district students.
Another youth league proposal was a lottery system to insure the good players aren’t all on one team that dominates. “A lottery system seems like a got idea,” school board member Fernando Quintana said, “ because it would keep teams from loading up on talent.”
Joey Trujillo, Elks head basketball coach, said the program has grown over the past 20 years and it needs to be revised to accommodate kids in the district first.
A controversial issue over the past few has been eighth-grade eligibility. Since there is currently no written policy, Martinez proposed guidelines that would add consistency to the program and eliminate favoritism.
The proposed guidelines would require 8th grade athletes to participate at the middle school level before they became eligible for high school competition. Martinez proposed a middle school athlete play the first five games-in volleyball and basketball-at the middle school level before they can be considered for high school ball. In another example, he said middle school track and cross country athletes would have to run in at least one meet before being considered for the higher level.
“Theirs is no state wide policy for middle school students participating in high school athletics,” Martinez said. “For example, the Albuquerque School District doesn’t allow 8th graders to participate in high school programs, while Rio Rancho does allow 8th graders to be considered for high school competition.”
School board president Sharon Dogruel thanked Martinez for his work in drawing up the proposals and assured him that his ideas would be taken into consideration. She indicated the proposals seem to provide more options for students while assuring the athletic program is administered in an equitable manner.
Comments
By Bobby Romero on March 16th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Why do people assume that a team is loaded? Parents are the ones who choose what team their kid is on. Some “coaches” just let the kids go out and play recess ball while others actually teach fundamental basketball. Naturally that team is going to outperform the competition. That’s like saying all the smart kids are in one class. Maybe that teacher is good! Why would the district want to charge for the use of gyms? That is only hurting your own kids. The coaches are giving their time and knowledge to benefit the valley. If you want to maintain the facilities in a more systemic way, how about asking one or two parents from each team practicing to help aid in keeping the trash thrown or making sure the restrooms are not a mess. You talk about offering coaches more incentive money to come to Pojoaque…I wish we could give that to teachers as well. Teachers and coaches give a lot to these kids and ask for very little in return. If we want a better sports program in the valley then we need to start young and be consistent. Let’s not confuse the kids who know how to play by making them guard from inside the box. What is that teaching them? It would be great if the basketball program worked with these coaches to help teach them the basics so that by the time they get to 6th grade they can compete at that level instead of having to make up ground. Education starts at the early stages in both academics and sports. You have to build that foundation before you can raise those expectations. There are kids who travel all over to play AAU. Why can’t you have one league that is strictly for fun or recreation and one for competition? It’s really going to depend on what you want to see in Jr High and HS. Just be consistent with your rules. Don’t make up new rules every year. Last year PVIS had try outs…this year they had try outs and then decided everyone was on a team. What did that teach my son? I want him to know that he needs to work for his spot, because in life people don’t just give everyone a job, you earn it. Let’s be consistent people. We have great resources in the area, why are you begging others to come in if their laughing at it? Perhaps the School Board can look deeply at how to improve student scores instead of making money off the gym. How are we challenging our students?? Or are we? Sports gets a lot of attention. Too bad we can’t say the same for the gifted program or other extra curricular academic events.
By Claudine Armenta on March 17th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
We as a school district need to be sure we are following Title 9 with the money we already have in the district and make sure that there is true transparency and accountability before we move on to next level of finding more funding. Yes I do think that Football and other sports are getting short changed on the funding that is already in the kitty. I have inquired and have received a lot of false information on the rules of fundraising, use of monies and support of the athletic department and the use of the districts facilities for other fund raising opportunities. And yes it is not consistent information it depends who gets favors from the athletic director. Does the school fund any or partial expenses for the sports in this district? Does the school district only support the facilities and income of the coaches, buses that the team uses. Is this what is expected from the program director to manage and not to get involved in the sports politics? All that is asked for is consistency, fairness, accountability, transparency from the Pojoaque Valley School District and the athletic department. As parents and Tax payers that is what we request from our School District. As far as the league that takes place on the weekend we can’t get a straight answer for the school activities much less them getting involved in the community programs. I feel that within the last two years this league is one of the best organized basketball leagues here in the north, it would be a shame to lose such a great league. The committee that was put in place has very honest and organized and passionate about doing the right thing. I do not feel that any of the teams were LOADED I know that in our age group the talent was even and very competitive my son was on a team with all girls and they gave the other teams competition and they had to work hard for victories.
The lower grade basketball teams need to decide how they are going to handle tryouts or for the kids not trying out and just being on the team. Make the rules now before school starts next year and have it in place. Last year was a sad way of handling a problem that has been brewing for years we need consistency so that every body can understand the rules. You may not have agreement on how it is done but have it in place before the season (like now this summer)starts. There is raw talent out there that is going to be missed and yes we need to start young to see who our future Elks and Elkettes are going to be by not disappointing and discouraging our young.
By Cherie Romero on March 19th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
I don’t think that we should leave out kids from surrounding communities outside the district. We should be encouraging physical activity for kids, especially with the growing trend of childhood obesity in our country. Why would we discriminate for a community youth league? Seems strange that we would do that when our school sites are full of kids from Espanola, San Juan, Chimayo….you name it. Look at the players on the Varsity team…not 100% from the valley. Does that mean it’s ok to accept out of district kids at our schools, but not for our fun weekend league? Sounds a little contradictory. These children go to school together, why wouldn’t they play at the same sports league together? I’m so glad to hear that other parents think that teams were fair and that the league is organized. I agree that the folks on the committee work hard to make things better for our kids. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to put kids first. League Coaches are donating their time to kids, I can’t imagine them being charged to use the gym. My kids love the weekend league. Thank you to all those who coach ANY SPORT in the valley without a huge stipend.
By Danielle Mares on March 28th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
I believe that our athletic department has a huge problem with management. There is no transparency as to what the rules are, how the funding is spent, or what the procedures are for gym use. There is no accountability whatsoever. It is a “good ol boys” club that relies on favors from the athletic director. Instead of giving tax payers, parents, league coaches and volunteers equal treatment and access to the facilities it depends on who you know, not at all on eligibility. The process should be formal, transparent and accountable. If management is unable or unwilling to comply with this then maybe they do indeed have something to hide and it is time for change. It is a shame that youth leagues are having to rely on gym time in Espanola and Santa Fe districts especially when the entire team consists of Pojoaque students. Most of the parents, grandparents, and league coaches are from Pojoaque, have graduated from Pojoaque and have contributed to the school district for decades but they are still being denied accountability and access to the facilities merely because they do not belong to the “gool ol boys club” and refuse to play the political game that has dominated the athletic department as of late. I am pleased to see this problem brought to light lately and I am hoping that the school board recognizes this problem and moves swiftly to correct it. It is not fair that our children should suffer as a result of bad management.