Revised districts help local schools

Home

Follow Us On Twitter!
	News Sports Entertainment Photos
	Join Us On Facebook

Other Sun Publications

FREE DELIVERY!
Get Free Delivery! Request your Osceola News Gazette Today.

Login Form

Sheriff's Office Sexual Predator List

Windows on the Classroom May 2012

View our other Special Sections

Revised districts help local schools

Sports

Thursday, 05 March 2009 04:11

By Ken Jackson
Staff Writer
Administrators at Harmony, St. Cloud and Osceola got good news this week about their appeals to the Florida High School Athletic Association about announced districts for volleyball, basketball and soccer.
After balking at the districts they were initially placed in last month because of long travel distances, the schools were placed in more favorable districts.
The revised districts announced this week by the FHSAA have Osceola dropping from 6A District 6 to 5A District 5 where it joins Liberty, Orlando Evans, Haines City, Lake Wales, Davenport Ridge Community and Winter Haven.
Osceola originally had been grouped with Gateway, Vero Beach, Port St. Lucie, Centennial and Treasure Coast.
Gateway will remain in 6A-6, which now includes Palm Bay Bayside.
Harmony will join county rivals Poinciana, Celebration and St. Cloud in 4A District 6 with Tavares, Eustis and Oak Ridge.
Harmony athletic director Chuck Hitt said the school appealed because it originally would have been grouped with Daytona area schools in 5A District 5, which would have led to round-trip road trips of more than 100 miles.
“You don’t mind that so much with football, because you are talking about one trip a week, but with basketball and soccer you are looking at trips during the week and these kids have to be up for school the next morning,” Hitt said. “This is much better all around.”
St. Cloud was originally slated for 5A-6 with Liberty, Bartow, Haines City, Ridge and South Lake.
“I’d rather go to Eustis and Tavares rather than Bartow and Haines City,” St. Cloud AD Chet Harwood said. “It’s longer but it’s an easier ride up the Turnpike.”
Osceola AD Jim Bird had a similar problem when the Kowboys were placed with the Port St. Lucie area schools.
“I checked the mileage and the average distance to the schools in the 6A district is 73 miles, and a couple are 110,” Bird said. “At that rate, any district is better than that one for us.”
Gateway Athletic Director George Sullivan said the Panthers were satisfied with their district placement and did not request a change.
Poinciana and Celebration also are satisfied with the new 4A District 6. The district remains similar to last year’s 4A-7, with the exception that South Lake and Bishop Moore depart and Oak Ridge moves in.
The small-school districts remain mostly unchanged. New Dimensions is in 2A-9 with Santa Fe Catholic and Lakeland Christian. Gone is Fort Meade, now in 3A.
District A-7 includes City of Life Christian, Kissimmee Christian, Life Academy, Southland Christian, All Saints, Lakeland Sonrise, Lake Wales Vanguard, Victory Christian and Avon Park Walker Memorial.
The FHSAA has yet to announce new assignments for individual sports.