The decision by administration and officials to cancel today's Santa Catalina-Pacific Grove soccer game because of thunder and lightning has created a dilemma for the Breakers.
Pacific Grove is out of school on Friday -- the only other day the game can be made up -- and some of the players are leaving for an extended weekend with their families.
If the game is not made up on Friday, it won't be played. The CCS seeding meeting is on Saturday in San Jose.
That would give Santa Catalina the MTAL title and No. 1 seed based on its 10-0-1 record. The Breakers are 9-0-2. These teams played to a 2-2 tie on Jan. 31.
So what's more important to Pacific Grove? Playing for a title or going on vacation? This should not be a difficult choice.
John Devine has been writing about high school sports in Monterey County since, well, practically since he was an athlete at King City in the days just after leather helmets. In PrepNation, John has even more in-depth analysis of the latest results and news he's brought to you in The Herald and in his weekly videos.
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7 comments:
Just read your comments on the PG Catalina soccer game. You should get all the facts.
The facts are: Original game was rescheduled because a number of players were supposed to attend a leadership conference . The game today was called because of a thunder storm but Catalina administration did not wait the 30 min. period for weather before canceling. The Catalina staff refuses to consider a neutral field . The PG team is out of school tomorrow and ready to play at any playable field if weather permits, will Catalina be honorable and play or stay at home and polish their last season trophy?
Responding to John Devine's post:
I work for Pacific Grove Unified School District and i am a parent of one of the PGHS Varsity Soccer players. What Mr. Devine does not realize is that this weekend is not an "extended weekend" but a district holiday where families were afforded Friday-Tuesday as a break time. When school districts schedule such breaks families plan trips and vacations months in advance. In this case many P.G. families planned trips long before the soccer season ever began and a schedule was established. Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday is much more than an "extended weekend". It just so happens that this is not a school break for Catalina. If it were, I have no doubt that many soccer families would have planned trips and events too.
It is not a difficult decision at all, but it does put many families who have made travel arrangements in a bind.
With regard to the leadership conference, it is considered a great honor to be invited and attend. Unfortunately a few of our players cannot go now due to circumstances that were out of our control.
From what I was told, this was a mutual decision from both schools, as well as the officials. I do agree, had both parties waited 30 minutes, you probably could have played the game. As far as having family trips planned months in advance, the first committment should be to the team. I just hope they get a chance to play the game on Friday. Because this is a game everyone wants to see played, rain or shine. But no lightning.
Hello,
I am a player on the Santa Catalina Soccer team. The Catalina administration decided the cancel the game today in an effort to keep all of the players safe. Any injured players are a liability to the school if the weather makes play unpermitable. It is completely unfortunate that the Pacific Grove girls face such dilema with their four day vacation, and being a boarding student at Catalina, I have missed many plane rides due to my dedication to my team and all of the games we play. Sometimes life brings unexpected and unfortunate events, and necessary sacrafices have to be made to accomodate for these events.
I am out to play a fun game with a great team, and hopefully all can play with the highest level of honor and sportsmanship.
Good luck to all,
Ashley Watson
Mr. Devine, you still didn't get the point and I'm sensing a definite bias. If you had been paying attention, PGHS Varsity girls soccer's commitment to this game has shown itself in spades! PGHS Varsity girls got into their cars amid a barrage of hail, thunder and lightening to make it on time for the scheduled game yesterday. How's that for commitment? The young ladies chosen for the leadership conference are now not going in order to play tomorrow. Commitment. When it was determined the Catlalina field was unsafe to play on, they were invited to play on our field which they declined to do, and turned down the option of playing on a neutral location.
With regard to vacations, many families booked their vacation plans WELL BEFORE school ever began OR A SCHEDULE OF GAMES HAD BEEN POSTED! This break was put on the district calendar last year and yes, families plan their vacations in advance in order to secure air fares, reservations, etc.... It is not that easy to cancel most of those types of arrangements in one day. We had no way of knowing the storm would be this fierce and that the game had to be called.
I applaud you for leaving your actually name. PG is one of the best stories this year. Good luck to both teams.
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