From Trussville Tribune staff reports
CLAY — The Clay-Chalkville softball team, who went 1-1 in area tournament play yesterday, has reportedly decided not to return to the Class 6A, Area 12 tournament Tuesday.
According to Clay-Chalkville High School principal Michael Lee, the team has three seniors who have decided to attend a senior awards banquet rather than play in the tournament.
“There are three seniors on the team, and those three seniors are also getting awards,” Lee said. “I guess they made the decision to attend awards night.”
Conflicts are not uncommon during spring sports, but typically athletes play their scheduled games. Because this is an area tournament, the forfeit will likely result in a fine for the school.
“If the AHSAA decides to fine us, we’ll have to pay it,” Lee said.
There is a 95 percent chance the team will not play, though Lee said he is hopeful there could be some additional players who could be used from junior varsity to fill the spots.
Clay-Chalkville lost 15-0 to Pinson Valley yesterday, but defeated Center Point to advance to the loser’s bracket finals. The Cougars are scheduled to play the loser of the Pinson Valley and Gardendale winner’s bracket game.
70 Comments
Andrea Catalano
Anthony Catalano
Anthony Catalano
Good grief
Ronald Hagood Jr.
Wow… Nothing says senior legacy and leadership like not playing your potential last game…
Johnny Sanders
Strange to me. Couldn’t the banquet be rescheduled? Is it a school banquet? If so, why not change the date? Something fishy here with my Alma Mater.
Kellie Gilham
The senior awards is tonight at 6.
Ruth Canterbury
They need to reschedule one or the other events. Seniors at Moody HS missed their PROM due to an out of town tournament game.
Sonny Sanders
Selfish.
Johnny Sanders
Ok. So is there just no way to move the banquet so these seniors don’t have to make that choice? And shouldn’t the area tournament have been taken into consideration when the banquet was planned? I’m just curious because this just doesn’t look real good.
Mickie Whitley Holladay
Way to treat your team!
Matt Clay
As for Moody players missing prom, that was poor planning by coaching staff. They did not have to play that tournament.
As for Clay, that is poor planning by school. Schedule the awards banquet to later in May.
Charlotte Alexander
Poor planning, but if it were me, I would choose to attend the one that did not affect other students. jmo
Johnny Sanders
That’s kinda what I’m getting at here. They planned an awards night during a sports season on a night that there was a possibility of a game being scheduled. Much easier, I would think, to reschedule the awards night than the game. It seems to me that everything wasn’t taken into account here.
Jenny Elk Morgan
So 3 seniors all of whom are getting awards and have scholarships are being blamed for administration scheduling senior awards for tonight??? Why can’t they reschedule the game for tomorrow. If there was inclement weather they would have to do just that.
Scott Key
Joey Gipson
Misty Moore
It falls back on the school administration! They’re aware of these tournaments from the beginning of the season. The administration should never put students in a situation that forces them to choose between senior night and an area game that could possibly take their team to the next level. Shame on the school administration!
Scott White
I would say I am blown away by this but the fact of how far this softball program and school in general has dropped does not surprise me one bit!!!
Laurie Pryor Brockman
I agree Johnny Sanders. Someone in the school should have looked at these schedules, knowing there were seniors participating in a lot of activities, and planned better !!
Lynn Reid
So they would rather face fines than just pull some juniors into those spots? I think it was a hard decision by the Seniors . Yes their last game but also their last awards banquet. Making a senior have to choose between any event during that year shouldn’t even happen. It’s not selfish it’s being forced to choose between playing their game or receiving awards for their hard work on and off that field.
Melissa Watson Boshell
This is sad.
Jenny Elk Morgan
And just to clarify, CCHS asked gardendale to reschedule or even change the game time and they refused to budge.
Jenny Elk Morgan
There are no players. This program is lacking players and we no longer have a feeder program for it. There are 11 girls on the team. 3 seniors, one whose physical expired yesterday, one who had her wisdom teeth out and has dry sockets, 2 who have senior siblings getting awards and one who has a possible infection in her knee.
Dana Murray Henry
Surely there are more players to fill in for the seniors! I understand about conflicts but I can’t believe there aren’t other players on the team. Seems as if the 3 Seniors have a little too much “power” if this is in fact the truth.
Lynn Reid
Well if all that’s true then this isn’t about the Senior girls at all. Why is it implicating the Seniors as the problem when clearly if the 3 Seniors walk on the field CCHS will then only have those 3 players anyway.
The Trussville Tribune
UPDATE: https://www.trussvilletribune.com/2017/05/02/cchs-principal-tried-to-work-with-tournament-organizers-on-schedule-compromise/
Dawn Gamble
They could have rescheduled the banquet. The game, not so much. You can’t expect a whole tournament (involving different schools) to change because one school failed to plan.
Mellanie Erwin Wright
amen! This is not just about 3 players. This is the lack of interest in girls sports in Clay. As parents we have been talking about this conflict for over a week to no avail. The main reason we don’t have enough players and the program has diminished is because there is no little league feeder program in Clay. As usual it’s all about the boys.
Scott White
Well maybe you change your senior night.
Mellanie Erwin Wright
Well believe it.
Karen Frame Rodda
Why are the seniors made out to be the reason for forfeit? The tournament is scheduled in advance
Karen Frame Rodda
Except for maybe weather issue delay. The athletic dept and school should be well aware of when the tournament is scheduled and plan accordingly. I have always felt other some sports at CCHS do not get the same attention as others.
Karen Frame Rodda
So true!
Andrea Catalano
My son attends CCHS and I’m a proud supporter of all sports. But if I was Gardendale I wouldn’t want to reschedule either due to poor planning on administration at CCHS. I read one comment where someone said they’ve tried to get it changed for a week to no avail but I’m sure the banquet was not planned in a week. Why didn’t the coach or another concerned parent bring it to the school’s administration attention before now? Did they not have faith in their team making it this far in playoffs?
Lynn Reid
This update shines a better light on the CCHS coach. But in reality every other school will possibly have the same conflicts arise. And I’m so glad you pointed out that there would be representatives from colleges at the banquet. I mean in reality THAT is what those girls have worked so hard for all these years in the 1st place.
Stacey Porter Smith
The statement that Jenny just put up is very true ! Jenny , Melanie and myself are currently parents of 3 out of the 11 girls that’s on this team. We have had tournaments almost every weekend and games two days a week with those 11 girls those have worked their butts off all season. May I repeat again 11 girls
Lynn Reid
No per the update there are representatives from colleges coming and that’s what all if the Seniors have worked towards.
Lynn Reid
I never said they didn’t. But this story put the weight of cancelled games and fines on the shoulders of 3 Senior girls and that shouldve never happened.
Matt Clay
CCHS softball has been one of top 2 area teams about every year, I know for the last 4 years while my daughter played on varsity team. Coaches and administration knew they would be playing in area tournament and beyond. They also have 3 seniors playing junior college ball.
Andrea Catalano
Matt Clay Thanks for you comment but I am unsure what the point is you’re trying to make. I know the CCHS softball team has an 8th grader as a starter. My point is why is this now just becoming a concern?
Sonny Sanders
Regardless of the planning it is pathetic the players would miss a game for an individual award ceremony.
Jenny Elk Morgan
The seniors do not have too much “power” as you put it Mrs. Henry. We simply do not have girls on the roster. We do not have a JV team. There is only 11 girls that play softball for CCHS. If you read the reply as to all the girls you will see it is not just the seniors.
Ronald Hagood Jr.
I see a principal basically saying it’s another schools fault.
Ronald Hagood Jr.
Food for thought… If CCHS was 2-0 in the tournament and sitting atop the winners bracket, would they be wanting to forfeit the games just the same?
Matt Clay
Well, my comment was in regards to the “Did they not have faith in their team making it this far in playoffs?” I assumed you were implying the coaches, players, & parents. Maybe you were implying administration. My statement was just stating they consistently been one of top 2 area teams for years.
After reading other comments and the update from trussville tribune maybe I should have gotten a better idea of the whole story.
I do suggest scheduling next year’s banquet a week or two later in May. Or maybe a week before before area tournament so coaches can work around regular season schedule.
Dana Murray Henry
Jenny Elk Morgan I apparently misunderstood the article. It seemed to me that the game was being forfeited because three seniors chose to attend the banquet instead of play in the game. I think it’s pathetic that CCHS can’t field more than a team of eleven total players. There should be plenty of girls interested in the sport. I guess that’s just another sign of changing times in Clay.
Jeremy Horton
So their participation in a softball tournament should take priority over being there to accept their academic awards in front of college representatives? These girls and their parents made the right choice in my opinion. It is definitely the choice that I would want my kids to make.
Scott White
When my kids graduated from Clay the sports banquets were held after all sports were completed. Someone dropped the Ball big time on this.
The other thing would be to do the right thing and play. I know all three have signed scholarships. I wonder what the colleges coaches think!!
Scott White
Boom!!! That tells you how far this program has dropped..
Jenny Elk Morgan
It’s not a matter of not having faith in the team as they would have been in this area tournament if their season was a total bust. This tournament dictates the top 2 teams that will go to regionals. Since the area changed this year, CCHS has been pitted against two very strong teams and Center Point. This tournament has to be completed by Saturday. If there was inclement weather it would have to be rescheduled. Gardendale is just not willing to work with CCHS. And no I have no clue what their school has scheduled but like I said if it were for inclement weather they would have to make the adjustment.
Andrea Catalano
Jenny Elk Morgan Thanks for your comment but this is not an inclement weather issue so that point is invalid. Would you honestly think CCHS would adjust the schedule for Gardendale if the shoe was on the other foot? Again, my point is how is this just NOW becoming a concern? It should of been addressed months ago if anyone was paying attention.
Stacey Porter Smith
There are 4 districts that I know that their area doesn’t start til Wednesday. The paperwork for the top two is not due until Saturday.
Scott White
Here is a thought.. do the right thing and play!!
Jenny Elk Morgan
I agree it is very sad. But my child has worked her butt off to be awarded tonight. Not only is she in honor society with a 4.0 or higher GPA, she volunteered to get her honor society hours, played softball and worked a part time job! Not to mention overcoming a very bad broken leg (courtesy of softball) in the fall to even be able to play this spring bc we were told she would not AND earn a scholarship to play! That is huge! And she deserves to be awarded. GHS won’t work with us to adjust the game time. They have until Saturday to get this tournament done.
Stacey Porter Smith
And this has not just been a concerned today, this has been talked about and brought up since the first day we got our schedule for district.
Andrea Catalano
Stacey Porter Smith OK? IF the shoe was on the other foot, would you be so willing to accommodate Gardendale if they had a scheduling conflict? Other districts do not matter. This should of been looked at and thought about a long time ago. Not the week before the event.
Jenny Elk Morgan
As a matter of fact we did do so for Pinson two years ago when we hosted the area tournament so yes. And we just got the bracket from AHSAA two weeks ago for this tournament.
Stacey Porter Smith
This could not have been addressed months ago, because we just got our schedule for district a week and half ago.
Andrea Catalano
Jenny Elk Morgan I do believe all brackets have to be approved and are not just handed out without any say by all schools involved. I don’t know what happened with Pinson two years ago…..was CCHS ahead 2-0 in the tournament or was it a game that needed to be played so CCHS could advance? There are so many different variables of what was the reasoning two years ago so it’s not really comparing apples to apples. To be honest I have not seen times for the tournament nor the banquet to see if players could do both.
Jenny Elk Morgan
To make it short, it is up to the hosting school to accommodate and they won’t make any adjustments. Again they have until Saturday to finish this tournament. And my point was IF there was inclement weather they would have to make an adjustment so why can’t they treat this as an inclement weather delay? AND CCHS Softball did make adjustments for other schools when we hosted.
Andrea Catalano
Stacey Porter Smith I’ve heard it was two weeks ago and now a week and a half. Please see my last comment to Jenny Elk Morgan as I’m tired of repeating myself with MY opinion. The last time I checked, I’m still entitled to MY opinion.
Andrea Catalano
Jenny Elk Morgan but you have not stated the underlying circumstances for the accommodations. And please read my last comment to Stacey Porter Smith as again, I’m tired of repeating myself. I am entitled to MY own opinion and that’s all this is. It’s MY opinion and MY opinion alone. It will not change as i don’t blame Gardendale for their stance.
Andrea Catalano
It’s a shame when a person has to delete their post of their own opinion. My previous post had almost 20 replies but the others only one or two. Don’t know why I was singled out but I assure you my opinion has not changed. The girls need to play the game as it shows any college coach their dedication and commitment to their team.
Kristine Jones
It’s not a banquet. It’s Senior Awards night. Several colleges will be there to award scholarships. It has been planned for almost a year. There’s another article that explains what it is for. Also explains Mr. Lee trying to work with Gardendale to reschedule the game.
Misty Moore
Gardendale probably has their senior night coming up and already scheduled around events like this. If they changed they would have to change their scheduled events. Including the other 2 schools that are scheduled to play in the same tournament also.
Stacey Porter Smith
Jenny Elk Morgan
One school has already been eliminated so it’s down to 3. And they have until Saturday to complete this tournament.
Brent Edwards
Must have little concept of team. I understand wanting to get an award but letting all the other girls down on the team is not the right way to handle this. Move the awards banquet!
Kristine Jones
They aren’t just getting school awards. There will be several colleges awarding scholarships that have been given to these students. There has been an update to the story and the game has been rescheduled. By the way, awards night has been scheduled for a year…well before the area tournaments were scheduled.
Susan Morris
Attend the Awards Banquet. Being an awards finalist is much more than any other game, possibly one you could lose, but the school should have made better planning!
Nannette Crocker Hill
Why forfeit? Go ahead and play with the team you have.
Shannon Harris
If you are on a team, you play. Bottom line. Wherever they are receiving scholarships wouldn’t want them to quit on them. If they were in first place this wouldn’t be a story.