The Pacific Coast Conference underwent a major reconfiguration with a new two-year plan that moved Beckman and Laguna Hills out of the conference and added St. Margaret’s, Laguna Beach and Rosary.
The conferences will be adjusted annually based on geography, competitive equity and previously collected data. OC football leagues have been separately rearranged and renamed according to their CalPreps ratings from the prior two seasons. Northwood, traditionally a part of the Pacific Coast League, is now in the Foxtrot League and will not be competing against any other Irvine football teams.
“We did our best to schedule the other Irvine teams in our non-league games because it’s so important for us and the other Irvine schools to be able to play each other and see each other,” athletics director Sierra Wang said. “It’s something our students are used to in terms of the games. Even when you’re not necessarily in the game, you know kids at those schools and you’re seeing each other in the stands, and that’s all part of it.”
The new plan has been in the making since last summer and was decided by athletics directors across California who proposed and voted on different league variations, ultimately settling on the current configuration for equity purposes. Schools had the ability to submit requests and appeals if they were directly affected by the switch. The current configuration is the result of appeals from other schools that moved several Irvine teams, including Northwood.
While the removal of Beckman, a top competitor, could mean that some Northwood teams will have an easier ascent to the title of PCL champions, girls volleyball coach Nicole Grau said that the addition of several private schools is an unfair and taxing exchange.
“I feel like private schools could have easily been in a league on their own, and us, Irvine schools, should be on our own,” Grau said. “No matter what, having private schools with public schools will never truly be fair because they can always easily recruit people, whereas us public schools cannot.”
The addition of new teams outside of Irvine also presents the challenge of distance for student athletes who have to miss more classes in order to commute to games. Flag football coach Harry Lee said that school spirit could decline as well, since most students are unwilling to attend games so far away. The three added schools to the league are each more than 25 minutes away from Northwood, with Rosary being a 40 minute drive.
“I think it will be a large inconvenience because we have to play against harder schools near the coast,” JV girls volleyball player junior Kathleen Zhu said. “We have to have early dismissal from school almost twice a week for two months, and since frosh, JV and varsity all play separately and at different times, we’ll be getting home between 10-11 p.m. twice a week for two months straight.”
Some students view the longer travel times as an opportunity for team bonding and a chance to play schools outside of the usual Irvine bubble.
“I think it’s going to be really exciting,” JV tennis player junior Abby Kim said. “I like the bus rides because I think they bring the team closer together, and if they’re longer, we’ll have more time to bond and get to know each other. I think it’ll be cool to see some schools further away from Irvine.”
For the next two years, athletics directors will track data on how teams are performing for future releaguing plans. Northwood coaches are working to make the upcoming season as smooth as possible for students.
“Athletics here at Northwood are super positive, and all the coaches are supportive of each other,” wrestling coach Kyle Ennis said. “I think that this is going to be a really good opportunity for not only our teams, but also our athletes and individuals to shine and show their best, and I think it’s going to be a good year.”
