New Miami cancels varsity season

The seven girls on the team will play a junior varsity schedule.

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer 3:26 PM Friday, November 25, 2011

NEW MIAMI — Faced with a girls basketball program comprised of only seven players, New Miami High School officials have decided to cancel the 2011-12 varsity season.

“It’s not something I did not foresee happening,” athletic director Kevin Dunnette said. “We finished last year with eight players, and three were seniors who graduated, one was a junior who moved and another junior decided not to play.”

Dunnette said the seven girls who came out for the team this year still will get a chance to play, it just won’t be at the varsity level. Under the direction of first-year coach Stephanie Guenther, the Vikings will play a 16-game schedule against junior varsity teams.

“To field a varsity team with only seven players would be very difficult,” Dunnette said. “My philosophy has always been to do what’s best for the kids. I took the issue to the (Miami Valley Conference) AD meeting Friday and had unconditional, full-blown support from the ADs in our league.”

New Miami currently has 16 games on its schedule, and Dunnette said more could be added. But regardless of how many games the Vikings play at the junior varsity level, they will not be eligible for the Ohio High School Athletic Association state tournament.

“My ultimate goal is to have seven girls, or more, finish the basketball season,” Dunnette said. “If we lose one to injury or a disciplinary reason, we’re done. We shut it down. Because that black cloud is hanging over the girls, I did not feel it would be best to play a varsity schedule.”

While no administrative decision has been made on whether the girls will be rewarded with varsity letters at the end of the season, Dunnette said it certainly seems likely.

“I don’t think you take seven girls who worked their butts off, behaved themselves, finished the season and not reward them with varsity letters if they earned them,” he said. “Some young people would take advantage of this situation and figure they don’t have to work that hard when they don’t want to, but these girls have been out there every day giving it everything they have.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

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