Is it time?

By Rodney Young

Hello sports fans. This column is not meant to throw shade at any coach or at any kid.
Pulaski County High School is in the River Ridge District. Is it time for the Cougars to look at requesting to move into another district?
Enrollment has dropped over the last few years and in fact, the Cougars have dropped from a Class 4 school to Class 3 due to declining enrollment.
The Cougars, however, are still facing Class 4 and even Class 5 schools in the River Ridge.
The fact is Pulaski County High School has less students and less talent than what they have had in past years. Some people may disagree with that statement, but the days of 1,800 – 2,000 students are gone.
The Three Rivers District is more suitable for the Pulaski County Cougars. That district consists of Carroll County, Alleghany County, Floyd County, Patrick County, James River, Glenvar and Radford.
Now you may be thinking we don’t need to be in that district.
Look at it this way, Pulaski County is rural and spread out for the students to attend the high school. Carroll, Alleghany, Floyd, Patrick and James River are all in the same boat – they are rural schools.
Yes, Glenvar and Radford are more urban, but enrollment is different than say Salem, Patrick Henry and Blacksburg.
Carroll and Alleghany are both Class 3 schools. Patrick, Floyd, James River, Glenvar and Radford are Class 2 schools. So that would be seven games in football.
And you could fill out a football schedule with the likes of Class 3 Christiansburg, Class 3 Abingdon and one other school – hopefully a Class 2 school.
As it is now, Pulaski County kids have to travel just to get to practice, while Salem, Roanoke County and Roanoke City schools have a whole lot less travel just to get to practices.
While some travel would be involved in playing Alleghany and Patrick, Pulaski County plays neighbors Carroll, Floyd and Radford in a lot of their athletics now.
Look at football. The Cougars had 42 kids out for football last season. Lots of the Three Rivers teams had just as many kids out for football if not more than Pulaski County.
It just seems to be a better fit to move to the Three Rivers.
Is it time to look into it? Yes. There would be lots of hoops to jump through moving from one district to another. But is it time to consider it for the kids of this county? I think so.
Is it time to not look back and think we still have 1,800 – 2,000 kids to choose from or is it time to look and see what the enrollment is and how it has gone down. Is it time to realize how difficult it is to play Class 4 teams and a Class 5 team every year? Is it time to look at how the River Ridge favors Salem and the Roanoke schools?
When was the last time football had a winning record? That would be 2019. Last time boys basketball had a winning record? Yes, I know the baseball team finished 14-11 this season. They were 9-10 in their regular season and last year they were … what … 10-11?
Now moving to a new district doesn’t mean you are going to have winning records, but you would be facing teams that are facing some of the same factors as Pulaski County.
It’s no longer the 1980’s or 1990’s. It’s almost like the River Ridge has outgrown the Cougars. The Cougars are getting smaller and smaller. Heard there was a football players/parents meeting and less than 35 showed up. I’d say that is less than any other team in the River Ridge. And yes, I’d say that would be less than some of the Three Rivers schools.
The basketball program seems to change coaches every three to four years. It’s not fun to go on the road and get beat by 25-30 points and face a Class 5 team that likes and wants to run up the score on you. Then you hear rumblings like, “oh Pulaski County needs a new coach.” Well maybe, just maybe, it’s time to change districts instead.

So the question remains, is it time? Just something to ponder before a new school sports season begins!