DANFORTH, Maine — Due to a lack of players, the East Grand school district has decided to forgo boys and girls soccer this fall.
According to Margaret White, principal/superintendent for East Grand, the boys soccer program was cancelled Aug. 20 due to too few players. And now the girls program has followed suit. White added there was not a lack of interest in soccer among East Grand’s student body.
“It is a numbers issue,” White said Thursday. “We have two small classes coming through in the eighth and ninth grades. After that, we pick back up.”
Only 10 girls signed up to play soccer, while just four boys expressed interest, White added.
Because of the small school size, eighth-graders are allowed to play varsity sports in East Grand, but even with the addition of that group, there were not enough athletes to go around. As of Thursday, Aug. 30, there were just 30 students in grades 9-12 enrolled at East Grand High School and a total of 95 students in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
“The good news is we only lose the programs for this year,” White said. “Because we had not yet started our season, we won’t be penalized. Had we already started, we would have lost the program for two years. This way our younger kids will have a chance to play next year.”
Because it was so late in the season, the school was unable to work out any cooperative agreement with neighboring schools to allow any students to play for a different team. However, White said the school has explored the formation of a cross-country team as an alternative athletic activity this fall.
The numbers issue, however, could plague the Vikings through the school year and carry over into both basketball this winter and baseball/softball in the spring, White said.
