SEC Freshman Year Report Card

With the first year of the newly formed Super Essex Conference complete, one phrase sums it all up: a step in the right direction.

The two main reasons for the dissolving most of the state's old conferences and creating eight new super conferences was to address competitive balance and to decrease travel time between schools. The SEC, which was the only one of the conferences to assign divisions based on the quality of the schools' athletic programs, did a great job cutting down travel and a respectable job leveling the playing field.

If I were a teacher grading the last 10 months of the SEC's freshman year, the grade would be a strong B+, with a possible good A- for good attendance.

Competitive Balance (B+): The Columbia football team had won one game in four years before entering the SEC Liberty Division in the fall. The Millburn Millers won two games over the last two seasons before joining the SEC Liberty. The Cougars went on to post an 8-2 record, their best in nearly 60 years, and made the playoffs for the first time in nearly 30 years. Millburn won four games, and was a last-second Belleville kick away from going 5-5 and making the playoffs.

Lost in the shadow of the Columbia football season was the turnaround story of the girls soccer team down at Meadowland Park. The Red and Black girls had won three games in four years before rolling off nine victories this season and coming within an overtime goal of qualifying for the state semis.

Millburn's girls basketball team was 4-19 a year ago and won 18 games this season. This is not just a coincidence.

The SEC's unique realignment has given teams that never had a shot at winning something to believe in. Now, instead of throwing their hands up helplessly against improbable odds, kids, parents and coaches have been given hope and achievable goals.

However, the other side of this coin is that all of the top teams are left to slug it out with each other all season long. Teams that were used to dominating their divisions or being a contender suddenly found themselves in much more difficult circumstances. Columbia's basketball teams were a perfect example of that.

The Columbia girls basketball team dominated the Iron Hills Conference before becoming part of the SEC American this year, where they had to face Shabazz, which was nationally ranked for most of the season. Three of the local girls' four losses were to the Bulldogs, likely costing them a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs. The Cougar boys went from 19-9 last year in the Iron Hills to 13-15 this season.

Aside from that, there were a few teams misplaced for some unknown reason. Why is Columbia tennis in the top division? No offense to the Cougars, but they're going to have trouble hanging with the Millburns, Livingstons and Seton Hall Preps twice a season. Why is Millburn track in the A division? There is still another year left to review the success of the teams, but I'd say there needs to be a few tweaks.

Proximity and travel Time (A+): Speaking on my own behalf as well as that of the coaches, athletes, fans, officials and parents, the close distance between many of the schools in the SEC is the best result of the realignment so far. Now a game at 4 p.m. doesn't mean getting home at 8:30 to 9 because of driving from Randolph or Mt. Olive. Also, in the present day with a bad economy and budget cuts everywhere, any amount of savings is a good thing. Last season, the Millburn Miller boys baseball team drove approximately 205.4 miles to and from in conference games; this year they drove just 115. That's a difference of 90.4 miles. When you combine a gas rate of about $2.50 per gallon and over 20 varsity programs and countless J.V. and freshman squads, that could add up to some big savings.

Playoff Structure (B): In the end the best teams seem to win and that's all you can ask for from a playoff bracket. The change to allow teams with records below .500 into the playoffs allows squads to have some reward at the end of a tough regular season schedule. But allowing 16 teams into each bracket waters down the state playoffs a bit, only in the sense that some of the first-round games are jokes.

The playoffs should be something that a team works hard to earn; it's not a right. If a team is not within a game or two of .500, I just don't see why it should be rewarded. It seems more like teams are being given spots by default, so what's the point of the regular season?

Practicality (B): When I first read the plans for the SEC realignment, I thought it was brilliant. While I still think it's a good move, there are some things that I don't think the county's athletics directors considered.

The first thing that comes to mind are end of the season awards. Generally at the end of a high school season, players from different areas are awarded with all-conference, all-area, all-county and all-state accolades. The SEC takes the mystery out of it.

If a player wins All-Conference, he or she would almost definitely be winning all-county as well as all-area. All of the county teams are in the same conference, meaning that all of the same players will keep getting the same awards. That's a bit strange.

Also, the way the leagues are set up, two teams could potentially face off four or five times in the same season. While it helps to build rivalries in the long term, it fails to bring any variety. There's no need to play a team more than two or three times in a season at most.

No more long trips. While it's good on the pockets, it may not be best for team unity. There aren't many better feelings than riding home with your team after a hard fought win. How much closeness does a silent drive home after a brutal loss bring? Not saying that getting home to the family at a decent time on a school night isn't nice, but I think the long rides together are a tough loss.

Recommendations:

Fewer teams in the playoffs, I say down to eight, maybe 12 with the top two seeds earning first-round byes. Create a consolation bracket for the teams that get left out; it's essentially what the phony playoff berth is anyway.

Don't assign schools to division based solely on name and size. Again, that's the only reason the Cougar tennis teams were misplaced in the top division.

Do away with the all-county awards, what's the point?

Join SEC field hockey with another conference. There are only eight field hockey teams in the county. This makes for easy pickings for West Essex and a tough road beating up on each other throughout. There needs to be more than one division.