Varsity Football Team Dropped At Hampton Bays High Due To Low Numbers

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — For the first time in 47 years, Hampton Bays High School won't have a varsity football team this season.

The decision wasn't an easy one, John Foster, director of health, physical education and athletics at Hampton Bays Public Schools, told Patch.

"We were hoping to have a varsity and a JV team this year, but not as many numbers came out."

When the dust settled, Foster said, the this year's team of Baymen was made up predominantly of ninth and tenth graders, with just a few upperclassmen from 11th and 12th grades.

"When we looked at the situation, we saw that we were only able to have one team," Foster said. "We felt it wasn't safe to put that many ninth and tenth graders on the field, so we decided just to do a junior varsity team."

The one problem is that seniors cannot play on a junior varsity team, Foster said. "That's what made this decision so incredibly difficult. But we had to err on the side of caution, for overall safety. We felt putting those students out there would have been a dangerous situation."

Not only physical safety, but also emotional, Foster said. Younger students playing against older athletes might not only get physically injured but emotionally daunted by the challenges and not continue, he said.

"Football is so much different than other sports, with its physicality," Foster said.

Still, he said, the decision was heartbreaking. "We had to do what was best for everyone, but our hearts go out to our seniors," he said. Those seniors, five in total, he said, won't be able to play football on another team and would need to pick another sport.

Foster has to notify Section XI, which changed the schedule and made the opening day of the Suffolk Division IV season Sept. 9 instead of Sept. 2,according to Newsday.

"It was obviously not the best timing," Foster said. "We anticipated some more kids coming out, in the numbers they usually come out, but they just weren’t there this year."

Telling the students wasn't easy, he said. "This was just such a bad week. We had to do what was right for the kids, but we felt terrible for the seniors."

The decision came after coaches looked at the situation from every angle. "Some parents were upset, understandably, especially if their senior can't play, but we had to look at the big picture the safety of the team. We don't want them to have injuries — who knows if we could have even finished the season? — or become disheartened," Foster said.

Now, the goal is to move forward with the junior varsity team this fall and reevaluate the situation this winter. "Hopefully, we'll get a varsity team back in the future," Foster said.

The additional time will allow the younger students to grow both physically, emotionally and intellectually, so that they can see success at the appropriate level moving forward, Foster said.

"Sometimes you have to take one step back to go two steps forward," he said. "We'd like to set them up for success."