Three California Area High School sports teams have been given an
opportunity to co-op with another local school.
At California Area School District's Committee of the Whole Meeting, athletic director Phil Pergola said that Bentworth Area School District is interested in combining teams in girls soccer and boys and girls tennis.
However, although the girls soccer team would be interested in a co-op, they don’t want to do it with Bentworth, Pergola said.
“If we do a co-op, the girls would want it to be with Brownsville,” Pergola said. “Those are the girls they grew up playing against.”
According to Pergola, Brownsville and California have not discussed the idea.
In tennis, both players and coaches would be interested in combining with Bentworth.
Because the tennis program at California has had difficulty finding players, the co-op “might be something worth considering,” Pergola said.
“We’re always struggling with the number of boys and girls,” he said.
In tennis, most Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) teams have at least seven players active per match. At times, California only has six.
Despite the numbers issue, Pergola said that California has not forfeited a match in boys or girls tennis this year.
If California does decide to do the co-op, there will be no additional cost to the district, Pergola said.
However, California and Bentworth will use California’s facilities.
“We will use our courts exclusively,” Pergola said.
A vote will need to be held by the November Committee of the Whole meeting.
Other items discussed at the Oct. 7 meeting were:
- The California Youth Basketball Association and California Elementary PTA want to use some of the high school’s facilities.
- New bleachers have been installed in the high school’s gym.
- The high school has received a new 15 year warranty on its gym roof.
- A peer mentoring program in which eighth graders mentor seventh graders and seventh graders mentor sixth graders has been implemented successfully.
- California University of Pennsylvania biology professor Bill Hugg is working with biology students in the middle school.
- On Wednesday, Oct. 9, the middle school football team will play Beth Center in a matchup of undefeated teams.
- Four 10th and 11th grade female students are going on a field trip to the Westinghouse Plant in Madison, Pa, as part of a program meant to encourage female students to become engineers.