Veteran Secaucus coach angered by state ruling to play on
It takes a lot to get the usually mild-mannered Maria Nolan livid. But the veteran Secaucus volleyball coach was beside herself last Tuesday after watching the NJSIAA volleyball committee tentatively approve a Tournament of Champions, scheduled to begin in the fall.
The five-member committee met at the NJSIAA’s headquarters in Robbinsville Tuesday to discuss the proposal from the association to sponsor a volleyball Tournament of Champions, a plan that was introduced by a sportswriter.
Right now, several schools end up as champions within their own groups, but with the change, they’d all have to compete against each other.
"Ending the season with a victory as a state champion is a wonderful thing," Nolan said. "Now, only one team will have that opportunity. The others will have the letdown of a loss. For what reason? For the last 21 years, the state tournament has worked the way it has existed. We don’t need this new format."
Apparently, outgoing Assistant Director Ernie Finizio told the members of the committee that three votes would be needed to pass the proposal. Of course, Nolan, who coaches the smallest school among the committee members, was vehemently against the idea. There were two other coaches who voted for the proposal and one abstained. The fifth member of the committee was not present.
Still, after the meeting ended, there was some confusion because it was announced that the proposal had passed by a majority vote, 2-1 with one abstention.
Needless to say, Nolan, who has guided Secaucus to 14 Group I championships over the years, including the last six, was very angry.
"It’s totally unfair to the small schools," Nolan said. "It will only add to the continued disparity between the larger and smaller Group schools that already exist in both the number of participants and their skill level. Expanding the tournament only heightens the awareness and damages the smaller schools."
Nolan is a firm believer of the adage that if "it’s not broke, don’t fix it." Nolan likes the way the current state playoff format is organized.
"The current shorter playoff format provides a level playing field," Nolan said. "With the Tournament of Champions, three championship teams end their season with a loss. It favors not only the larger schools and the Parochial schools, but the wealthier schools, where players can afford to play club volleyball all year round. All of our athletes play other sports, so it’s a problem for us. It’s also a problem for other Group I and Group II schools. But in my opinion, this vote affects all students and was not fair representation."
Although the proposal needs to pass through three other committees before becoming adopted for the fall, Nolan isn’t about to take chances. She has already begun to appeal to the senses of other state administrators in an effort to have the plan squelched.
"I did some research about how the smaller Group schools have done in the basketball Tournament of Champions," Nolan said. "Of the 52 teams that have won Group championships among the boys and girls in Groups I and II, only two, Hoffman and Sterling, have won in the girls. No one has won in the boys. With volleyball, there are more athletes to select from. The bigger schools have athletes that are bigger and stronger."
Added Nolan, "I’m very disappointed. I don’t think the smaller schools were represented the way they should have been and the members of the committee didn’t take the time to give consideration to the smaller Group schools. They’re stretching the tournament at the expense of others."
Nolan has a very legitimate concern. In basketball and hockey, sports where the T of C exists, there isn’t a physical disparity like the one that exists in volleyball. It’s highly unlikely that any of Nolan’s fine Group I state champions would have a chance to win the T of C, strictly on school size and skill level alone.
It remains to be seen if other coaches and administrators feel the same way as the state’s most successful volleyball coach. Right now, it doesn’t look good.