It’s a fair argument to make that Wilsonville has been a juggernaut of a team in the 5A division. But the recent conversation and poll sent to students has sparked controversy over what Wilsonville’s future should hold for who we play.
Game attendance at Wilsonville has declined in recent years, and a common reason is that no one cares about a game with a lack of competition. Fans want nail-biting close calls to watch, and not have to wait for the playoffs to see the same few rival games.
Is the possibility of not being as successful as a team worth trying to make our games more worthwhile? From the perspective of a sophomore, Liam Reyburn, who plays for the football and basketball teams here at Wilsonville, isn’t all for the idea.
“I don’t believe all our teams are quite there yet. We can compete, but the difference in our results will be a hard adjustment to watch, and no one will care about Wilsonville.”
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but Wilsonville would not be as highly placed among teams in the 6A division in comparison to 5A. And Reyburn isn’t the only athlete in question about this change.
If athletic divisions are mainly based on school population, what makes the 6A league so frightening? Wilsonville’s new girls’ varsity basketball head coach, Tyler Van Acker, puts it clearly while stating his opinion.
Coach Van Acker explains how the top 6A schools are almost like the “name brand”; There’s nowhere higher to go than winning in the 6A bracket. It’ll be a rough start and rebuild for the teams, but it could be exciting to engage in tougher competition.
It explains clearly why students who will be playing at the start of the swap are timid. But Coach Van Acker, wanting to stay in Wilsonville for his coaching career, believes it’s the right decision to swap over.
“It won’t be easy at all; it’ll be rough for many of our athletes to adjust, and fans to understand, but we’re improving, even if the records and scores don’t say the same visually,” he acknowledges.
Coach Van Acker claims there’s a solid number of teams in 6A that are still manageable to compete with and even beat, but if Wilsonville truly wants to grow and become better teams overall, this adjustment is needed.
Depending on who’s asked, the answers will range when posed with the question of whether or not Wilsonville should jump ranks and compete in the 6A division. For now, everyone waits to see which class will pave the way to a new era of Wilsonville athletics.