SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Roller Hockey

Metro Conference 2002-03 roller hockey champions? Take your pick, it seems

Scripps Ranch Falcons crowned Metro champions; Torres claim 'unofficial' CIF champs

By Phillip Brents

Posted March 5, 2003

The La Jolla Country Day Torres should get to have their name inscribed on the Kiwanis Cup but as for whether it will reside in a trophy case at school or the rink, remains to be determined -- as does exactly what the tournament title signifies.

Apparently, it is not emblematic of the official Metro Conference championship (at least this year) nor does it symbolize an official CIF championship.

There are some fine lines to be drawn here, for sure.

In a convoluted season that saw traditional league play scrapped at midseason in favor of second-half play based purely on competitive level, perhaps it is only fitting that some questions remain as to what the end of the 2002-03 season actually signifies.

Are the Torres CIF-Metro champions? Are the losing Falcons the actual Division I champions? Or are the Montgomery Aztecs -- the winners of the preliminary Division II playoff contest -- league champions in their own right? Or Mar Vista?

Take your pick depending on your allegiances, it seems, though the truth seems to be working its way through the haze.

With little room to maneuver in what has clearly become a sticky situation, an administrators/coaches meeting was held Feb. 24 to determine how this season's league champion or champions would be determined.

According to minutes released on Feb. 25, here are the pertinent facts:

"(1) It was agreed that there will be two league champions for the Metro Conference for the current season. The winners are Scripps Ranch for Division I and Mar Vista for Division II. The champions were determined by their won/loss record based on the last half of the season.

(2) There will be a post season tournament for each division. All games will be played at Skate San Diego. This is not a CIF playoff. [Bold faced in the release.]"

Discussion was also presented on how officiating could be improved and made more consistent, as well as a need for a codified set of rules for roller hockey.

The information sent out to the conference's coaches and athletic directors also included a sign-in sheet of those individuals present at the Feb. 24 meeting. Representatives from all the schools in the conference were in attendance except La Jolla Country Day.

Scripps Ranch finished with the best overall regular season record at 16-3-1, followed by La Jolla Country Day at 14-6-0 and Castle Park at 12-7-1. In second-half Division I play, the Falcons were 6-3-1, followed by LJCD and Eastlake at 6-4-0, Bonita Vista and Castle Park at 5-4-1 and Hilltop at 0-9-1.

An interesting side note to this is that once the Torres secured a high seed in the upcoming Division I playoffs, they played more of their younger and less-experienced players, closing the season with losses to Eastlake and Bonita Vista (not knowing that a championship banner might hinge on second-half results). Had they played their lineup at full strength, the order of second-half finish might have been changed. (Though in all fairness, Scripps Ranch did the same thing by inserting JV players in their lineup in the final stages of the regular season.)

Regardless of any impact in the outcome of regular season standings, what the switch to divisional play did impact was the playing time of players not necessarily always in the limelight. With stakes at hand for top playoff seeds, teams pitted in highly-competitive matches tended to rely more on their high-profile players in second half Division I play -- leaving some less talented players even less playing time on the floor. We got great games out of it but that clearly did not serve those players' best interests (specifically the student-athlete who may have quit because of reduced floor time).

What more controversy? The Division II "champion" may actually be Montgomery despite what was initially released. Mar Vista was the top Division II team -- based on overall record -- at 10-8-0 while Montgomery finished 8-9-1 overall. However, based solely on second-half divisional play, the Aztecs (6-1-1) edged the Mariners (6-2-0) for the apparent right to hang a championship banner in their gym -- even though no other sport in the conference recognizes a divisional split based on competition level.

(The Division II tournament trophy -- which is not supposed to exist -- was discreetly left out of any on-court post-game celebration by the victorious Aztecs.)

Sound bizarre? Keep reading.

Based on traditional first-round league play, Scripps Ranch finished 5-0-0 in Mesa League games while Hilltop finished 4-0-0 in South Bay League play. Somehow that fact has been lost. Question: Does this give Hilltop the right to request league champion patches of their own?

The latter point appears moot at this point.

More pertinent questions abound:

Will Scripps Ranch players receive championship patches for their letterman jackets even though they lost in the Kiwanis Cup final? (Champions patches were handed out last year to 2001-02 Kiwanis Cup champion Bonita Vista even though the Barons finished runner-up to the Falcons in Mesa League play.)

A banner raising ceremony is reportedly scheduled at Montgomery High (even though the Feb. 25 release to Metro coaches and athletic directors declared -- albeit perhaps erroneously -- Mar Vista the Division II champion).

Suffice it to say, a split into "A" and "B" competition pools likely will not happen next season, according to sources.

If all this fails to make sense, it underscores the need to bring the sport in line with other CIF-sanctioned sports in terms of codification and proper conduct of the rules.

Should the Torres cheer or weep after winning their prize trophy?

They should cheer, according to LJCD athletic director Jeff Hutzler, who admitted to the share of understandable growing pains associated with any new sport.

"Since no patches were given (as our players saw them being given last year) and things are a bit inconsistent with this new roller hockey league (as you might expect for a new venture), we as a school are going to call Scripps Ranch the Metro champs and our guys the unofficial CIF champs," Hutzler wrote in an e-mail. "I think it will be a little smoother next winter as this year was better organized than last. We appreciate (Metro Conference facilitator) Tris Hubbard and the Metro Conference pioneering CIF roller hockey, plan to participate for a long time, and want to help it reach the status of all CIF athletics."

Take your pick, it's been a season that few are going for forget any time soon.