These Elk Grove high schools folded their varsity football teams. Where can the players go?
An eerie silence fell over the empty practice football field at Valley High School on Tuesday afternoon.
The field turf glistened in the sun, with nearby signs that read “Viking Strong.” But no players or coaches were there to prepare for a season opener that will not happen. This breaks the norm on the south Sacramento campus since the school opened in 1977.
The second oldest member of the Elk Grove Unified School District, Valley folded its junior varsity and varsity football teams late last week, citing low roster numbers and the dismissal of the head varsity coach, which the district has described only as “a personnel matter.” Valley was scheduled to open its 2024 season on Friday at nearby Cosumnes River College.
Florin, which open in 1989 as the district’s third school, also folded its varsity football program last Friday as only 10-17 players regularly showed up for summer workouts. Florin does field a junior varsity team and will open its season on Friday at El Capitan High in Merced. Elk Grove Unified programs do not field freshman teams.
Low roster numbers have plagued Florin and Valley for years, reflective of the struggles for the football programs as one or two victories per season have become routine. Players for folded prep programs can transfer to another school without any sit-out period. Five varsity players from Valley are now at Elk Grove High School, the oldest of the nine schools in the district.
The Bee could not determine whether any Florin football players have transferred to other schools. Valley sent an email to its football families last Friday listing Elk Grove High as the only school that would be allowed to accept the varsity transfers.
This decision is tied to enrollment, the district confirmed. The lowest enrollment schools in the district are Florin (1,663 students), Valley (1,631) and Elk Grove (1,672), and the priority for transfers goes to the next lowest enrollment school. The other six schools in the district have enrollments of 2,100 or more students.
An online intra-district transfer application had to be completed by Elk Grove and returned to Valley by Tuesday afternoon for the transfers to be cleared formally. Without a head coach and with none of the assistant coaches able to take over the leadership role as off-campus volunteers, Valley principal Bridgette Kemp-Bell decided to halt the season. She did so formally through an email to football families. Valley’s plan is to resume football next season with a search already underway for a new varsity head coach.
‘They want to be a part of something’
Elk Grove football coach and athletic director John Heffernan said his program has embraced the five Valley seniors, calling them “great young men. They’re polite and energetic.”
He added: “It’s terrible for those kids to lose football at Valley and Florin. I feel for everyone involved: Players, kids, the students. We told the Valley kids that we will take them, sight unseen. They are going to be on our football team. These kids have an opportunity to play and not lose their senior season. They want to be a part of something.”
Elk Grove third-year starting quarterback David Hale said his team will work extra with the transfers to make them feel a part of the program. Hale’s father, David Hale, was a quarterback on Valley’s greatest team, the 1995 outfit that went 12-1.
Of the Valley additions, young Hale said Tuesday via text: “They are family now!”
The Valley transfers enrolled at Elk Grove on Monday morning and attended football meetings that afternoon. Heffernan said they still have to be cleared by the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports in this state, but that isn’t expected to be an issue. The CIF allows for such transfers under a hardship clause.
“What I told our guys is that these gentlemen from Valley chose to transfer here because they want to be part of the game of football,” Heffernan said. “We’re happy to have them.”
Superintendent expresses disappointment
District superintendent Chris Hoffman replied to a Bee email about the football programs. He is a product of the district. He played football at Valley in the 1980s and got his teaching and administrative start there.
Hoffman said football is a boost for any campus, including the involvement of the marching band, cheerleaders and students who dress up in school colors to cheer on their classmates. He regularly attends football games in the district and vowed to continue some longstanding traditions this fall at Florin and Valley.
“I am certainly disappointed about not fielding football teams at Valley and Florin this year,” he wrote. “I strongly believe that kids are successful when they connect to their schools through a wide variety of programs and extra-curricular activities.
“In the short-term, we are working with students and families who want to play this year through transfers to other district sites. District staff is also working with site leaders to support both schools to ensure there are a wide variety of activities available to students this fall including homecoming activities and opportunities for students in band, color guard and cheer to perform. To be clear, homecoming and other such activities will be held this fall.”
The district added in a statement to The Bee on Tuesday, “Over the past few days, we have focused on making sure all students who want to play are taken care of, and I’m proud to say our schools in EGUSD have come together and done just that. EGUSD leadership and our schools are focused on finding long term solutions for both school programs.”
‘It’s not the fault of the Valley kids’
Monterey Trail High School is over the Highway 99 overpass from Valley, about 2.5 miles away. The school opened 20 years ago and has become a powerhouse despite regularly fielding varsity rosters of 30 or fewer players.
Football coach T.J. Ewing said he would have welcomed any Valley transfers had they been allowed. Ewing is an example of coaches feeling for players who suddenly don’t have a team.
“We would have been open to it, absolutely, and we would’ve let those kids practice because kids deserve a chance,” Ewing said. “It’s not the fault of the Valley kids that they don’t have football. That’s on the adults. It’s a terrible thing that’s happened at Florin and Valley, and it creates a tsunami of negativity. We can’t lose football programs. Football is big time in America. Kids need it, schools need it and communities need it.”
Laguna Creek opened in 1994 and is 2.6 miles from Valley. Football coach Ryan Nill played for his coaching father, Mark Nill, at Laguna Creek and picked up the teaching and coaching bug.
“We would have accepted any Vikings football player with open arms, especially the seniors,” he said. “High school football is too important for kids and they should get an opportunity to play.”
This story was originally published August 28, 2024 at 1:32 PM.