My Reaction to the First 2024-2028 Sac-Joaquin Section Realignment Proposal.

I wrote this blog for the southern part of the Sac-Joaquin Section only. Proposed changes New Teams in CAPS. TCAL (D1): EDISON, Lincoln-Stockton, Lodi, MANTECA, Modesto Christian (basketball only), St. Mary’s, Tracy CCAL (D2): Downey, Enochs, Gregori, Modesto, Pitman, Turlock (It is the only league in the entire Sac-Joaquin Section that has no proposed changes). CCC (D3): Atwater, Buhach Colony, El Capitan, Golden Valley, LOS BANOS, Merced SJAA (D3): Bear Creek, Chavez, Franklin-Stockton, McNair, Stagg, TOKAY, WEST Weston Ranch VOL (D3): Central Catholic, East Union, Kimball, MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Oakdale, PATTERSON, Sierra WAC (D4): Beyer, Ceres, CENTRAL VALLEY, Davis-Modesto, Johansen, Lathrop, LIVINGSTON, Pacheco TVL (D5): Escalon, Hilmar, Hughson, ORESTIMBA, Ripon, Ripon Christian, SONORA CCAA (D6): Big Valley, HOLT ACADEMY, HUGHES ACADEMY, Millennium, MODESTO CHRISTIAN (no basketball), RIVER ISLANDS, Turlock Christian, Venture Academy MLL (D6): Amador, Bret Harte, Calaveras, LINDEN, RIVERBANK, Summerville, WATERFORD SL (D6): Delhi, Denair, Gustine, Le Grand, Mariposa, STONE RIDGE CHRISTIAN MVL (D7): ABLE Charter, Delta Charter, Don Pedro, ELLIOT CHRISTIAN, Lodi Academy, Stockton Christian, Tioga, VANGUARD 209 Teams outside of 209 leagues: ARGONAUT, Galt, and Liberty Ranch all in the SVC. Dos Palos is not in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Source: Twitter post via the Sac-Joaquin Section One thing to keep in mind is that this is the first proposal. I would estimate that only 60-70 percent of what is in the proposal ends up happening when the leagues become binding. However, the first proposal gives schools and coaches an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of their respective positions and, yes, to politick any changes to the proposal they may want. There will be at least two more meetings where both rational discussions and complaints can be made before the new leagues are finalized. I do not expect the new leagues to be like they were proposed today. For example, I do not believe Sonora and Orestimba will end up in the same league. The two schools are almost two hours from each other when there are no traffic issues. While there were a lot of surprises, there were some moves that made sense. There was a call by some to have a “SFL-type” league in the 209 area. The SFL (Sierra Foothill League) is the top league in the Sac-Joaquin Section in many sports. It is a league that personifies the phrase “iron sharpens iron”. The Sac-Joaquin Section did not accommodate the request of a “Southern SFL league”, but the TCAL comes close. The TCAL has the best football schools in San Joaquin County, but if Central Catholic, Oakdale, and Turlock were added and Lodi moved elsewhere, then there would be the “Southern SFL League”. Looking at the small schools, Modesto Christian going to the CCAA with the exception of basketball made perfect sense. Modesto Christian has been declining in enrollment. I believe the school was at 120 last year and it is at 78 students this year. With the exception of basketball, the quality of the athletic teams has been on the decline. For example, the football program once won a state bowl game (the closest thing there is to a state championship in California). In the past two or three years, the Crusaders have either been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs or out of the playoffs altogether. Other programs struggle to even field a team. It is time for Modesto Christian to be in a league with schools of similar size. As previously mentioned, there were a lot of surprises. I will not go over all of them in detail, but I will expand on two of them and simply list the rest at the bottom of this blog. I will start with the one that might affect me as a coach. I am surprised that the section made the Southern League (SL) a six-team league. Currently, the league is the five teams mentioned above, Orestimba, Ripon Christian, and Waterford. It was already assumed Ripon Christian and Orestimba were going to leave. Orestimba is getting too big for the Southern League and Ripon Christian made it clear that it wants out of the league. Waterford leaving the league, too, was the second biggest surprise to me. Throughout the conversations I have had with Southern League coaches and other people of authority, it seemed to me that there were six candidates to be the three replacement teams: Big Valley, Bret Harte, Modesto Christian, Riverbank, Stone Ridge Christian, and Summerville. It was surprising that only one of those teams was chosen. The biggest surprise to me was the section placing Argonaut and Amador in separate conferences. The two schools are similar in enrollment, they are the only two high schools in Amador County, and they will merge into one school in a few years. It only makes sense that they are in the same league. I thought both schools would be sent to the SVC (Sierra Valley Conference). Since they are in different area codes, it seems that Amador County and Sacramento are far away from each other; but the truth is that several schools in Sacramento County are closer to the two Amador County schools than other schools in the Mother Lode League, the league they are currently in. As mentioned above, Argonaut will be in the SVC and Amador will be in the MLL until the two schools merge. The joint school will play in the SVC. Other Surprises Waterford to the MLL Not making drastic changes to the WAC Making the CCAA a D6 league Splitting Los Banos schools Delta Charter staying in the MVL River Islands to the CCAA VOL staying D3.