Published March 10, 2008 01:28 am - The rumor mill has been grinding since midway through the high school football season in regards to Lakeside High School and its conference affiliation.
Prep Notes: Lakeside not PAC-ing it in Dragons AD Tim Neal says school is staying where it’s at
Star Beacon
The rumor mill has been grinding since midway through the high school football season in regards to Lakeside High School and its conference affiliation.
Lakeside moved from the Northeastern Conference — where it had been a member since Ashtabula and Harbor consolidated in time for the 2001-02 school year — to the Premier Athletic Conference for the start of the current school year.
The move had been kicked around before and after the decision to make the jump to the PAC more than anyone wanted to read or hear.
While coach Lisa Newsome’s volleyball squad won the outright PAC title and coach Jim Hood’s boys golfers shared the conference crown with Riverside, the Dragons struggled in the two sports that grab the most attention — football (2-8) and boys basketball (8-13).
So it was no surprise rumors of Lakeside flipflopping and heading back to the NEC, which was scouring the civilized world for new members before the exit by Lakeside and put even more vigor into it after it.
First-year Lakeside athletic director Tim Neal admits he heard the same rumors, as did Ashtabula Area City Schools superintendent Joe Donatone and Lakeside principal Sylvia Atkinson, so he wanted to clear the air on the issue.
“There have been many rumors around Ashtabula County about Lakeside and its affiliation with the PAC and NEC,” the Conneaut graduate said in an email. “Mr. Donatone, Mrs. Atkinson and myself would like to make it clear that our commitment is to the PAC.”
Neal said it’s time for the high school, located in Saybrook Township, to look forward, not backward.
“I personally believe that our athletic program is in need of consistency,” he said. “We need consistency in what conference we are in, our administration and our coaching staff.”
Neal said the student-athletes, their parents and the school’s fans need to know where they stand — and that’s in the PAC.
“Only with consistency will our sports be able to transition into successful athletic programs,” he said.
And the NEC?
The search goes on, according the league secretary Dik Pavolino.
“We’re still aggressively looking,” the former longtime Harbor athletic director and baseball coach said. “We’re leaving no stone unturned in our search for additional league members.”
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