Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • November 28, 2012 Midland Park To cut or not to cut, that is the question facing the Midland Park Board of Education when it comes to the basketball program in the seventh and eighth grades. Athletic Director Peter Galasso told the board last week that the large number of signups for the winter program made it essential to add two teams or cut players. In all 31 girls and 24 boys signed up for their respective 7/8 grade basketball team, but teams should be no more than 10 to 15 players each, he said. While a number of trustees seemed to agree cutting players would not be desirable, they have to consider the financial implication of expanding the program, they said. A decision will be made at the board’s Dec. 4 meeting, in time for the first practice on Dec. 17. Middle school sports were restarted this school year after a hiatus of several years prompted by a cut in state aid. Signups for soccer and volleyball in the fall were within the budget, but the high turnout for basketball was unanticipated, Galasso said. Galasso said splitting the current registrants into A/B squads for each the boys and the girls would require hiring two new coaches, new uniforms, securing more games and gym time for the additional practices, and games and transportation to the away games. He estimated the total additional cost at $6,000 to $7,000. He warned that the disadvantage with this option is that the registration numbers may drop when the season begins, rendering all the preparations unwarranted. A second option, he said, would be to split the team up with a main team and a rotating taxi squad, which would eliminate the need to hire two more coaches. There would Board weighs cuts for middle school basketball be 10 core athletes. The rest would be split up into taxi A, B, C squads. The core would travel to every game. The taxi squads would rotate games. The disadvantage, he said, would be the difficulty in coaching such a large group, and that playing time for each player would be limited and would cause students to lose interest and drop out. The discussion at the meeting centered around not only the no-cut policy but also whether the resulting teams should be two squads of equal ability or set up as A/B teams. “If we cut in the 7/8 grade, we are sending the wrong message. We won’t have anyone for the varsity program,” said trustee Robert Schiffer. “Neither team will be competitive, nor instructional, nor recreational,” said trustee Tim Thomas. “Make it one better, one less, or divide the seventh and the eighth grade. The good players may look elsewhere.” Thomas said that in order to have good players in high school, it is better to have a core of good players play together for several years, starting as early as possible. “You need good players in both teams,” said trustee Brian McCourt. Parent Theresa Sasso urged the board to approve splitting into two teams. “My daughter is all excited but discouraged she won’t get any play time if you don’t split the team. And if you cut, you discourage her from ever playing; it will affect her self esteem,” Sasso said. Parent Janine Powderley disagreed. “The girls who are excellent players, they should play so we have a chance to have a good team. They are super competitive. They work so hard, they hate not to have the opportunity to go forward. The others have to get used to being cut; they will be cut in high school,” Powderley said. “They have recreational and travel,” she added. Galasso said he had discussed the Midland Park middle school situation with other athletic directors in similar sized schools. He said all indicated that they had tried different options but all eventually implemented a cut policy in the middle school, even though most do not have a cut policy in their high school. He said that at that age, the students still have access to recreation, travel, and club teams; that the cut policy allowed the coaches to better prepare the athletes for the rigors of high school athletics because they could focus on athletes and develop 12-15 players to better ready them for the next level; that cutting separates the program from recreation, which pleased the more serious athletes and made it more prestigious to be on the team; and that it prevented the school from budgeting for extra teams and coaches and then have the students quit and be stuck. Police Report (continued from page 6) reported to Officer Van Dyk that he had been the victim of an identity theft. He said he received a bill from a collection agency indicating he owed a cellular phone company $1,575 since 2005. The victim said he never opened an account with the vendor. On Nov. 10, a Ridgewood resident told police that he was given a counterfeit $1 bill by a Midland Park delicatessen. Patrol responded the store and advised the owner. Patrol inspected the money in the register, and all appeared to be normal, U.S.-issued currency.