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And they are doing just that. Think on that for a moment. What if a school was put down or up, without meeting the enrollment population for that ranking. Just because a few schools don't want to play here or there.

I agree wholeheartedly with Midlo.

Personally, I believe in change.  Good change that is.  So, I'm not averse to a realignment of some kind.  (to 4 classifications, if that is what was needed)  HOWEVER, if change is going to be made, it needs to be better than what was in place previously.  The new alignment is not.

KISS-  Keep it simple stupid.

With so many moving parts, the new alignment will become a beaurocatic and logistical nightmare.  If there are a bunch of unhappy people today, give it another couple of years, when the musical chairs begin yet again.  It's not well thought out.

As an aside, I'm curios if they thought to go to a "Small School Division".  Meaning, they could have left 95% of the old AAA alone, and simply realigned the smaller schools.

The 6 layer classification is more of a good thing for football. With talk of Manchester and Clover Hill moving up to 6A due to enrollment size... Midlothian Football 4A, may have the unenviable task of playing a slew of 6A teams, in addition to Bird!

For some reason the schedule has not been released which is unusual..

I just hated the fact that we didn't get to see Cosby v. Freeman in regionals this year.  That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.  And I'm sure NoVa and the Beach had similar situations. 

The other thing is, winning a state championship is more special, depending on how many teams you beat out.  I don't mean to take anything away from those who won, but they overcame only half the number of competitors this year as compared to last year.  It's all watered down now.

The thing is....they already had 6 divisions for football under the old AAA system.

Much as I would've loved to have seen a Hanover-Cosby matchup as well, the reality is that Cosby (6A) is twice as large a school as Hanover (4A).  Even I don't think they belong in the same classification.  Not that they can't play each other during the regular season, but I'm not going to push them together for the playoffs.  Even if Hanover's personnel the past few years have proved that they could hang at any level, you can't expect that always to be the case.  You won't always have a Derek Casey, and eventually the numbers prove out.

Basically the VHSL has given us the schools' sizes.  All current 1A and 2A schools could've been pushed into A.  3A and 4A into AA.  And 5A and 6A into AAA.  Same program shifts, just fewer classifcations.

To be fair, even if you had a WB/Hanover single game, it wouldn't tell you much.  It certainly wouldn't tell you who the best team in the state is.  It would tell you who was better on that particular day!  (please see Western Branch vs. Woodside...unless you actually think Woodside is a better team)

Until the VHSL goes to a double elimination format of some kind, the best team will not always win the State Championship.  Having said that, I think that in no certain order WB/Cosby were the two best teams in 6A all year, and one of them won the title.  I think that Hickory showed that they could be one of the top teams in 5A throughout the year, along with Freeman and Stone Bridge (who were represented) and they proved as much in the tournament.  And I think that NR/Hanover were probably the two best 4A teams in the state, and one of them won the title.

NR played all three State Champions.  Amongst the three, I think that Hickory had the most explosive lineup, Hanover had the deepest and most talented pitching staff, and Western Branch had the most complete team, in all facets.  On a given day, any of the three could beat the other, but I would take Western Branch in a series.

I agree with you in general, but I think the base argument is still the wide variation in enrollment, even in your example.  If you believe that Hanover and Cosby should be in different classifications, then it's hard to argue how John Marshall, which is the smallest 3A school with 750 should be in the same group with Nansemond River, which is the largest 4A at 1468.  It's the same result as the aforementioned.

That's why I think they could've gone to four classifications and kept most of the old system in place, with minor tweaks around the edges.  While still shrinking the enrollment gap.

Funny part about Hickory is I am not entirely sure they are the best team on their own street.  GB while Ko'd by Kellam this year might have been a shade better than Hickory.

I give them credit, they played their best ball at the end when it mattered most and are a solid championship team.

Such has been the case for years in the Southeastern as well.  Nansemond River is one of four 4A schools that made up the district.  The remainder are/were 5A-6A.  Not to mention it is very baseball heavy with NR, Hickory, Great Bridge, Western Branch, and Grassfield, amongst others.   Please understand that every year there has been one or two teams from this group which are considered to be some of the best in the entire state, and they wouldn't even make it out of the district tournament!  Further, just this year, 3 of the above were/are Nationally Ranked at some point, and four of the five were considered Top 10 in the state in all classifications.  So, I get what you're saying.

By the by, Kings Fork, a perennial bottom-third program in the SED was one game away from the 4A Final Four.

Even still, I would have preferred expanding the regional playoffs to include a few more teams, rather than the system we have now.  

Just to provide some additional comments to Midlo's post, prior to this year, Hanover has always been at the AA level based on enrollment but opted to participate at the AAA level.  Since 2005, they have competed extremely well in the AAA division advancing to the Central Regional playoffs every year except two, and in each of those years they were one win away from advancing.  It's hard to say what the future holds, but if the past is a blue print for the future, I expect the Hanover baseball team will be able to compete at any level going forward. 

It would be very nice to be able to add a few more games.  The VHSL should allow for 20 regular season games, PLUS one tournament.  That would allow for those extra few games that you mention!  It would allow for teams to still travel for Spring Break, yet set up a "mini-regional" or two on a Fri/Sat. 

EX.  NR, GB, Cosby, Hanover in pool play to seed, with Championship to follow!

...or WB, Hickory, Madison, Lake Braddock.  (options are endless)

I think the top programs would spend the money for one night to do something like that!  This and similar formats have become very popular at the D1 college level.

Otherwise, the H.I.T tournament in Charleston is proving to be of similar ilk to what you are searching for.  Just this past year, Virginia was very well represented with NR, GB, Hickory, Grassfield, Lake Braddock, Chantilly, and Madison, amongst a couple of others.  (Pretty good group!)  Tough to do Spring Break in Virginia...the weather is super tricky, as you know.

Yep ...could get 75 and sunny or 35 and sleet.  HIT is exactly the thing I was referring to.  It would be nice to have something similar at the Beach and get to the games. 

I do like the idea of a weekend mini tourney but hotel costs would have to come from parents.  Plus the Bus costs probably need to be worked out.  I think there are rules on the transportation to official games.  Since most of the players on those teams probably played some travel ball it doesn't seem insurmountable.

I know the SED followers for years on this board have always thought the top half of the league was as good as any. 

I think it can be reasonably said that Western Branch was a Top 15 team in the State every year from 2010-2013 and never got out of the district.  They lost some very tough games to GB in particular that cost them regular season titles and then to teams like NR, GB and GF in the district playoffs that cost them the at large bid.

As Heels said Kings Fork never finished higher than 7th or 8th and I believe never won more than 6 maybe 7 games in any season until this year.  Deep Creek which has suffered in recent years nearly made regionals.  The point is that even the teams at the bottom that usually had weak records because they got beat 8+ times every year by GB, WB, NR, GF and Hickory really were not terrible teams. 

In my opinion the best part of the new system is that teams get to play schools that are their own size at the end.  That should mean that when matched on a level playing field over time the better team will win more consistently.  So for the KF, DC, LL contingent from the SED they get away from the monsters or most of them at least and get to play teams in their own weight class and seem to have something going for them...at least for this season. 

http://www.vhsl.org/doc/upload...%20and%202016-17.pdf

Very interesting.  Thanks for sharing.

Are they seriously going to move teams every year?  As opposed to, say, every three years?

I absolutely cannot stand this new alignment.  

I mean seriously.  Some of the conferences are almost brand new in their entirety.  Some will say that they like their new home, but I caution...don't get comfy...you may not be there very long!

Veto?

Hopefully they get it set, and then move to every four years instead of two. I feel for the coach's trying to get games. This past year because of the changes our school had to find 7 games to fill the schedule. It is only going to get worse. 

Some conferences went through the trouble (and presumably an expense) of naming their new conference, along with an official logo.  Perhaps, that too was shortsighted.  No sense in naming a conference, when the players are going to change like the weather.

The two most glaring changes to the new-new alignment is with Woodside and Nansemond River.  Due to others being reclassified, every opponent in Woodside's conference is across the water.  Likewise for Nansemond River.  Neither of the two have a single program from their old district nor their own CITY, in their new conference.

I have wondered since this move was set up if we'd get something totally different.  Since teams now have 10-12 games to play with as non conference instead of 2-5  if we will see teams roaming around to play different schedules.  Will there be games against Maryland or NC teams for example and not associated with Spring Break. 

Luv,

That's a great question.  One that's hard to answer with any consistency.  For example, Conference 18 has chosen to play a conference schedule whereas each team within the conference will play each other twice.  Therefore, there are 'X' amount of games outside of the conference.  In two years, Conference 18 will have a very different makeup.  Almost all of the conferences will have a very different makeup.  

So, what you'll have is a conference scenario, where everything has to be figured out all over again.  Will the new conference do it the same way?  Will the old conference try to maintain the status quo, with new players voicing their grievances?  Some play conference opponents twice, but some only played their conference one time through.  Some conferences will have 5 teams, others will have 8.  Some play a "district" schedule, some do not.  Some do at present, but may not in the future.

I found it interesting that some of the old SED have pretty much thrown their hands up and said "why bother" with the previous districts anymore.  On one hand, I totally agree.  On the other, perhaps including the old district as part of the scheduling is the only thing that keeps some level of sanity and certainty, for all respective programs.

This whole experiment is akin to traveling without a destination.  Further, you have no map, no NAV, and the locals are just as clueless as you are and therefore can provide no assistance.  Because they too are lost, and screaming for direction!  

Go Heels - Very true.  With an extra 6-8 games to play with some interesting games could get booked.  With the new alignment GB does not have to play WB, GF, Hickory, NR etc.  I would expect them to still schedule them at least once but will GB try to play more Beach and Norfolk teams like Maury, Cox, FC and Landstown or Privates like Atlantic Shores or GCA?  It will be interesting to see.

Maybe high school baseball is imploding... as some of the longstanding coaches and programs age... the coupling of this instability with demanding scheduling and less quality coaching available (and stable) ... and the lack of revenue / increased cost ... Maybe just maybe in 10 years, it will all be run by baseball schools(Dynamic/RBA/Braves, etc.) which have better coaching and a more solid infrastructure??

Think of the schools where baseball has become a mere shell of what it was, within the last decade or two.

Not a matter of whether HS baseball needs to compete with travel/showcase... It's a matter of mere functionality and perhaps money... and the shrinkage. Has the hassle and perceived lack of reward started to produce diminishing returns for those best suited to lead HS baseball programs?