Dorchester District 2 will no longer have middle school-based football, baseball and softball teams DORCHESTER COUNTY NE

[Football Maniac]

That headline is a little misleading. Those sports are going to be absorbed into the high school. Charleston County was thinking about having the middle schools sponsor the middle school sports, but they are doing the same thing. Those schools could actually have multiple 7th and 8th grade teams now. Brookland-Cayce has done that in football for the past couple of years.

You are exactly right. The headline couldn't be more misleading. This move is actually a positive for the high schools (Ashley Ridge, and Fort D). They now get their hands on the student athletes immediately and can begin to put their "programs" in place at the middle school level. This makes the transition to playing JV and Varsity sports much easier.

I am surprised that more of this isn’t happening. 5A schools could realistically have two 8th grade and two 7th grade teams if they really wanted to. Just from personal knowledge, I know Charleston County has been doing this for a few years.

[FootballFan4343]

That headline is a little misleading. Those sports are going to be absorbed into the high school. Charleston County was thinking about having the middle schools sponsor the middle school sports, but they are doing the same thing. Those schools could actually have multiple 7th and 8th grade teams now. Brookland-Cayce has done that in football for the past couple of years.

You are exactly right. The headline couldn't be more misleading. This move is actually a positive for the high schools (Ashley Ridge, and Fort D). They now get their hands on the student athletes immediately and can begin to put their "programs" in place at the middle school level. This makes the transition to playing JV and Varsity sports much easier.

I am surprised that more of this isn’t happening. 5A schools could realistically have two 8th grade and two 7th grade teams if they really wanted to. Just from personal knowledge, I know Charleston County has been doing this for a few years.

What I have heard is many schools still like the "school spirit" shown in having middle school programs. It keeps the students involved in their school and being teammates with classmates. As a true "feeder team", you have middle schools that are split and classmates playing against each other with the 7th and 8th grade teams.

[Football Maniac]

That headline is a little misleading. Those sports are going to be absorbed into the high school. Charleston County was thinking about having the middle schools sponsor the middle school sports, but they are doing the same thing. Those schools could actually have multiple 7th and 8th grade teams now. Brookland-Cayce has done that in football for the past couple of years.

You are exactly right. The headline couldn't be more misleading. This move is actually a positive for the high schools (Ashley Ridge, and Fort D). They now get their hands on the student athletes immediately and can begin to put their "programs" in place at the middle school level. This makes the transition to playing JV and Varsity sports much easier.

I am surprised that more of this isn’t happening. 5A schools could realistically have two 8th grade and two 7th grade teams if they really wanted to. Just from personal knowledge, I know Charleston County has been doing this for a few years.

What I have heard is many schools still like the "school spirit" shown in having middle school programs. It keeps the students involved in their school and being teammates with classmates. As a true "feeder team", you have middle schools that are split and classmates playing against each other with the 7th and 8th grade teams.

Our school district is pushing for us to have both 7th and 8th grade teams in every sport we offer. I think it is a great idea and will increase the number of kids playing those sports (always a good thing). The biggest issue we are running into is equipment. Since the middle schools fund their own programs, it is difficult to raise enough money to purchase all of that equipment.