Union County high school drops its football program. The principal explained why
Central Academy, a public school in Union County, is ending its football program. The school will not field a team this fall.
School principal Vicki Merritt sent a note to parents and students at the Monroe school Monday informing them of the change.
Merritt said the decision was due to declining interest and low participation numbers.
Last spring, the school announced plans to play junior varsity only in 2021 and ‘22 in hopes to rebuild interest and bump participation numbers up.
“We want our students to stay involved in school programming at large,” Merritt said. “We offer 24 jayvee and varsity sports that have been sustainable and have healthy participation rates.”
Merritt said the school was polling its football players to get input on what other clubs or sports those players might be interested in. She also said the school would continue to have a band and a color guard, and just direct those towards other sports.
“They understand that as educators, what’s really important is to be able to field teams and have high participation,” Merritt said, “and having teams that are sustainable.”
Central Academy is a 3A school that plays with 3A Parkwood in a league with four 2A schools -- Anson County, Forest Hills, Monroe and West Stanly.
The school has had some success in other sports. Central Academy won the 2011 NCHSAA girls soccer state championship, for example. The football team, however, has struggled since the school opened in 2006. The football team has had nine seasons with two or fewer wins, including four without a single victory.
Some parents have taken to social media to express anger at the move and a change.org petition had nearly 600 signatures as of late Tuesday afternoon.
“The community is trying to wrap their minds around the decision,” Merritt said, “because our students love to be involved here, and for our students who were playing football, it’s now our charge to find something and create something that our students can continue to participate in and keep them involved.”
