6th graders now eligible in Lafourche schools

Lafourche Parish sixth graders can now participate in sports, cheerleading and dance teams.

The parish school board unanimously approved the change last week.

Previously, sixth graders were excluded from the extracurricular activities to allow time to adjust from elementary to middle schools, according to Aubrey Orgeron Jr., secondary curriculum director for Lafourche schools.

The change ends a process that started months ago with discussions between middle school principals.

“Some of us as principals felt that a third of student body was getting excluded from participation in some of those events,” said Kenneth Delcambre, principal of Sixth Ward Middle School and former Louisiana High School Association president and South Terrebonne High baseball coach. “So that was a big reason that we began having that conversation several months ago with the school board about the possibility of making this happen.”

Amanda Matis, mother of three children in the Lafourche school system, including a son who will attend sixth grade later this year, was overjoyed at word of the change. Evan Matis, 10, had been dismayed upon learning that his advancement to Sixth Ward Middle would result in a school sports blackout during his first year.

“He was very disappointed,” she said.

But now that the rule has changed, Evan is happy. Although Sixth Ward Middle does not offer baseball – a sport he currently plays in an outside league – he plans to take advantage of what opportunities the school will offer to him, including football and track.

“He is very excited,” Matis said. “Any opportunity these children can get to play any kind of sport is a benefit in my opinion. I think it is really going to help the kids who don’t have the resources, the finances or transportation to play outside the school system.”

Prior to last Tuesday’s vote, sixth graders were allowed to participate in band and Key Club, but were barred from the more time-consuming activities. Educators said the policy change represents a shift in the educational philosophy the school board applies to middle school education.

“We’re making a shift, now, from middle school to more of like a – it’s not official – but we’re more of like a junior high setting than a middle school concept setting than in the past,” Orgeron said.

Orgeron said the curricula are geared toward preparing students earlier for college and careers. Middle school students are even being offered high school courses, thus making college preparatory and vocational training an option in high school.

The change also addresses what many middle school principals viewed as unequal treatment. High school freshman compete with seniors all the time, despite the large age gap, Orgeron said.

“So why not look at it the same way in sixth grade? I mean you have sixth-graders that could potentially play with eighth-graders,” he said. “It’s a smaller gap, but the same holds true. If the kid is physically gifted, why not? Why deny that child the opportunity to play sports if they want to play and they’re capable of playing.”

Despite administrators’ reservations about sixth-graders’ physical ability to compete in football, Orgeron said coaches will make the final determination.

According to a non-scientific poll of adjacent school districts, Orgeron said about half allow sixth-graders to play sports.

But the transition locally will not be a very difficult one, according to prep football coaches questioned in the Lafourche Parish area. In fact, they said that the move to allow sixth graders could be beneficial to the kids’ future – if it’s done correctly and with the proper intentions.

South Lafourche head football coach Dennis Skains said that he’s always in favor of any scenario that allows children to learn to love the sport at a young age.

Skains said he wasn’t aware of the rule, nor did he know that a change was being considered. But when informed of the decision, the coach said he believes it’s probably a good thing for middle school youth.

“Our things is – we always want the kids to be in a position to where they’re able to have fun while playing,” Skains said. “At that age and at that level of competition, I think that including more kids and having a greater number of kids involved is always a good thing. Assuming that it’s being done the right way and there’s a greater emphasis on teaching and having kids learn the right things – not so much just winning – I think it’s great.”

Skains agreed with Orgeron in that it’s the middle school coaches who will ultimately be staked with a lot of the decision-making that will determine whether this is a success. The Tarpons’ football coach said at the middle school level, it’s a delicate situation.

“All coaches want to win. I am guilty of that myself,” Skains said. “But at that level, I think every kid should get in the game and get to play. The only thing that would worry me a little bit is if you have a kid who is younger who doesn’t play and it ends up ruining it for the kid to where he never wants to play again as he gets older. But that’s on the coaches. If it’s handled right, I think it’s a good thing.

“More time on the field is always better – that’s just how I feel about it.”

EXPERT: SAFETY NO BIG FACTOR

Those in the medical field think that sixth graders can walk the walk, as well.

Getting more early teens involved is actually encouraged by medical facilities in the Houma-Thibodaux area.

Because of how far sports medicine and athletic training has come in our community in the past few years, Thibodaux Regional Medical Center Sports Medicine Coordinator Larry D’Antoni said youngsters locally are safer than they’ve even been on the playing field.

In an interview earlier this spring, D’Antoni talked about middle-school aged athletes and some of the challenges that they face as they compete while still growing into their bodies.

But D’Antoni said having children in a structured athletic setting will make them safer because local coaches today are more educated than ever on injury prevention, wellness and other tips pertaining to athletes’ safety.

In Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, trainers are at most-all athletic sporting events.

“The key, honestly, is prevention and education,” D’Antoni said. “Injuries happen. In sports – all sports – they happen. No hospital, doctor or anyone can prevent that. But if we can teach someone how to respond to an injury or how to do things to put themselves in position to prevent that injury, then I think that’s when the community becomes safer.”

“Our kids on the playing fields today are safer than they’ve ever been – in all sports.”

Sports Editor Casey Gisclair and Senior Staff Writer John DeSantis contributed to this piece.

Now that the Lafourche Parish School Board has passed a rule that allows sixth grade student athletes to compete in athletic competition, more local middle schoolers will be able to represent their schools in competition. 

COURTESY PHOTO