NCS re-alignment at last appears to be resolved

California has been known to have earthquakes from time-to-time but it did not take a tremor to shake up the CIF North Coast Section.

After much speculation, the landscape of the NCS will have a much different look when the 2018-1019 school year begins. On Thursday, a CIF North Coast Section alignment committee unanimously voted to approve a proposal to group Napa, Vintage, American Canyon, Justin-Siena, Sonoma Valley, Petaluma and Casa Grande-Petaluma into a league together starting with the aforementioned school year.

If the move is approved, the seven-school league will be part of the Marin-Sonoma-Mendocino Conference. Try saying that seven times really fast.

The alignment committee, at its meeting at the NCS offices in San Ramon, voted 5-0 to accept and support the proposal.

The next move for the proposal will now go before the NCS Board of Managers at its meeting on Oct. 3 at Mira Vista Golf and Country Club in El Cerrito. The proposal is for the mid cycle alignment, for 2018-2020. NCS Commissioner Gil Lemmon indicated to various Bay Area news organizations that they move appears to be a foregone conclusion.

Napa, Vintage and American Canyon high schools were each accepted into the North Coast Section at a board of managers meeting in April. Each school received unanimous approval during a vote of the board of the managers, which consists of school district superintendents, league commissioners and presidents, principals and athletic directors.

For Napa and Vintage, the move represents a return trip to the NCS. The two school vacated that section to join the Sac-Joaquin Section after the 1975-1976 school year. American Canyon opened its doors in 2010-2011 but has longed to joined the SJS. Justin relocated to the NCS in 2000-2001 to join the Marin County Athletic League.

The move takes effect for the 2018-19 school year and returns Napa and Vintage to the North Coast Section, where they were members through the 1975-76 school year.

From the beginning, I was in favor of this move. The only curious move was including Justin in the same league as the aforementioned schools. Napa and Vintage were once schools of enrollments of 2,000 and change. That number has dropped to the 1,600 range. American Canyon had about 1,300 when reaching all four grades in 2012 and is now in about the 1,600 category, plus or minus a few. To that end, it makes perfect sense to have Napa, Vintage and AC in the same league. Though Napa and Vintage always have each other, AC is a great addition. That is not to suggest Justin does not add value but I’m about to say a few things that chap the daylights out of a few schnooks. However, I don’t give a damn.

Napa, Vintage and AC being in the SJS was an unlevel playing field. If all three did well in the regular season, great. Welcome to playing Sacramento and/or Central Valley schools that are growing, while conversely you are not. Translation, unless you are 2007 Napa High football with John Boyett and Jake Croxdale, you’re not winning section titles. When Justin moved to the NCS, between football and baseball alone they won 11 NCS titles between football and baseball.

To add perspective, Justin is a private school of about 600 enrollment that comes from communities other than Napa. However, public schools, cry like wimps that they are limited geographically on their drawing power. I call BS on that. There are plenty of out of district kids in these parts going to schools other than those in their district. I’ve got no problem with that but don’t throw stones at glass houses. However, I can also understand from Napa and Vintage’s perspective that in the postseason they face teams that were much better than the regular season. Whereas in the MCAL, Justin faces schools double their size in the regular season but not as good in the postseason. If I’m Justin, I take it, run with it and don’t apologize. However, I don’t blame Napa, Vintage or AC for saying, “welcome to playing us, folks.”

Where the move to the NCS makes the most sense is travel and competitive balance. In my former career as a sports reporter, I covered mostly St. Helena and Calistoga but also had a taste of covering the aforementioned Napa schools, including Justin-Siena. Though the Upvalley schools make long and arduous drives to Lake and Mendocino Counties and Sonoma County on occasion, traffic is seldom an issue. However, driving to Sacramento, Elk Grove, Grass Valley or anywhere in the Central Valley, traffic is a crapshoot. You could either get smooth sailing on Interstate 80 or traffic could be a hot mess.