WOODBURY — Lakeview High School: a blessing or a curse to the rest of the Berkshire League?
In some people’s eyes, the new high school, which came as the result of the merger between Wamogo and Litchfield high schools, is beneficial. In others’ opinions, it hasn’t been as great.
Coming from a Wamogo perspective, many players and teachers have found the transition to be a little uneasy at first.
“The merger has been an emotional roller coaster for students, staff, and the community alike,” said Lakeview girls soccer coach, science teacher and former Nonnewaug girls basketball coach Rebecca Pope. “The positives outweigh the negatives in many situations and circumstances.”
Through these changes they have found a consolidation from sports to help them the most.
“A loss of red and blue identities has slowly been replaced with Bobcat pride,” Pope said. “Sports has been a wonderful unifier of the two communities.”
In combining sports teams, not only does it enhance their own programs, but it helps other schools in the BL like Nonnewaug to be more competitive and have more experience throughout their own seasons.
“This year, I noticed an increase in competition when playing the Lakeview teams,” said senior Emma Jackson. “Last year, Litchfield didn’t even have a volleyball team, so it’s nice to see more people given the opportunity to play in other sports.”
Volleyball wasn’t the only sport that benefited from the unification; soccer programs also made the most of the new conditions.
“Students from both programs came into the season with a clean slate and positive attitude,” Pope said. “Right away there was a strong work ethic, as no one wanted to be outpaced.”
Although more students are participating in extracurriculars, Nonnewaug athletes are split about whether the BL turning into an eight-team league has more positive effects.
Since the fall of this school year, most BL teams now require between two and six non-league games to be added to their schedules.
“I love out-of-league games,” Jackson said. “It gives you a chance to play a different type of competition.”
With the opportunity to play unfamiliar competition, some athletes are against the change in gameplay.
“I hate out-of-league games,” said Eliza Butkus. “It’s not fair to us because out of our league most schools are better than us so our seasonal record goes down.”
In these ups and downs, many are hopeful for the BL’s future and the competition throughout sports thanks to Lakeview’s emergence.
“Lakeview brought a new level of competition,” Jackson said. “It added excitement to my senior year [in sports] because the games were unpredictable.”
