The decisions about league affiliation at the high school level are especially complex. A menagerie of factors are all up for consideration: travel, shared tradition, common identities, and similar academic profiles. 

“While a change may benefit one organization, that very same change may be detrimental to other organizations,” said Perachi. “Within one organization, that same dynamic may apply to different programs. The change that is great for one program may actually be harmful to another program within the same organization. That is why large scale change always has been, and always will be a very complex issue.”

For those who walk away from a league, as NHS faculty member, alumni, and coach Rebecca Pope said, “be careful what you wish for.”

This scenario came to life in November of 2019 after Lewis Mills’ athletics left the BL to join the CCC the previous year. 

“There had been a heated rivalry with the two of our schools for a long time in a lot of sports,” Denman said. “That year, we won the league in soccer, the first year that they were gone. We had them for our first-round state tournament game.”

With a fierce rivalry in their history, it would be inevitable for the schools to continue their competitive past even after Lewis Mills’ absence. This matchup would make for an intensified game – an outcome that would solidify the loyalty of the BL. 

“We beat them,” said Denman, recalling the validation NHS felt defeating a former league comrade. “I got messages from multiple people at every school in the BL, saying, ‘Good for you guys.’ That speaks to the community and pride to the members of the BL. That they were happy for their own to kind of take care of business against a school that thought they were too good for the league, and I can’t imagine having to be on the other side of that.” 

McGee also emphasizes the unparalleled bond between BL communities. 

“Even as ADs, when we all talk to each other in AD meetings, we’re all very tight, very close friends, and we help each other out,” says McGee. “It’s great, it’s fantastic, and that’s the one big reason, for me personally, why I don’t want to leave that.”

But why did Lewis Mills even have to go to the extent of leaving the league? 

For schools with varying student bodies in the BL, there comes the issue of fair competition. 

“It’s hard for a school, our size, Lakeview’s size, even Northwestern’s size, where we have roughly 600 kids to compete at schools,” said McGee. “Schools like Gilbert and Thomaston struggle with putting up these types of numbers.” 

Adding to the complexity of this issue, is the imbalance of talent across league rosters. 

“Out of our [softball team’s] 14 games, 12 of them were mercies. How does that prepare our team, and then how does that prepare the other team?” said Curtin. “This isn’t specific to one sport either, there are multiple occurrences in the Berkshire League across schools’ programs.”

From opinions of unfair competition, to the struggles of athletic directors to find freshman and JV games, students like Nonnewaug freshman Noah Elsemore see potential value in a league switch. 

“Playing more competitive games could be beneficial for all of the players and will bring their game up to a new level,” said Elsemore. “I learned that playing in more difficult games has improved me and my teammates so much and brought us to face better teams.”

Nonnewaug junior Max Nichols points out the nuanced opinions that different people in the community may have when considering NHS’ league affiliation.

“I feel like there would be mixed feelings about leaving the BL,” said Nichols. “On one hand, people are going to feel sad about moving on from all its history. But on the other hand, they could get a whole new experience with different teams and possibly different connections they can make. So it could really go either way, but it might depend on your age or grade level to determine how people feel.”