“Paperwork error” disqualifies high school soccer team from postseason
WBZ
By Logan Hall
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EASTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A “paperwork error” is disqualifying teams from eight vocational high schools from a post season tournament in Massachusetts. Some parents are furious that this is how their students’ sports experience will end.
Becky DeOliveira’s son Vinny is a senior on the Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School boys’ soccer team. They had a great season with a 13-1-1 record, but they won’t get to play in the Massachusetts Vocational Athletic Directors Association (MVADA) tournament because of a scheduling oversight.
“They live for this, my son’s been on the team for four years,” DeOliveira said. “The kids themselves have put in a lot of dedication, a lot of teamwork, a lot of effort.”
Teams in the league were required to leave a placeholder game on their schedule, listing it as TBD (to be determined) to reserve a spot in the tournament. Southeastern and seven other schools didn’t do that. They were all ruled ineligible for the postseason.
DeOliveira said the ruling is especially painful for the team’s 10 seniors, many of whom won’t play competitively after high school.
“After this, this is it. Some of them might not go to college because it’s a voc-tech school. They are going out in the real world, like let them be kids,” DeOliveira said.
While many players have taken the news with grace, DeOliveira said it’s been harder for parents to accept.
“I went to my son and was like, ‘Hey, how you feeling?’ and he goes ‘it is what it is.’ I think most of the team’s like that. They are so good, they are so humble. I think the coach has really tried to instill in them that we have tried everything we can. But me, as a parent, I’m looking at it as like, I feel like there’s another choice.”
The MVADA did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
“We believe it is deeply unfair to remove student-athletes from postseason play because of a paperwork error, especially one that many schools struggled to interpret,” Southeastern Regional School District Superintendent Holly McClanan said in a statement.
DeOliveira is holding out hope that a solution can be found and her son will get to take the field with his team one last time.
“I’m always looking on the positive side,” she said. “And I feel like for a clerical error, for this to just happen the way it’s happening I feel like there has to be a better outcome.”
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