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You are the one that needs to wake up! ALL teams should have an opportunity to play in A- it is the most fair thing to do !

Are you delusional? Fair? Earn the right by beating a top team. You beat Gerstell this year. Who didn’t. Gerstell will probably be in B next year, with Mercy. Mercy has to earn the right to move up by playing the top teams and not the bottom ones. Ok. I hope they go to A. If Mercy is so interested in moving up, they should schedule the top five A teams next year? We know that won’t happen. Show the conference something. Oh, that’s right, they did show the conference something by losing to three of the bottom teams in 2022. Enough said.

No they shouldn’t! Play where they can compete. The people there are smart enough to know they belong in B. They might say they will request but truth is they won’t. The parents are clueless and will be calling for changes after they go 0-13 like Gerstell did. Sit back and enjoy you B conference championship.

Beating Park every other year doesn’t get Mercy to the A conference. The “Fair” thing to do is move four A teams down to B with Mercy. That will be the end of Mercy’s B championships.

You realize when there were only 4 regions, in 4A you were guaranteed a team from PG in the semis. At least MoCo schools can be semi-competitive. Although Broadneck will win states with little issue.

I am torn here, I believe that Mercy would get crushed by most if not all of the A teams and any parents who think different are off their rocker. However, if they want the team to develop, it comes down to recruiting. It is hard enough to get talent with so many private schools, I can only image how hard it is as a B team.
I still believe that they should break up a/b more equally than 13/5 but understand the frustration by mercy.
To conclude, mercy parents please stop thinking that your current team could compete because they can’t and you and they will become frustrated quickly. If your intention is for long term growth of the program then I wish you good luck in getting what you want

They way they do it now is better. Biggest issue is just Carroll/Howard staying in the same region and if they can find a way to change that it should be okay.

Mercy parents, please get advice from Gerstell parents. Several Gerstell parents asked their administration to petition to go to the B conference. They know that they cannot compete. I watched the B conference championship, our JV team can beat both of those teams. I am not trying to be funny, but that is a fact. Stay in the B conference and have fun playing and competing.

That's the toughest part. The state doesn't want to make these schools travel too much too often. In MoCo, most of the better teams (4A) end up in the same region as well. So they all knock each other out. AACo is still the cream of the crop in 4A though with Broadneck (guessing 3A as well...I'd expect Severna Park to easily take 3A).

That's the toughest part. The state doesn't want to make these schools travel too much too often. In MoCo, most of the better teams (4A) end up in the same region as well. So they all knock each other out. AACo is still the cream of the crop in 4A though with Broadneck (guessing 3A as well...I'd expect Severna Park to easily take 3A).[/quote]

It's all fair. The best team wins the states, whether they play their toughest game in the semi-regionals or state final.
Survive and advance.
All this gerrymandering is all for the losers. It's real simple, just win baby.

This is an unfortunate position to take. I understand wanting to play tougher teams, but if you want to quickly destroy your program, then you should move up to the toughest conference in the country so your team can get demolished every week. Players will choose another school and you will see your program (and your school's enrollment) suffer.

Teams change, school enrollment demographics change. Schools need to be able to move between conferences, especially for the smaller-participation sports, like volleyball and golf. Some schools are powerhouses for a few years, then fade, and the teams need to be able to move to a lower conference to compete on a fairer level, then move up again.

That being said, parents lobbying for their school's team to move up usually know very little of recruiting, enrollment trends, and the challenges faced by admissions people and coaches in sustaining a quality program over multiple seasons.

Your post demonstrates a lack of understanding of how this stuff works. Is is about fairness, yes, but what you are asking for isn't fairness; it is for the IAAM to become an irresponsible steward of their constituents' programs and to turn what is a complex and pretty well organized athletic conference into a free for all.

Not gonna happen.

In my line of work and/or life in genral, you only get better by going against the best.
Maybe Mercy can move up, the nuns can throw lots of money at some new recruits. etc. The school is positioned in the city so its more central than Gerstell or Severn or JC.

They went against four A teams and lost three. That is going against what Mercy would consider the best. If your logic was correct, then they should have gone up against McD, SPSG, NDP, Maryvale, GCS, and Spalding.

and BM

I agree - playing stronger teams can help a team improve. Getting decimated is another story.

Perhaps the coaches of the B level teams can arrange a preseason scrimmage or two against some A level teams with the purpose of improving their players. I don't think most A level coaches would refuse that offer, so long as the game didn't get chippy and get players hurt.