Dedicated coaches, parents help beat small-school odds
By Mike Moore
Sports Correspondent
Talent alone can’t explain it.
No doubt, the kids who take the field, court, course, or mat for Catholic Central High School generally have as much natural athletic talent as the opponent across from them. But the case contains too many trophies for that to explain it away.
Sustained success in sports is expected at larger schools, which can skim the best athletes from practically bottomless talent pools. Those like Catholic Central, whose total enrollment hovers around 180, can’t count on a blue-chip freshman falling into their laps every couple of years.
So how can anyone explain the school’s 15 team state championships since the WIAA absorbed WISAA, the organization that previously oversaw Wisconsin’s private school postseason tournaments, in 2000?
Here’s some irony. Gregg Owens, commissioner of the Metro Classic Conference, said one main reason Catholic Central wins is precisely because the coaches emphasize that other things matter.
“They don’t focus just on success and failure. They use those opportunities to help the kids learn and grow,” he said. “They show these kids that they care about them as people as much or more than they do as players.”
Just as importantly, the players support one another through the ups and downs, Owens noted. The history of sports is littered with carcasses of ego-driven teams that succumbed to opponents with less talent but far superior team chemistry.
Community support strong
Between his commissioner duties and the 28 years he officiated games, Owens has learned plenty about the obstacles that small schools face. The constant struggle to fill rosters is the main one, but not the only one. Because so many students compete in multiple sports, he said, an injury during the fall season can significantly affect a winter sport — and so on.
In general, Owens sees a few keys for small schools to stay competitive. One is a steady feeder program where kids are exposed to coaches’ expectations from a young age. Another is community support.
“You can’t have success in these smaller programs without a strong booster club,” Owens said.
Enter Bud Milroy. As president of the Catholic Central Athletic Association since 1996, he credits parents and alumni for enthusiastically supporting the program.
Part of that support comes through volunteering. They staff the concession stand, prepare the field, and raise funds to cover expenses like uniforms, officials, and conference or tournament fees.
But another element of their support begins long before their sons and daughters reach high school. Milroy said Catholic Central parents embody the values that make student-athletes easier to develop and instill those in their children — work ethic, discipline, and support of the coaches, for starters.
“In a special way, they demand success,” he said.
Of course, a family’s influence only travels so far. Good coaching has to turn those values into performance.
“We’ve been able to attract coaches who are dedicated,” Milroy said, “and they love the sport they’re doing.”
Athletic Director Tom Aldrich said he and his fellow coaches avoid the pitfall of judging their teams based on the players’ initial skill level.
“We all try to help develop that talent that comes in the door,” he said.
As head football coach for the Hilltoppers, Aldrich preaches the long view. Rather than obsess about their ability now, he wants players to “see the end picture” of their progression from freshmen to seniors. In keeping with the school’s mission of holistic education, he said that development extends well beyond the day the girls and boys turn in their jerseys for good.
Supporters point out that the coaches who come to Catholic Central typically aren’t the steppingstone type. Head football coach Tom Aldrich and his wife, Julie, both graduated in the 1970s from the school — then known as St. Mary’s — just as their mothers did in the 1950s. All five of the couple’s daughters are Catholic Central alumni, and their extended family piles onto the total.
It’s common for graduates to return and serve as coaches. Kyle Scott, the first-year boys basketball coach, won a state title with the Hilltoppers.
Switch to WIAA not a problem
There was a time that supporters wondered if the supply of championship trophies would be cut off. After Catholic Central dominated private school competition for years, Milroy remembers the uncertainty as the WIAA merger thrust the school’s athletic teams into a much thicker bracket.
Those fears dissipated quickly, as Scott and his teammates won the WIAA Division 4 boys basketball tournament in 2001. The baseball and girls volleyball squads have led the way with five titles apiece.
Hope remains to add to that hardware collection this fall. After a 28-0 rout of Thomas More on Oct. 3 in St. Francis, the Hilltoppers’ football team heads into a first-place showdown with St. Catherine’s on Friday. Both teams come in undefeated in the conference.
“We’ve got a great history and tradition that amazingly carried over from the WISAA,” Milroy said. “We didn’t miss a beat.”
In fact, the success of Wisconsin private schools in recent years has elicited complaints of unfairness from some public school counterparts. A change proposed earlier this year would multiply private schools’ enrollment by 1.65, potentially bumping schools like Catholic Central into higher divisions.
For years, the coaches have heard the concerns that private schools can draw students from a wider area. Milroy said open enrollment, which allows students to attend public schools outside their designated attendance area, has neutralized any advantage that might’ve come in the past. He added that private schools have another obstacle that public schools don’t face: bulky tuition bills.
Athletic directors from two MCC schools are serving on an ad-hoc competition committee to look at a variety of other options to improve the system. Although Milroy knows the perception persists that some private schools in Wisconsin thwart rules by recruiting players, he and other Catholic Central supporters say the reality there is a lot less sinister.
“Our product sells itself, I think.”
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Of course the author declined to name the two biggest reasons why CC is successful in sports.
1. They are a small school, who plays other small schools. (No advantage or disadvantage)
2. They are rich kids. (Huge advantage in training resources, availability of practices, … etc)
What CC is doing is great, but lets not beat around the bush here Mike. The reason CC does well is socioeconomic status.
If I remember correctly, the Track team sent 17 people to the State meet and they don’t even have a track to practice on. The public schools get the tax money to fund their sports and Catholic Central has to come up with the money on their own. Yes they get a large amount of money from donations, but public schools like Burlington have much better facilities then private schools usually. Additionally, not all the kids at the school are “rich”. Some parents just care about their children’s education, sacrificing that extra income to send them to private school. Your “rich kids” comment is completely ignorant.
I would agree that not ALL the kids at the school are “rich”. They may not be rich, but I’m sure they are not poor. The poor and the disabled are not welcomed to CC. To insinuate that if parents cared, they would send their children to CC is completely ignorant. I would bet my house that the average household income for CC is much higher than at BHS. Unless you have facts otherwise, you’re the ignorant one.
They play in a weak division in the State, they would never survive playing against big name schools.
Ask how that worked out for the folks at Whitewater this fall in football and Westosha last winter in basketball.
Both of my kids went through St. Mary’s Grade School and from what I have seen their classmates from the wealthiest families all went to BHS. Same with their friends from St. Charles. Also, I have observed that CC is no longer getting the Division 1 or 2 level athletes like they once did 5-10 years ago or so. This is what made them so dominate in the small school divisions. Not so much anymore. Baseball, basketball and volleyball have really declined. Football it seems has stayed competitive, but I think after this year’s junior class it will decline in talent as well. At the same time, it is great to have a small school option if BHS is not a good fit.
DIVISION 6!! Also, the “angels” that will pay for a good athletes tuition even though he would have been better served at BHS getting special education.
Actually Division 7 for football.
Interesting some of the comments:
1) To Ken/Jenny … regarding your small school comments. The boys basketball team is 3-1 versus the SLC the last two years. The volleyball, softball, football and baseball teams routinely play up during the season and do very well.
2) To Jenny … regarding the socio-economic comments. I believe you are painting with a wide brush. Not accurate to say BCC is all rich kids just as it is inaccurate to say the BHS or Waterford is all poor kids.
3) To Ken … re: weak division comment. How many state championships of ANY kind has the SLC won in recent years? The Metro Classic is one of the THE pre-eminent basketball conferences (boys and girls) in the state. Also for Soccer, XCountry, Track and Volleyball. Also see back to my boys basketball record against the SLC.
Any school of 180 kids has it challenges and opportunities. It was a nice article, not sure I see the reason to be so negative about it.
Let me sum this up easy…….recruitment, recruitment, RECRUITMENT. They steal the better athletes from the surrounding area public schools and ignore the less desireable…..I have seen it happen.
If they are recruiting you must have seen BCC’s 6-5, 270lbs right tackle or the 6-8 Power Forward they needed to match up with St. Cat’s or Dominican in basketball?
Folks,
Come on.. This is where I wish we PARENTS would get off the Rah Rah wagon. To many of you live vicariously through your kids, trying to live up to your old fantasies.
These are all BURLINGTON kids, doesn’t matter what school they go to, we should support them all.
I root for Burlington as my daughter plays at BHS, but I also equally root for Catholic Central when my daughter is not involved. She has friends at Catholic Central.
WE ARE BURLINGTON, leave it at that.. Good Luck, BHS and Catholic Central..
They are good because they have God on their side. BHS has demons on its side, I’ve seen their uniforms.
Not to split hairs, but only about 50% of CC kids are from Burlington. The remainder are from the other feeder schools etc.