State soccer largely a private matter

It makes one wonder how the public/private split voted on recently by the MSHSAA members didn't pass.

Boys soccer is one of the sports that private schools dominate, along with boys and girls tennis, girls golf and to a lesser extent, boys golf and girls soccer.

There have been 70 champions crowned in boys soccer -- including two co-championships -- and only seven have been won by public schools. The last was Oakville in Class 4 in 2000, before the split to three classifications for the 2002 season.

Since the addition of a third class, 59 of the 84 teams that have made the final four have been private schools, and all 18 champions have been private schools.

Public schools only once (2004) made up as much as half the field.

This year's showing, with just two public schools in the largest classification, is the least since 2002, when just one public school made the Class 2 field while St. Louis' Metro Catholic Conference had three of the Class 3 final four.

Three public schools went in 2003 -- one in each class -- the year Cape Central lost 3-2 to eventual champion St. Louis University High in two overtimes.

In a couple of MSHSAA sports, I don't think it's a bad idea to contest brackets separately with a crossover game at the end of season. New York's state basketball tournament crowns a public school champion before pitting that team against the top private school or a school from New York City's public schools league for an overall championship.

In order to continue encouraging smaller schools especially to take up the sport as a fall offering, it might be a good idea. Class 1 had the smallest public school representation at the state tournament, with just one team each year from 2003 to 2007 and none in 2002 or this year.

In addition, private schools won six of eight districts in Class 2, and seven of eight -- including Missouri Military Academy -- in Class 1.

That decreases the incentive for a school to add a sport with less chance of celebrating the success of a district championship, let alone any kind of state title.