Allan Crocker, athletic director at Boothbay Region High School, and BRHS Principal Dan Welch have announced that the school’s girls’ soccer program has canceled the rest of the season’s varsity schedule due to safety concerns due to the low number of players.

In a letter to parents Sept. 12, Welch said Coach Matt Brewer will continue to hold practices and Brewer and Crocker will be working to arrange junior varsity contests throughout the fall. The soccer players will also be eligible to join other sports teams if they so choose.

Below is the letter to the parents of the BRHS soccer players:

Dear Parents,

I wanted to let you know that our girl's soccer game today was cancelled due to lack of available players. Mr. Brewer has informed Mr. Crocker and myself that he has safety concerns moving forward with the season. The three of us met with the team this afternoon to discuss these concerns and plans for the future.

Factors contributing to these concerns included the grade level of many of our players compared to other teams in our conference, the large size of the playing field, and thus significant wear on our athletes from playing an entire game with no subs, the length of a formal contest of 80 minutes, and the sometimes physical nature of the sport.

Therefore, we will not be competing at the varsity level for the remainder of the season. Mr. Brewer is still offering to keep the team together for practices and he and Mr. Crocker will be working to arrange junior varsity contests throughout the fall. Also, all of the team members will be permitted to join another fall sports team if they so choose. If there is still enough to have a junior varsity season then these student-athletes will be eligible to earn their BRHS letters, after season awards, and such.

I completely understand that this may be disappointing and upsetting for some. I can assure you though that we have not taken this decision lightly and your student's well-being is of our utmost concern.

I apologize if I have missed any parent's email so please feel free to forward this along.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.

Thank you

Dan Welch

Principal

Boothbay Region High School