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CANTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Parents and coaches are having mixed feelings after the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association updated its tournament power rankings to decide seeding and qualification for the postseason.
Before the update, it was all regionalized with tournaments being broken down into sections, now it will be one large statewide tournament bracket. Seeds are determined by a power ranking system utilized by the MIAA.
Danny Erickson, Athletic Director at Canton High School, has spent 30 years coaching and thinks the move is a step in the right direction toward equity.
"Before with the vast differences of competitiveness within leagues and amongst leagues you'd run into a lot of brackets that weren't properly seeded," Erickson told WBZ's Chris Fama.
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While he sees the positive impact of the statewide tournament bracket, he does see the downside for parents. Under the updated power ranking system, students from Newburyport can be pitted against athletes from Northhampton and teams from Clinton against Cohasset, making longer trips for parents across the state who want to watch their children play.
"Trying to plan trips to Norwood and Dedham from Canton is a lot easier than planning trips to Tantasqua Regional and Nauset High School," Erickson said.
Football and girls' volleyball released their brackets on October 31, with field hockey and girls' and boys' soccer to be released by the MIAA in the coming days to follow.
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