Officials and members of the media converged on Coca-Cola Park, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, for the annual District 11 press conference on Tuesday.

One of the highlights was the announcement that the district was extending its partnership with St. Luke’s Sports Medicine for another five years, building on the relationship that has been in place since 2014.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the great people at St. Luke’s University Health Network for assisting us in so many of the great things we do in District 11,” said chairman and Whitehall Athletic Director Bob Hartman. “We are incredibly fortunate, as fortunate as anybody, within the entire PIAA framework to have such an outstanding health network behind us, to provide us with awesome care for our athletes, day-in, and day-out, especially during our championship series.”

Going up

Starting pitchers might be on the mound a little longer next spring.

Gone is the 100-pitch maximum for each outing. Beginning with the district playoffs and continuing through the state tournament, pitchers will now be able to throw 105 pitches per outing, and 210 in a week.

“The reasoning is, you keep the “better pitcher” in a little bit longer, which might change the game a little bit,” said baseball chairman Scott Cooperman. “But at the same point, you’re not doing any tremendous harm to his arm, and you’re now three months into the season, so you should be healthier and be able to go a little bit longer.”

Cooperman noted the change is a compromise, adding that allowing for the increase came with thoughts of competition and health in mind.

“Some in the area want more,” he said. “They want pitchers to go 110, 115, and all that. Myself, with having three boys that played high school and at the college level, pitching-wise, to me, 100 is enough. Over the long haul, we look at it in terms of someone’s career.

“This is just baby steps, because this is high school. They do want to get to the next level, and college. For this, we want to make sure we’re helping the coaches out to make healthy decisions for the student-athlete.”

Reduction coming?

Wrestling, like every other sport, is a numbers game.

In recent years, those numbers have been trending in the wrong direction - and people have taken notice.

“One thing that is out there on the horizon, both the PIAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) are considering, is a reduction in weight classes,” said District 11 chairman Bob Hartman. “Currently, there are 14 classes, and the sentiment is that that’s too many.”

“We saw a statistic this summer that there are only seven percent of dual meets in Pennsylvania that have 14 fully-contested weights. And that number is really bad. It’s not just Pennsylvania, it’s nationally, therefore the federation was taking a look at that.”

Hartman noted that a change was not imminent, though it could be something worth monitoring.

“That’s something that’s out there on the horizon, likely not until the next two-year cycle,” he said.

As for this season, Freedom and Liberty will once again host the Class 2A and 3A district tournaments. Liberty will again be the site of the Northeast Regional the following week, while the Southeast event will remain at Wilson West Lawn High School.

New-look

The 2018-19 school year brought with it the start of a new two-year cycle, which meant several changes in the district classifications for many schools.

All of the movement means a new look for the postseason in several sports, one that will be most noticeable for football.

While the Class 1A and 3A tournaments will be self-contained to four District 11 squads, the Class 5A event will be a sub-regional event with District 2.

“So we’ll pick those top four we have negotiated with them, where if we can pair up a District 2 team with a District 2 team, and a District 11 team versus a District 11 team to declare our district championships on the field, that is what we’ll do, regardless of their rank,” said football chairman Jason Zimmerman.

“In 5A, if it’s two District 2s and two District 11s, they’re gonna play for the district championship in Week 11, and then the two champions will meet the following week. One year, District 2 will host, the following year, District 11 will host, and vice versa. The Week 11 game would be at a neutral site.”

Class 2A is a sub-region with District 12, something Zimmerman noted might be a little more difficult.

“Class 2A gets a little tricky,” he said. “In 2A in District 11 (there) is going to be guaranteed two qualifiers, and District 12 will be guaranteed one qualifier. That fourth qualifier will be the next highest-ranked team. We couldn’t negotiate something where, if it’s two District 12 teams and two District 11 teams, that they meet.”

Zimmerman broke down a possible scenario involving District 12 teams Bishop McDevitt and West Catholic.

“Let’s say West Catholic plays Palmerton, and Bishop McDevitt plays Schuylkill Haven, and both those District 11 teams lose,” he said. “Could we face off those District 11 teams the following week for a District 11 title? Bob (Hartman) and I are still working through that.”

Hartman noted that because Districts 2, 4 and 11 use the same power rating system, that playoff will go to the higher seeded team.

In Class 4A and 6A, eight District 11 teams qualify.

Friday night, fans will see Class 1A, 3A, 5A and 6A. Saturday’s will be reserved for 2A and 4A. This was done with media in mind and to make sure there are enough sites to host the championships, which will once again be going to a neutral site.

Sites and sounds

The Class 3A and 5A baseball championship games are back at Coca-Cola Park the Tuesday after Memorial Day. The Class 6A and 2A contests will be on Wednesday at Coca-Cola Park.

“A new facility we’re bringing in this year for our semifinals and possibly championships is DeSales University,” said Cooperman. “They are building a 650-capacity stadium which will be ready for this spring. They have lights, and we’re very excited to have that facility along with Lehigh University, Pottsville, Pine Grove, Parkland and Easton like we’ve done in the past.”

DeSales University is also expected to be used for softball championship games.

Money matters

In addressing the district’s financial impact items, treasurer Tom Moll noted that ticket prices will go up to $7 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens. Football and basketball, where tickets can be purchased in advance, will be $7 for everyone at the game.

Moll noted that several factors necessitated the increase.

One thing the district would like to continue to do is pay each member school’s PIAA dues, an amount that was $43,475 for the 2018-19 school year.

The district is also on the verge of signing a new contract with its TV partners after the previous agreement ran out at the end of last year.

“At the end of each year we would always evaluate our financial position. With the increased classes and additional items, it’s been a tougher go for us,” said Moll. “We are fortunate to have a great partnership with RCN, Blue Ridge and Service Electric, and that contract with all three of those media outlets ran out at the end of the last school year. We are in the process of finalizing an agreement with all three.

“We are fortunate with the media coverage that we get, especially with the television media coverage that we get, having three local media coverage to cover our games. I’m pretty sure that anywhere else in the state, that does not happen. That broadcasting agreement will be a three-year contract that will start this year, and we’re happy with where we are with that agreement.”

Taking away

There will be one change coming to this year’s District 11 Cross Country Championships in that there will now be five individuals and one team going to states from the Class 2A girls race.

In the past,it had been two teams and 10 individuals.