Off-Field Ruling by CIF Left Him Out in Left Field

Anyone interested in resolving why Bobby Cole did it, why he tried out and played on the girls’ field hockey team at Marina High School, need only look in his eyes as he watches the team practice.

Cole still attends practice every day, though he was forced to quit the team five games into the season, a fact that put him on the local TV news and in the local newspapers.

That’s the reason, some say, Cole did what he did.

Publicity.

But watch him track the movement of play, oblivious of what else is going on around him, and realize a simple fact. Cole enjoys the game.

One moment he’s an observer, the next, with action stopped, he springs to the nearest stick to bat a ball around for a minute or two. Then back to the bench, back to study.

Cole, a senior, calls it dedication. During his playing days he was so dedicated that he made little fuss over the Marina field hockey uniform, which included a kilt.

“It was no biggie, I wanted to play,” he said. “Hey, it takes guts to put a skirt on.”

About 20 Southern Section member high schools offer field hockey, according to Karen Hellyer, Southern Section administrator. Though field hockey is sanctioned, the Southern Section does not sponsor championships for it. The Southern Section has never offered it as a boys’ sport.

“I really believe Bobby just wanted to play field hockey,” said Dr. Ira Toibin, Marina principal. “I know some people have said that he did it for the attention, but after talking to him, I can tell he really likes the game. I feel for him, but the rule is pretty clear.”

In general, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) provides that if a school offers a sport only for boys, a girl may try out for that team. These are classified as student teams.

Sports such as football and water polo are student teams. Eight girls played water polo at Marina last fall.

But if a boy wishes to play a sport offered only for girls, he must petition the CIF and show that “the opportunities in the total sports program for boys have been limited in comparison to the total sports program for girls.”

Therefore, when CIF officials rejected Cole’s appeal to return to the team, administrators ruled that Marina offered enough sports to give Cole an alternative. It said boys’ soccer was comparable to field hockey.

Cole claims the interpretation is a double standard.

“If girls are allowed to play sports that aren’t offered directly to them, why shouldn’t I?” he asked. “I’ve played AYSO soccer and I didn’t like it. I like field hockey, I don’t like soccer. Why can’t I play the sport I want to?”

Toibin said: “I agree there is a certain amount of inequity in the rule, but that’s necessary. I think it’s necessary to protect the integrity of girls’ sports.

“If you’re an athletic director or school administrator, it makes a lot of sense. But, I suppose if you’re with the ACLU, you’d have an entirely different view.”

Cole said he’s considering going to the ACLU to see what avenues are open to him. Only a league resolution to the CIF can affect any change in the organization’s by-laws.

Ray Plutko, Southern Section commissioner, said he doesn’t believe Cole has much of a case.

“There is no inequity in the rule,” he said. “Boys still have each more opportunities in sport.

“If you look, boys have programs on every level: freshman, sophomore, junior varsity and varsity. Girls haven’t built their programs to that extent yet. That will only come through years of allowing them to grow.”

Administrators and coaches worry that if Cole, who weighs 125 points, were allowed to participate, it would lead to participation by bigger boys.

“The concern isn’t with Bobby himself,” said Bonnie Stormont, Marina athletic director. “There are a lot of girls out there who are bigger than him.

“But what happens when football players decide they want to play? If I was a father I wouldn’t want my daughter playing with an 160-pound boy with a stick in his hand.

“A lot of people are worried that if you set a precedent like this, it could seriously endanger girls’ athletics. I personally worry about softball. If boys said they would rather play softball instead of baseball and were allowed on the girls’ team, what then?”

Cole has participated in sports at Marina since he arrived at the school. He played baseball his freshman and sophomore years, and wrestled for three years.

But baseball became boring he said, and wrestling became exhausting. He weighs 125 pounds, yet wrestled at 114.

“I didn’t want to go through the hell of starving myself again this year,” he said. “I wanted to eat something else besides a salad.”

He once dropped 3 1/2 pounds in a day last year. He had had enough. Well, he had had enough wrestling, but he still wanted to play a sport. A team sport. And apparently for all the right reasons.

“I just wanted to play for the fun of it and try something new,” he said. And then, embarrassed at the wholesomeness of it all, he joked, “And for good citizenship and love of my neighbor and my country and . . . “

He considered volleyball but Viking Coach Tim Reed told him there wouldn’t be much chance of him playing. Then he heard about field hockey and decided to try out.

“He just showed up one day,” said Shelly Holman, field hockey coach. “I didn’t think twice about letting him try out. He worked his way up like everyone else.

Holman described Cole as a good player; he scored one goal and had an assist in four games.

“No one ever said anything about it,” Holman said. “In fact, every one was for it.”

That is until someone, Holman still isn’t sure who, complained to the school about Cole. Toibin informed Cole that if he continued to play, the team might be forced to forfeit its games. The Vikings forfeited all preseason games Cole participated in. The Vikings are 1-3 in Sunset League play.

So, it seems that Cole must be content to watch, instead of play. He has plans of joining a men’s league in the spring, and thinks there’s an outside chance of getting a boys’ team organized at Marina by next season.

“I wish I was a year younger, so when they got this whole thing solved I could play,” Cole said. “That’s all I ever wanted to do was play.”