The Coshocton County Beacon August 26, 2020 | Page 4

4 • The Beacon August 26, 2020
River View and Coshocton join MVL
By Jen Jones
TheCoshoctonBeaconToday.com
It’s been a two-year process, but
both River View and Coshocton
have moved from the East Central
Ohio League into the Muskingum
Valley League. Both schools sent
letters of interest to the MVL in
spring 2018.
Charles Rinkes, principal at
RVHS, and Tim Fortney, athletic
director at Coshocton, said when the
ECOL changed from 10 teams and
two divisions to one division with
eight teams, they felt it was time for
a change for their schools.
“
We didn’t want
to leave the ECOL,
because it was easy
travel for our athletes
and their families, but
we feel that the MVL
will be the better fit for
us.
” Charles Rinkes
“We felt it made the league unstable.
When we went into the ECOL,
we had a much larger enrollment,
and we could compete with the
larger schools. Our enrollment is
down, and we just can’t compete on
a consistent basis,” Rinkes said.
Fortney agreed, saying one of
the advantages is more balanced
competition for all of their sports
programs grade 7-12. “We will be
competing against schools that are
basically our own size within the
MVL small division,” he said.
Fortney also said the school
would have the opportunity to compete
for a league championship
within the small division. Both
Rinkes and Fortney said moving
into the MVL would allow them
to still compete in the River View/
Coshocton “backyard” rivalry.
“We didn’t want to leave the
ECOL,” Rinkes said, “because it
was easy travel for our athletes and
their families, but we feel that the
MVL will be the better fit for us.
There is a big difference between
rural and suburban kids. I never used
to think that, but I see it all the time
now. We are a small rural school.
Our kids can’t just run down the
street for practice or a game of ball
with their friends. Suburban kids do
have an advantage. The MVL has
more rural schools, like ours.”
The biggest disadvantage both
schools feel will be the increased
travel time. Many of the ECOL
teams are near Interstate 77 and have
easy access. The MVL teams are not
as accessible.
“There will be some increased
travel for varsity events, but the
MVL scheduler has done an outstanding
job trying to help reduce
junior high travel. Additionally, the
construction of North Pointe Drive
as a shortcut to the Zanesville area
has significantly reduced travel time
to many MVL schools over the past
few years,” Fortney said.
Support for the move has been
strong in both districts, as the schools
have not been able to be as competitive
in many sports as athletes and
fans would like.
“The imbalance has been very
challenging for many of our students
and parents. I think the MVL will
give our kids a better chance to compete,”
Fortney said.
Both districts hope that with
competing against smaller schools,
more students might participate in
their athletic programs.
Coshocton sophomore Ella Baylor will defend the goal against MVL teams this year.
Submitted
Submitted
Coshocton High School volleyball seniors: Evelyn Hire, left, Kindall Shaw, Belle Miller, Lexi Williams and Taylor Moats.