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posted 10/12/2009 As most of you know, the Wellesley CYO program is comprised of two parish programs, St. John and St. Paul, and participates in a league including two Framingham parishes, St. Tarcisius and Marian. While the Wellesley teams dominate in terms of the number of players, the league typically produces balanced results among the parishes. We find the play among the 4 programs keeps the league challenging and interesting for the kids. As in the past, you do not have to be Catholic, nor do you have to attend one of the churches, to participate.
Among the two Wellesley programs, participation is based generally on where you live in town: if you live west of Cliff and Abbott roads, you should join the St. Paul program; if you live to the east of those roads, you should join the St. John program. The exceptions to this general geographical rule relate to (i) where you attend mass and (ii) where you attend school or have an affiliation with either parish, as applicable. In each of those cases, you should join the program of your parish/school/affiliation. I cannot speak to the origins of this rule, I believe it generally follows the districting of parishioners. Regardless, it is one that we have followed for some time, though I can honestly say that enforcement is another issue--neither the St. John nor St. Paul programs have the time to run a plot of the registered players against a town map. However, migration among the programs other than in accordance with the exceptions stated above occasionally becomes an issue, and is one that we greatly discourage for a number of reasons. We hope that you respect the established rule.
Another issue that gets raised annually relates to our age requirements, set forth in other places on this website.
These are not waivable. We have to certify the ages to the other programs at the start of the season. Children that are not yet 9, though likely as gifted on the court as their parents tell us, cannot play in our league. Similarly, undersized children, or children that are "old for their grade" in school, cannot play down in a younger league. It pains us to not make exceptions, even if we know it may be the best course of action, but we cannot play favorites.
Our goal is to make the season a fun and enjoyable experience, with some learning and development on the court, for as many kids as possible. We accept that the positions of the league and programs outlined above may at times run counter to this goal, and that is a painful reality. Thank you for your time and consideration in reading this note, and I hope it has been useful in explaining a few details.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions about our program.
Enjoy the Season!
Ken Jones
