Look out, here come the Haybalers
I was looking at all of the Central Coast Section titles that
were won by teams from San Benito High and the list seems to grow
with each passing year
– especially over the past decade.
Look out, here come the Haybalers
I was looking at all of the Central Coast Section titles that were won by teams from San Benito High and the list seems to grow with each passing year – especially over the past decade.
The $50,000 question is why are the Baler teams so dominant across the board all of a sudden? I have the answer, but before I get to that, just look at what the Haybaler sports program has done in the past decade.
In addition to winning a slew of league titles, San Benito High has proven to be one of the top schools in the entire CCS – a section that includes 138 schools from South San Francisco to King City.
The numbers don’t lie.
The Balers won a CCS football title in 2005, and were runner-ups in the section playoffs four more times since 1999.
The softball team won its first CCS title just a year ago, and will most likely win it all again this year. Not to mention the Baler softball team was runner up in the tournament in both 2003 and 2001.
The school’s girl’s volleyball team won it all last fall, and was runner up in 2005, 2004 and 2001.
The Baler boys cross country team also won a section title in 2003 and finished second in 2004. And the wrestling team, winners of the 2002 section title, has been one of the top programs in the section now for a number of years.
So why is this happening? It is the school colors or the unique Mascot? No. It’s not the coaches either, although outstanding coaching is a big part of the success.
The real reason could be found in a real estate 101 class. Just as Morgan Hill’s Acorns of Live Oak High School were a major public school force, 1980s and midway through the 1990s, San Benito High is reaping those same benefits now.
As the housing prices soared in the Bay Area, young families first opted to settle in the more-affordable areas such as Morgan Hill and Gilroy in the 1970s. As prices in those areas soared beyond most peoples’ budgets in the 1990s, those same young families that stopped renting in the Bay Area for the opportunity to own a home in Morgan Hill and Gilroy decided to travel a little further to be able to afford a home, and came to San Benito County in droves.
At the time, most of those future Balers were toddlers and infants. But guess what? Today they are of high school age, and the Baler athletic program is reaping the benefits. Similar situations are happening in both Salinas and Los Banos. There are just more families in those areas today than there are in areas like Morgan Hill and other wealthy areas like Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Los Altos, to name a few.
For that reason many schools along the Peninsula are seeing enrollment numbers dropping off as the members of the community pass their child-bearing years. It’s pretty simple math.
There aren’t too many young families with small children that can afford a $1.4 million home in Mountain View, which is why Mountain View, which once had a need for two high schools now has one with declining enrollment numbers.
I suppose the private schools will never be impacted by this phenomena, since they fall under a different demographic profile altogether.
And as soon as home prices in the Hollister area climb another $100k, don’t be surprised if the high school’s sports programs’ records begin to suffer on the playing field about a decade later.
So enjoy it now Balers because the huge pool of athletic talent that has engulfed the school over the past decade may start to dwindle down a bit in time, whether or not a new high school is built by then.
In the mean time keep cheering for the bobble-headed farmer with the pitchfork as he is clearly in his heyday.
