Middle School soccer now has a third team, per the Middle School’s new athletic rule.

“We still have a varsity team. We still have a JV team,” Head of Middle School Mr. Patrick Sillup said. But now the entire sixth grade 3 team is active thanks to a new rule in the Malvern Middle School sports program that forbids cuts.

The conversation about MS sports started in February 2015, stemming from parent complaints, Sillup said.

We want students to feel welcomed, Sillup said. “People are more passionate.”

Sillup said he doesn’t care about winning records as much as “that sense of community.”

“After seeing the number of students that were interested…we wanted to offer all the kids sports,” Athletic Director Mr. Kurt Ruch said. “We went back to the way we used to be.”

“We’ll probably see a difference [once] basketball starts,” he said. “As of right now everyone seems to be happy and enjoying it so far.”

“I don’t think it will affect the chances [of winning],” Hans Keirnan ‘21 said. “There’s still gonna be the Varsity and the JV, but they’re gonna have a third team for kids who want to get better at basketball.”

Varsity Soccer Coach Chris DeVido loves the idea and thinks Malvern Middle School is a “safe environment” for kids who have never tried a sport before and that ”we cheer for those type of kids.”

“They have a fun time,” said DeVido. “Even if we make more teams, [it’s an] opportunity that everybody should get.”

“I think this is good,” he said. “It adds in a piece of unity.”

Scott Strathan ’20 disagrees. “It honestly sucks. You’re not gonna get everything you want,” he said.

The Middle School should “start thinking about cuts,” Sidney Mathues ’20 said.

“The pro is that everyone gets playing time,” Tommy Simpson ’21 said. “The cons would be you might lose more games.”

“I think [the policy] is good,” DeVido said. “This year has been highly successful.”