MPA rules against Hampden girl

Two years ago, Heidi Snow was living with her boyfriend’s family, smoking and sporadically attending Hampden Academy.

Now 18, Snow is back in her mother’s home, has raised her grades and quit smoking. Part of her turnaround has been working out with the Hampden girls soccer team this summer, and Snow was excited by the possibility of playing with the Broncos this fall.

But Snow will have to watch from the bleachers this season. The Maine Principals’ Association has ruled that Snow, a fifth-year senior at Hampden, doesn’t fit a special circumstances exception of the MPA eligibility rules.

MPA Executive Director Richard Tyler said the committee’s decision was unanimous.

“The committee felt that her set of circumstances didn’t rise to the level to be granted an extra semester of eligibility,” Tyler said.

Tyler said the committee probably reviewed six to eight cases during that meeting and possibly granted two exceptions. He added that the committee reviews each case for 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the amount of information.

“I just don’t believe that those guys can make a decision like that,” Snow said. “They never even met me or talked to me. It’s like they can wave a wand and make decisions for people.”

The MPA, which regulates high school athletics in Maine, allows each student eight consecutive semesters of athletic eligibility. Snow will be entering her ninth semester at Hampden Academy and therefore has used up her eligibility.

According to Article III, Section 2 of the association’s by-laws, the MPA Committee on Eligibility can grant an additional 18 weeks (one semester) if the student was absent for one or more semesters due to illness or military service or because the student withdrew from school to assume the full financial responsiblity for the family due to the illness or incapacity of a parent.

There is also a special exemptions allowance, which is the route Hampden took in sending Snow’s case to the MPA.

Tyler explained that a special exemption involves something that a student does not have control over, such as a period of hospitalization.

“By giving her an extra semester of eligibility, some student that we can’t see and don’t know is denied a chance,” he said. “The circumstances have to be strong enough to waive the eligibility rules. We don’t do that very often.”

Snow found out last Friday that she would not be able to play her “passion.”

“It was like a punch in the stomach,” Snow said. “I was upset. I dropped the phone and ran up to my brother’s room and bawled.”

Hampden coach Randy Dodge said he was disappointed by the MPA’s decision.

“A lot of my players wanted her to play because she comes out and plays hard,” he said. “It take a lot of guts and maturity to come back. But we have to abide by the ruling.”

Snow played soccer in her freshman and sophomore years at Hampden.

She said she didn’t play during her junior year away from home because she didn’t want to impose on her boyfriend’s family.

“His parents couldn’t afford it. I didn’t have a [driver’s] license and they couldn’t take me to the practices,” Snow said. “And it wouldn’t have been the same without my mom there.”

MPA rules state that Hampden can appeal the committee’s decision if the school can submit “new evidence of a substantial nature” to the committee within 15 days of the original decision. Snow’s mother Diana Burke has contacted Sen. Olympia Snowe’s office about possibly appealing to the MPA on Snow’s behalf.

Snow has resigned herself to being a fan this season. Her next goal is to play soccer at the University of Maine-Farmington and become an English teacher. She said she also wants to make sure other kids in her situation have more recourse.

“There were so many problems,” she said. “I was going through one of those teen-age phases. I didn’t get to play when I needed to. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”