Following a community meeting that saw dozens of parents and players pack the large group instruction room at Hoosic Valley High School on Wednesday night, the administration and school board have officially decided to reinstate the varsity football team for the upcoming season. 
    The meeting was called after school officials informed the team on Tuesday that they would be forced to cancel the season due to low numbers. Hoosic Valley's varsity football team was forced to forfeit the final two games of the 2012 season because of injuries and number issues as well. 
    The school board had originally decided to attempt to field a football team again in June, citing 38 students who had signed up as potentially interested athletes. However, when officials were given a roster earlier this week that showed only 29 players, there was concern over the number and whether or not freshman would be playing at a varsity level. 
    However, during Wednesday's meeting an up-to-date team roster was presented to school officials, showing 31 players on the team - the majority of whom are actually upperclassmen. That, coupled with outcry from the community at cancelling the entire season, forced the school administration to reexamine its original decision. 
    “The board is going to review the numbers and the decision to keep safety in mind,” interim superintendent Amy Goodell said on Wednesday night. “We wanted to get the input from all the constituents and it looks like the roster has changed, so we’ll take that into consideration as well.”
    The Indians were able to continue practicing during the week and will have enough players and enough practice-time to compete in their Week 1 matchup against Whitehall. 

It was announced earlier this week that NYS, under the jurisdiction of the National Federation of State High School Assocations, will be making some changes to the game's rules in preparation for the eventual 2014 spring season. There will be 19 overall rule changes.

So, what does this all boil down to? Essentially, it's making the game a heck of a lot faster and, most likely, a little more hectic when it comes to actually player.

Under the cut, check out some of the bigger changes now facing Section II lax teams. It may be only August, but next spring is going to be quite a bit more interesting.

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CBA forward and rising senior Greg Stire has one less thing to worry about before heading into his final year of high school.

The basketball standout, and multi-year varsity starter, verbally committed to the University at Albany earlier this week, keeping his talent local and adding another variable to coach Will Brown's dynamic team.

"I liked Coach Brown and the whole coaching staff there," Stire said of his decision. "I liked the school a lot. Plus, I'll be close to home as well, so I liked that too."

Stire, who most recently competed in the BCANY Summer Hoop Fest with the championship Adirondack squad, averaged just over 17 points per game with the Brothers last season and was a threat both inside and outside the paint.

While the chance to go to college locally was an exciting prospect, Stire was simply looking for a program that fit his qualities as a basketball player.

"That wasn't really one of my factors but it'll definitely be cool," he said of eventually playing at SEFCU Arena. "I'm just ready to learn a lot from them. I'm excited."

With his college decision out of the way, Stire, a first-team Big 10 all star last season, is ready to simply focus on his final season of high school hoops and getting CBA back to a championship.

"I don't have to worry about where I have to go to college now," he said. "It allows me to focus on just getting my grades right and my high school season."