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Stratford Steps Up to 6A

By Bayle Goldman, Stratford High School, School Buzz Editor | August 30, 2016

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Stratford's varsity football team hunkered down for a play in the first 6A game of the season on Friday, Aug. 26. (Photo: Presley Graves)

This year, Stratford High School is a member of UIL District 156A. UIL, or the University Interscholastic League, realigned schools last spring according to their enrollment. This change for Stratford will affect both athletics, fine arts and UIL academics by placing our school in a region with new competition. Though it is one of the smallest 6A schools in the state of Texas with barely 2,000 students, according to building principal Danny Gex, Stratford is ready to take on new competition and make new friends this year.

“I think our experience with the 5A schools was great and we made some great friends in those schools and I’m sure that it will be the same hopefully with our 6A schools,” he added.

“Our entire district, all of our schools, will be in the same UIL district, which we have not been in the past 6 years. It unites our district again,” Athletic Director Eliot Allen said. “We’re excited about the opportunity to compete at the highest classification in Texas and we are excited to be back with our district as a whole with Northbrook, Memorial and Spring Woods,” said Gex.

Another result of the school realignment is the route for playoff and regional competitions for sports such as football, cross country, and golf. Stratford was moved into Region 2, which when talking about the playoff route, is up in South Dallas, North Austin and Waco.

“All of our events will be in Waco now, which will be a bit of a travel disadvantage. If you have a regional tournament, there’s a good chance you’ll have to stay in Waco overnight,” Allen said. Luckily, SBISD was able to approve a budget change to help schools with transportation to their events.

One thing that isn’t changing, however, is the dedication and spirit of both the coaches and the athletes.

“I don’t think we do anything different. We’re still coaching kids and trying to be the best that we can possibly be so there’s really no difference in preparation or approach. It’s still just going out and trying to win a game,” Allen explained before adding, “We’re excited to start the season.”