File photo courtesy of Shelly Phillips Frewsburg senior Trent Lewis is pictured in a Southwestern uniform this season. Lewis and his fellow Frewsburg players weren’t sure if they would have a season this year, but the merged Frewsburg/Southwestern team ended up winning the Section 6 Class C championship.

The Southwestern-Frewsburg football team was a success on the field.

Judging from the result of a survey reviewed recently by the Southwestern Central School Board of Education, it was a success off the field, too.

A discussion on the shared sports took place at the most recent meeting on Dec. 16. The survey particularly pertained to football and cheerleading, which were merged with Frewsburg Central School for the first time this year, according to district Superintendent Molly Moore. Moore stated that the surveys were distributed to all of the athletes, parents, and coaches from both districts and sports. The board meeting included a presentation detailing the general results of both surveys.

Of the 48 responses that were received in the football survey, 20 came from Frewsburg and 29 came from Southwestern. Of these submissions nine were coaches, nine were players, and the remaining 29 were parents or guardians. Participants reported an overall incredibly positive experience it seems. Questions included asking about how participants would describe the season, to which the most popular answer was excellent, and asked to describe how the schools came together, which the most number of people listed as very well.

The cheerleading team saw 24 responses, with eleven being from Frewsburg and thirteen being from Southwestern. Of those who answered two were coaches, ten were parents or guardians, and twelve were athletes. While only two people listed the season’s experience as excellent, over half of the survey participants did select good. Additionally, half of those that participated in the survey felt that the two schools were able to come together very well.

Moore noted that the district’s Athletic Director Kevin Salisbury was present at the meeting, and detailed some of his thoughts on the findings. Salisbury stated that the varsity football banquet actually took place the night before, and stated that seniors that were saying goodbye had nothing but amazing comments on the season. Salisbury stated that every senior made comments that expressed gratitude for the shared sports systems. Moore stated that these findings were shared with the board, and will be used to help make an official decision on if the program will continue in future seasons.

The vote for the shared athletic renewal is expected to take place at the board of education meeting in January, according to Moore. While the district is gauging reactions to the various shared sports that are active at the moment, Moore noted that the board is not currently looking into expanding to share any other sports currently.