Waverly and Franklin have been in a sports co-op since the late 1990’s. The co-op
started originally with the sports of track and cross country. These sports started the co-
op to give both school’s athletes a chance to compete in other sports that were not
offered in their home school. These original co-ops were extremely successful and were
the basis for the steady increase in the growth of our co-op with Franklin. In 2006 we
expanded the co-op to girls’ volleyball in Franklin and girls basketball in Waverly and
also boys and girls golf at Waverly. These sports have been together since then and
have been very successful since the 2006 season. As the number of athletes steadily
decreased between the two schools there was a long discussion between the
administrations and school boards to develop a full high school sports co-op. The two
groups finally came to an agreement and the South County high school sports co-op
started in the 2014-15 sports season. At that time the student bodies of both schools
were given choices of a co-op name and mascot to vote on as a whole. The students
selected the name South County and the mascot of the Vipers. We have been the South
County Vipers for all high school sports since that inaugural year. The athletes have
100% bought into the co-op and see each other simply as teammates. Athletes don’t
look at one and other as Franklin or Waverly students, they simply look at them as South
County athletes. During this past year the administration asked for input from the
coaches and boards of education, as this was a renewal year for the intergovernmental
agreement between the two schools. Through those discussions and suggestions the co-
op committee has met several times to come to a new agreement for the next two
years. At the end of the discussions is was agreed and approved by the boards to enter
a full sports and activity co-op for the junior high and high school programs. This
decision now means that the junior high programs will be recognized as the South
County Vipers for all sports and activities. All things were taken into consideration,
coach’s recommendations, participation numbers and what the committee felt was best
for the athletes in both districts. We look forward to the next step of the co-op and
know that it will continue to be as successful as it has been since the start of sharing of
sports in the 1990’s.
Andrea Guerrero, Ph.D., Ed.S.
Superintendent Waverly CUSD #6
201 North Miller Street
Waverly, IL 62692
217-435-8121
[email protected]