The tiers are reevaluated every two years based on the size of the school and how each is competing. Each section must have the same number of teams so that it is balanced. 

"The goal of making sure the leagues are even in both size and competition is so that there will be as many champions as possible,” Dever says. “It helps prevent one team from dominating for multiple years.”

AHS switched out because the "GBL was starting to break up, and the DCL was looking for two teams, one for the large and small tier, and AHS was a perfect fit along with Waltham," Dever says.
 
Another reason, he says, was that the DCL could get two Super Bowl births for football, one from each tier. This is still being determined, however.

"The goal of making sure the leagues are even
in both size and competition is so that
there will be as many champions as possible.
It helps prevent one team from dominating
for multiple years."

Ted Dever, AHS athletics director

All AHS teams are part of the small tier of the DCL, but their schedules vary, because not all the other schools have a team for each sport. The division also varies depending on the sport.

Hockey is different in both aspects. That's because it is Division I and is also combined with the Merrimack Valley League as well as the Dual County because of the lack of teams.

Responses positive to 2-tier

Responses from teams have been positive regarding the two-tier system. Senior cross-country captain John Jantz says, "It was probably a good idea because it is a big league, and it needs to be split up."

Another senior, Trevor Pitts, of the football team, agrees because "better teams compete against better opponents, and it gives the smaller teams more of a chance."

The transformation has been as smooth as it could be, considering that according to Mr. Dever he is the “only athletic director in the DCL who is not full time.” The games have been easy enough to plan and carry out.
 
It has not been as smooth for the parents of athletes because they have all these new places they must find if they wish to watch the games involving their son or daughter. They must travel farther, and it is costly, considering the gas prices.
 
Comparisons between the DCL and GBL vary from sport to sport, but most athletes would say that it is a new test that they are happy to accept. Jantz likes the change because "it is more competitive, and it means more to get a win."
 
Transitioning has involved major adjustments for all the teams.

"The football team has had to learn the offenses and defenses of new [lineups]," Pitts says.

Jantz adds, "The programs are a lot bigger and serious, and we have to run more in the woods rather than parks."

Every team makes changes 

Every team has had to make changes. Senior Erik Gonsiorowski says, "the boy's soccer team has been playing to contain more and [has been] able to stack up well against physical and fast players who have skill to alter a game in a heartbeat. We changed our formation to try and account for this, but we are still fiddling with new ways to win games."

Another negative is that the towns
are more different than those in the GBL.

John Jantz, Senior cross-country captain 

When comparing individual talent from each league, it appears that the GBL has more individual athletes who can dominate what they do, while in the Dual County the players are more rounded and able to do multiple things well.

The thought that the school benefits from changing leagues is correct, but also incorrect.

Dever says that a "better fit is the Middlesex League as a school due to travel arrangements, but the GBL was breaking up and we needed a place to go."

The traveling for the Middlesex League teams would be much easier considering they all are nearby, whereas Dual County teams are farther away. "Another negative is that the towns are more different than those in the GBL," Jantz says.

Teams in the DCL seem to be wealthier than those in the GBL, and this allows them to have upgraded fields that are not as plentiful in the Greater Boston League. "Some positives would be that it is nice to play some new teams, and it is a new challenge to show we're a top team," Pitts says. "It will [also] broaden our horizons."
 
Teams in the Dual County large include Westford, Newton South, Waltham, Lincoln-Sudbury, Acton-Boxborough, and Boston Latin. The small tier includes: Arlington, Bedford, Concord-Carlisle, Weston, Tyngsboro and Wayland. The GBL now includes only Cambridge, Everett, Medford, Malden and Somerville. Last year, it also consisted of Waltham as well as AHS. A few years further back, Peabody was part of the GBL as well.
 
The beginning of the AHS athletic year has been both successful and entertaining, and it should continue into the spring. Students hope AHS will bring home some new hardware just as they have in previous years.