Many in the gym were discussing whether middle school athletics would be among programs cut to help alleviate the school system's budget woes.

In December, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said the school system is expecting a $140 million shortfall in its$1.69 billion fiscal 2012 budget. He has identified about $51 million in potential cuts, which include the elimination of middle school sports programs at an estimated savings of $800,000. Other proposed cuts include freezing pay and eliminating some custodial, central office and instructional jobs.

Coaches, parents and administrators are hoping to retain the middle school sports program, which began during the 2003-04 school year, and supports basketball, soccer, softball and baseball teams.

"Sports teaches teamwork, dedication and commitment, qualities that carry over on the academic side," said Deidra Hill, whose daughter, Nicole, is a seventh-grader on the girls' basketball team at Ernest Everett Just Middle School in Mitchellville. "There's got to be something else they can look to cut besides that."

Hite would not address the specifics of the proposed budget, Prince George's schools spokeswoman Lynn McCawley said, adding that several rounds of public hearings on the budget still are to come. Changes could be made before the budget is finalized, she said.

According to the school system's Office of Interscholastic Athletics, 8,161 students competed in middle school athletics from the 2007-08 through the 2009-10 academic years. Participation was 2,613 in 2007-08 and grew to 2,883 in 2009-10, an increase of 10.3 percent. Statistics for the current school year are not available.

Pat Colgan, the girls' soccer coach at High Point High School, said he has seen participation at the middle school level translate into increased participation in high school soccer. Colgan also is an assistant girls' soccer coach at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, one of the schools that feeds High Point.

Colgan said he had enough players to field varsity and junior varsity teams at High Point this past fall, something that did not happen in his first two seasons at the Beltsville school. Four players who participated in middle school soccer made his varsity team as freshmen last fall, he said.

"I had kids that transformed [their skill level] during the middle school season," Colgan added. "Without that season, I don't think they would have made my varsity. . . . If middle school sports were eliminated, that would really hinder their development in the sport. It would be really upsetting."

Freshman Kendra Brown scored six goals for the High Point varsity soccer team in the fall and is playing this winter for High Point's varsity basketball team. She played both sports in middle school.

"I think we should not cut middle school sports because most kids start to play these sports when they get into seventh grade, and they would also have two years [of] experience once they get to high school," Brown said.