Most Popular Content - www.foxnews.com: Boy field hockey star kicked off girls' team for being 'too good'

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Boy field hockey star kicked off girls' team for being 'too good' Apr 26th 2012, 10:19 SOUTHAMPTON, NY –  A 13-year-old Long Island boy who has been a star of a local high school girls' field hockey team for the past two years has been kicked off the team for being too dominant of a player, MyFoxNY reports. Keeling Pilaro was told he could no longer play for Southampton High School's varsity girls' field hockey team this year after becoming the team's star over the past two years. Section 11, which oversees Suffolk County's high school sports, determined that as a boy, Keeling had too significant an advantage over the other players. "(Keeling is) having a significant adverse effect on some of his opposing female players," Section 11 claimed according to MyFoxNY. "The rules state he would be allowed to play if he wasn't the dominant player." Section 11's executive director, Ed Cinelli, told MyFoxNY, "As a sport, it's a girls sport. When a boy plays, it leads the way for other male players to come in and take over." Andrew Pilaro, Keeling's father, said his son was raised in Ireland and played field hockey for most of his life. In many European countries, the sport is widely popular. But on Long Island, there were no boys field hockey leagues available for Keeling compete, his father said. At 4 feet, 8 inches tall and 82 pounds, Keeling said he does not feel he is at an advantage, or that he is even significantly better than his opponents. He says some of the girls he has played against are faster and stronger than he is. "In my opinion, my son is comparable to any of his teammates," Andrew Pilaro said to FoxNews.com. "He fits in well with the team's dynamic." The teen's father said he's never heard any negative comments from teammates or opponents and said if his son was "6'2, 200 pounds we wouldn't be having this conversation." "As a dad, I'm trying to be as supportive as possible to my son," Andrew Pilaro said. "I'm trying to protect him a little bit from what's going on." Keeling and his parents have already lost his initial appeal, but they will plead their case again in May. "I do hope they let me play," he told MyFoxNY. "I really like these girls -- they are my family." Click for more on this story from MyFoxNY.

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