Year of the Ugly SEOAL

[Chieftain]

fever -- no one would actually know because no one in SEO has the guts to actually schedule D-I teams save for Logan. Year after year, virtually everyone, and that includes Logan, would have trouble competing with them. However, Logan has done fair with them, Pick North especially and sometimes Lancaster . Burg is too new, only 2 years of games. Your opinion, of course, but I'm not buying any of it. My point however, is that far too many teams in SEO duck real competition and there I don't believe you have an argument.

Fan -- you are correct and if you look at their manipulated schedules over the last 10 years at Joe Eitels, the pattern emerges. The coach was at Ursuline years ago and did the same thing. Don't have any respect for a guy who builds a record on much smaller & much weaker teams while ducking others his size and competitive level. Most up here see them for what they are. The message boards beat them to death, lol

Dino -- you ducked the point about the MAC -- save for Delphos St. Johns, they are ALL PUBLIC schools. Coldwater, St. Henry, Marion Local ( I used to coach against their previous former coach when he was at Caldwell), Versailles, Minster, Anna, etc. Save the argument about parochials. Far too many public schools win titles in cow country in all parts of the state.............................. except here. Thats a fact.

[maniac66]

it's a two way street if them schools refuse to return a game way should any school want to play them.
Every school would rather plat at home and they know they will have to play on the road but why would any school say ok we will play you twice at your place and don't worry about coming to ours.
Alot of schools want a 2 year contract at least home and home.
But traveling these back roads to alot of schools isn't worth the trouble.
And when you say SEO you include alot of schools in that mix not all of them are on a main road nor close to one.
So rant all you want it's a two way street why should these SEO schools have to travel there and them not here?

[Chieftain]

I'm not sure if you are on drugs, Maniac, but heres the deal because I signed contacts for games-- home and home contracts are in writing , enforcable in court and if you are smart, has a penalty clause you simply fill in the amount of $$$$$$$$ to be forfeited if they don't come. Once the parties sign those, they are legally binding. I'm not sure what the river rats are saying , but they have to be smoking dope for you to believe that crap. Now if they don't want to sign a 2 year contract, move on and find someone else. But when you run from a league and need games, you did it to yourself.

Now. most all teams agree IN WRITING , that if they come to one place 2 years in a row, they are PAID $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, an amount specified in the contract. Nothing new there . Steubenville rarely travels and has teams returuning year after year to Death Valley. $ 10K -$20K is attractive to teams , which lets them travel in style and still bring home $$$$$$$$$$. Otherwise , I see you are spitting about things you have no real clue about.

[maniac66]

Ha Ha Ha there you go your running out of material bring up that Ironton ran from the SEOAL now.
Leave out the fact that it was a 10 league to help with the traveling by being made into 2 divisions.
That the traveling involves more than just football but Boys and Girls BB baseball softball volleyball get a clue it cost to travel wide spread to those schools.
And if Ironton left the SEOAL because they couldn't win in football then you quit being a coach because you couldn't teach it no more.

[Chieftain]

Actually I left for the best of reasons ---- $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Doubled my income immediately and quadrupled it in 10 years. When you make 6 figures, coaching FB doesn't seem quite the same..............lol

But thanks for playing.

[noreply66]

Suckered them into that ---lol

[Ironman92]

So you are a 60+ year old former coach who is very well off so much that coaching football isn't that important.....but posting on here ad naseum about the same stuff is?

[Ironman92]

I heard from a credible source that Jackson, Gallia Academy, Chillicothe, Portsmouth, Logan and Warren are leaving the SEOAL.

You might be just having fun, But Logan and Chillicothe will become members of the MSL within the next 3-5 years!

Might? Lol

[farmer]

So some schools make big$$$$$ from having home games and Paladin left to make BIG $$$$. But if schools play some local schools that bring in big gates and help with other fund raisers held at the game that is wrong. Since teams need to go play big time schools instead. Sometimes you make money while you can. Spending more money and traveling more with less coming back in is what you say is the best way. You can not fault schools who make money by playing local teams since you went for more money yourself.

Maybe since you went out and made the big $$$$ you can give back to local schools so they can afford to go out and play these big time quality teams as you say. SEOAL will now be funded by Paladin. You asked the question so there is a great answer to your question. You can put your money where your mouth is. The SEOAL atheletic programs can now compete easily with anyone in the state with your money. That is a great way to keep the schools and conference going.

[Chieftain]

Heres a remedial course for ya -- especially the slow learners

5 league games
3 money games with local teams, arranged one away , two home or vice versa each year
2 challenge games , one home & one away with much better programs. Travel to get them

If your sorry butts can't live with that , you deserve to get your butts kicked forever. That gives you the league, money games with rivalries ( lol, Cow Pie Hollow , Rocky Ridge & Swamp port on the River). Then you get to show how much gonads ya got to get a better program. Go to Columbus. Sign up bigger schools. Play someone really tough no matter the size. Push yourself. Don't be gutless.

[farmer]

So does that mean you will not be putting any of your own money up for schools to be able to achieve this?

[fbfever9]

I saw Reynoldsburg and Lancaster this year in person and can confidently say nobody around here would have beaten them,Jackson maybe could have played them competitive but probably not win, their depth was just too much, over 80 players for Reynoldsburg, thats hard to compete with for teams around here with just 40 players or less,The way I see it Logan only played 2 maybe 3 bad teams all year and combined with injuries and discipline problems they were destined for a lousy record.....

The way you see it is because you are a Logan fan. That's not a problem, but you are looking at ways to justify your team's record.

I saw Reynoldsburg 3 times and Lancaster 2 times. They are not good. Also, an arguement that their "depth was just too much" is assinine. Example - Cols. Desales fields teams that consistently have 70+ players. Ironton can't be much above 35 (just an educated guess, I may be off). Ironton played them for an 8-10 year stretch beating them a time or two and playing competitively nearly every year.

[WitnessProtection]

FYI about the MAC ...
According to the MAC website, its members have won 20 OHSAA state football championships since the league was formed in 1973. All told, its schools have won nearly 100 state championships.
Combined population of the counties that encompass the MAC: 295,476 (as of 2010 U.S. Census).
Combined population of the TVC counties: 263,957.
Combined population of the SEOAL counties: 312,880.

Many were won by parochial powerhouses. There are no such private schools in Southeast ohio

Delphos St. John's is the only private school in the MAC. It has 6 OHSAA football titles. DSJ has won 4 other state titles (2 boys hoops, 2 girls hoops).
St. Henry (public) also has 6 football titles. 19 altogether.
Minster (public) leads the MAC with 26 state titles.

[fbfever9]

fever -- no one would actually know because no one in SEO has the guts to actually schedule D-I teams save for Logan. Year after year, virtually everyone, and that includes Logan, would have trouble competing with them. However, Logan has done fair with them, Pick North especially and sometimes Lancaster . Burg is too new, only 2 years of games. Your opinion, of course, but I'm not buying any of it..

I actually agree with your premise on the topic of this thread. It was more of playing a devil's advocate to your original opinion. I believe that the people who have never lived outside the area have trouble seeing through an objective view point. If you have always lived in the same place it is sometimes difficult to not have a blind fanaticism in support of your team.
I was just offering a counter arguement that just b/c you play a DI school does not make a good schedule, or 'scheduling up'. I view "scheduling up" as playing teams that consistently offer stiff, quality competition that will better your team's program and prepare them for a playoff push.

My point however, is that far too many teams in SEO duck real competition and there I don't believe you have an argument.
.

I agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY with this point. There are FAR too few teams that play the 2 or 3 "program builders" every year. Outside of DECENT league match-ups (i.e. Valley v. West), there is no concerted effort to schedule anyone worth a lick. Many leagues who have good rivalry games (not specifically the ones used in the example) that may be close in score year in and year out, feel that it must mean they are playing good competition.

[C-Bolt]

I saw Reynoldsburg and Lancaster this year in person and can confidently say nobody around here would have beaten them,Jackson maybe could have played them competitive but probably not win, their depth was just too much, over 80 players for Reynoldsburg, thats hard to compete with for teams around here with just 40 players or less,The way I see it Logan only played 2 maybe 3 bad teams all year and combined with injuries and discipline problems they were destined for a lousy record.....

The way you see it is because you are a Logan fan. That's not a problem, but you are looking at ways to justify your team's record.

I saw Reynoldsburg 3 times and Lancaster 2 times. They are not good. Also, an arguement that their "depth was just too much" is assinine. Example - Cols. Desales fields teams that consistently have 70+ players. Ironton can't be much above 35 (just an educated guess, I may be off). Ironton played them for an 8-10 year stretch beating them a time or two and playing competitively nearly every year.

I'll give you Lancaster,but I don't buy your argument about Reynoldsburg being so bad,,did you actually see who they lost to??? Gahanna Lincoln,,Pick North,Pick Central,and a very good Findlay team who they should have beat,what teams around here wouldn't get smoked by all them them??? Also when Logan played them they had 4 or 5 players Div.1 schools were looking at.

[fbfever9]

Fair enough...... opinions. I still don't agree. It was more how they lost and how they looked against those teams.

I guess we can just respectfully agree to disagree!!

[moonshine]

I saw Reynoldsburg and Lancaster this year in person and can confidently say nobody around here would have beaten them,Jackson maybe could have played them competitive but probably not win, their depth was just too much, over 80 players for Reynoldsburg, thats hard to compete with for teams around here with just 40 players or less,The way I see it Logan only played 2 maybe 3 bad teams all year and combined with injuries and discipline problems they were destined for a lousy record.....

The way you see it is because you are a Logan fan. That's not a problem, but you are looking at ways to justify your team's record.

I saw Reynoldsburg 3 times and Lancaster 2 times. They are not good. Also, an arguement that their "depth was just too much" is assinine. Example - Cols. Desales fields teams that consistently have 70+ players. Ironton can't be much above 35 (just an educated guess, I may be off). Ironton played them for an 8-10 year stretch beating them a time or two and playing competitively nearly every year.

I'll give you Lancaster,but I don't buy your argument about Reynoldsburg being so bad,,did you actually see who they lost to??? Gahanna Lincoln,,Pick North,Pick Central,and a very good Findlay team who they should have beat,what teams around here wouldn't get smoked by all them them??? Also when Logan played them they had 4 or 5 players Div.1 schools were looking at.

Bolt as I look at this past season Lancaster was a winable game for the Chiefs, But the Burg we did not have a chance!

[fbfever9]

Paladin,
check your messages!

[Flatulence]

Have been reading this entire section keeping my opinions to myself; however, if you would, consider a few things - these arguments only began occurring AFTER we started the football playoffs. The first few years of playoffs there was a small school near Cincinnati = Middletown Fenwick - who won only four games two years in a row but ended up the small school state champions. So, what paladin is saying makes sense. A tough schedule helps, but since we have so many football divisions and a computer that does points based upon the "quality" of an opponent for a D-I school to play an outstanding D-V school makes NO sense for the D-I. But, if the D-V wins it is a huge plus for them.

Now, as far as what the problem is with SE Ohio football - in my opinion - we rely way too much on weights than we do speed. In all sports speed kills. I do not care if you can squat 600 pounds, bench 400 pounds, and dead lift 1000 pounds if your strong booty cannot catch me it does you no good. Speed, quickness, explosion, and tensile strength is much more important than is the weight room.

There is no simple solution to our "problems" concerning competing with the big dawgs. We can only do so much with what it is we have. Consider track and field - 3 divisions - some D-I schools are to compete with 800 in the top four grades against schools with 2400. Cannot be done. At logan we tried we tried hard and had some success. But quality in D-I is dependent upon quantity. In football with five divisions close in numbers there should be no reason for SE Ohio to not be able to compete. As I attended more football games this past season the thing that caught my eye was quite simply the total lack of speed. Speed can be enhanced and can be trained, but it is MUCH easier to fall into the weight room trap because coaching in the weight room is an easy way to do things. Taking the time to measure, test and train for speed is time consuming - very time consuming. Besides there are few coaches who have taken the time to learn how to do this because football coaches are notorious for being impatient.

Another problem i see is not enough effort in developing the lower level programs - junior high, freshmen, and reserve - so that they get competitive playing time.

Another problem - and i am quite sure this will raise some ire - is that there just seems to be too many assistant coaches who are not within the school system - in other words are not or have not been teachers. There is a lot to be said for kids getting to see the coaches in the school.

Finally, colleges have done away with coaching programs. When i attended i took coaching classes from six different Ohio University coaches and all are in their respective Halls of Fame. The coaching class being offered up by the OHSAA is an absolute waste of time - in my opinion. Not enough detail. Not enough about modeling. Not enough about basic fundamentals for each sport. it is a shame really.

Anyway, to all who have spoken up on this blog it is a nice thing to see actual debate occurring. That is a good thing. Now the question is what can we do to improve sport in SE Ohio?

[Blackjack]

It is all about coaching. All the teams that are consistently in the final four have coaching staffs that could be coaching college football. The teams in SEohio might have one or two coaches on the staff with college next level experience if they're lucky. In Columbus, Cinci and Cleveland there are numerous assistants that could coach at the next level. For example, take a look at Ursuline, Alter, or Desales coaching staff. That is the key to success in football at all levels.