Could JH numbers increase by going to middle school grades?

[warningtrackpower]

If you coach, watch, play, or simply love sports, you want to listen to this week’s show. As a phone call last week expressed a major concern in the JH and HS, this week we get a phone call with a possible solution. We will talk about it in great detail and encourage you to give your thoughts.

Please listen to the first 20-30 minutes of the show and give us your thoughts from other leagues around southern Ohio - here is the link...

http://www.dbkmediaservices.com/wordpre ... talk090913

[eagles73Taylor]

Could you summarize the gist of the idea, I am in meetings all day and cant listen to the podcast.

[eagles73Taylor]

I was able to get my lunch and sit and listen to the podcast, and there were some excellent points.

First, on the JV football and JV volleyball numbers being down across the SVC, pay to play at some schools is an issue. Piketon right now doesnt have a pay to play or transportation cost. Our numbers in football in high school have been consistently in the mid 40's and in volleyball high teens and low 20's which means we can easily field jv teams. Our boys number is 172, and our girls is 186 I believe, which means we are right in the middle numbers wise in the league.

As for the Jr hi football question, my solution is one that very few people like around our part of the state, and that is I believe that every school should drop sports and let them become club teams. The only 2 sports that I can think of that arent available for kids of all ages in our area is football at the jr/sr high school level and cross country.

Pee wee football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball leagues are all around southeast ohio. Jr/sr high football would be one of the easiest to fund with the amount of money generated by admissions and concessions, which would only be used for football. That brings me to my second most unpopular opinion on why club sports and that is title IV. Title IV was relevant in the 70's and is still somewhat relevant today. However, look at SOVC and Spiketown volleyball, soccer clubs and softball programs around this area, they are growning. Which means, when left alone to do their own thing they can flourish. However, when every school is forced to field teams and transport them and pay for them, it becomes a burden on school systems. If someone wants to start another spiketown or sovc, they can and if the support is there they will continue, if not the taxpayers are not held accountable.

[Slew72]

At least in my district cost and travel would be the limiting factor for some kids to participate. It can be very costly to play a club level sport once the club fees, uniform costs and travel are factored in. It would turn into an exclusive vs. an inclusive sport if everything were club sports.

[cowboysTe74]

I have seen this kind of thing 6th graders playing jrhigh it is actually pretty common in wrestling, I think it will be hard to get thru Oshaa . So going club for other sports might be something to think about.

On a unrelated note, this was my first time listening to the podcast and going to the site . I really enjoyed it and am hooked lol I have already went back and caught up for the season . While listening to the show I went to the site I was intrigued by the SE panthers play this year as well and have been kind of rooting for them to do well some of the players I have meet thru wrestling ,any way I was looking back at last year to see where these kids came from did the Perkins kid play last year??? And I noticed that Abner was 3rd last year in the standings for pass completions and should have been 2nd , I believe the math was done wrong for the kid in 2nd place. But as you said in the podcast it shouldn't have surprised us they have some Athletes . Perkins, Abner, and Shoop and some of the kids on the line were dominate wrestlers in the area, and I know I have heard about Allen , miles , and Strawsbaugh in B-ball . But that does not explain the numbers this is the best numbers they had for awhile I would think, any Idea what the new coach has done right to change those numbers around so quick ???

[eagles73Taylor]

At least in my district cost and travel would be the limiting factor for some kids to participate. It can be very costly to play a club level sport once the club fees, uniform costs and travel are factored in. It would turn into an exclusive vs. an inclusive sport if everything were club sports.

It would, but it would free it up from the largest ball of red tape ever, schools and the government and allow those organizations to raise the money through fundraising and the league itself to help those who cant afford it. Right now a school can implement a pay to play or transportation cost, but cannot help pay for underpriviledged kids. A privately ran league could pay for that kid. The league if ran successfully could help with transportation any way they see fit.

Schools cannot do anything like this due to being held hostage by union rules and state and federal laws!

[eagles73Taylor]

My son plays 3 sports and he is in the 4th grade. In baseball, the kids living in our school district fielded 4 teams of 13 to 15 kids on each team for 3rd and 4th grade B ball. They had to pay to play in this league for unis and travel, and nearly 60 kids played. In biddy basketball the same, 6 teams with 8 to 10 kids each for right around 50 to 60 kids. In pee wee football we are able to field a 3rd grade team with 14 kids, and a 4th grade team with 18 kids this year as well. In all of those sports the average pay is around $50 plus travel.

Our high school sports teams average around the same amount, football about 15 per grade, and the smaller scaled sports like basketball and baseball about 8 top 10 per and they have NO cost associated with them. Piketon is in the poorest county in the State, and one of the poorest counties in the Country, and we still get kids out of all socio economic levels in the pay to play pee wee sports.

[warningtrackpower]

This is some great feedback - thank you! I want to let all of you know (especially those of you who coach at any level) that we would love you to call 740-569-3254 and leave us some questions/comments/opinions to keep this going on future shows. A great phone call this week from a coach is what generated this discussion.

Also, as Matt was saying on the show, there are some negatives. What do you guys see as the biggest obstacles?

[Slew72]

This is some great feedback - thank you! I want to let all of you know (especially those of you who coach at any level) that we would love you to call 740-569-3254 and leave us some questions/comments/opinions to keep this going on future shows. A great phone call this week from a coach is what generated this discussion.

Also, as Matt was saying on the show, there are some negatives. What do you guys see as the biggest obstacles?

$$$, my kids play club sports and I coach youth sports.

[wt9700]

Going all club for JH. Yes, there's definate pluses and minuses there.

OHSAA does have the limits for the # of kids from any particualr school on a club team. If a club team has a glut of talent from a particular school they have to make cuts just so they don't run afowl of the regulation.

My fear is the best players are going to get to play club sports. But the opportunity to discover kids whom may have never considered a sport like volleyball or basketball until thay have a chance to play with their friends will be lost. If we want to an all club model, there are kids with natural talent in our middle schools who would not be able to play because of the cost or parents not having the resources for club ball. As any parent of a travel ball kid will tell you, it's a family commitment of more than moeny. It's time, dragging unwilling siblings to tournament after tournament, missing out on parties and sleepovers. And what happens when you have more than one child wanting to play club sports? Most families do not have the resources to get Johnny to a weekend-long soccer tournament in Columbus the same time sally has her weekend-long softball tournament in KY.

But on the flip side, I've found that kids who have made this commitment are more dedicated players. My daughter gets frustrated when she is on a school team made up of mostly non-club kids since they don't have the dedication and heart for the game that she has developed. And yes, the skill level is different. She has been practicing for months longer than just her playing school team only counterparts and with different coaches who impart new skills.

I've always said a good pee wee feeder program gives stronger JR High teams which lead to stronger HS teams. If you do not have a quality program, or no program at all, there will be less interest and a weaker talent pool. Love for the game starts with quality coaches at a young age in a well-run program.

[warningtrackpower]

Again, thank you for all the great feedback. Many of your comments/questions are going to be a part of this week's show (we record Sunday/Monday with show ready for listen late Monday night).

Should be great football discussion with league play starting in Week 4.

[fortdawg]

If you go the Club route how long would it take for "Elite" teams to form? There will be an incentive for parents of your better athletes to group them together. I think you would quickly lose your school identity to "All Star" teams. Now let's say that we are talking Basketball---they will stop recruiting at 8 to 10 kids. What happens to the rest---especially the average or below average athlete? I would hope people would take a long look at this-----the benefits of sports for our youngsters lie in more than just winning.

I think this would end up serving a lot less kids than we do now. I think the cons outweigh the pros here---I understand the frustration of the parent where the Jr. High or High School squad doesn't measure up to the competition or skill level of your better Club teams. My worry is in the long run some areas, and schools, would drop sports except for the elite.

This could happen---by that I mean the Club Teams taking over. It would be an Administrator's dream, save money, no more conflicts within teams, and no more problems between teams. How many people have lost jobs because of something that happened while they were coaching? Is there a School Board in the state that hasn't had someone run (and get elected) to right a perceived wrong from a coach---from Cross Country to Cheerleading?

[eagles73Taylor]

About as long as it took for elite teams to form under the watchful eye of the OHSAA! lol However, with club teams you could pick and choose the tournaments you wanted to enter to avoid these powerhouse teams! Look at AAU, there are levels of ability among these tournaments. As for the money, as I said before, each club team could raise money and use it to sponsor kids to play.

[warningtrackpower]

This discussion continued to be a hot topic on this week's show. We used a lot of comments from here as well as the inbox. tw9700 - great comment earlier - here is a link to the show. Most of the talk is in the first 25-30 minutes...

http://www.dbkmediaservices.com/wordpre ... talk091613

remember - call 740-569-3254 to be a part of next week's show