Football/Soccer

[BurgFan43]

That's not what Title IX protects, but I'll quit trying to convince you otherwise—good luck in your lawsuit

Beyond that, soccer and football do not require the same facilities. They are different sports with different needs. Soccer requires a nice surface, but locker rooms and "nice stands" are not necessary for the kids. Similar to baseball, soccer players keep all their equipment with them—no need for storage, and no need to change clothes directly before/after games. Also, small programs without JV teams can survive without lights just fine. It's the playing surface that truly matters, and a lot of schools let their players down putting their training sites in cow pastures or having them use the same field for games and practices which is unsustainable.

Just because a school lets their soccer team play on the football field, doesn't mean it's a good situation for soccer. Alexander's grass football field is kept way too long, the width sucks, it's domed too much, and the yellow painted lines are often hard to make-out. The soccer teams don't bother to use the locker rooms of course.

Gallia is a nicer facility, but they tend to keep their grass too long and it seems to me that their dimensions are on the smaller side. Unioto is great. Marietta is really good. Warren has been good in recent years minus the end of last season. Logan High School's field is the only shared football/soccer field where the width is good.

Nobody has even mentioned any lawsuits. I agree that all teams require a nice level playing surface. A school just can't tell a school sponsored HS team that they have to play in a field with unsafe playing conditions when another team has great facilities for all. Like I have referenced, Rock Hill is doing a great job with equality with their athletic department. The boys and girls have great facilities in all sports with football and soccer sharing that facility. I know Waverly and Chillicothe also share their space with both programs for both girls and boys programs. Minford is getting a soccer only micro-field through a grant by the Columbus Crew. Good things can happen when the athletic directors give all programs the same attention. Disadvantages are also shown in programs through their media releases, social media accounts, and various other aspects. These are HS kids and they all deserve the same opportunities.

Take your kids to rock hill then. Shouldn’t the coaches of the soccer team etc be sharing team and player accomplishments on social media? I wouldn’t think that would be the AD job to post all that.

I would agree that the soccer coach should be sharing and posting. The problem is when the AD is doing it for one sport then they are required to do it for all. It just comes with the title. They are responsible to ensure equality among all teams both boys and girls. I know ADs are busy but if they can do for one then they can do for all.

[BurgFan43]

Has BurgFan43 ever talked about Wheelersburg?

Who said that was a requirement?? They are doing things right. Both the girls and boys soccer teams play and practice at the ED with the football team. You will see in week 6 that the field is marked for soccer on the new turf.

[The Ghost of Swanker]

Lots of hurt feelings in here this morning.

Doxxing and naming someone on here is against the rules, even if they aren’t actually from burg whatever is going on this thread.

[TigerBob]

Nobody has even mentioned any lawsuits. I agree that all teams require a nice level playing surface. A school just can't tell a school sponsored HS team that they have to play in a field with unsafe playing conditions when another team has great facilities for all. Like I have referenced, Rock Hill is doing a great job with equality with their athletic department. The boys and girls have great facilities in all sports with football and soccer sharing that facility. I know Waverly and Chillicothe also share their space with both programs for both girls and boys programs. Minford is getting a soccer only micro-field through a grant by the Columbus Crew. Good things can happen when the athletic directors give all programs the same attention. Disadvantages are also shown in programs through their media releases, social media accounts, and various other aspects. These are HS kids and they all deserve the same opportunities.

Take your kids to rock hill then. Shouldn’t the coaches of the soccer team etc be sharing team and player accomplishments on social media? I wouldn’t think that would be the AD job to post all that.

I would agree that the soccer coach should be sharing and posting. The problem is when the AD is doing it for one sport then they are required to do it for all. It just comes with the title. They are responsible to ensure equality among all teams both boys and girls. I know ADs are busy but if they can do for one then they can do for all.

The AD doesn’t do it for football either. An assistant coach does.

[BigSpoon]

Nobody has even mentioned any lawsuits. I agree that all teams require a nice level playing surface. A school just can't tell a school sponsored HS team that they have to play in a field with unsafe playing conditions when another team has great facilities for all. Like I have referenced, Rock Hill is doing a great job with equality with their athletic department. The boys and girls have great facilities in all sports with football and soccer sharing that facility. I know Waverly and Chillicothe also share their space with both programs for both girls and boys programs. Minford is getting a soccer only micro-field through a grant by the Columbus Crew. Good things can happen when the athletic directors give all programs the same attention. Disadvantages are also shown in programs through their media releases, social media accounts, and various other aspects. These are HS kids and they all deserve the same opportunities.

Take your kids to rock hill then. Shouldn’t the coaches of the soccer team etc be sharing team and player accomplishments on social media? I wouldn’t think that would be the AD job to post all that.

I would agree that the soccer coach should be sharing and posting. The problem is when the AD is doing it for one sport then they are required to do it for all. It just comes with the title. They are responsible to ensure equality among all teams both boys and girls. I know ADs are busy but if they can do for one then they can do for all.

I never see any AD in our area directly sharing anything on their page about players accomplishments.

[BigSpoon]

Has BurgFan43 ever talked about Wheelersburg?

Who said that was a requirement?? They are doing things right. Both the girls and boys soccer teams play and practice at the ED with the football team. You will see in week 6 that the field is marked for soccer on the new turf.

All this Title 9 talk. Doesn’t both the girls and Boys soccer teams have equality. Don’t they both play on same field. That’s equality. Aren’t they both start up
Programs who probably should be under a probation period to see if program is even going to last? Isn’t a soccer field bigger than a football field. Are you sure it would even adequately fit on the playing surface where you want it go safely without hazards such as fence, concrete. Sounds like that could cost the school a lot of money. Wonder where this board of Education would come up with that kind of coin.

[BurgFan43]

Has BurgFan43 ever talked about Wheelersburg?

Who said that was a requirement?? They are doing things right. Both the girls and boys soccer teams play and practice at the ED with the football team. You will see in week 6 that the field is marked for soccer on the new turf.

All this Title 9 talk. Doesn’t both the girls and Boys soccer teams have equality. Don’t they both play on same field. That’s equality. Aren’t they both start up
Programs who probably should be under a probation period to see if program is even going to last? Isn’t a soccer field bigger than a football field. Are you sure it would even adequately fit on the playing surface where you want it go safely without hazards such as fence, concrete. Sounds like that could cost the school a lot of money. Wonder where this board of Education would come up with that kind of coin.

It doesn't matter if a team is in the first year or 100th year. It is a school sponsored team and granted the same rights as any other team. If you go back to look at the document I shared, it will provide the clarity needed to understand how sports teams have to operate since public school district receive federal funds. Most schools share facilities is my point. A child tripping in a hole on a field that they are forced to play on is a bigger liability than a fence or concrete at an adequate facility. It would come down to who schedules and tells teams where they can play and where. Is that a board decision?

[BurgFan43]

Take your kids to rock hill then. Shouldn’t the coaches of the soccer team etc be sharing team and player accomplishments on social media? I wouldn’t think that would be the AD job to post all that.

I would agree that the soccer coach should be sharing and posting. The problem is when the AD is doing it for one sport then they are required to do it for all. It just comes with the title. They are responsible to ensure equality among all teams both boys and girls. I know ADs are busy but if they can do for one then they can do for all.

The AD doesn’t do it for football either. An assistant coach does.

Is the assistant coach a school employee other than having a pupil certificate? I know most schools require any social media accounts to be ran by a school employee with the administration being an admin over said account.

[TigerBob]

I have no clue what their relationship is to the school. I can get you a time for the next board meeting and you can ask for yourself!

[fbnut]

I have no clue what their relationship is to the school. I can get you a time for the next board meeting and you can ask for yourself!

Thank you, date and time
I think a few people might like to attend to raise some questions

[BurgFan43]

I have no clue what their relationship is to the school. I can get you a time for the next board meeting and you can ask for yourself!

I’m not sure about your particular district. Most have language in board policy about how social media accounts linked to schools and extracurricular. We seemed to have detailed again off the topic of football and soccer teams.

You are more than welcome to start another thread to talk about other topics. I would like to still talk about soccer and football facilities in the SEO region.

[CuckooNest]

The Minford turf project seems to have stalled out, but my understanding was soccer would use it as well. As it sits now the soccer teams have invested in some kind of cool season hybrid Bermuda grass for the soccer field and it appears to be a nice playing surface.

[BurgFan43]

The Minford turf project seems to have stalled out, but my understanding was soccer would use it as well. As it sits now the soccer teams have invested in some kind of cool season hybrid Bermuda grass for the soccer field and it appears to be a nice playing surface.

There was talk of Minford getting turf several years and then it disappeared. They was doing fundraising and then there was nothing mentioned. I know there has been some sloppy games out there with the weather and mud. I bet the investment of the Bermuda grass will make a nice playing field. They always seem to have a good team.

[BurgFan43]

I can only speak on Ironton soccer field. I’ve seen multiple games there this season. The field is terrible. Creek runs right beside it. Balls often went into it. Small bleacher. I know a coach who won’t come to play at ironton due to the condition. No lights, no locker room, little seating, concession across the creek at the baseball field. Seems fair that soccer should be able to use the football field as well but I heard that the donor only donated money for the turf if only used for football. My kid stepped in a hole twice in the field of play. How is that fair? I’m sure these kids would love to play under the lights or see highlights on the new scoreboard.

Oh wow!! This just shows an example of unequal treatment of programs. Is this soccer team co-ed?

[fbnut]

I can only speak on Ironton soccer field. I’ve seen multiple games there this season. The field is terrible. Creek runs right beside it. Balls often went into it. Small bleacher. I know a coach who won’t come to play at ironton due to the condition. No lights, no locker room, little seating, concession across the creek at the baseball field. Seems fair that soccer should be able to use the football field as well but I heard that the donor only donated money for the turf if only used for football. My kid stepped in a hole twice in the field of play. How is that fair? I’m sure these kids would love to play under the lights or see highlights on the new scoreboard.

well that doesnt really seem fair

[All-in]

I can only speak on Ironton soccer field. I’ve seen multiple games there this season. The field is terrible. Creek runs right beside it. Balls often went into it. Small bleacher. I know a coach who won’t come to play at ironton due to the condition. No lights, no locker room, little seating, concession across the creek at the baseball field. Seems fair that soccer should be able to use the football field as well but I heard that the donor only donated money for the turf if only used for football. My kid stepped in a hole twice in the field of play. How is that fair? I’m sure these kids would love to play under the lights or see highlights on the new scoreboard.

Oh wow!! This just shows an example of unequal treatment of programs. Is this soccer team co-ed?

It is not. Last year ironton had a boys and girls team. Not sure about this year. The numbers will be different due to graduation. It may be co-Ed. To early to tell.

[BurgFan43]

I can only speak on Ironton soccer field. I’ve seen multiple games there this season. The field is terrible. Creek runs right beside it. Balls often went into it. Small bleacher. I know a coach who won’t come to play at ironton due to the condition. No lights, no locker room, little seating, concession across the creek at the baseball field. Seems fair that soccer should be able to use the football field as well but I heard that the donor only donated money for the turf if only used for football. My kid stepped in a hole twice in the field of play. How is that fair? I’m sure these kids would love to play under the lights or see highlights on the new scoreboard.

well that doesnt really seem fair

Sounds like there is definitely a problem with the facilities there where one sport has everything and the other has nothing. If I had a boy/girl with a team playing on that field, I would be raising my concerns or filing a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights if those are truly the conditions of that particular field. It is just like when a facility can’t be used for unsafe reasons then the team can use other district owned facilities.

[avalanche]

I can only speak on Ironton soccer field. I’ve seen multiple games there this season. The field is terrible. Creek runs right beside it. Balls often went into it. Small bleacher. I know a coach who won’t come to play at ironton due to the condition. No lights, no locker room, little seating, concession across the creek at the baseball field. Seems fair that soccer should be able to use the football field as well but I heard that the donor only donated money for the turf if only used for football. My kid stepped in a hole twice in the field of play. How is that fair? I’m sure these kids would love to play under the lights or see highlights on the new scoreboard.

well that doesnt really seem fair

Sounds like there is definitely a problem with the facilities there where one sport has everything and the other has nothing. If I had a boy/girl with a team playing on that field, I would be raising my concerns or filing a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights if those are truly the conditions of that particular field. It is just like when a facility can’t be used for unsafe reasons then the team can use other district owned facilities.

Burg,

We agree. You're right on with your assessment of what is going on. Title IX would definitely be an issue here. No way should soccer be playing on unsafe playing surfaces. They should have equal access to the stadium field, within reason.

We have an alternate field (regulation size and marked for soccer and LAX) behind our pressbox where we can have soccer or LAX practicing during their seasons. If Soccer is on the stadium field, we can have LAX on the alternate field. It's also a safety issue in the spring when track is practicing and balls are flying while runners are practicing and field events. LAX is exclusively on our alternate field aside from games, but we can schedule both soccer or lax at the same time, which is nice.

[OVCFan1]

Y'all are so funny on here!!

[borodad]

Hillsboro has done a wonderful job putting in a lighted track and soccer turf field at the school and last year completed turf infield softball and baseball fields at the school. Concessions and lights will be added soon I believe. The grass football field remains in town only used for games. A new theater has been added during all of this renovation also. Little biased but great job by Hillsboro administration.