Did Ironton Close Down Their Weight Program

[osu 77]

That is some good stuff but the head coach is still not running the show. I also heard the AD was called on the carpet for closing it down.

[Valenth]

Someone needs to step up and get the lifting program back on track... Otherwise... Ironton will look slow, sluggish and very unphysical AND weak in the 2016 Football Season.

Its VERY obvious this current Head Coach does not have the passion for the game of Football like Coach Lutz once did. Cause im sure that gym would be packed day after day... if Lutz was over it.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

if this is true I do not understand any of this at all. heck the gym should even be open to everybody who is a student that wants to lift athlete or not. the residents pay the taxes on the school.

[osu 77]

I was told that many of the coaches were at weight lifting last night. It is about time but if this not keep up I will speak to the new BOE again this will get fixed. You are either a head football coach or not? Vass needs ask himself this question and his entire staff. I still say they should make some major changes to the staff.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I'm just talking about what weights can do for you in addition to your sports programs. the coaching thing will handle itself. there are a lot of things I'd change myself right away too. and the ovc needs to create a wrestling league. the ironton teams of old were dominant for a reason back then.
and in addition they were fortunate to have lutz and his staff. and everybody coached other sports as well.
if weights are not being utilized it will show on Friday nights, when teams that are lifting are shoving you around like your on skates.

[BearMarshall]

Chesapeake, Fairland and Galliapolis have wrestling. We just need one more to have an official league.

[LHS 72]

I'm just talking about what weights can do for you in addition to your sports programs. the coaching thing will handle itself. there are a lot of things I'd change myself right away too. and the ovc needs to create a wrestling league. the ironton teams of old were dominant for a reason back then.
and in addition they were fortunate to have lutz and his staff. and everybody coached other sports as well.
if weights are not being utilized it will show on Friday nights, when teams that are lifting are shoving you around like your on skates.

Ironton must develop a soccer team! That will help in place of weight lifting!

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

don't put them funny lil lines on our field lhs, we barely have enough out for football.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

Chesapeake, Fairland and Galliapolis have wrestling. We just need one more to have an official league.

that's awesome, sounds like an opportunity to me ya'll.

[LHS 72]

don't put them funny lil lines on our field lhs, we barely have enough out for football.

Good for special teams!

[Mwsmws6398]

I coach football personally it sounds like a passionate coach needs to return a Lutz-like era back to Ironton

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

don't put them funny lil lines on our field lhs, we barely have enough out for football.

Good for special teams!

I'm not trying to be smart here. but how exactly does soccer help football special teams. you may be on to something. but I've never heard this said and was just curious how it could help. the small catholic school ironton saint joe has soccer but I think it's like boys n girls.it's one of the smallest schools in the state. but I really don't ever see it happening at ironton high.

[Omega]

That is some good stuff but the head coach is still not running the show. I also heard the AD was called on the carpet for closing it down.

Far removed from the discussion, but is there any chance the weight room situation may have been caused by contract or liability issues? Say the coach's supplemental contract does not call for weight room duties (no pay for the extra time) or a requirement a trainer be on duty in the weight room at all times (some SC high schools require this)? Throw in the cost of liability insurance to cover any accidents in the weight room
and I can see non nefarious reasons to close the program.

[FarAwayFalcon]

Far removed from the discussion, but is there any chance the weight room situation may have been caused by contract or liability issues? Say the coach's supplemental contract does not call for weight room duties (no pay for the extra time) or a requirement a trainer be on duty in the weight room at all times (some SC high schools require this)? Throw in the cost of liability insurance to cover any accidents in the weight room
and I can see non nefarious reasons to close the program.

If that was all the case Ironton wouldn't be the only school closing their weight room.

[IBTT]

Facts are from the time the last playoff game was played until January 5, other than the couple of days the kids were learning technique, that time was not used other than by a few kids who did lifting on their own, whether it be at IPT or with Brandon Walker.

Now many kids have lifting in their final period of the day at school and then after school for an hour they have
Plymetrics.

From what I am understanding, the plymetrics are doing really good for the kids who are taking advantage of it. As far as the weight program, I am only going by what I have heard.

There is no maxing out in any form unless you count sets of five. There aren't any records being kept to know who is doing what. Many kids are standing around dancing, talking, laughing. Most kids don' t know how to lift correctly and actually get upset when they are explained correctly. Most kids aren't using belts when lifting large amounts of weights. I have seen that one. All of this could be stopped by accountably and maxing out. Back when I was in school we didn't have records on the walls or on a computer, we all knew what we were maxing. It was known around the gym by everyone. We thrived on getting stronger and seeing if we could move up our bench or squat 5,10 or 15 pounds on a given week. These kids aren't like us. They need records to show them where they stand. They need to see if they are making a jump at all to see if they are training right, or even the coaches to see if they need to keep an eye on certain individuals.

I am only saying these things because I want the kids to be successful. I know these kids are hard workers. But first things first. You have to use correct technique in order to get results and not to injur yourself. I hurt my back in my sophomore year in the Ironton weight room not using a belt. My coach back then told me I didn't need one. I'm still feeling it. There are some things that you can do half way and some things you can't. Diet is another part of what this program needs in order to get back on top. The clock is ticking. Every day lost is another day our competition is getting stronger.

[osu 77]

Very well stated and once again I think this is why we are falling behind. The coaching staff is not supporting the weight program. We have a lazy head coach and the kids follow his lead. Bottom line change is needed now not tomorrow.

[IBTT]

I think we have good coaches, only what worked in the 80s isn't going on today. Well, not quite.

Back in the 80s we had five Ironton grade school teams who worked on fundamentals of the game from the 4th grade through the 6th grade. We didn't have kids playing when they were 6 years old worried about whether they were going to be good enough to show their face at school on Monday because they lost to Rock Hill and the other Ironton Team beat them by 50, that is if the kid was lucky enough to get playing time in the game. When we were going through school through the third grade we only played football on the playground and came out on Friday nights and cheered on the Fighting Tigers. The kids of today often get burned out or scared out before they even reach junior high school.

When we got into the fourth grade we usually were put on the b-team and mostly were learning the basics. Fifth and Sixth grade the teams played against each other still learning the fundamentals, however, there were 5 kids learning each position.

Junior High was the very first taste Ironton kids got of any other team. This is the same model that our used to be rival Wheelersburg uses today. I have been told they are now out of our league. I guess it would seem that way now that they have won 7 years in a row. Back when we used this model we also averaged 25-30 kids per class in the junior high teams and our high school would field almost 60 in 3 grades. I will say, there will be good years in the program where teams will have good groups come through as I remember Vinton county, Rock Hill, Chesepeake etc every now and then, but it won't develope any kind of a program where you know what you have coming up where you can develope your weakness. It will be on you before you could react. Especially without accountability in the weight program.

I feel this has a lot to do with Ironton's downfall. I have been watching the tigers for over 40 years. These coaches are as good as any we have ever had. I don't blame them. I blame the fact that they won't change what is hurting the program. It might sting at first, but it will be sweet in the end.

The high school coach needs to take over the recreational league just as Wheelersburg has done. Fourth-Sixth grade needs to be working on the Ironton play book and fundamentals. Anything before fourth grade needs to be flag football or soccer. For fun only!!!!

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

these are awesome comments ibtt. if this is in fact what is going on, then the decline is self explanatory.
I remember a couple years ago hearing that the football team was not tackling in practice and it showed. the term used was instead of tackling we were ''bucking up''. well it bucked us up that for sure. a football program cannot be successful if it's not doing what used to work in the past. I'm appalled by what I'm hearing about the weightroom. when I was in high school lynn schrickel ran the weight room, and he was a competitive body builder. and you learned proper technique. everybody strived weekly to up their max. and get their ironman shirt. and I wore a bely the entire time I lifted , no matter what group I was working on. we didn't do any dagnabb plyometrics. we learned how to get strong like bull and hit hard, and the fundamentals.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I've told anybody that has asked through the years I never was any kind of a super star. and know that. I only played through my sophomore year, and then I blew my knee out. then I just changed directions and went to the vocational school to learn welding. and my sophomore year I only weighed 180. and I had to play on the line against dinosaurs like the hieronimus's , colegroves, kriebels, and lowes.but I was learning from the best bob lutz and his staff. sometimes I wished I would have missed my junior year recovering from an acl tear, and came back my senior year. but I went and learned a trade. but the fact is we flat put in the work. and coach schrickel lifted with us every day. trust me when I tell you there was no dancing and standing around. no computers or cell phones. we ran the track, played racketball, and pushed weights all over the place till exhaustion. unless the kids are doing this now. they will never achieve that type team again, or players going to places like ohio state, marshall, ohio university, akron, and Clemson.

[osu 77]

[quote="IBTT"]I think we have good coaches, only what worked in the 80s isn't going on today. Well, not quite.

Back in the 80s we had five Ironton grade school teams who worked on fundamentals of the game from the 4th grade through the 6th grade. We didn't have kids playing when they were 6 years old worried about whether they were going to be good enough to show their face at school on Monday because they lost to Rock Hill and the other Ironton Team beat them by 50, that is if the kid was lucky enough to get playing time in the game. When we were going through school through the third grade we only played football on the playground and came out on Friday nights and cheered on the Fighting Tigers. The kids of today often get burned out or scared out before they even reach junior high school.

When we got into the fourth grade we usually were put on the b-team and mostly were learning the basics. Fifth and Sixth grade the teams played against each other still learning the fundamentals, however, there were 5 kids learning each position.

Junior High was the very first taste Ironton kids got of any other team. This is the same model that our used to be rival Wheelersburg uses today. I have been told they are now out of our league. I guess it would seem that way now that they have won 7 years in a row. Back when we used this model we also averaged 25-30 kids per class in the junior high teams and our high school would field almost 60 in 3 grades. I will say, there will be good years in the program where teams will have good groups come through as I remember Vinton county, Rock Hill, Chesepeake etc every now and then, but it won't develope any kind of a program where you know what you have coming up where you can develope your weakness. It will be on you before you could react. Especially without accountability in the weight program.

I feel this has a lot to do with Ironton's downfall. I have been watching the tigers for over 40 years. These coaches are as good as any we have ever had. I don't blame them. I blame the fact that they won't change what is hurting the program. It might sting at first, but it will be sweet in the end.

The high school coach needs to take over the recreational league just as Wheelersburg has done. Fourth-Sixth grade needs to be working on the Ironton play book and fundamentals. Anything before fourth grade needs to be flag football or soccer. For fun only!!!![/quote

These coaches as good as we have had is a joke!