Opening Day

[osumufan]

When is everyone's Opening Day for Little League? South Point's I think is the 19th.They are resodding the entire Little league boy's field so it may be a week later.They will be holding the state tourney for boy's this year.

[BlindWhiteHat]

That's interesting. I know of another league within District 11 that offered to resod its field in hopes of hosting that same state tourney and were told "no" because it wouldn't have time to take.

[osumufan]

It's all about who you know!

[osumufan]

South Point is hosting the 11-12 Little League boys state tournament and possible some other district tourneys as well.

[BlindWhiteHat]

Oh, I'm sure SP will host a few of the District 11 tournaments. It usually works out that way each season.

[osumufan]

The sod is almost all down except for one area in right field, we ran out of sod. We plan on getting more tomorrow! I must say it looks AWESOME! The kids aren't allowed to play on it for 4 weeks. With all the rain it shouldn't dry out that is for sure!! This stinks for practice for the LL boys teams though. We have about 16 teams trying to use the girls and minor league fields while also sharing it with the high school girls. There is a lot of practicing in the grass at the soccer field. Oh well!

[BlindWhiteHat]

Sacrificing the local kids to host a state tourney? It just doesn't seem right.

[SBlover]

Wheelersburg's opening Day is April 12.

[Tartanblue]

NewVille who knows, might not even have an opening day if they do not have signups

[osumufan]

Sacrificing the local kids to host a state tourney? It just doesn't seem right.

Like your team Ironton wouldn't have had to sacrifice a field IF they had been chosen? Actually every year the kids have to practice on the soccer fields because of the number of teams we have. This year it will just be less field time and more soccer grass time.


It looks great now so when it starts to warm up and get greener I am sure it will be even better!

[BlindWhiteHat]

Making a "for instance" had Ironton been chosen is really pointless because Ironton had no chance of being chosen over South Point. But to answer the question, no Ironton wouldn't have had to sacrifice any practice time to make the field "tourney" ready. That had already been looked into.

[biggdowgg]

I thought the state tourneys was rotated each year from place to place/

[osumufan]

It is,I know SP had it a while back, like 10 years or more.

[bball]

So when is opening day in Ironton?

[BlindWhiteHat]

Ironton's opening day is 4/26 for Little League and Minor League and the Tee Ball opening day is 5/3.

[BlindWhiteHat]

If the state tourneys are rotated, how can the same league host it 10 years apart? The math just doesn't add up.

[osumufan]

I called someone about the last time it was hosted by SP and they thought it was more like 12-15 years ago. Don't know for sure because I wasn't there or involved again until I had kids of playing age. It is rotated between each of the districts and the each district decides who gets the games. Granted not all leagues want to host the tourney or have the acceptable facilities or have the needed volunteers to do it.

Personally I wouldn't give it to Ironton based on the fact that in the heat of the summer your are right beside the sewer plant which reeks. Kinda of what the SP pool used to smell like. ( it is now filled in with dirt for what I think was the putrid smell that no one could take and so it closed. ) I think the Irontonians are used to the smell. Last year I was at Ironton for the 9-10 boys and I remember the smell quite well. One parent was even heard to say when there was a special in the concession stand for BBQ chicken and baked beans " Who in their right mind can eat when all you smell is sh*t" I know you don't have a choice to your location and I am truely not doggin the people of Ironton.
Or it could have to do with us having Seagraves on our side! Any way I personally wouldn't want to win the districts and have to play in Lawrence County. I went to state three times and all were up north. That's half the fun traveling and staying in the hotels as a group. But if our kids were lucky enough to win districts it would still be great! I guess they could always stay at the new hotel being bult in Burlington because I would not step foot in any of the other hotels in Lawrence County!

[BlindWhiteHat]

I'm sure the reason SP got the tourney (again) is because of who decides, just like you mentioned. It's more than just an ability to host a tournament. It's about the ability to make a lot of money at the 11-12 year old boys district and state tournament as they are likely the most attended of any other age group.

[Riverrat Tiger]

It's pretty simple how this all works......I've been involved with Little League for 25 years. There are approximately 9 districts active in the State of Ohio which all the State Tourneys are revolved thru. The last time District 11 hosted the state tournament, Ironton was lucky enough to be there. Josh Sands, Tank Whaley, Matt White, etc....that group, they are approx 21 years old. That tournament was held at.....South Point. The district tourneys are revolved between Scioto and Lawrence Co. each year and leagues would have to ask for them. Last year the 11-12's were in Scioto Co. Rock Hill, I believe held them last in Lawrence Co. and South Point before that. The Tournaments are given by the District which Mr. Seagraves is from South Point, and pretty much most of the ADA's are from there as well. This isn't rocket science. From what I was told, and I personnally didn't speak with Mr. Seagraves, which to his credit has volunteered many years to Little League in this area and throughout the State of Ohio, Ironton was not given the Little League State Tournament because we were going to sod our field and that most felt like there was no way it would take. Ironic huh.

osumufan, the concession stand did pretty well last year in the 9-10 tournament, with minimum problems. We also had a pitching machine tournament that went pretty well. I believe our volunteers did a great job of working their butts off to put both of them on. No one in this area have fields like Boardman, Elyria East, or even Hardscrabble. Just be thankful that South Point doesn't have to hold every tournament and thank the volunteers that put their time in and move on.

[biggdowgg]

I can vouch for the concesions at Ironton last year...they did a great job!

also, all of the folks working the tournament did a great job..they even held a split the pot and donated the money to theteam that won, to help them with hotell expenses"ive neevr seen that done any where else"..