High School Sports?

[CoachB25]

Just wondering who among you follow HS sports?  Our HS Football team is advancing in the playoffs as it typically does.  However, the next step will be very tough and we typically bow out this round.  Still, we have some exceptional young men playing and they represent our school with pride. Our Cross Country, Girl's Tennis, and Girl's Golf seem to excel.  We now head into basketball season.  Not a good thing for us. Our school does poorly in those sports despite outstanding coaches.  We are in a very tough conference and have to play our outside conference schedule against schools twice our size.  While I think that an excuse in sports like softball and baseball, we just don't have the height to contend.  Our 6'2" center will not fare well against the 6'8" to 7' centers for the other teams.  Believe me I know because I once coached those 6'8" to 7' players.  Our wrestling team will again be one of the top teams in state.  I live in small town USA and so, the masses will show up regardless of record.  It is pretty neat living in this type atmosphere.  Come spring, our school will do exceptionally well in just about every spring sport. 

So, what say you about your communities and HS teams? 

[boogielicious]

I follow how the local teams do. The only games I go to are my goddaughter's soccer games. My son is out of HS.

[mcanadiens]

I used to be a sportswriter in NE Ohio. If you know anything about the area, high school football is massive (probably too massive). While every other sport tends to get the hump about the attention paid football, even the minor sports are regularly featured in the paper and for the most part draw decent crowds.

Now that I'm back south and out of that dying business, its a lot more low key. I go see my old school play football a couple of times of year. Sometimes, I'll hit a basketball or hockey game. Most people without kids involved are off the radar. 

[saevel25]

I'll sometimes keep track of my Highschools' football and golf team. 

[Gator Hazard]

My high school has become somewhat of a national power house in sports, especially football, they compete in 4A Division and they were the national champions last year, have won state something like 6 years in a row and are expected to win this year and be the national champion again.  They have played and will play the big boys too and usually are televised on one of the ESPN channels at least a few times a year.  One of our few losses in recent history was to Armwood High out here in Tampa the year they were national champions (and they had recruiting violations), without that loss we probably would have been national champs that year as well. 

They are a private, preparatory school and they may have an advantage now, but also a lot of sports figures kids who live in the valley go (or went) there such as Randall Cunningham's son and daughter (Football and Track & Field), Greg Maddux son (Baseball) Muhammad Ali's Grandson (Football) and Snoop Dogg's son (Football). I think Gary Patton's son played basketball at our school as well.  Our baseball team won American Legion World Series in 2008, was ranked #1 nationally for a while in 2011 and is always in contention for state champion, which they took last year and in 2011.  Inbee Park (LPGA) is an alumnus.

Our team's were not as dominant when I was going to school except for tennis and soccer, men won in 1992 and were runners up in 1994, women won in 1994.  The varsity coach was my coach as a kid (I chose to do football, sister's boyfriend talked me into it-stupid) and every year he tried to recruit me, even my senior year, said if I came out I would start.  I thought that was quite an honor considering I had not played in 5 years.  The baseball coach at our High School when I was there was Tim Chambers who is (or was depending on what happens with his DUI, he is a good man and I hope this is not the end of his career) UNLV's Baseball coach now.  He won a national championship with Clark County Community College Baseball team as their coach before being recruited to UNLV.  He was my strength and conditioning coach in high school and gave me a bloody nose when he was offering to give people a free leg and bet they could not take him down and score in wrestling.   I almost got him but ended in a draw when my nose started bleeding.  Every Friday when I would walk into the gym he would ask me how I did the night before, he did not like to hear that I lost, and that was extra motivation not too.

There is a lot of complaining from the other schools now that we are so dominant.  They didn't complain when they were steam rolling us in sports during the years we were not so good, and there were many.  

I think it is pretty neat to share such a rich tradition and be able to call some of these people my fellow alumni.  

I do keep track and try and stay up with what is happening, my nephew just graduated from there a few years ago as well.

 

[phan52]

I attended a private Catholic school in Philly (a looong time ago) that I follow pretty religiously. It helps that they win a lot and have won multiple state championships in multiple sports in recent years. Plus I have nephews who competed there at a high level and the children of a lot of friends go there as well. They play in probably the best league in the state so that always makes it fun.

[CoachB25]

Hey all, thanks for the contributions.  We started Softball Open Gym today at 6:50 this morning.  We had 18 girls there.  I am so excited.  For those that don't know, in the State of Illinois, we can have open gym but coaches can't do anything.  So, we unlocked the storage area and let the girls set everything up.  I sat on a bucket in a corner and bit my tongue as I saw flaws that will have to be fixed in some player's swings.  Still, it allows them to be in the cages hitting.  When our school holds an Open Gym, we announce it so that athletes of other sports can come in as well.  Naturally, we are responsible for supervising.  So, we had some basketball boys come in and one basketball girl come in to shoot.  Typically, some track athletes come in and run but they went outside this morning.  We will do this one day a week.  I know that doesn't sound like much but it gives these athletes opportunity to work on their sports even if it is one day per week.

Edited to add:

BTW, we don't take roll.  We don't instruct.  We don't pick who comes.  It is a real open gym open to all athletes.  I'm not sure that happens everywhere. 

Edited November 4, 2015 by CoachB25