FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

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Dr. Acula

Quote from: raiderpa on February 18, 2018, 10:46:22 AM
I have always felt that boasting on one's kid is a sign of insecurity.  I had three kids, all average or just above average athletically, good enough to play and enjoy sports.  I felt it my responsibility to introduce them to various sports and let them choose.  It worked out ok. They played, had fun, my wife and I enjoyed watching and I worked with them on things that may have been weaknesses in their games.  Both daughters hung up softball, when they were possible future varsity starters because they said that coaches and parents were taking things too seriously and it wasn't fun like it was. Son was decent four year starter on an average soccer team and a jv basketball player as a junior, and had fun.

I took 13 girls(two my daughters) to a summer softball league under the following conditions:
No practice ever.
Sunday doubleheaders with equal playing time for all...we kept track.
No errors, k's or mistakes criticized only supported to not worry about it.
No parent interference, only support.  No parents would criticize umpires.  (gave parents these rule in writing)
We had no defeats in two summers, I turned girls away who wanted to play to keep roster small.  Not one girl quit.
I see the girls now, almost 20 years later and they still say it was the best of times.  Was for me.
Most kids just want to have fun.


This is funny because when I took over my summer baseball team last May the first thing I did was talk to the parents and players individually to find out what, if anything, I was going to change.  The results were: 

1) No weekday games, only weekend tournaments.  This was from the parents because it was a struggle for them with 15 year olds who needed rides.
2) No mandatory practices.  This was from the kids because they all played additional sports and went to different HS so scheduling was a mess.
3) No dads coaching.  This was from both sides and the reason they asked me to coach in the first place.
4)  No interference from parents.  As usual this was a couple factions of parents accusing the other of "cheating" their kids or playing favorites.  My solution was I don't want to hear from any of them.  I'm volunteering to coach all summer.  I am not listening to anyone b!tch while I'm giving up my free time.

Just goes to show that the majority of parents and kids want similar things.  The not-so-silent minority just makes more noise. 

Kira & Jaxon's Dad

I attended the Small College Recruiting Fair at Tampa Jefferson HS this past weekend.  The OAC, and Ohio in General, was well represented.

From the OAC:
Mount Union (Coach Kappas, Ely and Collins were there)
Ohio Northern
Baldwin Wallace
Heidelberg
Marietta

Other Ohio Schools:
Defiance
Hiram
Ohio Weslyan
Malone
National Champions - 13: 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017

Dr. Acula

Quote from: Kira & Jaxon's Dad on February 19, 2018, 07:41:31 AM
I attended the Small College Recruiting Fair at Tampa Jefferson HS this past weekend.  The OAC, and Ohio in General, was well represented.

From the OAC:
Mount Union (Coach Kappas, Ely and Collins were there)
Ohio Northern
Baldwin Wallace
Heidelberg
Marietta

Other Ohio Schools:
Defiance
Hiram
Ohio Weslyan
Malone

That seems about right from the OAC.  You don't expect Wilm, Musky, Cap to pay for that trip.  And JCU has other avenues of expanding their geographic reach.  Only one missing is Ott.  I guess they'd be lumped into the first group too. 

Kira & Jaxon's Dad

Quote from: Dr. Acula on February 19, 2018, 12:20:20 PM
Quote from: Kira & Jaxon's Dad on February 19, 2018, 07:41:31 AM
I attended the Small College Recruiting Fair at Tampa Jefferson HS this past weekend.  The OAC, and Ohio in General, was well represented.

From the OAC:
Mount Union (Coach Kappas, Ely and Collins were there)
Ohio Northern
Baldwin Wallace
Heidelberg
Marietta

Other Ohio Schools:
Defiance
Hiram
Ohio Weslyan
Malone

That seems about right from the OAC.  You don't expect Wilm, Musky, Cap to pay for that trip.  And JCU has other avenues of expanding their geographic reach.  Only one missing is Ott.  I guess they'd be lumped into the first group too.

There are about 4-5 of these events in FL each Spring.  Two Days Each.  They start down in Miami and work their way up.  Not a bad reason for a couple of weeks recruiting in FL.  Especially when there are so few Smaller College Football Opportunities in down here.
National Champions - 13: 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017

emma17

So the posting trend on this board for youth sports is:
Kids and parents make the rules.
Don't require practice.
No matter what, make sure it's "fun". 

The most fun I saw any teams have were the teams that won. Sure it's progressive. T-Ballers have fun picking dandelions. But the older they got, I'm convinced the kids had more fun when they were successful.
Like I told several youth football parents that wanted things a bit easier and fun: Trust me, there is nothing fun for your son when he's getting burried every play by the kid across the line of scrimmage.
Life is competitive, from start to finish.

MUC57


emma17

Unfortunately, I'm afraid you're right! I must say , at my age, I'm a little less competitive.
I'm old! I get mixed up and I forget things! Go Everybody! 🏈 ☠

jknezek

Quote from: emma17 on February 19, 2018, 04:59:19 PM
So the posting trend on this board for youth sports is:
Kids and parents make the rules.
Don't require practice.
No matter what, make sure it's "fun". 

The most fun I saw any teams have were the teams that won. Sure it's progressive. T-Ballers have fun picking dandelions. But the older they got, I'm convinced the kids had more fun when they were successful.
Like I told several youth football parents that wanted things a bit easier and fun: Trust me, there is nothing fun for your son when he's getting burried every play by the kid across the line of scrimmage.
Life is competitive, from start to finish.

It depends on a lot of factors. The one thing about soccer is you can really choose your level of play. There is town ball, travel ball, select ball, and then the academies. Each level can provide a different mix of intensity, focus, practice, and play. Though oddly enough at the highest levels of youth soccer in the academies there is very little emphasis on winning. It's all about technique because these kids are the cream of the crop that the local pro teams can lure. They don't need to win at that level, they need to be groomed to play in the pro system, and the high level games and tournaments are showcases for how they fit in systems more than whether the system works.

Football, with the exception of some of the 7 on 7 stuff, just doesn't have these levels. The teams have to be too big, the positions too specialized. You can't get enough kids from a single area to make it work on those multiple levels. And you can't have kids taking a beating playing multiple levels at the same time or multiple seasons a year. So it is about winning. Frankly, football is a nightmare as a youth sport. And I get the irony of posting that on a football board, and I certainly enjoy watching football, but youth football is a bloody disaster.

Baseball, basketball, and hockey where it is popular, is run somewhat along the same lines as soccer, though I've found town ball baseball to have more than its share of idiots in a way that town soccer doesn't. Probably because town soccer has parents that still don't know the game, whereas baseball is full of dads living vicariously. The less said about the AAU basketball system the better, but that's as much a failure of the college programs as the youth programs.

Regardless, if the child is competitive enough to play travel and be considered for select, the soccer parents start to get a little crazy. Same everywhere. But kids can always downshift to the club levels or town ball, where the practices should be light and the emphasis on winning minimized, and that's just not an option for football.

So yeah, Emma, life is about competition, but just because a 12 year old is playing a sport doesn't mean that the coach and parents have to drive them to the limit. Every team should be tailored to the purpose of the kids playing it, not just to the concept of winning as many games as possible.

emma17

Jk, I agree entirely that coaches and parents should avoid the "win as many games as possible" attitude and approach.
I know we've all heard this from the better coaches, but it's true and it's true for all aspects of life. Winning the game or winning the enrollment at a prestigious college or winning the sale or winning the battle with an illness is all about accepting the fact that we have to win as many of the little challenges as possible. It's a challenge and requires uncomfortable effort to retain good form every play, it's a challenge and requires effort to study every day and it's a major challenge and requires uncomfortable effort to fight an illness.

We as parents and coaches should relish the opportunity to teach kids the importance of winning the little challenges because we know it will help them in the long run.

jknezek

Quote from: emma17 on February 20, 2018, 10:51:53 AM
Jk, I agree entirely that coaches and parents should avoid the "win as many games as possible" attitude and approach.
I know we've all heard this from the better coaches, but it's true and it's true for all aspects of life. Winning the game or winning the enrollment at a prestigious college or winning the sale or winning the battle with an illness is all about accepting the fact that we have to win as many of the little challenges as possible. It's a challenge and requires uncomfortable effort to retain good form every play, it's a challenge and requires effort to study every day and it's a major challenge and requires uncomfortable effort to fight an illness.

We as parents and coaches should relish the opportunity to teach kids the importance of winning the little challenges because we know it will help them in the long run.

In my soccer teams I can win more games by playing fewer kids. Frankly I avoid this at the level of play they are involved in. If they come to practice and try hard, they get time in the games. Mostly equal when possible. If they want to play at a more competitive level, I'm happy to recommend it. This isn't that level.

Where I coach is neither the time nor the place. I'm teaching them to play soccer, and at 6-8 or 8-10, it's simply not important if they win. It's important that they have fun, learn to play, get some exercise, be good teammates, and learn sportsmanship. Winning is a nice byproduct, but far from an important one.

I think we just have to agree to disagree. Winning has its place, just not at the level of sports that most kids play before reaching high school, let alone leaving elementary school. 

merlecanlas

children's soccer?  we are deep in the middle of the offseason huh?

jknezek

Quote from: merlecanlas on February 20, 2018, 11:27:19 AM
children's soccer?  we are deep in the middle of the offseason huh?

Well... the midpoint hasn't passed yet, but yeah. Past what counts as signing day for DIII and long before the rosters come out and anyone reports. There is still some coaching musical chairs going on. Maybe there is a rumor about who is going to Carleton?

merlecanlas

Quote from: jknezek on February 20, 2018, 11:33:24 AM
Quote from: merlecanlas on February 20, 2018, 11:27:19 AM
children's soccer?  we are deep in the middle of the offseason huh?

Well... the midpoint hasn't passed yet, but yeah. Past what counts as signing day for DIII and long before the rosters come out and anyone reports. There is still some coaching musical chairs going on. Maybe there is a rumor about who is going to Carleton?

send the NCAA the last few weeks of this in support of having Spring Football in D3

Bishopleftiesdad

Quote from: merlecanlas on February 20, 2018, 12:23:12 PM
Quote from: jknezek on February 20, 2018, 11:33:24 AM
Quote from: merlecanlas on February 20, 2018, 11:27:19 AM
children's soccer?  we are deep in the middle of the offseason huh?

Well... the midpoint hasn't passed yet, but yeah. Past what counts as signing day for DIII and long before the rosters come out and anyone reports. There is still some coaching musical chairs going on. Maybe there is a rumor about who is going to Carleton?

send the NCAA the last few weeks of this in support of having Spring Football in D3
Only if D3 baseball can move to fall.

Dr. Acula

For anyone with a subscription to The Athletic I recommend you check out Zac Jackson's article on Musky's hoops team and their dealing with the loss of their teammate this season.  Very good.

JCUStreaks70

It's been over 24 hours since the last posting on the OAC Football Board.... That has to be some kind of a record!
AMDG

2016 OAC CHAMPS! AND MY OWN SELF-PROCLAIMED RUNNERS-UP TO THE RUNNERS-UP.