OHSAA Softball Tournament and process

[init4all]

When did I say anything about travel ball??? Not sure but I'm pretty sure Keystone didnt pass a levy for 20 some years until about 10 years ago and a town with no streetlights and a gas station that pumps your gas sounds pretty rual to me..
Geeze I would hate to see how you acted if you guys lost...

 

[sftball follower]

Wheelersburg didn't have any issues driving 4 hours and beating Canfield South Range (less than 1 hour) away........maybe you should inquire to the NCAA next and see if they will move the WCWS out of Oklahoma City because that can't be fair to all the teams.........

 

[wvanalmsick]

5 years ago, DD's HS team played in the State Finals. I was score keeping for the team and I had the opportunity to be in the dugout with the team.

The atmosphere FOR THE STUDENT ATHLETE is tremendous. I still smile inside when I remember the girls looking out over the top of the sunken dugout into the stadium at the other students that have come to cheer them on. Up to this point in their softball career, they have not experienced this atmosphere. There is nothing in Travel Ball to equal this. All of the smiles, giggles, and yes, tears. Man, what an atmosphere.

OHSAA is trying to give the STUDENT ATHLETE this experience, wherever the site is located. No matter where it is located, someone will have a distance advantage. But, the tournament is FOR THE STUDENT ATHLETE, not the parents.

Ask the girls who have had the opportunity of playing in these games about their experience.

 

[ohlovessteelers]

Home field advantage? Walsh is the first Summit County team to win since the tourney moved to Summit County. Honestly, many of their players actually traveled from outside of the county as well.

 

[manitoudan]

Wheelersburg didn't have any issues driving 4 hours and beating Canfield South Range (less than 1 hour) away........maybe you should inquire to the NCAA next and see if they will move the WCWS out of Oklahoma City because that can't be fair to all the teams.........

and exactly how many times has a school from Pike , Lawrence , or Scioto Co , won a title in the past 10 years ? No it isnt the distance directly causing them to lose , but the fans/parents/grandparents of the down
south schools sure would like some balance . Yes Firestone is great for the girls , but so would Tosu's field .

 

[Run26]

Wheelersburg didn't have any issues driving 4 hours and beating Canfield South Range (less than 1 hour) away........maybe you should inquire to the NCAA next and see if they will move the WCWS out of Oklahoma City because that can't be fair to all the teams.........

Convoy Crestview is hella far away too and they beat Strasburg which is darn close to Akron. Maybe the bus ride and teams staying together at a hotel enriches the experience and pulls them together

 

[Practice?]

Move it around, the players wouldn't care. Personally I don't think most fans would care if they traveled 1 hour or 4 hours if they got to be a part of this special State tournament weekend. However, no matter what site was selected some team would always have the "home field" advantage.

 

[flygirlsdad]

OHSAA doesn't care about atmosphere or the student experience. If they did football would stay in Columbus where it belongs. I am sure it comes down to money somewhere along the line. Volleyball has been held in Dayton for several years now. The tennis tournament was in Mason. They don't care about rotating or using a more central location. I for one belive all state finals should be in Columbus, but won't hold my breath.

 

[NESB]

No facility in Columbus can host the OHSAA State Softball Tournament. No facility in Columbus can hold 4,000-5,000 spectators. It is a real simple situation and the exact same arguments came up several years ago when the tournament was moved from Ashland to Akron. No way can OSU host both the State Track & Field and Softball Championships at the same time.

Firestone is an excellent SOFTBALL venue for the kids to play. The RACERS are very organized and well run. As long as the Pro league is still in business the RACERS will be one of the leading teams.......and they are planning some great renovations to the facility.

 

[backstop09]

Firestone is an excellent SOFTBALL venue for the kids to play.

No - Firestone is an ancient DUMP in a bad part of town with terrible parking, too many seats with obstructed views and limited warm-up facilities. Having a state championship tournament at a facility with temporary fences is a joke and a disservice to the girls. The tournament belongs at OSU.

 

[sportsdad]

No - Firestone is an ancient DUMP in a bad part of town with terrible parking, limited seating and limited warm-up facilities. Having a state championship tournament at a facility with temporary fences is a joke and a disservice to the girls. The tournament belongs at OSU.

I agree wholeheartedly about Firestone. If its about the money, then competition usually solves the problem. I have never seen Firestone FULL. All of these different locations serve a single purpose. Give different communities the opportunities to host the events or maybe politics? It has very little to do with how well they are hosted. And by the way, I think having any or all NCAA games in the same place year after year is also stupid. If the idea is to provide the experience to as many as possible, shouldn't the fans access be included in that thought process? Don't you want more fans to get exposure thus they may travel a farther distance the next year???? Thus creating a far greater experience? I also believe OSU NEEDS to host it a few times because they need the exposure. They need something to get the talent to win some games and increase the interest in softball amongst the Ohio high school athletes. Common sense says move the venue every 3 to 4 years to COLLEGES. I think we would all agree that Huntington Park is a fantastic facility for baseball but college campus is also the next stop for many players so why not?

 

[Steelers002016]

Wheelersburg didn't have any issues driving 4 hours and beating Canfield South Range (less than 1 hour) away........maybe you should inquire to the NCAA next and see if they will move the WCWS out of Oklahoma City because that can't be fair to all the teams.........

What a moronic response. I am sure colleges have the funds to put their athletes on planes and put them Hotels. That was just idiotic. That's why NCAA football is played in the same stadium every year, right? Try to think a little more critically. Yes it is high school and yes fairness about cost is important. ACCESS to education is what public education is about. Like it or not. I know Akron is saturated with parochial schools but OHSAA was not created to cater to parochial schools.

And the comment earlier about not for the parents. That was also idiotic. So the parents (biggest fans) should not bother to show up? How do you people get through a single day without critical thinking skills?

 

[Steelers002016]

Convoy Crestview is hella far away too and they beat Strasburg which is darn close to Akron. Maybe the bus ride and teams staying together at a hotel enriches the experience and pulls them together

Who paid for the Hotel? What schools couldn't stay at a Hotel? I guess I need those answers. Who paid for their meals? Many schools don't stay at a Hotel.

 

[Steelers002016]

No facility in Columbus can host the OHSAA State Softball Tournament. No facility in Columbus can hold 4,000-5,000 spectators. It is a real simple situation and the exact same arguments came up several years ago when the tournament was moved from Ashland to Akron. No way can OSU host both the State Track & Field and Softball Championships at the same time.

Firestone is an excellent SOFTBALL venue for the kids to play. The RACERS are very organized and well run. As long as the Pro league is still in business the RACERS will be one of the leading teams.......and they are planning some great renovations to the facility.

Did you see a full stadium at Firestone? I didn't. If OSU or another college had to have 4K to 5K seats I believe they would find a way. I believe they have the resources. Most the buildings around Firestone had barred windows. It is obvious in these responses who is from the Akron vicinity and who isn't.

 

[Louuuuu]

Most the buildings around Firestone had barred windows.

... that's to protect them from all the home run balls leaving the hallowed confines of Firestone Stadium, of course.

 

[Dougk30]

I think it should be moved to Mexico

 

[snoman76]

Firestone stadium is not in that bad of an area. There are places by the University that are far worse.

 

[coop24]

Wheelersburg didn't have any issues driving 4 hours and beating Canfield South Range (less than 1 hour) away........maybe you should inquire to the NCAA next and see if they will move the WCWS out of Oklahoma City because that can't be fair to all the teams.........

Actually the geographic center of the contiguous United States is the center of 48 U.S. states. It has been regarded as such by the U.S. National Geodetic Survey (NGS) since the 1912 additions of New Mexico and Arizona to the United States. Its position as located in a 1918 survey is located at 39 50′N 98 35′W, in Kansas about 2.6 miles (4.2 km) northwest of the center of Lebanon, approximately 12 miles (19 km) south of the Kansas-Nebraska border.

Which is only 357 miles from Oklahoma City, OK, so I would say the NCAA has already centered its championship for softball.

I would say that is pretty fair for all teams.

 

[Run26]

Who paid for the Hotel? What schools couldn't stay at a Hotel? I guess I need those answers. Who paid for their meals? Many schools don't stay at a Hotel.

Learn what the word "maybe" means. This will ensure your Temporal Lobe is functioning on all cylinders.

 

[coachjwb]

I recently moved to Akron ... there's a lot to love about the city as it has a lot of great areas ... I would acknowledge that it's not in the greatest area (or the worst), but at minimum it's not an attractive area by any stretch of the imagination. Those of us who have been to Berliner or Dayton Metro are unfortunately somewhat used to playing in bad areas. I think Firestone Stadium is an excellent venue for softball, but I understand the logic that it ideally should be more centralized in Ohio. I've heard some people say use OSU, and others that it's not available, so the question become where. Is it really a financial thing, or is it that there aren't any good central locations available?

Steelers ... you ask some good questions/bring up some good points ... but do you have to be so condescending to everyone else to make your point?? It makes me want to argue to keep it where it is ...