QS, I have a solution for you. Move Cross Country off the field. Why can't you find another place on campus to run. Move the Middle school football off the field. Look at Ft Mitchell park for practice areas. Have the football team practice in the grass. They do play on grass as well as turf. There is a big difference in the surface of the field. If I were a resident of Ft Mitchell I would also be vocal about the soccer teams playing games on Edgar McNab field. It is a travesty that jv soccer games are cut short due to darkness and the turf field is wide open. I saw this happen last year. Games should be a greater importance than practice. And as for putting turf on the baseball field you better dig a bit deeper in your pockets. CCH is replacing their turf at a price of $300k I think.

QS, I have a solution for you. Move Cross Country off the field. Why can't you find another place on campus to run. Move the Middle school football off the field. Look at Ft Mitchell park for practice areas. Have the football team practice in the grass. They do play on grass as well as turf. There is a big difference in the surface of the field. If I were a resident of Ft Mitchell I would also be vocal about the soccer teams playing games on Edgar McNab field. It is a travesty that jv soccer games are cut short due to darkness and the turf field is wide open. I saw this happen last year. Games should be a greater importance than practice. And as for putting turf on the baseball field you better dig a bit deeper in your pockets. CCH is replacing their turf at a price of $300k I think.

 

The Cross Country program will continue to spend time on the track for workouts ... and on the side of the field for warm up -- for the foreseeable future. We already make the best out of a bad situation ... especially considering the fact that we have such a diverse group in age. I am not putting our younger kids on the road everyday .. the side of the field and the track are much safer for them ..

 

The football team plays on grass? ... at the most ... 2 times a year.

But--what grass are they going to practice on?

Are they going to take away the girls soccer field up top?

Or .. are you going to have a football team pack up their equipment every day to head to Fort Mitchell Park?

 

Here is another question ... if you are at JV soccer games that are cut short .. knowing that the boys team didn't play any home games last year ... how do you know if anyone was on the field? I have seen some crazy things ... but I haven't seen one person in two different places at the same time! Not to mention ... when I leave football practice or cross country ... I usually meet the band going down the hill the other way to set up for their practice. Very rarely is it free for more than a few minutes once school starts.

 

Here is a question ... why can't the boys soccer team share with the girls soccer team? You know .. there is already a soccer field up there! Oh.. thats right ... the boys soccer team is more important than the girls team ... so they should be on the turf!

 

It just proves that most people who think they have a clue don't ... the current surface on the field which will be replaced at the end of the year/beginning of next is right about on par with the field up top. I know we have all kinds of field turf experts here ... but it is already 3 years past it's recommended use. With the current drainage issues ... it keeps the football and every other team off the field for an extended period of time after a mild rain. Go walk on that turf for 5 minutes ... then go up and walk on the soccer field .. you will need some WD-40 for your joints.

 

Last ... I am WELL AWARE of how much field turf costs (and I am pretty sure that I mentioned that I would be more than willing to make a 6 digit donation if we can put a better track around it ... so ... pretty sure that 6 figures fits 300,000).

 

But ... it all comes back to what I said a post ago ... the real intention here is forcing the hand of all three football teams, the 110 member band, the cross country team, etc. Funny how no other option but the field is good enough. Funny how proposing 3 years off campus turns into ... "we got what we wanted ... now lets see how far we can push things so we get our way".

 

From there ... the boys soccer parents found a way to bypass the official process for adding a team ... with that type of influence ... they should easily be able to come up with the funds to get a project like that moving. The sense of entitlement is down right horrible ... let me guess ... we should start giving everyone a trophy for participating?

 

If I were a resident of Fort Mitchell ... I would have a few complaints as well .. IE:

*I would be livid over not allowing the electric billboard a few year back. All the money made from that could have paid for 20 fields.

*I would also demand to know why the "former big shots" intentionally bypassed other members of the administration to keep the boys soccer meetings on the down low ... so there would be as little opposition as possible.

*Heck ... I would love to know why the boys soccer parents were allowed to hand pick their coach ... and why that coach didn't have to go through the formalized process. I mean ... seriously ... if you want to start a program ... don't you go out .. and look (or at least .. pretend to look) for the best possible coach? Not to mention .. the person in charge of hiring coaches was not allowed to do a fair and impartial coaching search to find the best candidate.

*I would love to know why the "former big shots" refused to acknowledge the results the of KHSAA interest survey ... and to slander the way the AD administered the survey ... even though it followed the KHSAA process to the letter.

*Most importantly ... I would love to know why the "former hot shots" ignored the fact that adding another boys sport would take the Title 9 boys/girls average money spent percentage from nearly perfectly even ... to inflating the boys number (and it doesn't matter if soccer paid for things on their own .... ALL figures .. donations .. school funding must legally be included in those figures).

 

Heck .. I would LOVE to know why the "former hot shots" no longer work at Beechwood!!!

Edited July 31, 201511 yr by quickslick

QS I guess I misunderstood the situation a bit. You are right the boys should share the "field" with the girls program. I hope they put lines on the new turf because what you call a soccer field is more like a mind field. The goals do not even line up. They are off set to fit the field. It does not have a crown it is set on a slope. Are they even going to be able to use the grass this year due to construction of the new gym?

 

I just looked at the football schedule and they have at least 3 games on grass, Llloyd, Dayton and Ludlow. I am not sure about the 3 games they have to travel to. If I were the coach I would want my kids to practice on grass.

 

As for the people at the top hiring a coach with out going through the proper steps. Look how that turned out on the girls side.

 

I should have clarified myself the JV game I was at was a girls game not a boys. My feeling is that if you have a varsity sport they should have the ability to play a home game or 2 think about those seniors. Just like Hellbird says. He was part of the first team and is still proud of it. Give them the chance to show share that pride.

I appreciate all the info being shared. The whole story is always better than one side of the story. My suggestion is once the new gym is finished, fix the field up top so it works for soccer and baseball. It would be even better if they could find a way to get softball onto that field also.

 

(Also, side note, I don't think the baseball team played any home games this past season either. Do the boys soccer people know that?)

 

If the above facility plan doesn't work, Ft. Mitchell Park should be worked into the facilities plan. Highlands does it with their city park (Tower Park?) that is used for athletics. I don't know why Beechwood couldn't do it with Ft. Mitchell Park.

 

It seems pretty silly that the boys soccer team doesn't work out on the soccer field up top. That is where the girls team plays. There should be time when that field is open with no one on it. I don't understand why the boys team doesn't use that field.

Agreed that all facilities have to be used including the grass soccer field and the city parks. I'm pretty sure I see Ryle, CC and SK use the grass fields for football practice. Wouldn't cross country be better served practicing in the park not sure just seems more conducive to meet conditions.

The most fascinating aspect of this IMO is how the coach didn't go through the normal hiring process. I could see if it was a club sport like LAX is/was at CCH but a varsity sport?

The most fascinating aspect of this IMO is how the coach didn't go through the normal hiring process. I could see if it was a club sport like LAX is/was at CCH but a varsity sport?

 

Yes that seems very strange. Maybe because they got a coach before they had a varsity team? There was a boys JV team last year, no varsity last year.

QS I guess I misunderstood the situation a bit. You are right the boys should share the "field" with the girls program. I hope they put lines on the new turf because what you call a soccer field is more like a mind field. The goals do not even line up. They are off set to fit the field. It does not have a crown it is set on a slope. Are they even going to be able to use the grass this year due to construction of the new gym?

 

I just looked at the football schedule and they have at least 3 games on grass, Llloyd, Dayton and Ludlow. I am not sure about the 3 games they have to travel to. If I were the coach I would want my kids to practice on grass.

 

As for the people at the top hiring a coach with out going through the proper steps. Look how that turned out on the girls side.

 

I should have clarified myself the JV game I was at was a girls game not a boys. My feeling is that if you have a varsity sport they should have the ability to play a home game or 2 think about those seniors. Just like Hellbird says. He was part of the first team and is still proud of it. Give them the chance to show share that pride.

 

 

First off .... you are most certainly correct regarding the football schedule for this season. It ends up as four .. Somerset is grass ... Ironton is not. With that said 4 is out of 13/14/15 isn't a lot.

 

I still have a hard time understanding why the field up top is good enough for the girls ... but not good enough for the guys. The girls program has worked extremely hard to improve their field ... from my standpoint ... it is working. It may not be the best in the world ... but after walking it today ... I certainly wouldn't call it a mindfield (I have no problem agreeing to disagree there).

 

From my point of view ... if we can find a way to turf that entire upper field ... to the end of the property line ... it could certainly work for both soccer teams ... and all 3 baseball teams in the spring (and possibly the softball team ... since they play their games on the turf).

 

There was some initial conversation that the girls would not be able to play on the field this season ... due to the location of the fences. When the school finally spoke to the real project manager .. he stated that they could move the fences back more than far enough.

 

As far as not following the official hiring process for the boys coach goes ... it really doesn't matter if it works or not ... it should never have been done that way. By doing it that way ... you end up with a bunch of coaches (who had to go through the proper hiring process) who stop and wonder where they stand. The two jokers who steamrolled everyone ... and kept the AD out of the loop created a horrible situation ... not just for the coaches who feel disrespected ... but it puts the soccer coach in a bad spot. But ... what do those guys care now ... they are not there anymore ... they created a train wreck that puts the school in a horrible spot.

Yes that seems very strange. Maybe because they got a coach before they had a varsity team? There was a boys JV team last year, no varsity last year.

 

The most fascinating aspect of this IMO is how the coach didn't go through the normal hiring process. I could see if it was a club sport like LAX is/was at CCH but a varsity sport?

 

In reference to this situation .... TIP OF THE ICEBERG!!

Since soccer is not divided by classes for state tournament purposes, there are not that many (1A or 2A) that compete regularly at the state level just for that reason. I think any single A school, regardless of whether they have both football and soccer, would have trouble regularly contending w/ St. X, Trinity or Dunbar, etc.

 

To say you have to be able to be at the highest level to justify existence of a soccer program seems to be an unrealistic bar to set for smaller schools or any school really. If the interest is there (and it has been for a long time), then start the program. Budget-wise, the cost is very small for soccer when compared with football.

 

In the early 80's Beechwood fielded a varsity boys soccer team for a year or two before it was squashed by the helmet heads.

 

Nice Try. Might want to get your facts straight before you post. In the 80's, Soccer was a Spring Sport so it didn't have anything to do with Football. It did end with the change back to Fall. Beechwood averaged less than 250 students 9-12 in the early 80's. There is no way they could have supported Football and Soccer back then. The reason it can be done now is because there are more students.

I appreciate all the info being shared. The whole story is always better than one side of the story. My suggestion is once the new gym is finished, fix the field up top so it works for soccer and baseball. It would be even better if they could find a way to get softball onto that field also.

 

(Also, side note, I don't think the baseball team played any home games this past season either. Do the boys soccer people know that?)

 

If the above facility plan doesn't work, Ft. Mitchell Park should be worked into the facilities plan. Highlands does it with their city park (Tower Park?) that is used for athletics. I don't know why Beechwood couldn't do it with Ft. Mitchell Park.

 

It seems pretty silly that the boys soccer team doesn't work out on the soccer field up top. That is where the girls team plays. There should be time when that field is open with no one on it. I don't understand why the boys team doesn't use that field.

 

The Beechwood Program started at Ft. Mitchell Park. The Parks Director does not take care of the field. Heck, is not suitable for Youth Soccer, yet alone a Varsity program. The field at BW (Baseball Outfield) is far superior to the Park, but its not close to what the kids deserve. Comparing Fort Mitchell Park to what Highlands uses is a joke. That City-owned field is one of the top soccer fields in the area.

The Beechwood Program started at Ft. Mitchell Park. The Parks Director does not take care of the field. Heck, is not suitable for Youth Soccer, yet alone a Varsity program. The field at BW (Baseball Outfield) is far superior to the Park, but its not close to what the kids deserve. Comparing Fort Mitchell Park to what Highlands uses is a joke. That City-owned field is one of the top soccer fields in the area.

 

I agree there would have to be big upgrades to make Fort Mitchell Park work and was not saying it is anywhere near as good as Highlands city park arrangement. Ft. Mitchell Park is a very close by facility that perhaps could be a solution if upgraded. For now, getting the baseball / soccer field upgraded at the school seems to be the answer

The Beechwood Program started at Ft. Mitchell Park. The Parks Director does not take care of the field. Heck, is not suitable for Youth Soccer, yet alone a Varsity program. The field at BW (Baseball Outfield) is far superior to the Park, but its not close to what the kids deserve. Comparing Fort Mitchell Park to what Highlands uses is a joke. That City-owned field is one of the top soccer fields in the area.

 

They just redid Fort Mitchell Park ... and they work on it daily. It is pretty nice now. (But it certainly needed work).

 

The field up top has been compared to a minefield in this thread ... but I was just up there about 30 minutes ago ... it certainly isn't close to a mindfield ... but the girls still deserve better.

 

Right/wrong/indifferent ... I think the answer is turfing that field. I think it can be done ... and we can get a better deal on turf if we find a way to get it done at the same time that the football field is returfed.

 

If we can find a way to turf up top ... it would be a great venue. There was a game there last year ... maybe a district or all a game ... lot of attendance ... pretty close to the field ... I am not a soccer guy ... but I stayed simply because it is an electric atmosphere. Once the gym is built .. we go back to having the amount of space. Get rid of the softball diamond on the far end that is never used ... you can fit the soccer field with plenty of run off space.

 

Upfront ... my motivation is to help the girls soccer team ... because they SUFFERED to make things work. There were only dead ends ... no doorways. If the boys team can piggyback onto that ... cool. (I just need to focus on something else to get myself going).

 

Like I said before ... I would much rather be part of the solution than the problem ... I will work (happily and well) with anyone who wants to help me. We can all keep arguing ... or we can put our heads together and make things work. I am ready.

 

If that isn't good enough for the boys program .... then I think it becomes more than obvious that this isn't even about facilities or anything other than picking a fight with football (which is certainly the way that this thread has turned to).

Again. For the sake of the Boys and Girls, put soccer lines on the football field when it is redone. That is the only fair solution. Ignoring it entirely is pointless. No one is asking for an exception to the 3 year "agreement" but to not plan for the future is foolish. Most schools tend to make more money renting their turf to local youth soccer teams in the summer than they do renting to youth football I would think.

 

Again this is for boys and girls, I'm pretty sure their were complaints of no field from the girls teams as well so don't think this is an issue just because they have a boys team now.

Again. For the sake of the Boys and Girls, put soccer lines on the football field when it is redone. That is the only fair solution. Ignoring it entirely is pointless. No one is asking for an exception to the 3 year "agreement" but to not plan for the future is foolish. Most schools tend to make more money renting their turf to local youth soccer teams in the summer than they do renting to youth football I would think.

 

Again this is for boys and girls, I'm pretty sure their were complaints of no field from the girls teams as well so don't think this is an issue just because they have a boys team now.

 

Point proven ...

"That is the only fair solution" .... seriously ... do the soccer people at Beechwood hate football so bad that they are willing to go toe to toe as opposed to finding a better answer that works for everyone ... not just soccer?

 

Go ahead .. put lines on the field .. which means that we will eventually lose 1.5 lanes of a 4 lane track (and it will be that way .. because the drainage patterns change). Who cares if the 100+ track kids lose their space ... those 14 soccer players certainly deserve it much, much more.

 

The only TRUE fair solution ... is to get the baseball and soccer teams to start a capital campaign to turf the field on top. It solves a ton of issues for every team .. not just football.

 

I don't even know what to say anymore.