Same number of kids at Boone as are in Cooper and Conner?

 

Are you saying suburban kids are better players than the kids living in Florence?

 

Better is a very subjective word. I will ask you the question. Do you think the kids at Covington Catholic are better players than the kids at Boone County? If yes, why?

Just because you have the same number of students doesn’t mean you have the same number of student-athletes interested in playing football. When you take a schools population and cut it by 2/3rds your bound to have difficulty getting the same talent for all sports throughout your school. Now when you take the fact they are land locked and have no opportunity for development it truly hinders their chances to compete.

 

Are you saying the current Boone enrollment is down 2/3 from the school's high point?

 

Is Beechwood land locked? They seem to do okay in sports?

Median income for Boone County is $73k. Median income for Florence is $57k. The Boone County money has moved away from Florence for Union, Hebron and Burlington.

 

Lots of studies show that kids from middle-class and low-income households are competing in organized sports less and less, and if you look around NKY the public school districts with higher percentages of lower-income households have football programs that are far less likely to compete. Ludlow, Bellevue, Dayton, Newport, Covington Holmes. Erlanger Lloyd is the relative anomaly, and they still generally are losing games to schools from higher-income areas.

 

Boone County has had a rash of unfortunate experiences between subpar experiences with coaches and a community that doesn't put much effort into supporting football. From what I've heard having an alum back as head coach has been an improvement to the team, but they're in a tough district and they're trying to rebuild.

 

If you can, provide the median incomes for Ludlow, Bellevue, Dayton, Newport, and Covington. I don't know what they are, but feel like the Florence figure is much higher.

 

Boyle County's median income is $49,654, so less than that of Florence. They seem to competing just fine?

Better is a very subjective word. I will ask you the question. Do you think the kids at Covington Catholic are better players than the kids at Boone County? If yes, why?

 

I feel like CovCath has a deeper roster than Boone. But there are 4 kids on the Boone roster who I would very much like to have on the CovCath roster.

 

There is nothing inherently better/worse about where the players come from.

I feel like CovCath has a deeper roster than Boone. But there are 4 kids on the Boone roster who I would very much like to have on the CovCath roster.

 

There is nothing inherently better/worse about where the players come from.

 

What has happened to the Boone County boys basketball team?

 

What has happened the Boone County girls basketball team that dominated girls basketball in N. Ky. for years?

 

Boone County baseball team was 12-19 last year; 15-10 in 2018; 3-20 in 2017.

I think the changing demographics plays a roll in the relative decline of Boone sports. But I also think the BCBOE has not put an emphasis on sport venues/coaches* either. Maybe they should/maybe they shouldn't. But once parents of kids who are into athletics sense a lack of commitment, they find ways to get their kids in other Boone County schools or up the road to Beechwood or CovCath. Once that happens, the downward spiral is almost impossible to stop. But saying it is all related to changing demographics seems like an easy way out and lets the BCBOE off the hook.

 

*I can't speak to the boys basketball situation, but I know any time a hall of fame caliber coaches retires, it's probably not going to be the same. As for baseball, Wayne Huff is as good an any coach in the area (see Boone's upset of Cooper in the districts this year for exhibit A) and the Rebels are feeling the effects of a talent draw down.

I'm confused about how the lack growth in Boone's district negatively impacts athletics. Does Boone not have roughly the same amount of students as Cooper and Conner? They are all 5A schools.

 

Boone also has a lot of kids who move away from the school due to its poor reputation. Most before they even arrive from middle school.

I feel like CovCath has a deeper roster than Boone. But there are 4 kids on the Boone roster who I would very much like to have on the CovCath roster.

 

There is nothing inherently better/worse about where the players come from.

 

Maybe those kids can’t afford tuition?

Are you saying the current Boone enrollment is down 2/3 from the school's high point?

 

Is Beechwood land locked? They seem to do okay in sports?

 

I guess the point is nobody is going out of there way to move to Boone, for the football, or the school. If anything people are moving away from it. My opinion of course.

There's 4 high schools in Boone County. Conner wasn't mentioned above and there's a lot of growth in the Hebron area also. I agree changing the zoning with schools and many parents are against redistricting to Boone County.

You can pay tuition to go to Beechwood if you are out of district.

I guess the point is nobody is going out of there way to move to Boone, for the football, or the school. If anything people are moving away from it. My opinion of course.

 

Not to mention that Beechwood accepts out of area students that pay to attend there. More than a few of their best athletes over the years haven’t lived in Beechwood’s district.

Are you saying the current Boone enrollment is down 2/3 from the school's high point?

 

Is Beechwood land locked? They seem to do okay in sports?

 

It might not be exactly but 2 schools have been added to that district and have taken Boone County’s drawing potential away from certain areas where they had it when they were a big school power. Beechwood is a bad example because Beechwood is an Independent and if they have low class numbers they can take tuition students where public schools can not.

 

The thing that I liked that Kenton County did was they made the district open so any kid that lives in Kenton County can choose which one of the 3 high schools in Kenton County they want to go to. Why can’t Boone do something similar because it may not affect BCHS immediately but what if they hired a coach that people wanted to play for then having the district lines prevents kids in Ryle and Coopers area from having that choice.

 

Let’s look at it success wise. BCHS was a big school power in the 80’s through early 90’s competing with Trinity and St. X on a yearly basis. Since then has any one of the schools been a threat to win a state title? While Cooper and Ryle have been competitive in NKY, the big school division in NKY has been mocked ever since the old BCHS has gone by the way side. Since 1975 BCHS was in 4 championship games and while losing all 4 they were competitive in almost all those games heck 1 game they lost 3-0 to St. X. Since 1994 only 1 Boone County school has been in a title game and that was Ryle and they lost 41-7 to Trinity. The competition level from NKY big school division has never rebounded since BCHS was split.

There's 4 high schools in Boone County. Conner wasn't mentioned above and there's a lot of growth in the Hebron area also. I agree changing the zoning with schools and many parents are against redistricting to Boone County.

 

You are correct Conner is considered a Boone County School but I’m old and always remember Conner being there so sometimes I forget they are considered a Boone County School. What year was Conner established?

Conner was established in 1970. This is the reason I didn't mention Conner in my explanation of the talent draw in my first post. BCHS was still having success in football into the 1990s and 2000s until both Ryle and Cooper were established. That is when the real talent draw began.

 

I agree that demographics isn't the only reason as the issue is complex. But demographics is a major reason. Neither Cov Cath or Beechwood are good counter arguments since they draw from across NKY.