Should KY classify softball

[Gunner11]

How many ranked teams are eligible for the All-A Classic?

 

6 possibly 7 this year.

 

CAL

NCC

Bishop Brossart

Holy Cross

St. Henry

LCA

Danville

[The Scribe]

I guess that could start a whole public/private issue, but we won't go there. I will say that four of those schools appear to be in the same region, and there are no mountain or far west schools on that list -- because soccer began in the Golden Triangle area first. In the same way Louisville schools dominate volleyball because they are years ahead of the curve.

 

I just know you'll never see a Region 2 team advance to the state title game because every year, they have to advance past big school Marshall County in the substate and a big school Bowling Green school just to make the tournament. The shame is, there have been some really good teams from Lyon and Caldwell County that may have won a game at the state tournament against a central Kentucky or eastern Kentucky school. It's a case of the field not being level.

[Gunner11]

That's a good arguement. But more and more schools are adding soccer.

 

And there were 215 schools who competed in track this year (74 in 1A,

69 in 2A, and 72 in 3A).

 

There were 195 schools who field a boys and/or girls soccer program this year.

 

There were 167 girls teams who participated in the KHSAA state tournament this year...

[The Scribe]

55 teams in each class. Right now, football is playing between 32-36 in each class. While I think six classes is too many, I can live with three classes in everything else.

[Gunner11]

I guess that could start a whole public/private issue, but we won't go there. I will say that four of those schools appear to be in the same region, and there are no mountain or far west schools on that list -- because soccer began in the Golden Triangle area first. In the same way Louisville schools dominate volleyball because they are years ahead of the curve.

 

I just know you'll never see a Region 2 team advance to the state title game because every year, they have to advance past big school Marshall County in the substate and a big school Bowling Green school just to make the tournament. The shame is, there have been some really good teams from Lyon and Caldwell County that may have won a game at the state tournament against a central Kentucky or eastern Kentucky school. It's a case of the field not being level.

 

This is a classification argument you are driving at not public/private. Stay focused... You could look at the entire tournament and find places where a team could have advanced further if they were apart of a different area of the state. Look at Bishop Brossart the last few years. One of the toughest districts in the state. I would argue the flip side that Lyon County and Caldwell County could not be that strong however if they could not get by Bowling Green, Greenwood, or Marshall County as WKY section 1 is 0-15 (which is truly stunning in the game of soccer where flukey things happen and the best team does not always win the game) in the state final four on the girls side. By the way those three you mentioned are all 3A schools and they have lost every year.

[Gunner11]

55 teams in each class. Right now, football is playing between 32-36 in each class. While I think six classes is too many, I can live with three classes in everything else.

 

Right but you could not have a 6 game post season in football, just too many games. A 5 game post season in soccer would be not enough IMO, seems very diluted. It takes 5 games currently to just make the state tournament and 8 or 9 games to win it all.

[The Scribe]

Better yet, just take the 16 region winners and play a Sweet 16 like they do in basketball with random draws. I could stomach that more than the current setup.

[Gunner11]

Better yet, just take the 16 region winners and play a Sweet 16 like they do in basketball with random draws. I could stomach that more than the current setup.

 

I would be fine with that as well, you still have to beat everyone you play to win it all. We actually took a vote on classification at our coaches meeting this year and it was voted down by a large majority. Luckily from those we have talked to at the KHSAA, they stated that they will rely on what the coaches and AD's want when it comes to classification and as of now, it is not needed or wanted. Might be a possibility down the road and the boys side is a better argument for it.

[westsider]

One note on this Reidland team ... the pitcher and catcher, both sophomores, are perhaps the best players on the team. Both transferred from Marshall County as eighth graders. If they had stayed there, Marshall (the biggest school in the region) would be in the midst of a dynasty.

[minnow]

One note on this Reidland team ... the pitcher and catcher, both sophomores, are perhaps the best players on the team. Both transferred from Marshall County as eighth graders. If they had stayed there, Marshall (the biggest school in the region) would be in the midst of a dynasty.

 

Transfers are an entirely different debate, just as public/private is. However, it does show that if you have a strong pitcher and catcher, smaller schools can compete with bigger schools.

 

I don't think, with the amount of developed talent in that area, that you could say any school could develop a dynasty. Both Reidland and Marshall could have easily lost in the first round of the region and any of the teams in there could have taken the title. When it could be 1 and done, it's hard enough to make it out of your own district in that region. There is just too much talent.

[Jim Schue]

Sorry, I thought Owensboro Catholic had been in the "All A".

 

 

I believe he was speaking in terms of the 2A FB classification.

 

O'Cath is most definitely an All-A participant school.

[Run and Hit]

I believe he was speaking in terms of the 2A FB classification.

 

O'Cath is most definitely an All-A participant school.

 

The proposal for softball is 3 classes based on Track and Field (like the All State Honorees are selected). This proposal is a few years in the making, but hasn't been passed.

 

Owensboro Catholic is 2A. Heath is 2A. Reidland is 2A. Calloway Co. is 3A. Lone Oak is 2A. All these teams have been in the state tournament in recent years, but some are confused as smaller schools. The one strong 1A school that I remember recently in the state was Middlesboro. That's the only one I have a recent memory of. The All A classic does something different in selecting All A participants. I haven't figured it out.

 

See http://www.kyhighschoolsoftball.com/members.htm as a guideline for classification.