Lots of whinning and cryin on here about Highlands facilities. It all started last night with Ryle coach demanding that he have full access to his sideline without any fan interference, threatening a police officer over it, threatening to call Julian Tackett over and threatening not to play the game unless he got his way. Then we have people on here complaining about the safety of the facilities. A few words of advice. Dont schedule Highlands if you dont like the facilities, dont stand in the last row on the bench and dont complain about injuries because they are part of the game. And dont threaten a police officer for gods sake. Are you kiddin me. Its not like Ryle has never played in Ft Thomas and to come in there and start your nite off like that, well, your in for a long nite. One word for anyone who thinks they are going to change that facility. GRANDFATHERED. Go Birds 20n10

 

To be fair sweeperboy-some of it is coming from Highlands fans.

That last response was classic.......BTW, was it not just about 6 years ago that HHS's field was considered state of the art in playing surfaces? It surely did not go downhill that fast.....Even Ryle's county funded field won't be considered new in about 3 years. Geesh, get over it folks. HHS would have won that game in a cow pasture, so don't make excuses Ryle fans.

 

No one has said nor implied that Ryle lost because of the field or facilities. HHS won fair and square. But there are some legitimate issues/questions involving the quality and safety of the overall facility, much of it even voiced by HHS fans. I hardly think a coach "demanding that he have full access to his sideline without any fan interference" is an over-the-top request. If there is an issue with the amount of space around the sidelines (there is) and no adjacent cow pastures available for expansion, perhaps Highlands should limit the number of persons they allow through the gate.

After 5 hours in the car today , I came up with the perfect solution to the problem. You and about 10 of your close buddies volunteer to police the perimeter of the field. I'm sure the school would give you free passes to the games and then you wouldn't have to wait in the ticket lines any more. You could help the school and keep the kids safe. And you would have field level view of the game.:thumb:

 

Or better yet take a small portion from the football kitty which is ten times that of any other sport at Hhs and hire a few rent a cops.

 

Henry you can't honestly tell us its right for bothe home and visiting fans to have to stand in those ridiculous lines while their friends, family members are on the field playing. All it takes is a little better planning. If they lack volunteers that bad then possibly you may see me working very soon. Maybe we can both sell tickets outside the gate. Top salesperson wins a 50 dollar gift certificate to the 915 ;-)

Edited August 29, 201016 yr by Birdsfan

I would like to query HHS players/staff/parents on the type of football shoes they are wearing on their home turf. We are losing a lot of ACLs to that turf (Senvisky last year -- but what a recovery!) but I suspect the age of the turf and the type is contributing to the frequent knee injuries sustained there. I believe Ryle players use the same cleats on all surfaces including last night, but that might be a mistake. This surface beckons back to Astroturf 1977 which was the type of surface that gave artificial turf a bad name. Back in the 'olden' days D1 coaches insisted on the use of more-or-less flat-bottomed shoes on these surfaces and regular cleats on grass. New turf allows use of cleats without the same 'twist risk', but I'm not sure the school trainers are up on these subtleties, or at least certainly there are no guidelines in place. Maybe there should be?

 

What are the Bluebird kids wearing? And should 'regular' football spikes be allowed on this surface due to the high tack and so little slip (especially when its not raining?)

 

I think if I am the coach I am looking into this unless I have a contract with Commonwealth Orthopedics.

 

Not sure I agree with the bolded. Our turf is made by Field Turf. The same turf installed in numerous NFL facilities. The same turf studied extensively by the NFL and the NFL Players Association for safety and approved. I don't think it's a turf related issue.

 

Many other teams have played at Highlands without a rash of knee injuries. So I don't think it's a cleat related issue unless Ryle is the only team not wearing the typical artificial turf cleat.

 

I think it's just a bad coincidence about the Ryle knee injuries. Best wishes to the young man. Let's hope and pray for a full and speedy recovery.

I agree totally.

 

The sideline issue is a joke. The pressbox is a joke. The field is a joke (compared to newer Artificial surfaces). I hear many Highlands faithful complaining as well, about one ticket booth and kids flying all around the playing area. A head football coach has every right to question the facility to a higher authority when there is a question of safety. Ryle's head coach may have used a particular tone which you felt threatening but the refs complied to his requests. Ryle received a sideline warning largely because there is no room on the sideline. I know thats the way you guys like it, make the opposing team uncomfortable...its time to class up the place. Great atmosphere though...lol.

 

It does take strong side line discipline to be a visitor at Highlands, but many a team has played at Highlands and not complained about it. And many of the games played by those opponents (Cincy X, CovCath, Elder for example) had large crowds. It's not optimum, admittedly. Personally, I think Warner was just tight and wound up before the game. I doubt that when he got up Saturday morning, the sideline issue was on the top 25 things he was concerned about.

 

I really do think parents really need to not allow their kids to just run around the game. I stand in the South endzone and see kids getting knocked down by other kids running and playing around almost every game. I'd say a large volume of pedestrian traffic behind the visitor's bench is kids just walking around from one end zone to the other during the game.

 

There is nothing wrong with the playing surface at Highlands. Actually it's better than the newer, cheaper types manufactured by other companies. There is still 2 years left on the 10 year warranty and we were told that the field would last longer than the 10 year warranty period.

 

Press box is rather "spartan" but honestly I really don't care about the press box. It works and that's all it has to do. If your griping about the press box condition, you're really grasping for things to complain about in my opinion. But hey, if that floats your boat, so be it.

 

Hopefully as adults we can be a little bit above the complaining tone on this thread, if for no other reason that kids read this site. We complain and whine; they complain and whine. If you have serious safety concerns about something at Highlands, send a well drafted letter to the School Board. That will get more attention than a post on here.

After 5 hours in the car today , I came up with the perfect solution to the problem. You and about 10 of your close buddies volunteer to police the perimeter of the field. I'm sure the school would give you free passes to the games and then you wouldn't have to wait in the ticket lines any more. You could help the school and keep the kids safe. And you would have field level view of the game.:thumb:

 

Or better yet take a small portion from the football kitty which is ten times that of any other sport at Hhs and hire a few rent a cops.

 

Henry you can't honestly tell us its right for bothe home and visiting fans to have to stand in those ridiculous lines while their friends, family members are on the field playing. All it takes is a little better planning. If they lack volunteers that bad then possibly you may see me working very soon. Maybe we can both sell tickets outside the gate. Top salesperson wins a 50 dollar gift certificate to the 915 ;-)

 

If it's a big concern, just buy a season ticket or buy a ticket at presale. Problem solved with a little better planning.

 

And I don't think you want to get into a competition with Henry involving anything related to Highlands football. Those are some deep and wide Highlands football roots there, my friend. You might win that competition at Bellevue, but at Highlands, you can forget about it. :banana:

Edited August 29, 201016 yr by Birdsfan

To be fair sweeperboy-some of it is coming from Highlands fans.

 

To be fair my friend History-most of the complaining is coming from parents and supporters who could give 2 cents about the Football program. As pointed out in another post about the unfairness of the kitty, go work a little harder on the Hoop it Up club. I did my part this past year with my contribution and I don't even have any interest on the team. I do it because I care, I do it because I think it's the right thing to do. I use to be one of those complainers until I realized that it was getting nowhere besides a trip to the principals office....LOL!!!!

If it's a big concern, just buy a season ticket or buy a ticket at presale. Problem solved with a little better planning.

 

And I don't think you want to get into a competition with Henry involving anything related to Highlands football. Those are some deep and wide Highlands football roots there, my friend. You might win that competition at Bellevue, but at Highlands, you can forget about it. :banana:

 

DING! DING! DING! We have a winner.

Edited August 29, 201016 yr by Birdsfan

All I'm saying is I think it stinks when a kid gets hurt where it could have been prevented. I guess having a viable complaint is against the Bird tradition let me note that. I do like LN idea about a letter maybe of will tell the parents of the child who was trampled and cleated that great idea. Poor kid had to miss his first youth football game over it. As far as the lines go it really isn't that big of a deal to be honest, a little better planning by myself would solve that problem. Buy a pass and send my guests to the line so they can wait. :-)

Edited August 29, 201016 yr by Qryche11

That last response was classic.......BTW, was it not just about 6 years ago that HHS's field was considered state of the art in playing surfaces? It surely did not go downhill that fast.....Even Ryle's county funded field won't be considered new in about 3 years. Geesh, get over it folks. HHS would have won that game in a cow pasture, so don't make excuses Ryle fans.

 

I was not aware that Ryle's field was county funded. The people at Conner, Cooper and Boone must be really ticked off that the BOE funded Ryle's field. Unfortunately, this is not Kenton Co., where the BOE funds athletic complex improvements.

Geesh...Qryche is a huge Bluebird fan simply giving a couple of suggestions for improvement and takes a bashing from his own fan base. I know it's a tough concept to grasp, but there are things that can be improved in this world.

Geesh...Qryche is a huge Bluebird fan simply giving a couple of suggestions for improvement and takes a bashing from his own fan base. I know it's a tough concept to grasp, but there are things that can be improved in this world.

 

Just a little trouble in paradise. Nothing for you to worry about Solomon. We will have plenty to talk to you about in a few weeks. LOL. Go Birds 20n10

Just a little trouble in paradise. Nothing for you to worry about Solomon. We will have plenty to talk to you about in a few weeks. LOL. Go Birds 20n10

 

True...but it won't be about ticket lines and facilities.

Geesh...Qryche is a huge Bluebird fan simply giving a couple of suggestions for improvement and takes a bashing from his own fan base. I know it's a tough concept to grasp, but there are things that can be improved in this world.

Maybe he is but this isn't the best place to be airing "Dirty" laundry....There is a better way to get things done!!!! Believe me, I know first hand!!!!

Hasn't there been some recent work done on Highlands field? As far as the kid situation goes it is a little crazy, but don't comingle that issue with Warner's tirade before the game. I'm sure Warner is a very frustrated coach when it comes to playing Highlands and his emotions got the best of him when he saw how big the crowd was going to get. I saw a Ryle player at the JV game wearing a boot. The kid was definitely a stud. I hope he has a speedy recovery. We may differ about who we think is better or not, but I talked to some very classy Ryle players and parents after the game Friday night. Heck there's one more game to played between the two schools. I'm getting there at 4:30 to get a seat.