TexasTea

I've seen Dunbar play several times this year and their speed up front will be a challenge for Brossart on the big field. They really like to get the ball out into space and let their skill players go to work. Also as a local comparison - played NCC at bluegrass (tied 1 -1), at St. Henry (Dunbar won 5-1). Both games were on grass and Dunbar couldn't utilize their speed up front. Beat Ryle 3 - 1 and tied Boone 3-3. Rooting for the locals . . . BTW - don't forget to bring your extra $4.00 for parking at NKU. Park down by the old city building and walk to save a few bucks. . .

Should be another great game between Highlands and NCC. By the way, a big shout out to the old 10th region teams - Covington Catholic, Highlands and Newport Central Catholic - for dominating the final 4 in this years 9th region tournament. Well played gentlemen!!!

Congratulations to NCC . . . it wasn't the prettiest game to watch but it was an effective demonstration of how to execute a strategy and move on. Even though time of possession and shots looked off, both teams only had 1 or 2 shots that were real threats. CCH continued it's recent success of scoring by moving the ball to the corner and a cross to the box which was muffed out every time by NCC. If you're a NKY soccer fan, you'll quickly notice this is how CCH has scored the majority of their goals coming into last nights game. As you saw, NCC allowed CCH to play the ball in the mid-field all game long because it was never a threat to score for that part of the field. NCC then countered with long balls out of the box.

Even though the NCAA mandates the maximum number of athletic scholarships for each sport, it's still up to the school as to how many athletic scholarships they're willing to fund. Once you get out of the big D-I conferences and into the D-II conferences, this becomes an added challenge for kids and one a lot of parents don't understand.

Calling play by play at soccer games is unacceptable. I believe there's a bylaw with the KHSAA regarding public address announcing. Is anyone familiar with this and why it's not enforced?

Don't believe any excuses are being made. Just stating that it's a long season and coaches are trying to develop and rest players during this part of the schedule no matter who the opponent might be.

Should have been, could have been, might have been . . . . . these are all statements of a team that is starting to show some signs of fatigue from a long season. I'm not just saying this about CCH but all schools are starting to hit the wall after months of club ball and the continual grind of the high school season. Over the next 3 weeks, we'll begin to see the teams that can dig deep and beat the teams they should while still getting better each game. Coaches are beginning to rest players, take extra days off of practice and get everyone healthy for the stretch run. Gone are the early season blowouts and now the chest game begins. . . if only I could have . . . . or should have . . .

I would agree there doesn't seem to be any standout players this year within NKY. I suppose the better question would be.....what players are game changers? By this I mean who are the players that if they weren't on the field, the team overall performance would significantly suffer.

Because the issuing school actually pays for each coaches pass. I believe the schools either pays KHSAA or the NKAC and hear that it can be very costly for the High schools. Nothing is for free . . . . .

The Enquirer had a nice article yesterday discussing the cost of High School Athletics, "Is the cost of High School Sports Worth It". The article does an excellent job of framing the challenges with maintaining High School Sports programs. So we vent today about paying to see our kids participate in an environment we all truly love (High School Sports), but tomorrow they might not have the chance to even pay $6.00 to see their kids perform.

I do stand corrected as our definition of maintenance is slightly different. The county did assist with bringing in the top soil for the baseball field which came from Tower Park (Highlands) when they installed their turf. However, it's a dedicated group of parents who tirelessly perform the ongoing maintenance of the fields and the construction of all the facilities (limited at this point). The county does maintain outside of the fields and the little soccer fields to the right when you enter the park. In any case, it's been a long hull for a school that's land locked and not much available space in Campbell County to develop their own complex. Hopefully, they'll be able to continue with the improvements and make the fields an enjoyable experience for both the players and fans. As our friends at CCHS, NDA, St. Henry, Brossart and NCC know, it's not easy developing and maintaining their sports complexes without the aid of state funding. Which of these schools will be the first to install a new instant replay scoreboard?

So let's put a few things into perspective......it's high school soccer which typically draws an average of 100 or so fans per game. So a $1.00 extra for admission isn't going to make or break a high school. As for the facilities at the game, not the best but it's a field that NCC can call their own and I'm sure they will be making more improvements over the next few years. It's my understanding that the county doesn't provide any support for either the baseball or soccer fields. All maintenance and improvements to both facilities has been supported through the parents of each team............By the way, did anyone notice that Senior Citizens were admitted for free????