WoodyJr

Correct. Thats why I was confused about one of the quotes by the Royals coach about wanting to have a good showing as the 16th rep "for a change" [i don't have the exact quote handy, but that was the basic jist of it]. Perhaps she was taken out of context. And no this is not an attack at any school or its fans. Cheers, Woody Jr

Here's a fun idea for the JC game: How about we just line up the FB/LB for each team ( Fields Davis and Blake Johnson ) at opposing 45 yd lines and have them go one on one with each other to see who wins? Thats probably what we'll see a whole bunch of ( I HOPE ) in the actual game so we might as well reduce it to the basics, right ? :thumb: I'd enjoy that about as much as anything else Cheers, Woody Jr

Way to go 16th Region :jump: Nothing to lose tonight, have fun & play loose :banana: Cheers, Woody Jr

OK guys you are officially responsible for providing details of the scrimmage to those of us unfortunates who can't get our ultimate sport fix today Cheers, Woody Jr

If thats the mans opinion why is it considered classless? He didn't say anything personal about any other coach or player. Just wondering. Woody Jr

I'm glad we (Ashland) are hooking up with you guys again. Hate that we don't have "Arnton" this year due to a quirk in the schedule. We'll have them back next year I believe, hope we can have both.:thumb: We've always had great battles, especially when we first dropped back into AAA where you guys had been to Louisville so many years in a row. Cheers, Woody Jr

Why can't folks just congratulate the youngsters who have won awards without adding negative comments (from overt to subtle) which so often are simply veiled jabs at others?:irked: Sometimes it seems to me that this site becomes a forum for one's paranoia about their school. Perhaps grudges are carried over from previous discussions? Broad sweeping generalizations that suggest most everyone is involved in this or that, as well as stating you know why someone else chose to act in a certain manner are just not fair, in addition to frequently being dead wrong.:sssh: Any recognition/awards announced will have some believing another person should have been chosen. That doesn't necessarily mean the organization "owes" you an explanation, let alone an explanation. You can cheer the person you prefer without denegrating another person/organization/school, or group of people:thumb: Woody Jr

A neat one I ran into at the Ohio State camp years ago was soft tossing basketballs to the batter. (It was indoors against the net at the Woody Hayes Center so you didnt have to chase all over:cool: ) I presume batters should build up pretty good wrist strength/snap with this. You can do regular wrist curls but incorporating it into the actual swing in coordination with the rest of the mechanics probably gives an added benefit. P.S. I'm not sure if you may want to use an old bat with this drill. As some have mentioned; the small golf ball size wiffles force even more focus and give a better idea of how off the swing is. Cheers, Woody Jr P.S. I like marshmellows too because you can get real close and hit the target areas you want to work on real consistently. The caveat is ... make sure there are no dogs around or they will drive you nuts

You've repeatedly done both; twist peoples words AND misinterpret posts, in addition to making baseless comments such as "small schools are better academically than large schools." Thats an incredibly poor generalization. I was pointing out how you had apparently seriously misunderstood me by mistakenly taking a small section of one of my sentences literally rather than reading the entire thing. Then your above post started with: I'm sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to interpret your post literally.You didn't even respond to what I said. Do you not understand what I meant? I was saying that you're NOT supposed to interpret a PART of it literally! You then boast that you "actually proved your point that basketball is a physical game too." Read my original post ...slowly if necessary, I DID NOT say anything about basketball not being physical. The point I was bringing up in regards to classifying football is that FOOTBALL HAS TO BE CLASSIFIED for the small schools due to their inability to compete week-in and week-out against big schools. If you don't understand that concept then you should go ask some small school coaches about what would happen to their team if they played bigger schools most every week. Whatever happened in some basketball game you happened to witness has NOTHING to do with the point I was making. You then prattle on AGAIN about 6 classes for football and 2 for basketball and what that particular number of trophies does, or does not represent. and you keep mentioning the total number of football and basketball teams in the state. You state "..that's hardly every kid needs a trophy". That has NOTHING to do with my original post. Again, go back & read slowly.... In response to the idea of affording more kids an opportunity to win a championship, I SAID THIS: "It REMINDS me of the every kids needs a trophy mentality that an ever increasing number of parents have." Please try to understand what that statement means before you go off about that other stuff - I'm not debating the number of classes for each. Respond to someone else if thats what you want to argue about. Finally, Guru stated that small schools have NO CHANCE to win a championship in basketball. I simply posted that he was wrong because Paintsville DID win the championship within the last 10 years. You responded by stating you had spent " a long time searching the KHSAA website for this smaller school championship speak of and couldnt find it" So.... I simply pointed out to you that Paintsville was considered a small school. You then feel the need to come back with "I never said it's not possible but is it realistic year in and year out? History says otherwise, as the Guru has stated." Just take your medicine and give up man. Theres no need for you to create some comeback when you have no ground to stand on. You made a smart aleck post about no small school winning and everyone could see how uninformed you are. I simply posted it where all could be reminded of it:p It's apparent you can't decide which side of an issue you want to argue about. I NEVER ACCUSED YOU OF SAYING THAT. I was responding to Guru's posting and you stuck your nose into it. HE SAID it was NOT possible and I simply pointed out that it WAS POSSIBLE because it happened!!!! Either you have great difficulty using the KHSAA website OR apparently your understanding of Kentucky high school sports is so poor that you don't know Paintsville (a) is a small school (b) has won state championships. This is my last attempt at setting this straight for you. Woody

As a Tomcat whose knowledge of Paintsville is from a distance, with casual contact through following HS to youth sports for quite some time, I'm curious about how JC's success/coaches/size/etc. effects your coach situation. I was just curious whether JC's increased focus on football with Matney arriving may have encouraged coach Runyon to take on football this last year to help keep an excellent Paintsville football program from losing ground? Cheers, Woody Jr

Dear Mom: Except for a few exceptions, small schools cannot compete against larger numbers of the big schools on a week-in, week-out basis. They will get beat up (not literally of course) and not be able to maintain their programs due to more limited numbers available for participation. An example would be schools with offensive & defensive squads with subs at each position. They would wear down kids going both ways, etc and risk of injury goes WAY UP. [im sure lots of people can provide a specific example to counter this but Im using just to provide a basis for the argument] An example of this is NCAA football with the smaller D1 schools getting squeezed out by the "super powers". They almost invariably take a beating whenever they play one of the big boys (for a paycheck), though they do win sometimes, but they cannot do it consistently. Cheers, Woody Jr

Dear Sticky, I don't know where to begin in my effort to help you in reading comprehension. You appear to have taken selected portions of my post and dissected the literal meaning of that rather than the meaning of entire sentences. I referred to "the physical nature of [football]" to support my view. What does one basketball game have to do with any of this? How many people do you know who actually think basketball is a more physical game than football? I stated: "This reminds me of the every kid needs a trophy mentality..." What in the world are you talking about with 6 football trophies and 2 basketball trophies? My discussion is about the concept or motives of this type approach. Perhaps the KHSAA messed up but last I heard, Paintsville is one of the smallest schools in the state. Sorry but I in NO WAY implied "all public schools follow the rules to a tee". I referred to: "the rules they are supposed to follow..." How can you twist my words this badly???? Woody Jr

Sorry Guru, Classification IS necessary in football due to the "physical" nature of the sport. Football teams cannot compete week in & week out against larger squads without risk of injury, etc. (perhaps there are some exceptions someone may want to argue, but a couple games per year against the big boys is NOT the same as playing them every week) Classification of basketball is NOT "necessary" - it's a feel good issue only. This reminds me of the "every kid needs a trophy" mentality of an ever increasing number of parents. Folks need to grow up and realize that young people are not psychologically damaged by not winning a championship. This is a slippery slope issue as well - where does it end? Every sport classified? Academic contests classified? Since there have been smaller school champions in basketball in the last 10 years, then they DO have a chance! How about if we cherry-pick a region that has never won a championship. Does that mean they dont have a chance? You accuse public schools of wanting to "change" the rules. I would suggest they are simply asking that the rules they are supposed to follow be extended to others (some who are thought to be taking advantage). While you choose to say its hypocritical, others could view it as being based in "principle," simply as an extension of the basic rules governing the education system. Unless of course we want anarchy where each school makes their own determination what is right. Woody Jr

Those are 2 different debates. If someone moves into our "public" school district, aren't we bound by law to allow the child to attend the school? Just curious? Woody

The other point I never see clarified concerns the difference between those who have actually moved their official residence into the school districts boundary for reasons such as job, family situation, or other personal reason vs. those who apparently just pick where they are going to attend. Im showing my age, but didnt it used to be strictly a matter of what school district one actually resided in? - excepting of course religious options. [im aware folks can subvert the alleged "reason" for moving, but thats for another thread] Woody

as an Ashland Tomcat fan........ I choose football #1 because I feel its the ultimate team game where (usually/not always): - more youngsters can be, and feel a part of a "team," - 1 or a couple of spectacular talents don't regularly dominate the outcome, - the coach typically isn't the focus or as seemingly manipulative of the game process, like say basketball or baseball [ie., not "telling" the players what to do "as" they are playing] - officials seemingly aren't as determinative in the outcome of games with their judgement calls [Fball seems to have less variance in judgement calls] - there is a ritualistic routine of weekly game preparation and excitment building up to the event (a natural cycle, if you will, psychologically) - less of an "individualistic" focus [leaving out TO & Randy Moss that is] has a positive impact on our society. Whoops, Sorry... maybe a little too much sociology there on that last one:creepy: After all, this is about SPORTS:banana: Football is also usually the money maker for most of the other smaller sports programs. I recognize that there are some schools which just cannot afford the sport b/c of the needed equipment, facilities, etc. Smaller schools can also have difficulty fielding competitive teams. I obviously don't intend my points as 100% fact, just an overall perspective of the sport. Anyone could easily point out individual examples that differ, but I think these are very reasonable truisms. That doesnt mean someone else can't enjoy another sport more. Ashland has a long & storied history of championships in MANY sports. Different sports have peaked in different eras of our school, success has varied with the rise & fall of talent, and we are no longer near one of the bigger schools with resources,etc. that many others don't have; but overall we have good support for all the sports that are offered at Ashland - basically no sport gets an overwhelming focus to the detriment of others. We aren't able to offer all the sports, or perhaps the level of $, etc that some of the huge programs are able to, or choose to do, but thats life. [theres no need to insinuate specific schools or cities b/c some folks on here seem to always turn topics into shooting arrows at others] P.S. I support great academic achievement & other extracurricular activities as well. Cheers, Woody Jr

I would say that Russell left you in the dust, as usual, academically and this year did the same in athletics. Whoa now Bob. You're out of line there. If you want to critique a members comments directed to "someone else" then thats your judgement but to make a ridiculous statement like the above shows either a too quick trigger on the keyboard or a distorted view of reality, or maybe both. Russell hasn't left Ashland "in the dust" in ANYTHING. Woody

OK now my opinion has been reinforced After our regions TOTAL embarassment at state this year (which will set back our reputation around the state for a LONG time) we should invite ZERO region teams :irked: Get ANYONE DECENT from other parts of the state and give up the tradition of an "all Kentucky" format. Go get some good teams from Ohio, WV and/or elsewhere so that the better KY teams will want to come here and play. I've suggested this for years. Its nice to stick with tradition but if we want to improve basketball, then change is needed (IMHO). Cheers, Woody Jr

Nice question to elicit input from members:thumb: I couldn't tell if the focus was why privates "couldn't [can't]" win in basketball, or publics allegedly "aren't" as successful in football. I don't think one is necessarily the flip side of the other (IMO). Also, perhaps there's a little apple/orange issue that could be clarified in your question. You start out with the Trinity/StX statement - which seems to be about an ongoing domination over a period of years. Then you mention the A/AA/AAA football results for this year along with the basketball results for this year. A one year snap shot is tricky for analysis purposes. Also, instead of just looking at the football champion, what if we looked at all the regional champions in each class? Would that higher # offer a more representative comparison? Also, what happens if we include other sports in the analysis? That could add/detract to others excellent opinions about this. Don't a few schools dominate the minor sports? That would probably help support the larger school #'s, money, facilities point I believe. Others have offered several excellent opinions on this. It would take a long post to do it justice. Cheers, Woody Jr

Its always nice to showcase good regional teams, especially when they exhibit respect for the AIT, its tradition, its history, and those involved in putting it on. Various schools have had strong teams at different periods and periodically folks get their panties in a twist about whose invited, but to my way of thinking there is no team in our region that has ever been worth worrying about, or having to listen to their whining fans. If they are so great, I imagine one of the zillion other tourneys now going on will invite them anyway. When the AIT hinges on any other local school - its time to close up shop:rolleyes: Woody Jr

Its cyclical and with regions having more smaller schools it doesnt seem out of line to consider that they cycle up less frequently. Additionally, the economy certainly hasn't done small towns & rural areas any favors in terms of supporting population stability, let alone growth potential Clay had their run, as did Paintsville - who beat Ashland (16th Region) for their title. P.S. the definition of "mountains" as well as "Eastern KY" always seems open to broad parameters:rolleyes: Cheers, Woody Jr

Didnt he just get to the Ohio State Championship game last year with Ironton ? Woody Jr

Hi Graybeard: First off, thanx to you & yours for being such an important part of Tomcat Nation and our continued success. Yes, everyone is ALWAYS "out to get us", regardless of any other factors - only Tomcats know how much everyone shoots for us :lol: I'm all with you in regards to recognition of the youngsters off season efforts, nothing wrong with LOTS of recognition for that matter. We used to have lift-a-thon fundraisers in the off season. Do they still do that? And/or have there been any thoughts about lifting contests? Of course that is completely up to coach Hart. Sorry if my post insinuated "we" shouldn't be the one setting the bar for everyone else - that is definitely NOT what I wanted to suggest:cry: I was just considering the concept of basically handing our competitors a concrete number(lifts) for them to aim for. Anyway, no doubt some folks may like to do so for psych reasons or perhaps as some have posted, they aren't believed anyway. I completely agree with you on the high expectations and youngsters achieving them. Anyone who knows me can vouch for the standard that I encouraged kids to reach for - in sports, school, & life. My short visit back to Ashland this past fall, including visiting for an afternoon in the JFL pressbox suggests to me that you & yours follow a similar model. The double top secret stuff - others will tell you that I was a master of that. But that was kinda suggested in my original comment about posting stats though, wasn't it:sssh: Anyway, it was just a topic to pass the off season - since I can't hang around & watch spring practice ...aaarggh:cry: Oh well, take care & best wishes. Cheers, Woody