SportsDummy

The Rec Bowl and the Kentucky Prep Classic are put on by committees - neither are associated with Montgomery County High. They only rent the facilities from the school. The Prep Classic is put on by Tri-State Sports (Ira Combs), the Rec Bowl is put on by a group of local citizens. It would be great to see the Rec Bowl revamped.

Good points - but basketball, soccer and baseball all have teams outside of school teams. Football doesn't - that may become necessary though. So the three weeks that football gets is very minor compared to the opportunities for play that the other sports get.

I agree! I alway hold my breath during all that pre-game nonsense.

Just had to bring this up because in the previous year's posts the hospitality room was such a big draw for having the tournament at Mason, but I haven't heard in mentioned this year. Was the hospitality room good?

Far away from what? In the pics on these posts it doesn't look that far away -and no I haven't been at the gym when the stage has been open, but right now the cheerleaders are in front of the stage - who are they leading? I am serious in my question because I don't understand the statement that the cheering sections would not be able to hear each other. Help me out.

I was suggesting moving the cheering/student sections with the cheerleaders to opposite ends of the gym - leaving the sides open to others. I wasn't at the Mason/GRC game - but I was at other games during the week where the fans of one team was behind the bench of the other team. By moving the cheering/student sections to each end - there are plenty of seats for other spectators.

I don't know if a neutral facility is always going to solve the HCA. The team that has to drive 1 - 1 1/2 hours three times is at a disadvantage. More fans will attend when drive and the time of the game isn't a problem. These things give teams a HCA. I think it is more than just the building that gives HCA. I know there isn't a perfect solution. But what we do right now is not a very good solution.

I am not so sure that this wouldn't be worth a try for basketball.

I also posted this idea in the Concessions thread, but thought it might be appropriate here also. I suggest putting the cheerleaders and student sections on either end of the gym. The students sections would be behind the cheerleaders. I understand the stage section would be less desirable than the the other end, but I still believe it would be better than the current situation. (I know the argument that stage isn't used for every game, but for the tournament it should used) The areas behind the benches would be for fans of each team (hopefully adults, parents, etc) Obviously those seats close to the bench don't offer as good a view, so the only reason for sitting there is to taunt the team or offer support to the team. Basically you would be dividing the gym in half at mid court. Again, I don't know who constitutes the "Mason Faithful" that won't change seats for the tournament - so I can't address where they would go. I believe there is a solution to this that will satisfy more people than the current situation. You have to think outside the box. It is easy to do the "same old thing" unless you make an effort to make improvements. There are several possibilities for great matchups in the 10th region and every team should have a good experience. Let's make it more "collegiate" and less "amateur heckling". Give the students a chance to support their teams in an organized way. And lastly, let the AD at Mason know some of the concerns. I don't know if he reads this or not, but he can't fix it if he doesn't know it is a problem. Don't assume he knows.

One more attempt at a seating solution for the Mason Co gym - What if you divide the gym at mid-court - each team, fans etc get 1/2 of the gym -with the cheerleaders on each end of the gym, the students (i.e. rowdy crowd) would be at each end, even carrying over to the corners of each side. I know there is an argument that the stage is not always used, not as good of seating, etc. But for the tournment it should be used. The area behind the benches would could then by used by fans of that team, hopefully parents and adults who aren't going to be as taunting as students. (and I think there is a place for loud student sections, they certainly do add to the atmosphere) I am not sure who the "Mason Faithful" are they won't move for the tournament, so I really don't know where they sit, or how many there are - so I don't know how to deal with them. If I had more information, I might come up a solution. All of this discussion is only going to be useful if the tournament planners are reading this. So I would also suggest that anyone who has serious ideas about the tournament, send the Mason County AD a letter. But use common sense, don't rant and rave like we have on here. Let's attempt to make the tournament good for everyone.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the discussion of concessions in the Fieldhouse - it is probably wrong to bring in the outcome of the games in this thread. I am not reading this thread because I am interested in who won the game. Your opinion that the game is for the players has some merit, but there is no reason the tournament hosts shouldn't be concerned with those that paid admission to enter the games. After this year's tournament, it seems obvious the logistics of the tournament need to be addressed by a committee, and not by those at the drawing. Coaches are coaches, not event planners, they shouldn't have to worry about the details. There should be a tournament committee comprised of people in the 10th region who have an interest in putting on a nice event. It can be held at the Fieldhouse every year if that is the decision. Just because you have a facilities doesn't mean you can put together the event. And that is what I thought this tread was about.

I found out the Sweet 16 started in 1918 - any idea what teams made up the various Regions then. I know many schools have consolidated and names might not be the same.

I bet the guys with the white rope weren't about to stop this crowd - therefore why were they there the rest of the time - it is just funny that they spent so much effort on protecting the floor and so little effort on the rest of the details. Note - those details had no influence on who won the game - only on the fans impression of the tournament

Which is the best way to get to Mason Co from Winchester - Google has either US 68 through Paris or Highway 11 from Mt. Sterling - only a few miles different - but which is the favored route.

No doubt next year's draw will have a lot of issues brought up. Let's just hope that the organizers listen and not spend all their time defending what they have done in the past. It has been said many times on this thread, if you have done this tournament this long, you should have it down pat. Not every team is at the tournament every year, not every coach and official is a veteran; therefore wouldn't have the knowledge that these issues aren't addressed correctly (i.e. wouldn't have brought it up at the draw) It is probably more obvious this year since both boys and girls were at the same location and many people were there for more games. A host school for another tournament I was at sent out a printed agenda (much like the KHSAA does for the state tournaments) addressing all the issues necessary. You would think since Mason has been to the state tournament a few times they would do the same.

A couple of thoughts come to mind on the discussion of the seasons and sports. Football and Baseball are dependent on the weather. Basketball isn't. Let Baseball play in the spring, and continue in the summer till dead period. Let football have 7on7's prior to dead period. Let basketball have their camps right after dead period and before fb practice starts. Players may have to choose between summer baseball and fb, but they have already been playing and practicing baseball and can participate when they are available while still preparing for football. Basketball really never stops with the concept of open gym. Also, players sometimes think they want to play in June, but come November it doesn't work out - new players, new interests, etc. So is there a real benefit from requiring anyone interested in basketball to participate in June - it is five months away from the season. Soccer and basketball can practice a lot of their skills without the whole team, baseball and especially football need the team to practice. They should be given priority prior to their seasons to prepare.

If you aren't cheering and it is just you, you probably are the problem the rest of these posts are about. We are all talking about the logistics - a team's cheerleaders doesn't need to be cheering to a student section sitting behind the opposing teams bench. That is just rude! Each team deserves it's own space for the cheerleaders, band and students and they shouldn't interfere with the other team fans, team, band or cheerleaders. I am sure if this happened at other locations, Mason County would complain as much as the rest of us are complaining. Right now it seems as if Mason County would defend every aspect of the tournment regardless of whether it made sense or not.

This thread is so entertaining!! The Mason Countians should have gone to the last two tournaments with the intent of gathering ideas so they could be more successful when they were the hosts. But it seems as if they stayed home and pouted, and now that others are bringing to their attention the nice things about the other tournaments, they are are offended. I would love to hear even one Mason Countian admit they could make improvements. I will give you that the gym is a nice atmosphere for games - but the rest of the details of the tournament certainly need tweaking. God gave you two ears and one mouth for reason - listen twice as much as you talk. I don't think anyone is saying it can't be done right, they are just wondering why it isn't done right. Think about it and see what you can do to improve it next year.

Which is the home side during the regular season - team bench side or the other side?

I agree with what was said earlier, the complaints are more numerous now because we have seen what others can do to put on a top notch tourney. And it is not the responsibility of the coaches to tell the hosts what to do - it is the hosts responsibility to know what to do - besides from the sound of things on this post, they wouldn't listen to the coaches anymore than they are listening to the posters. Since it is at Mason County next year, let's see if they can make the adjustments necessary. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

As much as I hated to see MoCo not advance to the state this year - especially for the seniors and for Jenny - congratulations to Janie Robinson and the girls for their efforts under difficult circumstances - i.e. injuries, youth, etc. They continued to play hard all season. The younger players will no doubt benefit from this season. The future is bright!!

I like first round games at top seeded location, semi's and finals can be at another location. There aren't a handful of people who go purely to watch games - most fans are only there for their team -

The only reason there are complaints about the fieldhouse now, is because we have been other places, and seen things that Mason County Hosts could improve on. For almost 40 years, there were no other choices and no other opportunities for comparison. It is different now, welcome to the future. If the Mason County faithful had gone to the other venues, chances are they could have brought home some ideas. But, it sounds like Mason County fans are just that only Mason County fans, not the 10th region fans they have claimed to be. They only attend the tournament when it is at home.

Exactly, let the school run the concessions, and in this region, split the proceeds with the visiting teams since it seems to be locked in at the same location for years to come - it is easy to make $500 a night (conservatively) on regular season games - during the Region $1000 is not out of the question. (and yes I have ran concession stands plenty of times so this is not a random statement) This year the concessions, if ran right, would bring in $7000 easy (excluding expenses)

And the game I was at, Montgomery was behind Bracken's bench - terrible planning - and not a hard problem for the administration to solve. It should not be up to the coaches to request a change. And why are both teams cheerleaders on the same end and not always close to their student section - As for the concession people having other issues to deal with, might be so, and if so, turn it over to another group, don't penalize everyone because of a situation you are dealing with. Mason County has had plenty of time to make plans for this tournament. I have been to two events lately when the host school found out two weeks prior they were hosting state level events that had to be rescheduled in a different location due to weather cancellations at the original location and they were much better prepared than Mason has been for the tournament up to this point.