2021 Inaugural Season: Three Rivers Conference

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Add a soccer team and lets talk.
Agreed. Yak. Soccer hurt Milton when we first started it. 1983 was the first year for soccer and look at our records, they tanked. It's one of the reasons I heard that Magoteaux left. I'm not sure, but I don't think any MAC schools have varsity soccer.
Milton has come out of that because of a coach named Pearce, in my opinion.
kirtland has soccer and they seem to put together good teams year in and year out. Boys soccer hurting football is a poor excuse people use to justify mediocrity. Coach Pearce is an average at best coach. Being personally coached by him he has a lot of flaws but Milton being happy just making the playoffs and not wanting to be the best he is considered a great coach. This league will just inflate the coaches heads thinking they are putting together great teams but when Northridge and Milton are playing for league titles it shows how bad this league is. Even if you throw east and Covington in the mix it is still a very poor league. I just don’t understand parents and fans not wanting teams competing for state championships like the MAC schools do.
 
Why do you think Milton does not want to be the best? Your whole paragraph made no sense to me? Your implying only the mac tries hard and has communities that want to win?
 
Soccer is a reason small schools don't field larger teams. It's a numbers game. My guess is that you played when Mitch did and you think that you were the best team ever at Milton playing the best talent in the SWBL. WELL, got news for ya kid, you weren't. Records and playoff runs are pretty recent gauges to football success. The teams at MU back in the 60s, 70s were much tougher, they just never got the chance to play in the playoffs.
If you think you can do a better job coaching, then do it. That would be my advice. Sure playing in this league isn't as rough, but Milton is actually a small Division V that is playing Division IV football.
Pearce is a good coach and has proven it with his record and his improvement as a coach. Antonides, Blackburn, Thoele, and Dickinson just complete the staff.
 
Milton needs this win because I feel that Riverside will be a very tough game in week 10. That game concerns me more than Northridge does.


Playoff Standings:
Region 16, Division 4
Milton-Union 8th
Northridge 10th

Region 20, Division 5
Bethel 22nd

Region 24, Division 6
Miami East 20th
Covington 22nd

Region 28, Division 7:
Riverside 5th
Troy Christian 14th
Lehman 21st
 
So first I did play on the teams with Mitch, do I think those were the best Milton teams, NO the teams in the 70's were better. I believe there was a stretch from 77-78 where they went 10-0 and 10-0 with 8 shut outs. Those were better teams. The team today wouldn't compete with the teams I played with, IMO. As for Pearce he has just over a winning record (58%) in the regular season a losing playoff record and has been coaching at Milton for almost 20 years and only has 4 league titles? Milton is happy making the playoffs and that's all. We have the talent and the kids to be as good as Coldwater and Marion local, we just don't have the expectations like the people from those areas do. Coach Pearce has a lot of problems and reasons why there are tons of athletes that don't end up playing football at Milton.
 
So first I did play on the teams with Mitch, do I think those were the best Milton teams, NO the teams in the 70's were better. I believe there was a stretch from 77-78 where they went 10-0 and 10-0 with 8 shut outs. Those were better teams. The team today wouldn't compete with the teams I played with, IMO. As for Pearce he has just over a winning record (58%) in the regular season a losing playoff record and has been coaching at Milton for almost 20 years and only has 4 league titles? Milton is happy making the playoffs and that's all. We have the talent and the kids to be as good as Coldwater and Marion local, we just don't have the expectations like the people from those areas do. Coach Pearce has a lot of problems and reasons why there are tons of athletes that don't end up playing football at Milton.
So you believe every community could compete with the Coldwaters and Marion Locals?

Your own statement about being disappointed that Northridge is playing for a league title is disappointing to you and evidence of a poor conference belies the very point you are trying to make. Either all communities can rise to state title level or few can, which is it?

I have studied the rise and fall of programs for about 20 years and there is so much more to it than a coach's will to equip and develop a team. The strength of a community and genetic factors both play a huge role in the ability to reach the pinnacle.

What I hear in your statement is a disappointment that the glory days of Milton Union football are no longer achieved by todays teams. That would also be true for Covington, Northmont and Jefferson township. Of the four, Jefferson township has fallen the furthest from what was once a power as great or greater than the MAC schools of today.

The basic community fiber that once comprised these communities is not the same as in the 1970/1980 era.

But if you truly believe the opportunity exists for such great dominance from Milton, and it may, then let's celebrate with Northridge this year as they are climbing to a level few on here believed they would reach so soon.

Don't curse the darkness, light a candle!
 
Remember when Valley View was a doormat in the old SWBL back in the 70s. When they started winning, oddly enough about the same time Jefferson started it's decline, we all said the same thing about them. "If we were in the SWBL now, we'd kill them". Three state titles later they got the last laugh. Northridge is a changing area due to Trotwood decline and the cast-offs from Wayne. This Turpin kid is a very talented athlete.
Milton should win this league every year or at least challenge. I have a feeling Pearce will step down in the next few years. He's got as good a record as Farrar did except for the league titles. He has focused on playoffs rather than league, I guess.
From 1970 to 1981 we were THE team in the Miami Valley. The playoffs were a joke back then. From 77-79 we finished 28-2 with three SWBL titles. I think the 2007 team was actually better than the 2006 team. They just ran into Clinton Massie earlier than 2006 ran into Oak Harbor. Wilson was an animal as was three rest of the team.
Pearce took over a program that was in a mess and in two years made the playoffs (2002). He's a good coach.
 
This
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This is why Milton is beating up the TRC... He's a Junior.
 
Soccer is a reason small schools don't field larger teams. It's a numbers game. My guess is that you played when Mitch did and you think that you were the best team ever at Milton playing the best talent in the SWBL. WELL, got news for ya kid, you weren't. Records and playoff runs are pretty recent gauges to football success. The teams at MU back in the 60s, 70s were much tougher, they just never got the chance to play in the playoffs.
If you think you can do a better job coaching, then do it. That would be my advice. Sure playing in this league isn't as rough, but Milton is actually a small Division V that is playing Division IV football.
Pearce is a good coach and has proven it with his record and his improvement as a coach. Antonides, Blackburn, Thoele, and Dickinson just complete the staff.
I'll add that often people point to soccer because it's another fall sport. I can tell you there are other sports that are starting to branch into multiple seasons. Athletes are often more specialized and focus on those sports all year or most of the year. I think baseball in particular has become a year round sport for many players. They'll play spring, summer, fall, and train in the winter.
 
Most of the soccer players wouldn't be on the football team. I realize soccer is a common scapegoat but it's not reality.
 
Most of the soccer players wouldn't be on the football team. I realize soccer is a common scapegoat but it's not reality.
I know the really good TC soccer players would be excellent DB/WR at the d7 level. I think at the larger schools this may not be the case. Any soccer player that jumps into a.good basketball.player would make a great skill player in football.
 
I would disagree. There are some great athletes playing soccer. Some are sizable and could play. Speed and agility.
I have been around a lot of small school soccer players. Many of them play year round. If their small school didn't have soccer they would either open enroll or attend a private that has soccer or just play academy soccer. Yes....they are great athletes. Many are undersized. If they wanted to play football they would have. They chose soccer over football.
 
I know the really good TC soccer players would be excellent DB/WR at the d7 level. I think at the larger schools this may not be the case. Any soccer player that jumps into a.good basketball.player would make a great skill player in football.
Except they have no interest in playing football. Especially at a private school like TC. The really good soccer players aren't there by accident.
 
Except they have no interest in playing football. Especially at a private school like TC. The really good soccer players aren't there by accident.
Right, but you have the other 75% of the team, the role players, who could make a difference on the football team. That is not crazy logic. To also say small schools in the MAC have a number advantage due to no competiting fall sport is also not a crazy concept.
 
Obviously what I am trying to say was not coming across correctly. Do I think every community could become a powerhouse program. Yes I do, with that being said obviously getting to that level will take more work in certain communities than others. But let’s take Jefferson since you used them for example, is the coach there doing everything possible to become great or is he going through the motions. If they start consistently winning they could easily pull kids from Trotwood or Dayton public. Obviously getting that program to become a powerhouse would take more work and effort that making Milton a power house but I do think it is possible.
As for my frustrations with Milton and this league I am not mad or saying anything about the glory days of Milton. What frustrates me with Milton is we will go or should go 9-1 this year win one playoff game with the expansion this year lose round two and everyone will say how great of a team and how successful the season was. But I want Milton fans and coaches to hold the team to a higher standard. We could have a team that makes it to the final four of the playoffs a lot more often than people realize. Milton let’s a lot of athletes fall through the cracks, either the coaches don’t see the potential, don’t take the time to develop or just plain push kids to the side and tell them to not even come out for the team.
As for the league one reason I think the MAC is so great is because I believe iron sharpens iron. The constant battles week in and week out make the playoffs easier for those schools. Think about this is easier for those teams to win a state championship than win a league title. That is what I think the TRC should strive for and in everyone’s honest opinion would that ever happen?
 
Obviously what I am trying to say was not coming across correctly. Do I think every community could become a powerhouse program. Yes I do, with that being said obviously getting to that level will take more work in certain communities than others. But let’s take Jefferson since you used them for example, is the coach there doing everything possible to become great or is he going through the motions. If they start consistently winning they could easily pull kids from Trotwood or Dayton public. Obviously getting that program to become a powerhouse would take more work and effort that making Milton a power house but I do think it is possible.
As for my frustrations with Milton and this league I am not mad or saying anything about the glory days of Milton. What frustrates me with Milton is we will go or should go 9-1 this year win one playoff game with the expansion this year lose round two and everyone will say how great of a team and how successful the season was. But I want Milton fans and coaches to hold the team to a higher standard. We could have a team that makes it to the final four of the playoffs a lot more often than people realize. Milton let’s a lot of athletes fall through the cracks, either the coaches don’t see the potential, don’t take the time to develop or just plain push kids to the side and tell them to not even come out for the team.
As for the league one reason I think the MAC is so great is because I believe iron sharpens iron. The constant battles week in and week out make the playoffs easier for those schools. Think about this is easier for those teams to win a state championship than win a league title. That is what I think the TRC should strive for and in everyone’s honest opinion would that ever happen?
I do agree with you on most points, but, I lived the"Glory" days and I've lived through the lean years when Christello was coach and Pearce is a good coach. There is a standard set in the MAC that very few areas can match. That's why the MAC wins so many state titles. I believe it starts at home and then lands in the lap of the coaches. Milton is not the town it was before 1990. The stretch from 2005-2012 was a good stretch and we had high participation rates. Can Milton be a MAC-quality program? I believe so and it has nothing to do with the league. If that was the way it happens then Clinton Massie would be mediocre. The league Cincinnati Wyoming plays in is weaker. What I'm saying is, you want what I've wanted since I graduated. But I've also seen the kids and the community change. Holding a higher standard has to start with the Seniors and flow down the ranks. Sure the competition in the TRC is weak, but winning cures many things and one of those things is participation. I do respect your opinions.
One big thing that happens now that didn't used to happen as much is the alumni staying in Milton and raising their kids. There is very little passing on the tradition of Milton Football anymore. We used to pack the house for Homecoming, all of the alumni would line the sidelines behind the team wearing their varsity jackets with their championship patches. Hasn't happened in decades. Another thing is teachers that live outside of the district, they have less tie to the traditions and community. Pearce had learned and become a better coach over the years. He embraces that tradition. Ginny Rammel was a good example of what teachers used to be like at MU.
 
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Obviously what I am trying to say was not coming across correctly. Do I think every community could become a powerhouse program. Yes I do, with that being said obviously getting to that level will take more work in certain communities than others. But let’s take Jefferson since you used them for example, is the coach there doing everything possible to become great or is he going through the motions. If they start consistently winning they could easily pull kids from Trotwood or Dayton public. Obviously getting that program to become a powerhouse would take more work and effort that making Milton a power house but I do think it is possible.
As for my frustrations with Milton and this league I am not mad or saying anything about the glory days of Milton. What frustrates me with Milton is we will go or should go 9-1 this year win one playoff game with the expansion this year lose round two and everyone will say how great of a team and how successful the season was. But I want Milton fans and coaches to hold the team to a higher standard. We could have a team that makes it to the final four of the playoffs a lot more often than people realize. Milton let’s a lot of athletes fall through the cracks, either the coaches don’t see the potential, don’t take the time to develop or just plain push kids to the side and tell them to not even come out for the team.
As for the league one reason I think the MAC is so great is because I believe iron sharpens iron. The constant battles week in and week out make the playoffs easier for those schools. Think about this is easier for those teams to win a state championship than win a league title. That is what I think the TRC should strive for and in everyone’s honest opinion would that ever happen?
You did well clarifying your point.

Part of community change simply can not be overlooked. In the Jefferson Twp case, that is a community, that to put it bluntly, where the coaches fill the role of father and coach all too often. That takes time and energy to help guide those young men in ways that other communities coaches are able to more fully focus only on the game and not as broadly on multiple life skills.

The iron sharpens iron point. I agree mostly, but only when communities are able to field similarly skilled and coached teams in the first place. Parkway is very sharp now, but generally operates like that stubby oversharpened pencil that just doesn't perform as required.

If I were to explain the chance of greatness in football, I would have three interconnected points in a circle. 1- talent available (genetic potential), talent brings coaching. 2- coaching, coaching enables talent to reach maximum potential. 3- community strength- strong families that expect best effort and demand character of excellence helps attract coaching, allows coaching to focus more fully on the football program and the athlete is provided a secure home life to limit academic distractions. The secure home life includes financial stability where the athlete does not live in concern of where he will live or get next weeks food.

You can add to each point but I believe those 3 are all essential to fielding an exceptional team. Many programs that crumble lose community strength first, then coaching and lastly the talent moves on to a school where opportunity to play for a great program is too inviting to resist. At that point it is near impossible to bring that community an exceptional program.
 
Right, but you have the other 75% of the team, the role players, who could make a difference on the football team. That is not crazy logic. To also say small schools in the MAC have a number advantage due to no competiting fall sport is also not a crazy concept.
They aren't interested in playing football. That's the point everyone seems to be missing. They could choose football today but they aren't. They chose to play soccer.
 
I know this is a football thread, but our Riverside Pirates clinched the inaugural TRC volleyball league championship last night with their win over Covington!

Back to football, the forecast for Friday night does not look great. ?

That's quite the accomplishment with how strong Miami East's volleyball program is every year.
 
Most of the soccer players wouldn't be on the football team. I realize soccer is a common scapegoat but it's not reality.
I disagree with this as well. Many of your most skilled, athletic, or dynamic soccer players would be skill players for football. Especially at the smaller school level.
 
Milton fielded about 50-55 players in grades 10-12 until 1980. That's when soccer was added and they played their first varsity season in 1983. The numbers went down to 35-40 for top 3 grades and the freshmen were added to the varsity due to decreased participation.
 
They aren't interested in playing football. That's the point everyone seems to be missing. They could choose football today but they aren't. They chose to play soccer.
The idea is when there is no soccer like the MAC then what? Some would play football. Some would not play anything. Some would find soccer opportunities. Even a handfull who would play football would impact d7 schools especially in practice and special teams.
 
The idea is when there is no soccer like the MAC then what? Some would play football. Some would not play anything. Some would find soccer opportunities. Even a handfull who would play football would impact d7 schools especially in practice and special teams.
Cross country. Golf. Academy or club soccer. Football. Some would be fans. MAC is an extreme outlier though. I think everyone knows that.
 
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