The Dock
Good Takes; Even Better Picks
That presumes the latter makes the playoffs.
D7 Region 27 2024
- Thread starter FirestoneFan
- Start date
trimblefootball
Region 27's most hated guest caller
I saw enough positives to think that they sneak in as a low seed. Although, graduation is a pain for small schools around R27.
The Dock
Good Takes; Even Better Picks
I think the positives are there.
This program just seems ‘up in the air’ these days. LT had it rolling the first two years under tough program circumstances.
‘20 — got tasked with having to form the program with a roster that was ~1/6th (literal or metaphorical, take your pick) of the ‘19 team production. Lost a massive senior class, plus the best junior from that team (would’ve been best player in the Cardinal that year) had to end football due to concussion issues. Had to make a QB out of thin air for one year because there wasn’t one waiting in the wings. Plus it was COVID craziness. 4-5.
‘21 — 5-5 team that easily could’ve been 6-4 if not for the miserable week 1 storm (RB2/WB out with injury + backside contain errors.) Slight chance at 7-3 that year, too, as they led PND 10-0 at half but lost three critical starters to KO’s that game.
‘22, ‘23 and 8/11th’s of 24 = a cumulative >20 games of the program going the opposite direction.
The last three years he should not (have) be(en) forced to carry. Too good of a coach, even better of a human being and leader, to bear the needless difficulty put on him in that time. FC has the consummate football coach who checks literally every single box for the sake of the program’s health, pride and ambition — as well as the good of the school.
Right now, going into ‘25 and beyond, the state of the program entirely boils down to whether the school (and its community) commits to letting him run the program the way it should be ran. That doesn’t mean all of the sudden they win the region as a result, no.
It does mean getting with the program and letting the most knowledgeable, and most committed community servant in his generation, run it with nothing but unconditional support for his mission. It starts from the top on down, and across the board.
trimblefootball
Region 27's most hated guest caller
It's hard working with a school that has 60 boys when most are interested in soccer. That leaves you with maybe 20-25 kids that want to play football.
I think, at this point for Fisher, is can they get back to being above .500 constantly. It's hard reestablishing a program that once had it's footing under them. Especially when half the resources of the 2000's-2010's aren't there.
The last 4-5 years of Fisher in football was those kids were playing for the love of the sport. Trying to keep a sense of community pride in FC from what was left. Fisher is very fortunate to still be playing 11 man. A lot of what you said would be a death sentence for smaller schools in Ohio.
Fisher is unique because I truly think that if everything falls into place for a few years sometime down the road, the Irish can be a team that found its footing again and start doing great things. FC just needs to get the community support back, and, at last, admin support. I think the goods are starting to far outweigh the bad.
The Dock
Good Takes; Even Better Picks
FTFY, but you’re correct.
I will say that, unfortunately, I think even if you subtracted those non-football activities out and it was strictly football only (as a control) the overarching issues still come into play.
The ‘22 season was an absolute low point in so many ways. Nine RC’s put on them. But the issues go beyond the scores that year. I’d have stuck around in my general involvement with the school and its athletics if it was just an 0-10 with nine RC’s.
As far as my eye could see, everything else going on wasn’t worth sticking around for. Sticking with it only would’ve made things worse, and frankly nothing good would’ve sprung had I stayed. Two seasons removed, I’m not aware of anything being resolved in the meantime.
I agree 100%. I appreciate you recognizing that; and I think my people (regardless of the vast differences in held viewpoints) also appreciate your recognition of this.
I think that’s why these last three years (specifically ‘22 and ‘23) bothered me as much, as well as the chunk of this past season. The kids deserve a higher dignity, but the results and blowouts wind down on the image of the program in the process; the lay of the land (for better or for worse) is we as a state (an Ohio society) prescribe that dignity along competitive lines. The rare exception is Rt 37 in Lancaster; the school down the street is always afforded dignity, shine and fluff for the same results achieved as the school with the white cross on the side.
It doesn’t come easy, just like football. There is no way around it; no “easy” path to being competitive and in the process dignified as competitors. That message has never landed at FC. I’m not sure the ears are open to that — not a persuadable audience.
They are.
They’re also fortunate to still have girls’ soccer, and tennis. Along with a remarkable T&F program.
To your point and the fact they’re fortunate: by the time I graduated, we all thought we’d be the last to have those things. “Death by a thousand cuts.” The school lost 52% of its enrollment in a ~decade span; it shrunk by 38% from the height of 317 to the time I graduated: 195 as we walked the stage.
So yes, in one hand still very fortunate. On the other hand, that lived experience with the uncertainty of whether the worst was STILL yet to come confers urgency. You can extend that urgency across the board, football and not football. My experience after the Spring of ‘21 tells me one thing: there is no urgency toward anything. Except LT when he has free rein — that man coaches urgently, and leads urgently. Because he knows the stakes.
I agree, again. Fisher as a school is very unique and special; but to some degree the window to capitalize on it (to elevate the school and its athletics, namely football) has passed.
This one’s gonna be very tricky to answer. Namely because I’m trying to thread the needle on my feelings and thoughts, constructively and with tact.
The community support goes hand-in-hand with the abstract of the administrative body. I’ll come back to this in a minute.
My thoughts on the current administration: they are good, well-intentioned people tasked with undesirable jobs. I think they’ve done some very good things. There are also many things I strongly disagree with across the board. In my opinion, bluntly, I feel there have been mistakes made and yes to a degree I have some general hard feelings. That said, I still think they are respectable human beings and community-servants, both worthy of the support from the school they’re tasked to lead and the community underlying that school. I still want them to succeed. And don’t automatically assume I’m right and they’re wrong: shades of gray surely exist in between.
Coming back to the relationship of community support with administration: the current admin team (in their defense) inherited a major mess that’s lingered for 15-20 years. FC’s had issues with alumni engagement, and the idea that alumni can be stakeholders without writing checks, since the 2000’s. Some momentum in the right direction there was built up under the previous administration (who I think was more adept to those concepts as well as athletics in general), but that team only lasted ~2.5 years (majority of it during COVID saga) and didn’t have enough time to fully get the wheels in motion for their vision.
The current admin I think has sincerely wanted to keep going and make even stronger inroads there, but the difficulty on their end is trying to strike the perfect balance of the scales — weighing the integration of the alumni against the parish base and parents. For my age demo’s cohort, (again in their defense) it doesn’t help that I’m a thorn in their side and simultaneously one of the few who came back trying to make it a better place. You have those two things, but also the unintentional stepping into rakes (not exclusively a current admin problem, tbf) along the way on other alumni relations.
So basically their only real opportunity, I guess, is to continue on with the plan to try and “long game” build at the parish level instead (not really in their job title and in the DoC school structure its not necessarily their concern, I’d argue — but I completely understand why that’s their prerogative and why they feel it’s the best course of action.) It can be generally successful at best, but it’s prone to mixed results. Still, like I said, it’s the only promising and realistic pathway with guaranteed upside. Their window to thread in alumni in a meaningful way has probably closed by now, even if it was short. Can’t entirely fault them, again. But as it relates to me — that ship has sailed.
From a football POV on admin support: the only good they can do is let him run the show, and stop any detraction and opposition to it from inside the Irish village in its tracks. Not unlike the majority of previous admins (last one being a rare exception, and possibly two admins prior) they aren’t really qualified to do anything beyond that. Doing anything beyond/outside unequivocal support for LT and his mission would be a net harm to the program and the school. And frankly it’s very simple: they have the best coach they could ever want. Let him do his thing and stand in lockstep with him, doing what can be done to further the program — be a firewall for him.
carnholio
Land-Grant Holy Land
Almost radio silence.
Burreaux
Mr. SEO
I would say you could ask it on there but it would turn in a complete dumpster fire
KurtanskyField
Active member
The travel is way better, at the time they left Wahama (WV) and South Gallia were still in the Hocking. Those trips stink on a Tuesday night in the middle of winter for a basketball game. You can be to Rt 33 in Logan in about 20 minutes on a bus, then straight shot to Fairfield county schools.
Plus, the facilities in the Cardinal are a lot nicer than the Hocking, especially baseball!
The Dock
Good Takes; Even Better Picks
I still like Miller’s gym a ton; as well as Southern’s.
Miller has a good thing going on their baseball field, too.
trimblefootball
Region 27's most hated guest caller
......
The Dock
Good Takes; Even Better Picks
Isn’t there a known relationship b/w Pendleton and Goodwin? Seems like it’ll be a no-brainer.
trimblefootball
Region 27's most hated guest caller
I think when it first happened, I looked at it as competition reasons. Miller was a doormat in the TVC for years. As I got wiser I finally saw that traveling was the main reason.
trimblefootball
Region 27's most hated guest caller
Arnton don't want that smoke.
I think there is though. Think he watched one of his practices.
The Dock
Good Takes; Even Better Picks
Not just travel, but also getting it aligned with where the parents tend to work (toward the north and west.)
KurtanskyField
Active member
Yes I did not realize until 2021 that people in southern Perry County work and tend to their business in Columbus, Logan and Zanesville. I always assumed Athens.
trimblefootball
Region 27's most hated guest caller
@The Dock going back to the FC topic. It just seems like they are in an everlasting hole they can't dig themselves out of. It's sad, really. I wish every school could experience success on a routine level. Especially a school that people don't want there, from what I've head.
As an outsider, I won't get it and never will. I'm not supposed to get it either, but I get it to the point where I can scratch the surface of what's wrong.
As an outsider, I won't get it and never will. I'm not supposed to get it either, but I get it to the point where I can scratch the surface of what's wrong.
The Dock
Good Takes; Even Better Picks
Hope springs eternal.
I think the current administration, to their credit, wasn’t afforded much of an opportunity to flourish. The Diocese has never been vested heavily in the non-CCL schools, and at best pays lip service on how to navigate challenges & lead successfully to those outside of 270.
Every time the leadership at the top changes, there’s new problems springing up one way or another. It’s generally a net negative situation that the incoming admin has to work itself from out underneath of. The current admin I think inherited a relatively fine situation (there have been worse ones.) The difficulties they’ve faced (I can think of three) tbh are all kind of weird and unusual, ones that previous admins basically never had to deal with for the most part or ever — it just so happened they all sprung up at once (rough timing.) The previous admin didn’t have to deal with any of those three things. The current admin did get one huge contribution from the previous regime: a really solid athletic department stocked full of good coaches, and goodwill with donors.
Navigating the problems put in front of them is generally tough. I’ll frame it this way: they’ve had to pick their battles, to try to figure out where the least amount of harm gets incurred. All of these problems require the decision to either act (which means hard choices) or don’t act and instead play ball despite it. All I know is on those three problems I’m vaguely alluding to, they acted on one and didn’t act on the latter two (one of which has been a big issue on football the last few years and may continue to be for all I know. My hunch is it will continue to be.)
The current state of the school/program isn’t made better by a new administration, for various reasons. It wouldn’t solve anything; a new administration would inherit absolutely nothing useful or fortunate; it wouldn’t serve a purpose; and it doesn’t serve them well to get ran out. The $64,000 question ultimately is if the admin clues themselves into who should be listened to, along with a realistic evaluation of what the program is meant to be and how it should look like.
It shouldn’t be that difficult. They have the best situation imaginable, by far, with LT as their coach. He knows the game, knows the school, knows what he has to work with; A+ leader of the program. Defer to him, let him get the program back to the footing he had it his first two years. Figure out what he needs the most out of the admin and otherwise make sure his program’s needs are met. Do this, and good things happen. Don’t do this, and you end up with a repeat of brutally bad stretches that messes it up for the kids like ‘22 all over again.