Tons of talent that transfers after middle school to Mooney/Ursuline. No secret the Spartans best seasons are when those programs are having “down” years.
My kids were there from 2003-2017. For most of that time Track and Swimming were very good. The rest of the teams were probably .500. I think that is probably still the case.
1987 and 1990 were such strong SVC years. 1990, if I am correct, the entire conference made the playoffs. That was under the 4 teams per region system as well.
You hit the nail on the head. Why would any junior high athlete chose Boardman over Ursuline? There isn't one reasonable argument to be made. It is rare for a JH athlete in the Austintown school system to go to Ursuline. Because Fitch has a strong, serious program. Boardman's program is completely unserious. And until they get serious, they'll continue to lose kids to Ursuline and Mooney. I know boardman posters love to paint the picture that Ursuline coaches are in Boardman players' living rooms. But the reality is their program offers no reasons for kids to go there-- not because of "recruiting."
I believe that the accusations of "recruiting" may be overblown but it does happen. It is more subtle than people think, a friend of the family, or a kid from a travel baseball team you know reaches out. I do think Boardman does have reasons for kids to stay. Their stadium is first rate and it is THEIR stadium. Their weight room and other facilities are also quality (I have heard, I have never been inside of anything but their stadium). I know when coach Ogilvie was there they were really trending in the right directions (numbers up, weight room attendance solid, etc.). That seems to be the last time there was a buzz or excitement about the program.
Fitch went through it for a while as well. Not only private schools, but open enrollment too. If kids are leaving because of football (or any sport) that is "preventable."
What you are saying isn't "incorrect," but do kids care about the weight room and the stadium over winning? A stadium and great weight room for a 2-8 team doesn't mean diddly poo. Those should be reasons why you aren't 2-8. In the college ranks, coaches sell that idea all the time when they get somewhere new. It works...as long as 2 years later you are winning. Create the buzz (Coach Prime), then win. If Colorado is still below .500 in 2025, the buzz will be gone. Who is creating the buzz at Boardman?
How much difference are we talking here?? The better guys? Like whom? Not being a contrarian, I am legitimately asking if other schools are paying significantly more money and that is keeping coaches from touching Boardman.
Many schools cap the amount of experience you can bring with you when hired to 5 years. That means that if you are a teacher with 22 years experience you will take a huge hit when it comes to pay because you are only being paid as if it is your 5th year. That can be $10,000-$20,000 or more depending on the districts pay scale.
That makes sense why the money difference then. Seems like a bad policy in my opinion, but I guess it helps keep costs down. Budgets are tight.
Some schools pay the head high school varisty football coach as much as $15-20,000. I know in the case of Canfield, Mike Pavlansky no longer teaches history at the high school and is only a coach, but I think he gets paid on the higher end for a public school coach. Also I don't know what the case is anymore bit Canfield formerly paid some of their teachers quite a bit, I knew of several teachers that had been there around 40 years or more that made around $90-100,000 when they retired. Then some teachers started doing the retire, rehire thing, which is kind of like double dipping from how it was explained to me.
Duble is a soph, and his dad and uncle played at Ursuline.
Sophomore. To be fair though, his dad is an alumnus of Ursuline and has coached the Irish in the past.
I think his dad specializes in coaching strength and conditioning and lifting weights and such if I remember correctly. I think the boy's name is Landon.
Talking to get a coach that is a teacher to bring in which is ideal, Boardman starts new teachers regardless of years in the profession in the bottom tier per contract. Schools that are serious give most coaches that teach tenure