A New League Perhaps?

Spiderjohn once mentioned that Middletown was the smallest school district in the GMC. Wasn't aware of that until he mentioned it. Couple that with the dismal won-loss records in football, basketball and other sports in the GMC and it appears that Middletown is no longer competitive in their current league. It also appears that the other GMC teams have improved and left Middletown behind to the point where Middletown may never recover and be competitive again. That could only frustrate the players,coaches and community as a result.

Could this be the time for Middletown to consider joining another, less competitive league and leave a league where they are finding themselves at the bottom on a repetitive basis and seem to no longer be competitive? Would it be desirable for Middletown to drop a division to find more success?

How long do we wait before the sports program becomes so frustrating and inept that it is no longer interesting to watch?

The talent level in the Middletown's sports programs the last two decades has gone downhill with occasional exceptions. Baseball's Kyle Swartz (sp?) is with the Cubs and the quarterback with the football team several years ago did alright at OSU as a wide receiver going pro with the Jets I believe. Jeff See made his mark with cross country years ago. But, overall, you can tell on the field or the basketball court that the talent has declined, in general, compared to the commitment and talent made to the programs years ago. The last time we had a competitive football team was when Joe Tresey was the coach back in 1991 when they beat Moeller down at Lakota West's stadium. Jeff Cothran, who went on to play for the Bengals was on that team I believe. We had some decent linebackers as well. Since then, we have had out share of football coaches who decided to leave after a short stint.

Just suggesting that if we can't improve on the talent level and the coaches are unable to improve that talent level through technique, we need to examine other alternatives to help the sports in this town. It it boring to watch losing all the time. With the situation the way it is now, we are being bypassed and outplayed by every other team in the league. Didn't I read where the baseball team was 0-18 a year or two ago? As bad as it gets, right? Is the community satisfied with poor academics AND sports as well? Perhaps we need to drop to Division II if that is possible with the declining enrollment and number of boys in the school.

middiemom wrote: Vet..Jim Place was the coach then and Jeff graduated I think in 1990 or earlier. I was a student there at the time. Point taken, though.

Forgot about Jim Place. Decent coach with a winning record. Believe he left Middletown for Chaminade-Julienne in Dayton, his home town back then. He was successful there as well. Remember sitting in the Barnitz crowd back then talking to a guy named George Earls who just passed away. Had a great time watching them win. My school time in the 60's had Jack Gordon as the head coach. We had a winning program during that time as well. Joe Tressey was a great coach who liked defense. He left to go on to Otterbein College in Columbus as their defensive coach and then headed to South Florida I believe. Good coaches and talent back then for sure.

spider:

"The asst AD is behind the dropdown(not sure to which league), while the major boosters are not."

Would the major boosters rather be competitive in another league or the habitual doormat of the GMC? Do they enjoy losing? What does a continual last place finish do for building the programs, the moral of the players or the attraction of quality, talented players? Can't build on continual losing to better talent. IMO, better to drop down to a more attainable goal of competing in a league more in tune with the talent level. Like the city, the schools have regressed the last three decades, both in academics and in sports. How many years of athletic ineptness do we have to endure before the major boosters change their minds? Everyone who follows Middletown sports will admit the sports has gone downhill for a decade or more now. We are everyone's homecoming game during football season. An easy win. We all see it happening. Let's admit it, do something about it, watch for improved results and change the culture from doormat to a winning program. We now have fancy topnotch facilities. Why not put a quality team in those facilities that can compete? Right now, we have Taj Mahal sports venues but we place poor athletic performances in them on any given night.

spider:

"Trust me--our athletic results(outside of top level cross country and bowling) can only get better."

Hope you are right on this spider. I have my doubts although being at the bottom can only yield one directional choice at some point in time......... Then again, there is the academic performance fiasco we have seen for a decade or more with no improvement in sight. I hope the sports programs don't follow the same pattern. Numbers don't lie.

Time has passed and another season of losing football while the third coach in a short period of time has tried to make a go of it at Middletown. I believe we can all agree that the talent level just isn't there to have a competitive team in the GMC. The other schools have simply passed us by with regard to building a competitive program. IMO, the same is to be said for the basketball team. Middletown is simply not the "big dog" anymore like it was in the 50's and 60's.

Would it be wrong at this juncture to consider a move to a league that is a few levels below the GMC? As long as we stay in this league, given the talent level we are now seeing year after year, and watching the coaching attempts made to improve the teams fail, we are going to be a league bottom dweller on a continual basis. There is no indication we can assemble a winning team in the GMC, given the current level of talent. Milford quickly found out they couldn't compete and exited the league in a short time period. They realized the problem and acted on it. Does staying in the GMC present a positive reaction from the players, coaches, fans or the community or does it cause fan disinterest, waning community support and discouragement from the players? From a community of 48,000 people, how many show for football at Barnitz on a given night or at the basketball games? Being stubborn by staying in this league does nothing to instill pride among the participants and community.

Let's go to where the program can be more competitive shall we. Let's shoot for a .500 season for a start instead of accepting continual losing seasons.....or are the people of Middletown content with that?

Not sure at what level we belong
Kids are trying
Bball will get better—good coaches