|
Post by moneyball on Oct 12, 2017 12:27:52 GMT -5
I'm not upset. Point is that it would appear your opinion is based on you being a father and the involvement of your elementary child. Today, there are many avenues to encourage and progress a child's skills and abilities. Relying only on a school's rec youth program will limit success and blaming a school's rec program for lack of development indicates laziness. Glad you child now is getting better. I'll look forward to updates in the coming years. My son and daughter are very humble and are team players. They have a very positive outlook on team sports and we rarely talk about what went wrong during a game, but what went right and what they can do as an individual and teammate to help make the team better. I hope they continue to have fun and I've told them both, if you stop having fun it isn't worth your time.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Oct 12, 2017 9:48:37 GMT -5
I have no say in this situation. I sit in the stands and cheer the team on and support the coaches. I have my opinion and when my son ask me how he can get better I tell him to work on his skills, more playing time I say work harder, never take a play off. The point is there has to be one leader in any program and they define the direction of the entire program. I see the girls head coach is following suite and running the youth girls program just like the new coach is with the boys, good stuff. Good stuff because you say it is? Remember you have no say. You should be clear and say you cheer the team and support the coaches now. As you toss the former coach under a truck. It is an opinion. I could have said dumb idea but I don't think it is. Not throwing the former coach under any truck. I have always cheered and supported the coaches, staff and kids on, past and future. Next time I'll try and be clear so you don't get upset.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Oct 12, 2017 6:30:07 GMT -5
That is an ignorant statement. Lot of good kids working hard to turn this program around. My son brought home a signup form for grades 3-6 the other day that shows that this new coach wants to get involved from the bottom to the top, that is where you start to really turn a program around. The last few Willard coaches didn't have a 3rd through 6th Program?? I find that VERY hard to believe BTW Dad, just because a select few kids in each class play in a league, which most head coaches do, does NOT mean a head coach isn't involved in a youth program How about this youth program? The only complete involvement by the head coach is a one week summer camp for just his young kids and a one week summer league for kids from the area. The Varsity and JV players work with the kids one or two days a week during the season. Each class has a select few players play in a league during the season. All youth are expected to take the fundamentals taught and work on their own. That's it. Would that meet with your approval? I have no say in this situation. I sit in the stands and cheer the team on and support the coaches. I have my opinion and when my son ask me how he can get better I tell him to work on his skills, more playing time I say work harder, never take a play off. The point is there has to be one leader in any program and they define the direction of the entire program. I see the girls head coach is following suite and running the youth girls program just like the new coach is with the boys, good stuff.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Oct 12, 2017 6:21:23 GMT -5
You are obviously uninformed. The previous head coach did not have anything to do with the Willard program here in Willard. I know because my son plays for the Willard program and we tried to squeeze into their "special" group that they took to the Shelby league but they were full That is where the issue starts, allowing the head coach and a select group to take their kids out of Willard to play in a special league. These kids were not picked because of skills or try-outs they were selected based on who they were. That is where the issue lies, dividing these kids based on what, sure wasn't all about skills. My son will be playing in the 5th grade this year and I cannot wait until they are all together playing in Willard. Fall ball or AAU is one thing but splintering kids at this age sends a bad message to all. I like that the new coach is actually involved in the (Willard) youth program, that is good for the kids, parents, community and building a strong foundation for many years to follow. Not miss informed at all. Seen first hand what went on in Willard. When you don't have a cohesive group of coaches working together and a youth director openly not working with "the program" it shows. The old coach did care but put his trust in the wrong group of parents to run a youth program. Agendas for little johny to be the next star at Willard ruled the youth program. How is that the varsity coaches fault? He had his hands full enough trying to coach a team full of kids who were raised on that type of mentally. Hope the new coach cleared out the youth program or it's destin to repeat...😎😎 Exactly my point. The new coach came in and took over the youth program and gave it a single point of direction, greatly needed. It's a new group and the fact that the new coach is taking control over it all is a great start. Not going to go back and talk about what could have and should have happened. Long was a good coach and he had his challenges with players, tough situation. There were obviously other issues that played into the boards decision to not renew his contract and we'll never know what those were, probably win/loss record.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Oct 11, 2017 13:44:26 GMT -5
"has to have competent coaches running it" is the key to your statement...and I'm glad to see that Willard has decided to come North and join the the expanded SBC league for boys' youth basketball. Yes, that is the key, competent coaches at all levels. Communication will be key and I think he is doing a nice job so far. I hope all the kids that live in Willard play on this SBC youth team.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Oct 11, 2017 13:07:47 GMT -5
Having your head coach involved at the youth level isn't magically going to change things. Some of the youth programs have coaches involved, and some don't. And I've talked to a few varsity coaches that are involved, and it often ends up being more of a headache than anything (nothing like getting pinned down at a varsity practice, by a 4th grade parent, who wants to discuss lil' Johnny's playing time). The head coach obviously thinks it is going to help and is willing to listen to that parent that is pinning him down. There is nothing wrong with discussing issues with parents, they are obviously looking for an explanation and if things are being ran well there is a legitimate response to their concerns.The varsity coach doesn't have to be totally involved or even run the program but has to have competent coaches running it that are following his lead. The fact is they are all together moving in the head coach's direction. You will still have a few parents that try and take their child and other hand chosen ones to a special league and it should be strongly discouraged by the head coach. The coach could put his stamp on the youth program without spending hours on end with it. These are, after all his future players.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Oct 11, 2017 12:07:12 GMT -5
That is an ignorant statement. Lot of good kids working hard to turn this program around. My son brought home a signup form for grades 3-6 the other day that shows that this new coach wants to get involved from the bottom to the top, that is where you start to really turn a program around. That statement is just as bad as the first.😎😎. The previous coach had the exact same youth program and was involved. How is that a difference? You are obviously uninformed. The previous head coach did not have anything to do with the Willard program here in Willard. I know because my son plays for the Willard program and we tried to squeeze into their "special" group that they took to the Shelby league but they were full That is where the issue starts, allowing the head coach and a select group to take their kids out of Willard to play in a special league. These kids were not picked because of skills or try-outs they were selected based on who they were. That is where the issue lies, dividing these kids based on what, sure wasn't all about skills. My son will be playing in the 5th grade this year and I cannot wait until they are all together playing in Willard. Fall ball or AAU is one thing but splintering kids at this age sends a bad message to all. I like that the new coach is actually involved in the (Willard) youth program, that is good for the kids, parents, community and building a strong foundation for many years to follow.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Oct 11, 2017 8:21:30 GMT -5
That is an ignorant statement. Lot of good kids working hard to turn this program around. My son brought home a signup form for grades 3-6 the other day that shows that this new coach wants to get involved from the bottom to the top, that is where you start to really turn a program around.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Oct 10, 2017 11:39:22 GMT -5
The Willard Flashes have a good squad this year. They have some scrappy players and a load of tall kids. Sounds like the new coach is running a tight ship and that is good for the program, nice change.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Sept 5, 2017 11:40:01 GMT -5
So Willard played a JV game this past weekend? If so, why did they cancel their week 1 JV game vs Norwalk? Yes, JV played Plymouth and Freshman played Bellevue. There is an issue with some schools having no freshman or JV teams at all. One kid broke his leg for Willard, I'm sure he was probably exhausted from playing 8 quarters, but hey they got the win.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Sept 5, 2017 8:57:11 GMT -5
There was a lot of rumbling on FB where kids from 9th and JV played 8 quarters of football on Saturday fro Willard. I thought they could only play 6 quarters?
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 28, 2017 7:16:18 GMT -5
Ashland Bellevue Calvert Shelby Norwalk Mansfield Senior Rossford Huron St. Paul Willard
56
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 28, 2017 7:08:03 GMT -5
This game is going to be a toss-up. Willard came off a Hugh loss to Norwalk but they were really out man and lack of players from the beginning. Plymouth came off a win against Buckeye Central who (like Willard) is also lacking numbers. I am still going to pick Plymouth over Willard until Willard can prove to me that can win. Other wise Willard could go 0-10. I heard the cok kid got injured in the norwalk varsity game, that could play a huge part in this game.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 28, 2017 7:04:37 GMT -5
The freshman also were without their top two players on that team who now are both on the varsity team playing on Friday nights! So don't let that score be a big indicator of the talent that class possesses let them get used to playing without their top 2 players as the season goes on and we will see what happens So, if that is the case and the Varsity got crushed on Friday night, WHY MOVE THEM UP? Let the freshman class stay together and continue to have some success. All this does is make the freshman class weak and kids will quit because of it. Getting your butt kicked on Saturday morning because the head coach took two of the better players up to varsity to make the varsity better and it won't, there in itself is the issue. I was certain when I was at the parent teacher meeting the coach said he was keeping these freshman all together, so much for that. If I'm moving anyone up from freshman I'm moving DJ, cok and the patterson kid up. If you are going to make the freshman team weak, make them weak. Not sure why the wiers kid is dressing varsity.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 25, 2017 13:34:44 GMT -5
I do hear Willard has a solid group of Freshmen but Frosh don't really help in varsity football. Strange sight seeing how few players are on the sidelines for Willard. Bless the kids & families that are part of the team fighting thru this. I don't understand and I'm not being a jerk here or snarky, how Willard has an army playing jr football but only a few remain for varsity. I know there's the concussion issue nationwide and I know players didn't like the previous coach so they didn't play (so was told around town)... but that coach is long gone. Here it is, education, education and more education. Coaches at the flag level need to be able to show kids, at least those in grades 3-4 the proper techniques and fundamentals of playing football. The Head coach of the willard football program needs to be the leader in this situation and put his stamp on it and work with these coaches to be teaching the proper techniques. Another issue, Thunderbolts football. Sure, some kids are ready to hit at the 5-6 grade levels but most are not. The parents that have their kids in Thunderbolts in 3rd grade, no way should that be allowed. Kids are not developed at this age and they are prone to injuries and broken bones, there have been plenty of them in the last 4-5 years in Thunderbolts. I liked that they brought back 5-6 grade flag football because it allowed some kids that were not ready for tackle to keep playing. Unfortunately, they kept Thunderbolts going and had to pull kids from another town to field a team. Flag football should go through 6th grade and during this time they are taught the proper techniques of the game of football. By the timne these kids hit 7-8th grade some of them have been tackling for 3-4 years, they get burnt out and are injury prone. The head coach should dictate the program and if he wants to keep the system rolling the way it is rolling then he will likely have fewer and fewer kids on the sideline come varsity games. Some of the athletes walking these halls in middle school and high school is unreal and we have people with their heads in the sand trying to understand why, it is obvious.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 25, 2017 8:16:16 GMT -5
I know listening to the game on the radio isn't the same as being there but from what I heard on the radio, Willard was dominated. Sounds like the freshman kid had some good returns, that's a silver lining. Hoping for a stronger performance coachwise against Plymouth next Friday.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 24, 2017 13:52:42 GMT -5
www.ossca.org/schedules.aspThe Soccer Program would like the 5 best athletes on the football team to come join them. Imagine the best athletes at Willard High joining forces to make the Soccer Program a special state power. It's August 24th and the Soccer program already has more wins than the Football team will have all year. 2-0 with wins over Oberlin and Keystone. Jimmy Rodriguez 6 pts Ruben Vega 4 pts Joni Morales 2 pts Maikel Perez 2 pts Manuel Diaz 2 pts William Schwan 1 pt Sebastian Sivongsak 1 pt Emmanuel Esparza 16 saves Imagine the addition of the 5 best athletes from the football team. Imagine Willard ending football and the town pouring all resources towards Soccer. No more Thunderbolts and much more ThunderKICKS. Pour the resources into Soccer and this Soccer program will be a State Power. Problem with that thinking, most of these really good athletes love football and if you shut down the football program they will likely leave for another town that has football. I do not like Thunderbolts, it has kids hitting too early and by the time they reach 7-8 grade you can't hardly get 10 kids to go out. That 8th grade team is loaded with athletes, yet hardly any of them play football. I hear it isn't because of thunderbolts, because of the coach. Whatever it is the head coach should figure it out and make the necessary changes because at this pace, there won't be enough kids to play in another 3-4 years.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 24, 2017 5:54:42 GMT -5
I have been hearing some whispers of their improvement and wondered if anyone was giving them a chance this year. They have some good players in key positions. If the QB gets hurt, which has little experience as it is, they fall off the map. The first 4-5 games will be tough. If they beat Norwalk and come back and beat Plymouth I would say they have improved. Week 3 against Shelby, probably won't be pretty.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 24, 2017 5:51:02 GMT -5
I find it a total conflict of interest that 2 candidates running for the BOE are dating each other. IS either of them and incumbent? If so that could be a big problem. Not sure about the dating issue but the incumbents are not anyone that is dating, that I'm a ware of. Noticed the school has thrown up an Anti-Bullying tag on their home page, interesting.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 23, 2017 6:12:15 GMT -5
Willard has some talent, especially their defense, weak in the secondary though. They will need to hold them with defense because I don't see them scoring many points, especially with Sowers running the ball as much as he did in the Vermillion scrimmage. The Stevens kid is a player and they have a tough RB, Parrot. Receivers are talented but some are still young, good freshman class.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 22, 2017 14:09:48 GMT -5
Do you realize that this is a position that is voted on by the public? This is not an appointment ... if they are on the BOE for 30 years ... it's because they were VOTED in 30 straight times. I am sure that if you wanted to take a spot on this Board ... you would be allowed to put your name on the ballot (provided you are qualified to fill out the paperwork to have your name on a ballot). If you don't like the BOE ... RUN! Stand for something! Get out from behind your computer screen and put a little effort into getting your name on the ballot. Lets see how many people think your special enough to get elected. Willards's BOE members are voted on every year? No, every four years. I realize it a position that the public votes on, thanks for the education. The issue is, we have 5 additional people that want a shot at being on school board and most of the people running seem like good people. The incumbents have been on there for eternity and don't want to step aside and give someone else an opportunity. To me this is just selfish and self serving. I know I'll be voting for change because there are people running that will not be in the admin's back pocket, like we have now.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 18, 2017 6:30:44 GMT -5
---Thursday 8/24--- Mansfield Madison Norwalk
---Friday 8/25--- Canton Central Catholic Perkins Mohawk Vermilion Sandusky Tiffin Calvert Elida
---Saturday 8/26--- Norwalk St. Paul
Tiebreaker - 46 points Sandusky @ Port Clinton game
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 16, 2017 13:52:09 GMT -5
There are board members taking the insurance. The cost of their insurance is cheaper than private insurance. Heather Slone just joined the party and it looks like there are now 9 people running for 3 seats. This is going to be one interesting race. Curious why so many people are running this year when in past years they went unopposed? No ... there isn't. Only one BOE member has taken advantage of the coverage. She has since dropped the coverage seeing how she is now covered by her husbands place of employment. bat21, sounds like you are a board member or a part of the staff since you know these details. So, who is "she" that you refer to? You think that members should stay on the board for 30 years, sounds like it.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 16, 2017 6:47:30 GMT -5
I've spoken with a few of the people running and I've asked them why they are running; the answers vary from "we need people on the board with fresh ideas" to "we need people on the board that are willing to hold the administration accountable for results." We keep losing kids and all you hear Ritz say is enrollment is down. Of course it is down, what are you doing to bring people to this town, and keep them here? This town has allowed low income housing and these renters/owners create a situation that is crumbling this school and the board needs to address that with City Council. The school has a D Grade rating and if a family that puts value on education (I sure hope they all would), they will likely not even consider moving into Willard when they look at this rating. We have a Curriculum Director in the school that should be driving positive results but we aren't seeing the results. Curriculum in a school this size should be handled by the Assistant Principal, not a Curriculum Director. Whether someone has an ax to grind or not, it is evident people running thinks there is a major issue and change needs to happen. From ScottT: If I can be blunt...Keep in mind I have no horse in this race.The D rating on the school report card is meaningless. The state changes the assessment factors every single year, which makes it nearly impossible to truly grade schools on a consistent basis. As far as curriculum, an assistant principal doesn't usually handle those duties, but I suppose it could be included in the job description. If not a curriculum director, those duties should probably be handled by the principal or the superintendent. As far as the Board of Education, I don't see a lot (if any) changes happening in terms of members simply because Willard historically has Huron County's lowest voter turnout. I've seen major elections where some precincts have had 12 percent turnout, when the average around the rest of the county is 50 percent or higher. Until more people get out and vote, nothing will change. It's certainly not a bad thing that more people are running, but they're facing an uphill battle. When people who have an axe to grind run (and win), it's usually bad news. Bellevue went through that a dozen or so years ago. There was a small but vocal group that wanted the superintendent out. They did get elected, got the superintendent out, but had no real plan after that, and things kind of went from bad to worse. Board of Education members aren't there to run day-to-day operations of the district, nor should they try. The three main duties are to hire and fire the superintendent and treasurer, set policy and approve expenditures. Sadly, a lot of people don't realize that, including some people who run for a Board of Education seat. Regardless, the rating DOES sway decision making when people are looking for a school. If the rating doesn't mean anything, why publish it? The point I'm making is, if we are at a D rating, regardless of how the assessment changes, we need to take a long hard look at why we are at a D rating. I'm going to disagree with you this time around as far as numbers go. I think the people in this community have had enough of this board and they will rally people to get out and vote, especially the people that are organized for the student that was bullied and took his own life (I know, no evidence, or at least no documented evidence). No one is going to tell me there isn't bullying going on. It is known and discussed between admin and the parents and the admin drug their feet with this last year so they could get to summer break and think it would just go away. The problem is, document it and you have to address a potential bullying issue, don't document it and you can play dumb. The people that are seeking change have not went away and if anything, that group is gaining strength in numbers.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 14, 2017 9:33:55 GMT -5
There are board members taking the insurance. The cost of their insurance is cheaper than private insurance. Heather Slone just joined the party and it looks like there are now 9 people running for 3 seats. This is going to be one interesting race. Curious why so many people are running this year when in past years they went unopposed?Everyone has an ax to grind. Sadly ... from what I'm hearing ... it has nothing to do with education. I've spoken with a few of the people running and I've asked them why they are running; the answers vary from "we need people on the board with fresh ideas" to "we need people on the board that are willing to hold the administration accountable for results." We keep losing kids and all you hear Ritz say is enrollment is down. Of course it is down, what are you doing to bring people to this town, and keep them here? This town has allowed low income housing and these renters/owners create a situation that is crumbling this school and the board needs to address that with City Council. The school has a D Grade rating and if a family that puts value on education (I sure hope they all would), they will likely not even consider moving into Willard when they look at this rating. We have a Curriculum Director in the school that should be driving positive results but we aren't seeing the results. Curriculum in a school this size should be handled by the Assistant Principal, not a Curriculum Director. Whether someone has an ax to grind or not, it is evident people running thinks there is a major issue and change needs to happen.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 9, 2017 13:53:36 GMT -5
Willard can switch out the entire board every 4 years and nothing will change. Change happens at home. Willard is not the Willard of old. Willard is half rentals, most of which are government housing. Thank you Jerry Stackhouse for ruining our town while your entire family moves in and out of Willard making bank on wee wee poor housing. Government housing brings in low income people, who do not care about this town or their kids. Ask the teachers, they will tell you. Willard's problem is the quality of people living in this community. More good ones are dying off or moving and the ones coming to Willard are vastly poor. Totally agree with the issue of housing and people residing in this community. The school board can address issues in the school but City Council needs to address Metro and the slumlords that let their properties fall apart and do nothing to get better renters in. The school board should work with City Council and the surrounding manufacturing companies in this town to see how they can work together to improve these issues. If Metro can be voted out, we need to vote it out. That is one of the biggest problems, these groups none want to work together for the common goal. Change is not only needed it is being demanded, shown by the number of people running this year.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 9, 2017 10:51:05 GMT -5
Sorry bighoss, my bad. I just noticed I had an error in my typing. When I was thinking of three seats open I was thinking of 30% but typed in 50%. Then when you said the presidential race it sidetracked me. 100% my fault. My point was someone could actually have twice as many people voting against them and still win a spot for a Willard board seat. To have this many running for seats there must be a lot of upset people in the district. It is obvious that people feel the need for change. I'm not sure what all the issues are but it sounds like the people running against these current seat holders are close to the system and know there needs to be positive change, it starts with new leadership. It is evident that Ritz and Rod are close and the checks and balances that should be in place between school board and administration are blurred due to this. Whomever gets in I would hope they have a better sense of loyalty to the people that put them there, the voters in this community.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 8, 2017 13:12:54 GMT -5
If that is the case, those that don't vote should keep their opinions to themselves. I'm amazed at how many people complain about change yet they are not registered voters or don't vote when they have the opportunity. This election will be odd since nothing of significance will be on the ballot that will draw people to the voting booths. If someone gets 50% of 2000 votes, that will be a shock. It is obvious to anyone watching this situation that people in this town are wanting change and those rerunning don't want it to happen.
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 8, 2017 8:02:30 GMT -5
There are board members taking the insurance. The cost of their insurance is cheaper than private insurance. Heather Slone just joined the party and it looks like there are now 9 people running for 3 seats. This is going to be one interesting race. Curious why so many people are running this year when in past years they went unopposed?
|
|
|
Post by moneyball on Aug 2, 2017 13:06:36 GMT -5
Just confirmed, they do get the same insurance coverage as teachers, so they are covered.
|
|