187xovr;1615802 wrote:It's probably best to not focus on the past when comparing the current athletes at Orrville.
This. One million times over. It's not fair to the kids now to compare them to kids 30 years ago. You can say kids need to be tougher or work harder or whatever....but it's simply different. You're blind & dumb if you think it's not different.
Our town & society in general is wildly different than it was in the 80's.
Industry that brought families here from the Massillon/Canton are all closed up. Those families put down roots, bought homes, raised kids & were involved. We don't have that anymore.
Let's face it...we're a commuter town. People come here to work from 9 to 5 and then leave. JLG workers head south to Tusc. county and Smuckers folks head north to Summit & Medina County. Smith Dairy drivers are mostly 50+ and their kids are grown....probably moved away and not coming back. Those are your 3 big employers in town along with QC.
I heard Orrville no longer has a slow pitch industrial softball league....anyone care to guess why?? BECAUSE NOBODY THAT WORKS HERE, LIVES HERE!!! And if they do, they're 50+ and past their prime softball playing days. Pickup soccer games have replaced slow pitch softball.
Our town isn't thriving as it was in the 80's & 90's. Population is stagnant but the makeup of the town, demographically & economically, is what is changing. Look at the # of kids on free lunches in the schools. Probably at or near 50%.
Flash is right...we'll have some success on the girls side, but the 2 big money sports (football & boys basketball) will struggle. We've never had depth...but toss in a dip in talent and it's not too hard to figure out the outcome.
Your "fans" who expect us to beat Wooster and win 9 games a season in football are going to be in for some tough years with very misplaced expectations. It will take a toll on coaches too...and we'll probably lose some good ones along the way....just as we're risking losing athletes because they're tired of losing by the 8th grade.