Triway won in '13...we beat them that year.

Yes...a .500 season is better than 2 wins any way you slice it! That would have been fine for me playing with the crew we had to put on the field based on talent level. Some might even have considered a .500 season in the PAC this year as overachieving??

Old Rider;1703429 wrote:Triway won in '13...we beat them that year.

Yes...a .500 season is better than 2 wins any way you slice it! That would have been fine for me playing with the crew we had to put on the field based on talent level. Some might even have considered a .500 season in the PAC this year as overachieving??

I am sure you were at that game in 2013...yes we won and I am not sure more could have went our way that night if we begged. It was fun.

So it seems Old Rider just wants wins he doesn't want to be better. So the answer for him is to always schedule below your talent level. It could be argued that going 2-8 in the OCC and 5-5 in the PAC makes no difference. I'm guessing Old Rider is a "every kid gets a trophy" kinda guy. Let's feel good about ourselves even though we are still not good.

An-Old-Fan;1703485 wrote:So it seems Old Rider just wants wins he doesn't want to be better. So the answer for him is to always schedule below your talent level. It could be argued that going 2-8 in the OCC and 5-5 in the PAC makes no difference. I'm guessing Old Rider is a "every kid gets a trophy" kinda guy. Let's feel good about ourselves even though we are still not good.

Your a genious! Of course lets get more wins and with those wins will come more kids wanting to play. Then when we have more kids playing we can rebuild our program. But why would it matter to you? I mean...your not from Orrville but every single one of your posts have been on an Orrville thread. I am sure you know who I am...right? Of course I dont care about Orrville getting better? Of course all kids should get a trophy?? Yeah...you know me well!!

The kids that will play because you can beat a weak team are not kids that will make you better. You build a program with kids working hard not by having big numbers. I do NOT know who you are and don't care. I only know that I think there is a RIGHT way to get wins and there is a LAZY way to get wins. Part of being a coach is making kids better/stronger/faster but if you don't have the kids to do that changing the schedule is only disguising the problem.

An-Old-Fan;1703581 wrote:The kids that will play because you can beat a weak team are not kids that will make you better. You build a program with kids working hard not by having big numbers. I do NOT know who you are and don't care. I only know that I think there is a RIGHT way to get wins and there is a LAZY way to get wins. Part of being a coach is making kids better/stronger/faster but if you don't have the kids to do that changing the schedule is only disguising the problem.

So you have reiterated everything that we have been saying for 3 years now.....our talent is down. WE KNOW!!

AGAIN...I speak of a new league for one main reason....to properly align us with schools that are OUR size. The late 80's and 90' are OVER and we will never see those kinds of runs again (although I hope I am wrong in saying so).

And as far as who I am...let me just say that I am as passionate as any Red Rider fan there is and I want the best for our school and its athletes!

An-Old-Fan;1703485 wrote:So it seems Old Rider just wants wins he doesn't want to be better. So the answer for him is to always schedule below your talent level. It could be argued that going 2-8 in the OCC and 5-5 in the PAC makes no difference. I'm guessing Old Rider is a "every kid gets a trophy" kinda guy. Let's feel good about ourselves even though we are still not good.

Pretty sure you are a troll if you think this...you definitely don't know much about the current state of the programs.

Call me what you will but I know that Orrville does not have the talent they used to and are now looking for a way to get wins for their boy's teams without having to work, develop and coach to victory. I simply think it is sad as the old Orrville I knew would have fought, clawed worked to get a win against anyone. Now the answer is run because we are small.

An-Old-Fan;1703658 wrote:Call me what you will but I know that Orrville does not have the talent they used to and are now looking for a way to get wins for their boy's teams without having to work, develop and coach to victory. I simply think it is sad as the old Orrville I knew would have fought, clawed worked to get a win against anyone. Now the answer is run because we are small.

First off you paint with a broad stroke. Not all want out of the OCC. Second there is no coach in this world that would make more than a game difference max the last two years. Talent is gone. It will be a cycle and come back. You have no idea what these kids are or are not doing right now in Orrville. Although I agree that they are not working the way they could or should be. I have been a very loud mouth in terms of believing these kids like to complain about losing on Friday nights but are not doing what it takes to win them in June and July.

Maybe coach was a poor choice on my part. I should have said STAFF. It takes a group of coaches working at all levels to build and maintain a program. Talent cycles change in every district but coaches at the lower levels can be instrumental in a program's ability to win over time. I've seen good basketball programs go from wining 18 games a season to winning 12 with less talent.

An-Old-Fan;1703733 wrote:Maybe coach was a poor choice on my part. I should have said STAFF. It takes a group of coaches working at all levels to build and maintain a program. Talent cycles change in every district but coaches at the lower levels can be instrumental in a program's ability to win over time. I've seen good basketball programs go from wining 18 games a season to winning 12 with less talent.

I think there are some young good coaches at the Jr. High level (although if you said name them I could not). We were spoiled for many years with Coach Mello and Coach Lehman.

We definitely ran with bigger schools while talent permitted. I don't see the inability for people to see that. Well, I do when I take into consideration it is hard to understand what has happened in our town unless you are from our town and have seen the changes first hand. It is a sad and difficult story. Lack of an understanding of the history of our program and the pride in it, kids, parents, coaches expectations and the overall changes in the demographics of our town.... SO many things have changed in so many large and small ways that have had an influence and will continue to have one for some time. And there are not many guys who bleed more Red Rider red than Old Rider. Everyone's frustrations just prove that there is a lot of passion in the debate of changing conferences. I TOTALLY understand BOTH arguments but as adults we have to think about the kids and weigh the pros and cons for them. Every man in this world has a breaking point, and every young man has one as well. I have been on talented teams and teams that were not so talented and I don't care WHO you are if you are in a fight and you keep hitting a guy in the mouth as hard as you can and he just keeps coming... That can be draining. Hope this gets figured out for the kids. I don't know the answer but they matter!

Keep debating the ideas guys, that is the only way to hear all aspects and make an informed decision!

Red Rider for life!

This is what makes Orrville great...look at all the talk about the Riders and look at the talk about other schools on here. The others are almost silent. Passion is very strong in Orrville and we have to make sure that it stays that way.

Read on line that A Valley school as submitted their forms to leave. Looks as though the process is starting. I'm guessing this means 2 more seasons in the OCC and then gone. Wonder if your enrollment will decline even more by then? I looks at OHSAA enrollments and saw that in 2009 and 2010 When Orrville had back to back 7-3 seasons and made the playoffs for multiple games they were only 26 boys bigger in high school than they are now.

An-Old-Fan;1704925 wrote:Read on line that A Valley school as submitted their forms to leave. Looks as though the process is starting. I'm guessing this means 2 more seasons in the OCC and then gone. Wonder if your enrollment will decline even more by then? I looks at OHSAA enrollments and saw that in 2009 and 2010 When Orrville had back to back 7-3 seasons and made the playoffs for multiple games they were only 26 boys bigger in high school than they are now.

26 boys doesn't seem like much to some. But when there are only 110 kids (boys/girls) in an entire class that can have a HUGE impact in all sports...especially in regards to participation! Thus the main reason we leave the OCC!!

Average current class size is 120+/-. A decline of 26 means about 8 boys per grade. If it is the right 8, it can make a huge difference that is correct. I was just surprised to find out the drop in enrollment has been that small. I thought it was much bigger with all the talk of declining numbers. 8 kids a class is not much.

Oh boy it is numbers guy...Look you can spin numbers to say whatever you want them to say. Lets just hope if all this happens it gives the student athletes (boys) some motivation to get better. That is what they need to do!

Don't be so thin skinned. I was not trying to spin any numbers. If anything I discovered there has been a spin put on the numbers in trying to say there has been a huge drop in enrollment. I was just surprised it wasn't a larger drop in numbers.

An-Old-Fan;1704976 wrote:Don't be so thin skinned. I was not trying to spin any numbers. If anything I discovered there has been a spin put on the numbers in trying to say there has been a huge drop in enrollment. I was just surprised it wasn't a larger drop in numbers.

Why I said you can make any numbers look however you want to. That goes for you and others.

How about the numbers of kids doing the work in the offseason and spending the time in the weight room. Find a way to spin that to a positive number. I will wait...

Take 8 kids off of a starting team..... I know that might be pushing the number but it hurts. I will continue to state that it is the perfect storm in Orrville right now. MANY factors having an influence on all different levels. Many are out of the control of coaches and teachers. Very difficult situation these days. Won't get fixed overnight either.

I would like to say congratulations to the 8th grade girls basketball team....who new you could win a conference championship in the OCC. I was always told that it was to big and bad of a conference for Orrville to compete. Guess the girls did not get the memo.

Talent wins! People keep asking where did all the athletes go in Orrville? They were born girls and they may be really fun to watch for years to come. Congratulations Girls!

Boys got the 6th seed in the Wooster District and will host Black River on 3/3. The winner will play #2 seed Dalton at their place on 3/6.

Congrats to the 8th grade girls basketball team. I got a chance to see them play a couple of times this year and there is no lack of talent that is for sure. They will be very fun to watch in the near future!

Hopefully lowering the competition standards by bolting the OCC won't hinder them come tourney time.

Still not convinced that will happen. Heard some things this weekend that are very strong and from reputable people saying this is far from a slam dunk. Kind of like 4 people trying to get in with only three spots and Orrville is still not wanted in by a few schools...

^^^ So we get knocked for leaving the OCC because people like you (CC) think we are lowering our "competition standards"...yet Wooster continues to play in a league where they are one of the big 3. Is that preparing you?? Why are you guys still losing to small schools like Orrville? Why did Wooster leave the Federal League? Why didn't you opt for the Suburban League?

If we enter the PAC...we are still the smallest school. Not sure that is lowering our standards...