Not off the Press: Spring season has arrived, a new look for HHS in the future

In true spring sports fashion, after a couple weeks of really nice weather, how did the 2012 spring regular season begin on a Saturday?

You guessed it … we had a rain postponement in Hillsboro, but in true form .. the Whiteoak Wildcats had their field (which is mostly grass) opened their season with two games. 

Monday's weather report is a high of 56 degrees and Tuesday a high of 65 degrees … with a 10 percent chance of rain on Tuesday. Looks like we'll be able to catch some events on those two days.

Speaking of spring sports, I had some free time on Tuesday and had the chance to watch Hillsboro and Whiteoak scrimmage each other in baseball, on what I described on Twitter (and others agreed) as a perfect day for baseball … which it was.

As for the week, here is the calendar of all the events that will be taking place: 

http://highlandcountypress.com/main.asp?

(SectionID=8&SubSectionID=94&CalendarMonth=3&CalendarDay=26&CalendarYear=2012&ShowCal=1)

Either way, it will be a nice start to watch some athletic events outside for a change.

• Helping remember history

This past week, I had another idea (luckily, this one wasn't borrowed … yet) and wanted to write about what will soon be the 30-year anniversary of the Fairfield softball team reaching the Final Four.

When attending basketball games this past season, a person can't help but look at banners and trophy cases when attending a high school, and for the past five years, the softball banner in Grandle Gymnasium always catches my attention, so with it being 30 years since their accomplishment, it was a good time to find out about that particular team.

I also enjoyed speaking with then-head coach Jim D. Cook, hearing his thoughts on that team.

One item I didn't include in the feature story, but wanted to tell the story here was Mr. Cook spoke about how the Fairfield team helped Hillsboro High School with the starting process of converting to a fast-pitch softball program. 

I would have never known that without writing the aforementioned feature on the Lady Lions.

• Boys basketball state championships

The boys basketball final four and state championships were this past Thursday and Saturday, and here is what happened:

In the Division I Final Four, Toledo Whitmer defeated Lakewood St. Edward, 62-51, and Pickerington Central defeated Fairfield, 60-45. In the state final game, Pickerington Central won the championship with a 45-40 win over Toledo Whitmer. 

In the Division II Final Four, Dayton Dunbar defeated Mentor Lake Catholic, 75-60, and Elida defeated St. Clairsville, 61-27. In the state championship game, Dayton Dunbar defeated Elida, 54-52.

In the Division III Final Four, Cincinnati Summit Country Day defeated Bedford St. Peter Chanel, 49-41, and Portsmouth defeated Ottawa-Glandorf, 74-66. In the state final game, Cincinnati Summit Country Day won the championship with a 53-37 victory over Portsmouth. 

In the Division IV Final Four, Jackson Center defeated Columbus Africentric, 53-50, and Berlin Hiland defeated Arlington, 46-37. In the state championship game, Berlin Hiland defeated Jackson Center, 68-36.

• Quote of the Week

"Playing Portsmouth Clay in those first two games taught us so much about how softball should be played and what a program should be like. My opinion is teams need to play the caliber of a Portsmouth Clay because though it may not be a win … players will learn from it." — Jim D. Cook, former Fairfield Lady Lion softball head coach speaking about his 1982 State Final Four team. 

• Stat of the Week

When adding up all 23 scores from the 1982 Fairfield Lady Lion team, they scored 288 runs that season, including the postseason, for an average of 12.5 runs per game. Their largest amount of runs in a game was 33 against North Adams, and they also scored  31 runs against Fayetteville. 

• One last item of business

I really like the idea of the Hillsboro High School investing in their own facilities for what HCP Managing Editor Brandy Chandler reported as "funds ... earmarked to go toward the estimated $780,000 that would include a stadium, lights, track, soccer field, field house, restrooms and locker rooms. The construction of just a track is approximately $400,000."

This is something that can really enhance the athletics at Hillsboro in a positive manner. I've also seen comments where people are saying why aren't the funds being invested in the academic part of the school.

My response, as someone who has spent plenty of money on education in the classroom, is there is just as much "real-life" learning on the athletic fields (teamwork, for one) as there is learning about history, math, science or English in the classroom. Both classroom education and education on the athletic fields are important for the overall learning experience, but maybe that is the liberal arts college graduate in me saying that.

Again, I can't express enough how this will make the overall experience and outlook much better at HHS. This could get more kids involved with athletics, as the fields will be right at the school, and the lessons (and friendships) learned on athletic fields can last last a lifetime, just as much the knowledge learned in the classroom. It's a win-win situation in my book because these positive aspects could potentially not only have improvement in the athletic part of the equation, but in the classroom as well. 

Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.

In true spring sports fashion, after a couple weeks of really nice weather, how did the 2012 spring regular season begin on a Saturday?

You guessed it … we had a rain postponement in Hillsboro, but in true form .. the Whiteoak Wildcats had their field (which is mostly grass) opened their season with two games. (By the way, I'm a fan of their field).

Monday's weather report is a high of 56 degrees and Tuesday a high of 65 degrees … with a 10 percent chance of rain on Tuesday. Looks like we'll be able to catch some events on those two days.

Speaking of spring sports, I had some free time on Tuesday this past week, and had the chance to watch Hillsboro and Whiteoak scrimmage each other in baseball, on what I described on Twitter (and others agreed) as a perfect day for baseball … which it was.

As for the week, here is the calendar of all the events that will be taking place: 

Either way, it will be a nice start to watch some athletic events outside for a change.

• Helping remember history

This past week, I had another idea (luckily, this one wasn't borrowed … yet) and wanted to write about what will soon be the 30-year anniversary of the Fairfield softball team reaching the Final Four.

When attending basketball games this past season, a person can't help but look at banners and trophy cases when attending a high school, and for the past five years, the softball banner in Grandle Gymnasium always catches my attention, so with it being 30 years since their accomplishment, it was a good time to find out about that particular team.

I also enjoyed speaking with then-head coach Jim D. Cook, hearing his thoughts on that team.

One item I didn't include in the feature story, but wanted to tell the story here was Mr. Cook spoke about how the Fairfield team helped Hillsboro High School with the starting process of converting to a fast-pitch softball program. 

I would have never known that without writing the aforementioned feature on the Lady Lions.


• Boys basketball state championships

The boys basketball final four and state championships were this past Thursday and Saturday, and here is what happened:

In the Division I Final Four, Toledo Whitmer defeated Lakewood St. Edward, 62-51, and Pickerington Central defeated Fairfield, 60-45. In the state final game, Pickerington Central won the championship with a 45-40 win over Toledo Whitmer. 

In the Division II Final Four, Dayton Dunbar defeated Mentor Lake Catholic, 75-60, and Elida defeated St. Clairsville, 61-27. In the state championship game, Dayton Dunbar defeated Elida, 54-52.

In the Division III Final Four, Cincinnati Summit Country Day defeated Bedford St. Peter Chanel, 49-41, and Portsmouth defeated Ottawa-Glandorf, 74-66. In the state final game, Cincinnati Summit Country Day won the championship with a 53-37 victory over Portsmouth.

In the Division IV Final Four, Jackson Center defeated Columbus Africentric, 53-50, and Berlin Hiland defeated Arlington, 46-37. In the state championship game, Berlin Hiland defeated Jackson Center, 68-36.

• Quote of the Week

"Playing Portsmouth Clay in those first two games taught us so much about how softball should be played and what a program should be like. My opinion is teams need to play the caliber of a Portsmouth Clay because though it may not be a win … players will learn from it." — Jim D. Cook, former Fairfield Lady Lion softball head coach speaking about his 1982 State Final Four team. 

• Stat of the Week

When adding up all 23 scores from the 1982 Fairfield Lady Lion team, they scored 288 runs that season, including the postseason, for an average of 12.5 runs per game. Their largest amount of runs in a game was 33 against North Adams, and they also scored  31 runs against Fayetteville. 

• One last item of business

I really like the idea of the Hillsboro High School investing in their own facilities for what HCP Managing Editor Brandy Chandler reported as "funds ... earmarked to go toward the estimated $780,000 that would include a stadium, lights, track, soccer field, field house, restrooms and locker rooms. The construction of just a track is approximately $400,000."

This is something that can really enhance the athletics at Hillsboro in a positive manner. I've also seen comments where people are saying why aren't the funds being invested in the academic part of the school.

My response, as someone who has spent plenty of money on education in the classroom, is there is just as much "real-life" learning on the athletic fields (teamwork, for one) as there is learning about history, math, science or English in the classroom. Both classroom education and education on the athletic fields are important for the overall learning experience, but maybe that is the liberal arts college graduate in me saying that.

Again, I can't express enough how this will make the overall experience and outlook much better at HHS. This could get more kids involved with athletics, as the fields will be right at the school, and the lessons (and friendships) learned on athletic fields can last last a lifetime, just as much the knowledge learned in the classroom. It's a win-win situation in my book because these positive aspects could potentially not only have improvement in the athletic part of the equation, but in the classroom as well.