This may or may not be a far-fetched question. But could you ever see AAU Basketball and Travel Baseball replacing OHSAA? Consider this: A group of the best players in a county decide that playing for their mediocre school ball team isnt worth their time. Instead, a club team is formed during season to give them more exposure. For instance, in baseball there are summer club teams. Now players can play on the club team year round. I could see this happening in all sports, except for football. I dont know if there is much of a reason for year round football. Of course this idea would indidualize sports even more, which is a shame.
Could you ever see OHSAA dissolving?
- Thread starter LCL
- Start date
Mr. Slippery
Well-known member
I don't see it happening in the next 5 years, but never say never.
Yappi
Go Buckeyes
I don't think it would happen in the foreseeable future. IMO, several things would have to change. What the OHSAA has going for them is community. Travel basketball and travel baseball have little to no community. Just watched a JV softball game with a decent-sized student section. Nothing too far out of the ordinary but a much bigger crowd than I've ever seen at a travel baseball or travel softball tournament game.
Over the last few years, I've stated a few times that I would like to find some high-ranked basketball players that chose to go to a basketball factory instead of graduating with their friends at their hometown school and see if they thought it was worth it if they didn't make a professional league. IMO, it seems like a job to go to a sports factory and work on your skills instead of enjoying your youth with your friends.
Over the last few years, I've stated a few times that I would like to find some high-ranked basketball players that chose to go to a basketball factory instead of graduating with their friends at their hometown school and see if they thought it was worth it if they didn't make a professional league. IMO, it seems like a job to go to a sports factory and work on your skills instead of enjoying your youth with your friends.
It's a complicated topic.
In other parts of the world, the experiencing of sports has little to do with schooling; though, in many places (Ireland is an example), sports are still closely tied to community. In Ireland, there are "Gaelic sports"...two of them, primarily...Gaelic football and hurling...big field games (a soccer pitch, basically), with aspects of soccer, rugby, lacrosse...both are very physical games...a goal with goal posts. There's a tournament for each of these two sports that culminates in a national final in late summer in Dublin (Croke Park), before 80,000 people...the last two counties left standing...one of them frequently is Dublin, as it's so much larger in population than all the others. Kilkenny is dominant in hurling which is the lesser of the two sports in terms of participants. The players are developed by the county association. They are known, popular figures within their county (and beyond)...celebrities, even (though not paid...at least not officially). The games are televised...it's a big deal. The kids grow up in developmental programs under the auspices of the county. Community support is BIG.
I don't think it's all that hard to imagine sports for teens outside of an OHSAA. I'm not predicting it will happen, however. It's how we've always done it. But, hey, most of us grew up playing Little League, or Boys League in baseball and it had nothing to do with school or an OHSAA.
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I can see that happening. Especially with the advent of NIL's. Remember when a local business sponsored your Little League team? Now imagine a local business sponsoring a travel league team full of high schoolers, and paying them to play on the team while they traveled the state, or even the country. "Now batting for Chico's Bail Bonds..."
Well, yeah...but the local business that sponsored my Little League team paid a pretty small amount of money to "sponsor" the team. As I recall, it was enough money to pay for a shirt (with the company name on it somewhere) and a cap (the pants/stirrups were used over and over), and maybe some additional amount for refs/equipment...maybe $250 total in 1970 (a guess). But the players had to "pay to play" as well...and then engaged in fundraising too.
14Red
Well-known member
No, I don't see this because while some people think student athletes should get NIL deals, it's not at the high school level and not enough for everyone, just a select few.
We lose sight of what high school sports are all about. It's an extra curricular activity for students, and even today - 95% or more will never play beyond high school, and even higher percentage will get any kind of athletic money from a college ( scholarship) to play sports.
What do the schools get out of it? The ability to well-round students. Student athletes are better students, better people and excel in the world more than non-student athletes.
irish_buffalo
Well-known member
I could see this happening with basketball/volleyball/softball/baseball similar to hockey where the studs only play travel. The OHSAA would still have these sports but they might be watered down a bit.
Toledo lost their top girls talent a couple years ago to an IMG type. Same just happened with the best boys talent.
Toledo St. Francis is top 5 in the state for hockey most years. They usually have roughly 5-8 kids walking the halls who travel to Detroit/Windsor to play juniors over HS.
Toledo lost their top girls talent a couple years ago to an IMG type. Same just happened with the best boys talent.
Toledo St. Francis is top 5 in the state for hockey most years. They usually have roughly 5-8 kids walking the halls who travel to Detroit/Windsor to play juniors over HS.
