Ohio High School Athletic Association State Finals

It has become something of a tradition for my family to attend the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Soccer Championships at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Today's writing will be observations from yesterday and state tournament experiences in general.

One of the the first things to strike me each year is how very different officiating is at the state tournament than what we see throughout the year. Yesterday this was particularly true during the Division III Boys Final between Cincinnati Summit Country Day and Gates Mills Hawken.  The referee crew for this game "let them play".  It became an extremely physical game and credit goes to both teams for maintaining composure and a proper spirit.



The Division II and Division I finals were called much closer. The contrast was stark. I feel that in both cases the officiating was fair and the players were allowed to decide the game.  The Division III final saw the bigger, stronger faster athletes allowed to play to their physical strengths. It was a microcosm of the youth game in the U.S. Whereas the Division II and Division I finals were much more about speed of play in a skilled and tactical sense.

You need at least 5 really high quality players to make it to state. I based this partly on our own state appearance but also on observations from many years of watching the championships.  Teams that play in the finals have quality depth in their starting line ups.  That may sound like a "duh" comment but it is very, very true.  Lone super stars do not carry their teams to state let alone win state championships.

Cincinnati Summit Country Day had a roster that read like a United Nations role call.  I know next to nothing about the school but did hear the dreaded "R" word bandied about a bit concerning their roster. I am reasonably certain the people talking about recruiting, whether their talk was serious or of a joking nature, know next to nothing about the school as well.  That is dangerous speculation,  my friends.

The sportsmanship on display at the finals was superb!   I only witnessed one incident where a player took exception to a foul... and there were certainly some hard fouls yesterday, especially in the Division III final. The young men playing were generally very respectful of one another, the referees and the game. Numerous instances where players went to the ground and helped one another up or were helped up by an opponent. Great to witness!

The agony of defeat.  One team must lose and to see the painful emotions they exhibit is heartbreaking.  The awards presentations to second place teams is difficult to watch in part because the players are seen accepting "awards" they really don't want.  It is the pain of the moment.  Mr. Jerry Snodgrass does a masterful job of presenting the awards and helps convey to these players the success in playing for a title, in representing themselves, their families, their school and their communities with dignity and class. That they are winners in life for having played, for displaying respect and for honoring themselves for having done so.

The winners.  Congratulations to Cincinnati Summit Country Day, Dayton Carroll and Powell Olentangy Liberty on their Championship seasons! Winning with class can sometimes seem a lost art but not yesterday. Lot's of celebration for winning but none of it in a manner that disrespected their opponents or the game.  Job well done!

Overall, a great day spent with family and friends watching a great high school event.  Enjoyed myself very much and am already looking forward to next year... when hopefully we will be participants!