The link above is a little old, but it still outlines just how great "our town rivarly" is to Cumberland and both schools involved. Click on the address above and watch how our community comes together for Homecoming every year.
HOMECOMING....ITS MORE THAN A FOOTBALL GAME!
- Thread starter Jailerman
- Start date
The link above is a little old, but it still outlines just how great "our town rivarly" is to Cumberland and both schools involved. Click on the address above and watch how our community comes together for Homecoming every year.
Unfortunately I feel like I can say the same thing about Linganore-Urbana. Some people say it can't be a rivalry unless both teams win and in both series, it's been very one sided recently. Friday will be the first time in a decade that Urbana will come in as the favorite. When the series first began, if you wanted a parking spot or a seat for the 2pm game, you better have been there by 10am. Now you can stroll in 30 minutes into the game and have no trouble finding a seat. The fans that are there aren't into the game like they used to be and it just doesn't have the same feel. I think a lot has to do with the opening of Oakdale but also, high school football just isn't king like it used to be. Now it's more of a social hour and a way to pawn your kids off for a few hours.
Everything athletic or should I say that involves not staring at your cell phone/laptop doesn't work for kids today. It's not just a football thing.
The Alco / FH rivalry has died not just for this reason but for competitive reasons. Alco has not won this game in 15 years. Most of them as of the last ten years have been extremely lopsided. And of course not many people live here anymore.
What I have been contemplating lately is how Alco can be so competitive locally in many other sports while FH has gone the complete opposite direction. Outside of football, FH sports have bottomed out massively. My recent theories on these opposite trends depending on the sport has to do with success/failure and what is means from a participation/dedication standpoint.
I happened to be in South End today, and while there wasn't nearly as much RED as in days gone by, it was still very present. I decided to take a quick trip through West Side, and North End. With the exception of 3 houses total. You wouldn't even know the Blue team existed.
Helmick I have a few thoughts about the failures of some of the FH sports programs. First, let’s look at the sports that do well and the ones that don’t. Football is tops
Boys track always competitive
Girls track always competitive
Volleyball bad this year but usually competitive
Girls basketball final 4 last year but a parent is the HC and it got dicey. We will see what happens this season.
Wrestling isn’t great but not horrible either
Boys soccer- when Hott was there it was good
Girls soccer not so good
Boys basketball average at best
Softball ok but don’t compete with alco
Tennis ??? Boys and girls
Baseball disastrous…
one of the theories was that during the Appel era was that Appel made all players make football priority, even during other sports seasons.
I personally am not a fan of moms and dads coaching their kids at the high school level. I don’t put Todd Appel in this category. He coached many years before his son got there. No one should give up coaching because their kids show up but if you try to get a coaching job while your kid is at the school playing, I believe it’s a bad look and invites trouble.
Boys track always competitive
Girls track always competitive
Volleyball bad this year but usually competitive
Girls basketball final 4 last year but a parent is the HC and it got dicey. We will see what happens this season.
Wrestling isn’t great but not horrible either
Boys soccer- when Hott was there it was good
Girls soccer not so good
Boys basketball average at best
Softball ok but don’t compete with alco
Tennis ??? Boys and girls
Baseball disastrous…
one of the theories was that during the Appel era was that Appel made all players make football priority, even during other sports seasons.
I personally am not a fan of moms and dads coaching their kids at the high school level. I don’t put Todd Appel in this category. He coached many years before his son got there. No one should give up coaching because their kids show up but if you try to get a coaching job while your kid is at the school playing, I believe it’s a bad look and invites trouble.
When I was growing up here in the seventies most of the best athletes played at least 3 sports. Football in the fall, basketball, wrestling, during winter, track, baseball, tennis in the spring. Most coaches today would rather have their players concentrate on one sport year round. In the seventies most coaches encouraged their players to play other sports. I believe Charlie Latimer insisted that if you wanted to play for him that you must participate in a spring sport. Preferably track and field, but baseball would suffice. Specialization in a single sport may be good for an athlete who can be successful at the next level, while playing multiple sports can be very good for the marginal student athletes, as well as the schools other sports programs. It's very difficult to tell a young athlete who grew up excelling in football, basketball, baseball, to pick one as 14 year old freshman. I hope we always keep the student athletes well being in mind. By the way I do understand that back in my day you didn't have the year round special sport training programs that you have ready available as we do today.
