Privates...Again! errrgh!

However it is good to have differing of opinions on a forum like this, so long as there is no personal attacking. Because if not, this would get boring. No one comes here to read everyone in agreement on everything. Lol.

D-Train: yeah, I have seen Cache's facilities; I missed the 2013 championship game, which was played there, as you know, but a friend and I went there back in June to watch his grandson play in that little 'All-Star' game they have. And, yes, their facilities are some of the best in the state and are very similar to Plainview's.

If you’re referring to Bishop McGuinness, they won it twice, in ‘06-‘07. That’s it. Wagoner has dominated more than them.

I commented that the publics should *be careful* about what they wish for, not that they "better be careful" what they wish for. I'm not generally prone to make mistakes like that; what they had "better" do or not do isn't a thing I am exactly qualified to pronounce. But in any case,...

The reason I think they ought to want the privates in their league(s) has already been stated many times by me and others. Simply because, at the end of the day, the participation of the privates makes the publics better. It is, in my humble opinion, a loser's mentality that takes your position on the matter, with all due respect. As Johnsmith and others have said, if you can't beat them then you need to get better. Forget about how they deprive certain lesser-thans of the opportunity to experience the playoff atmosphere. You think that is a fundamental human right or something? C'mon!

When my daughter competed in USA Gymnastics a few years back, I never let her think that because she was enrolled at a small gymnastics academy that she couldn't compete at a high level. When I was asked to help coach her and her team, one of the first things I did was to begin to *try* to instill that attitude in her teammates. She (my daughter) was the best gymnast we had, and competed at the top level in her division, because she had probably the best work ethic of anyone in the state at her level, in spite of everything else. We competed against girls from Jenks and Bartlesville and everywhere else. Do you think I let her believe for a moment that she was, at her best, inferior to any of those girls or their teams?! No; never! And that is at least part of the reason she competed at the top levels and won several all-around championships. What you are talking about is the exact opposite of all of that.

And perhaps even more meaningful, look at the number (very few) of private schools in classifications and then their representation in the play-offs beyond round 1, and 2 for that matter. Rarely does a private school go 3-7 and deal with a year of rebuilding. I wonder why that is? I also wonder how many students with IEP's affect their ADM? I admit ignorance with regards to those numbers so maybe someone can enlighten me. I wonder how many students that attend private schools have 2 parents at home, or at least 1?

I don't mean to start a "thing", just having a conversation on a message board pertaining to the topic.

Sure you did, and Stroud has been uber-competitive in sports for a long, long time. Those programs exist...out of 60ish public schools in Class 2A, you're bound to have a percentage of schools that are year-in, year-outers. How about the schools that miss out on a play-off run in their 1 out of 10 good seasons that they come across because a private closed off a wing of their school for re-modeling, thus lowering their ADM for that cycle? Beyond that, would Stroud have won a championship in Class A, had they been there? How many have they won in Class 2A? Or is quarterfinals the benchmark...because typically a small population of private schools make up a large portion of quarterfinalists statewide.

How familiar are you with Metro Christian and Chelsea? Does Chelsea just need to get better? Work harder? Metro kids must work a HECKUVA lot harder that Chelsea kids, and probably have been for years.

Again, forgive me....I know I'm coming off as if I'm really worked up about this. I DO believe in the stance I'm taking, however, I respect others take on this subject and can understand that not everyone thinks the same as me. Feel free to rip me for thinking Private schools should have their own playoff system...level playing fields for all.

Stroud does not get state funding; they haven’t for years.

Those 3 quarterfinal teams were 2010, 2011, and 2012. We made the finals in Class A in 2009, losing to Tonkawa 7-6. I believe, had we stayed in Class A like we “should” have, we would have been knocking on the door (semis or further) in 2010 and more than likely would have won it in 2011 and 2012. The 2011 and 2012 Stroud teams were MUCH better than the 2009 team that made the finals. The 2011 team lost 29-28 to Jones in the quarters (Jones then beat Lindsay 63-6 in the semis. If we hadn’t blown a 10 point lead with 4 minutes to go, we’re more than likely in the finals that year). The 2012 team lost 22-16 in the quarters to eventual champion OCS.

My point to all this is to not bring up all the woulda coulda shouldas or what might have beens. My point is that a lot of teams feel like certain things aren’t fair, but they do the best they can and don’t complain.

That 2012 team, for instance, was the favorite to win 2A that year. And more than likely would have been playing for the title against Davis had OCS been in their own playoff system. But, we played the team in front of us and that was that. Not one player, coach, or fan from Stroud that year complained about having to play a private school.

Does Stroud get federal funding?

Also, a question to anyone who knows the answer: What is the rule as far as a private's geographical districting? One thing I left out of the OP (because I initially forgot about it) was that coach Price said that privates can take students who live within a fifty mile radius of the school. Now, he wasn't *dogmatic* about that, but said he *thinks* it is fifty miles. To which the host gasped, saying "that is just crazy!" I meant to check that number and verify the claim, but got distracted with other stuff and forgot about it. Anyway, do any of you know whether that is true or false?