OT: D1

[Ship69]

North Catholic has been away from Troy Hill for a while now. They have gotten "better," but they've not reached that PCC type powerhouse level relative to their classification. Although they did win the state championship a few years back.

Please note, I'm not defending "recruiting" with any of these schools. But I do wonder how much of it actually exists as many suggest for the smaller schools, specifically. It sucks for schools that lose quality athletes, but I also believe that there's many examples of people just choosing to send their kids to school elsewhere. Serra Catholic is an extremely small school. They're a block away from McKeesport. They aren't far from Jeannette. They are close Clairton. Across the river and about 15 mins from West Mifflin. Still not overly far from the east part of Pittsburgh like Penn Hills, Wilkinsburg, etc. (probably encroaching more on PCC territory here though). I guess my point is that if you were a parent in those other districts, where would you choose to send your kid to school if you had the means to make that choice?

I almost went to GCC. My cousin played baseball there. GCC often pulled kids from the Mon Valley which was the area where I grew up. But they also pulled kids from the Latrobe, Indiana, and surrounding D6 schools about 40-50 mins from Greensburg. I specifically recall while I was in high school that GCC had a player from Monessen and Charleroi on their roster. Both were good players. But one of those two attended catholic school most of his life, so I'm not sure him going to GCC was ever a shock. The other left Charleroi after his sophomore year. Certainly a bummer for both schools, but I can't dispute parents wanting to place their kids in a private school over Monessen or Charleroi. I am not saying that recruiting doesn't happen, but I think there are many examples of parents wanting to get their kids away from some rougher crowds in the high schools they would go to.

My dad grew up in Pittsburgh. His house sat on the border of Shaler and Perry High School. His neighbors went to Shaler. His parents opted to send him and his siblings to North Catholic. Probably a logical choice if you can make it. Again, not defending recruiting if and when it happens. But I think there are many examples where some of these private schools aren't just looking to be athletic factories and they simply happen to be good landing spots for parents from nearby areas to send their kids if it could be a negative experience in that particular high school.

I have zero problems with parents sending their children where they want to. I simply believe that the same enrollment rules should apply to all schools if they're going to play in the same championship tourney. Have a separate tournament for public and private schools. For some reason, that seems to be a big problem in Pa.

[Fightingscot82]

North Catholic has been away from Troy Hill for a while now. They have gotten "better," but they've not reached that PCC type powerhouse level relative to their classification. Although they did win the state championship a few years back.

Please note, I'm not defending "recruiting" with any of these schools. But I do wonder how much of it actually exists as many suggest for the smaller schools, specifically. It sucks for schools that lose quality athletes, but I also believe that there's many examples of people just choosing to send their kids to school elsewhere. Serra Catholic is an extremely small school. They're a block away from McKeesport. They aren't far from Jeannette. They are close Clairton. Across the river and about 15 mins from West Mifflin. Still not overly far from the east part of Pittsburgh like Penn Hills, Wilkinsburg, etc. (probably encroaching more on PCC territory here though). I guess my point is that if you were a parent in those other districts, where would you choose to send your kid to school if you had the means to make that choice?

I almost went to GCC. My cousin played baseball there. GCC often pulled kids from the Mon Valley which was the area where I grew up. But they also pulled kids from the Latrobe, Indiana, and surrounding D6 schools about 40-50 mins from Greensburg. I specifically recall while I was in high school that GCC had a player from Monessen and Charleroi on their roster. Both were good players. But one of those two attended catholic school most of his life, so I'm not sure him going to GCC was ever a shock. The other left Charleroi after his sophomore year. Certainly a bummer for both schools, but I can't dispute parents wanting to place their kids in a private school over Monessen or Charleroi. I am not saying that recruiting doesn't happen, but I think there are many examples of parents wanting to get their kids away from some rougher crowds in the high schools they would go to.

My dad grew up in Pittsburgh. His house sat on the border of Shaler and Perry High School. His neighbors went to Shaler. His parents opted to send him and his siblings to North Catholic. Probably a logical choice if you can make it. Again, not defending recruiting if and when it happens. But I think there are many examples where some of these private schools aren't just looking to be athletic factories and they simply happen to be good landing spots for parents from nearby areas to send their kids if it could be a negative experience in that particular high school.

My dad went to North Catholic as well. He grew up in NA so he had to thumb over the Troy Hill every morning. I guess no busses in the late 60s.

[IUPNation]

I have zero problems with parents sending their children where they want to. I simply believe that the same enrollment rules should apply to all schools if they're going to play in the same championship tourney. Have a separate tournament for public and private schools. For some reason, that seems to be a big problem in Pa.

If there are separate tournaments...then nobody can claim to be the best team in the Commonwealth.

It's then back to the days when the WPIAL crowed about being the best but there were teams not in the PIAA that said think again....

But North Allegheny could win 8 in a row and nobody would question their advantages.

[IUP24]

If there are separate tournaments...then nobody can claim to be the best team in the Commonwealth.

It's then back to the days when the WPIAL crowed about being the best but there were teams not in the PIAA that said think again....

But North Allegheny could win 8 in a row and nobody would question their advantages.

What about Aliquippa? Or Clairton when they went on their unprecedented run? What advantages do those districts have?

I’m not sure what advantages NA has that you are referencing.

[IUPNation]

What about Aliquippa? Or Clairton when they went on their unprecedented run? What advantages do those districts have?

I’m not sure what advantages NA has that you are referencing.

Isn’t Aliquippa recruiting? You mean to tell me that tiny school in that dead ass town is magically producing all that foosball talent within its borders? So why is it okay when public’s recruit..and they do…but a Catholic Private school does it and everyone has a meltdown? As stated before St Joes for years was a nothing burger in foosball. Yes they made it a point to now compete once the PCL joined the PIAA. So get them on not playing a full PIAA schedule. I don’t think it’s right they get a playoff bid only playing 4 PIAA member schools despite winning the PCL red division.

North Allegheny has plenty of advantages. It’s in a desirable location where families aspire to move which means it’s going to have a stable enrollment. It means they get more kids to pick from. It means there are probably pee we’d leagues where kids can develop locally. They have the facilities. They have the funding. Don’t think they can’t get kids from outside the district who might have a relative in the district and they use their address to enroll. Public’s recruiting isn’t that hard to do. Suburban Philly schools get city kids all the time..especially in basketball.

[EastStroud13]

If people really care about "best team in the Commonwealth", just have the champ of the top public and private class play each other at the end. I'd venture to guess people have seen that the best team is going to be one that collects talent from a wide net, though. If it wasn't SJP, it'd be someone else like La Salle, Roman, Imhotep, etc. It's a power vacuum that will be filled by someone, and SJP just happens to occupy that role right now.

[Fightingscot82]

Isn’t Aliquippa recruiting? You mean to tell me that tiny school in that dead ass town is magically producing all that foosball talent within its borders? So why is it okay when public’s recruit..and they do…but a Catholic Private school does it and everyone has a meltdown? As stated before St Joes for years was a nothing burger in foosball. Yes they made it a point to now compete once the PCL joined the PIAA. So get them on not playing a full PIAA schedule. I don’t think it’s right they get a playoff bid only playing 4 PIAA member schools despite winning the PCL red division.

North Allegheny has plenty of advantages. It’s in a desirable location where families aspire to move which means it’s going to have a stable enrollment. It means they get more kids to pick from. It means there are probably pee we’d leagues where kids can develop locally. They have the facilities. They have the funding. Don’t think they can’t get kids from outside the district who might have a relative in the district and they use their address to enroll. Public’s recruiting isn’t that hard to do. Suburban Philly schools get city kids all the time..especially in basketball.

No, Aliquippa isn't recruiting. One quarter of the school district is below the poverty rate. Its economically depressed and has been for decades. Its an old steel town along the river. The school district isn't great either. On the state exams, only 4% of students are proficient in math and only 19% in reading. Nobody's moving there for academics.

NA is huge. 8,000 students. The only school districts larger in the WPIAL are Butler and Pittsburgh city schools. There are roughly 1,000 boys to choose from in grades 10-12 before you consider the kids of coaches and pro players who move to the district when they move to Pittsburgh. There's no sense of community or knowing all your classmates, but its a really nice place to live. The only real crime is your neighbor getting a DUI or your friend's dad committing some white collar offense at work. NA has a 6% poverty (probably mostly seniors) and math & reading proficiency rates of 81% and 91%.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

No, Aliquippa isn't recruiting. One quarter of the school district is below the poverty rate. Its economically depressed and has been for decades. Its an old steel town along the river. The school district isn't great either. On the state exams, only 4% of students are proficient in math and only 19% in reading. Nobody's moving there for academics.

NA is huge. 8,000 students. The only school districts larger in the WPIAL are Butler and Pittsburgh city schools. There are roughly 1,000 boys to choose from in grades 10-12 before you consider the kids of coaches and pro players who move to the district when they move to Pittsburgh. There's no sense of community or knowing all your classmates, but its a really nice place to live. The only real crime is your neighbor getting a DUI or your friend's dad committing some white collar offense at work. NA has a 6% poverty (probably mostly seniors) and math & reading proficiency rates of 81% and 91%.

I had friends at IUP that were in the same graduating class there ... and met for the first time at IUP. That's wild.

[Fightingscot82]

I had friends at IUP that were in the same graduating class there ... and met for the first time at IUP. That's wild.

Yep. There are 40 school districts in PA smaller than my North Allegheny graduating class.

Brian Eyerman graduated a year ahead of me.

[Ship69]

If people really care about "best team in the Commonwealth", just have the champ of the top public and private class play each other at the end. I'd venture to guess people have seen that the best team is going to be one that collects talent from a wide net, though. If it wasn't SJP, it'd be someone else like La Salle, Roman, Imhotep, etc. It's a power vacuum that will be filled by someone, and SJP just happens to occupy that role right now.

Public and private school champions played in New Jersey for years. I haven't checked recently to see if they still do that.

[Ship69]

If there are separate tournaments...then nobody can claim to be the best team in the Commonwealth.

It's then back to the days when the WPIAL crowed about being the best but there were teams not in the PIAA that said think again....

But North Allegheny could win 8 in a row and nobody would question their advantages.

I'm not exactly sure what the best team moniker means when you're playing by different sets of rules. It's sort of like a guy getting a five-yard head start in the 100-yard dash and then proclaiming himself the best at the 100-yard dash. Depends on what the ground rules are.

[IUPNation]

If people really care about "best team in the Commonwealth", just have the champ of the top public and private class play each other at the end. I'd venture to guess people have seen that the best team is going to be one that collects talent from a wide net, though. If it wasn't SJP, it'd be someone else like La Salle, Roman, Imhotep, etc. It's a power vacuum that will be filled by someone, and SJP just happens to occupy that role right now.

Actually that is an idea and it’s been done already..actually it’s done now.

For years before state playoffs even existed, the winner of the Philadelphia Public League met the winner of the Philadelphia Catholic League for the City Championship. Now it’s just the District 12 title game.

So yeah..why not have a State Title Game for each level Public vs Private…

[IUPNation]

No, Aliquippa isn't recruiting. One quarter of the school district is below the poverty rate. Its economically depressed and has been for decades. Its an old steel town along the river. The school district isn't great either. On the state exams, only 4% of students are proficient in math and only 19% in reading. Nobody's moving there for academics.

NA is huge. 8,000 students. The only school districts larger in the WPIAL are Butler and Pittsburgh city schools. There are roughly 1,000 boys to choose from in grades 10-12 before you consider the kids of coaches and pro players who move to the district when they move to Pittsburgh. There's no sense of community or knowing all your classmates, but it’s a really nice place to live. The only real crime is your neighbor getting a DUI or your friend's dad committing some white collar offense at work. NA has a 6% poverty (probably mostly seniors) and math & reading proficiency rates of 81% and 91%.

Where is Alliquippa getting these players. Is there something in the wooder there that makes them superior foosball players?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Where is Alliquippa getting these players. Is there something in the wooder there that makes them superior foosball players?

Different breed of player. They dress like 20 kids and literally pummel 4A schools. It's amazing.

It's the culture from the time they are in kindergarten.

[IUPNation]

Different breed of player. They dress like 20 kids and literally pummel 4A schools. It's amazing.

It's the culture from the time they are in kindergarten.

But aren’t they being forced up because they get transfers? Isn’t the lack of transfers why Southern Columbia isn’t forced up?