OT: D1

[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.

[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]

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%.

[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.

[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.

[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]

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.

[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.

[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.

[IUP24]

LOLOL NA does not have a "big leafy campus." Its a giant concrete and asphalt complex along Route 19 in behind shopping centers and car dealerships. It looks a lot more wooded from Google Maps aerial view but its on the brow of a hill. Most of the complex is sports fields and parking lots.

Played a couple playoff baseball games at NA in high school. It's impressive.

[IUP24]

GCC is also a tiny school -- playing against other tiny schools. Trust me, down in their little world, there is plenty of yapping about GCC and recruiting. To your point, because they are down in A or AA, they don't get nearly the hoopla. Indiana High just lost its star girls basketball player to GCC.

GCC also tends to recruit kids from similar small schools. PCC lands kids from the big schools, which generally comes with more social media fuss.

As to your point about PCC recruiting locally and St. Joe's recruiting nationally ... well, you can't be kind of pregnant. Recruiting is recruiting. I'd make the analogy that St. Joe's is recruiting on an SEC level. PCC is more on a MAC level. Nonetheless, they are both recruiting.

I'm a little closer to this situation as my alma mater has been hammered with star player defections to both GCC and PCC. It just crushes the 'do it right' programs who play the hand they are dealt.

Within the WPIAL, North Catholic is going to be the next power. The seeds are already planted.

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.

[WarriorVoice]

"Prep" in Nation's post refers to SJP. Cathedral Prep is its own can of worms.

I actually attended St. Joe's Prep, Class of 1982. The biggest sport at the time was Crew. Basketball was a better program then football during my years there, and there was't a wrestling team until the mid 90s. Back to football...The Prep WAS a football power in the 1920s and 30s, winning 9 PCL titles, but it wasn't until the mid 90's that Prep begin winning consistently.

[EastStroud13]

Prep's challenge is that there aren't many large schools in District 10. Most of what used to be AAA schools are losing students and are now AA or AAA in the new levels. Meadville has shrunk a ton. Erie city schools condensed down to one team.

"Prep" in Nation's post refers to SJP. Cathedral Prep is its own can of worms.

[IUPNation]

LOLOL NA does not have a "big leafy campus." It’s a giant concrete and asphalt complex along Route 19 in behind shopping centers and car dealerships. It looks a lot more wooded from Google Maps aerial view but it’s on the brow of a hill. Most of the complex is sports fields and parking lots.

It’s still a nicer place than 17th and Girard.

[Fightingscot82]

What difference does it make where the students come from? It’s a private school in the ghetto. How amazing that they can get anyone at all. North Allegheny has a big leafy campus. So they have advantages too. St. Joes was a nothing burger for a long time in Foosball in the PCL.

I just don’t like excluding schools because they are going the extra mile because it’s reeks of the IUP Rule.

However I would support the PIAA not including St Joes in a bracket for not playing a required amount of games against PIAA member schools. Four games just isn’t sufficient and that alone should disqualify them from a state title bid.

LOLOL NA does not have a "big leafy campus." Its a giant concrete and asphalt complex along Route 19 in behind shopping centers and car dealerships. It looks a lot more wooded from Google Maps aerial view but its on the brow of a hill. Most of the complex is sports fields and parking lots.