Updated football fields

[SpillBoss 127]

1 hour ago, Ryan4VT said:

Just saw where the old turf at Richlands is being sent to Tazewell for their baseball and softball fields. First I’ve heard of that. 

They're using it for bullpen and batting cages from what I understand.

[SwvaOG 601]

Speaking of baseball turf…how is Richland coming along with building their baseball field?

[cityofRaven 2,444]

1 hour ago, SwvaOG said:

Speaking of baseball turf…how is Richland coming along with building their baseball field?

Snails pace, like everything else around here. 

[SwvaOG 601]

9 hours ago, cityofRaven said:

Snails pace, like everything else around here. 

Possibly ready for next season or we looking at a couple of more years?  I see they are all in the LL program but I keep thinking...."You need to give the dang middle/jv/high school kids a place to play at home."  

[cityofRaven 2,444]

14 hours ago, SwvaOG said:

Possibly ready for next season or we looking at a couple of more years?  I see they are all in the LL program but I keep thinking...."You need to give the dang middle/jv/high school kids a place to play at home."  

I've heard from a really good source that it could be finished and played on at the end of this season. 

This should have been done 20 years ago and in honesty I think it will bring interest back to baseball in Richlands. 

[Ryan4VT 4,554]

18 minutes ago, cityofRaven said:

I've heard from a really good source that it could be finished and played on at the end of this season. 

This should have been done 20 years ago and in honesty I think it will bring interest back to baseball in Richlands. 

But it's baseball. It's inherenly NOT interesing. hahaha. (I'm in danger)

[SwvaOG 601]

20 minutes ago, Ryan4VT said:

But it's baseball. It's inherenly NOT interesing. hahaha. (I'm in danger)

As long as soccer, golf and tennis exist, baseball is in no danger of being the most boring sport.  And, yes, it can be boring, especially if the teams aren't good. 

[sixcat 2,919]

Baseball used to be rather inexpensive for a kid to play. That's no longer the case. My brothers son played for the Lake Norman Flyers, LKN Fury and LKN Thunder (USSSA) for a number of years. The cost, travel and dedication was exorbitant. My nephew burned out and hasn't played baseball at all since his freshman year of high school. 

Soccer is relatively inexpensive and can be played almost anywhere. Soccer has and will continue to hurt baseball numbers across the country. 

High School soccer being played during baseball season in Virginia hurts some as well. Most other states around us play soccer in the fall. 

[cityofRaven 2,444]

^ This.

Soccer should be in the fall.

Baseball is killing themselves with the bat rules. Forcing folks to spend $200-$500 every year for bats is criminal. 

[sixcat 2,919]

12 minutes ago, cityofRaven said:

Soccer should be in the fall.

I agree. Even though it means Galax wouldn’t have won the state championship in football last fall.

Shout-out Yandel Vera!!!

[cityofRaven 2,444]

Let's be real though. Most kids who play soccer aren't playing football other than being a kicker/punter.

Kicking/punting can be practiced anytime, therefore a kid could practice both sports in an afternoon and no soccer is being played on a Friday. 

Baseball and even softball for that matter lose kids to soccer because they can't do both for the most part as games/practices happen at the same time. 

[bleedblue89 99]

On 3/20/2024 at 9:09 AM, SwvaOG said:

Speaking of baseball turf…how is Richland coming along with building their baseball field?

 

On 3/20/2024 at 10:37 AM, cityofRaven said:

Snails pace, like everything else around here. 

It looks great, the kids deserve it, can’t wait to see it finished. 

[LacesOutDan23 53]

19 hours ago, cityofRaven said:

Let's be real though. Most kids who play soccer aren't playing football other than being a kicker/punter.

Kicking/punting can be practiced anytime, therefore a kid could practice both sports in an afternoon and no soccer is being played on a Friday. 

Baseball and even softball for that matter lose kids to soccer because they can't do both for the most part as games/practices happen at the same time. 

Most of these schools, like on the West Virginia side, utilize soccer players as their punters and placekickers. It would work in Virginia too. Baseball number would shoot up most likely. 

[SwvaOG 601]

Soccer also cannibalizes track athletes as well.  Having four spring sports (three bigger ones) is a bit much for the boys side.  Moving soccer to the fall makes a lot of sense as football is the only major sports (for boys).  Having baseball, soccer, track and tennis in one season is a bit much, especially when you only have football, golf and cross country in the fall.  

[tornado99 345]

I think a deterrent in some places are the facilities. The turf fields are designed for multiple sports. Richlands and Honaker for example play soccer on the football fields. Scheduling both during the same season would be a nightmare. Assuming soccer is relegated to a different location, the costs rise again to maintain the field in a separate location. It’s not impossible, but certainly the money is a factor when making those decisions.

[Ryan4VT 4,554]

Since they're re-doing the track at Richlands, does that mean we can finally center the soccer circle around the R at midfield instead of having the soccer lines like 7 yards off in one direction? haha

[SwvaOG 601]

1 hour ago, tornado99 said:

I think a deterrent in some places are the facilities. The turf fields are designed for multiple sports. Richlands and Honaker for example play soccer on the football fields. Scheduling both during the same season would be a nightmare. Assuming soccer is relegated to a different location, the costs rise again to maintain the field in a separate location. It’s not impossible, but certainly the money is a factor when making those decisions.

What if there isn't going to be an "R" in the middle.  💣 💥

[appyvol 23]

22 hours ago, cityofRaven said:

Let's be real though. Most kids who play soccer aren't playing football other than being a kicker/punter.

Kicking/punting can be practiced anytime, therefore a kid could practice both sports in an afternoon and no soccer is being played on a Friday. 

Baseball and even softball for that matter lose kids to soccer because they can't do both for the most part as games/practices happen at the same time. 

I'm pretty sure there a quite a few football players at Union who play soccer. Could be wrong. 

[SwvaOG 601]

1 hour ago, tornado99 said:

I think a deterrent in some places are the facilities. The turf fields are designed for multiple sports. Richlands and Honaker for example play soccer on the football fields. Scheduling both during the same season would be a nightmare. Assuming soccer is relegated to a different location, the costs rise again to maintain the field in a separate location. It’s not impossible, but certainly the money is a factor when making those decisions.

Yeah, practices would be tough and you definitely wouldn't be able to move girls soccer to the fall.  Schools wouldn't be able to support three different teams, plus the band, trying to use the same field.  Facilities and logistics dictate a spring soccer season. 

Does anyone anticipate SWVA schools dropping soccer as the enrollment numbers decrease?

[SwvaOG 601]

3 minutes ago, appyvol said:

I'm pretty sure there a quite a few football players at Union who play soccer. Could be wrong. 

Same with Ridgeview.

[cityofRaven 2,444]

1 hour ago, appyvol said:

I'm pretty sure there a quite a few football players at Union who play soccer. Could be wrong. 

Would those kids choose soccer over football if soccer was in the fall?

The point being, a football program can survive without a few soccer players. Spring sports are spread thin.

[Ryan4VT 4,554]

1 hour ago, cityofRaven said:

Would those kids choose soccer over football if soccer was in the fall?

The point being, a football program can survive without a few soccer players. Spring sports are spread thin.

But could a soccer program survive without football players?

[cityofRaven 2,444]

5 minutes ago, Ryan4VT said:

But could a soccer program survive without football players?

Yes.

[EH31 2,518]

A lot of good football players in our area are also soccer players. 
 

If I was a football coach I would encourage my players to play soccer. The conditioning and physicality of it translates well. 

[tornado99 345]

45 minutes ago, EH31 said:

A lot of good football players in our area are also soccer players. 
 

If I was a football coach I would encourage my players to play soccer. The conditioning and physicality of it translates well. 

I think this is a fair point. 
Baseball is certainly favored in this area per tradition and some personal preferences, but I certainly concede that soccer skills and conditioning are certainly more transferable to not only football, but other areas of health and every day life. 
Just my opinion, but I think my RB and WRs benefit from the sprints and cutting while playing soccer more than running the bases 3-4 times per game and/or tracking down a handful of fly balls in the outfield.