An Ohio law taking effect Friday requires coaches, volunteers and officials in youth sports organizations to have players who show concussion-like symptoms sit out games or practices until they’re checked and cleared by a doctor or licensed health care provider.
The law also requires that coaches know more about concussions and how to spot warning signs and that parents review and sign information sheets about brain injuries.
The law also prohibits student athletes from returning to games or practices the same day they’re taken out with concussion-like symptoms.
Lawmakers previously corrected a bill-writing error that inadvertently imposed criminal penalties for violating the law.
Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Women’s Sports Association welcomes Olympic gold medalist
PHOTOS FROM YOUTH CAMP IN WEST CHESTER IN JULY OF 2012
Shannon Russell reports:
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Heather Mitts planned to end her illustrious soccer career after the 2012 Games in London, but discovered she couldn’t quite walk away from the sport.
Her ailing body finally convinced her to retire just last month.
“I had every intention of being done after the Olympics, but I just still loved playing. I wanted to start a family, but I also wanted to continue playing until that happened,” said Mitts, 34. “I went to (U.S. National Team) camp in March and had a slew of injuries. I thought, ‘OK, this is my body’s way of being done.’”
Mitts and her husband, former NFL quarterback A.J. Feeley, are now both retired and living in Philadelphia. But the St. Ursula Academy grad and recent University of Florida Hall of Fame inductee will be back in her hometown Tuesday as the keynote speaker at the Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Women’s Sports Association’s 20th anniversary awards dinner in West Chester.
Other area Olympians and Paralympians will be honored at the banquet, including Jenny Kemp (swimming), Barbara Weinstein McGrath (diving), Mary Wineberg (track), Keli Smith Puzo (field hockey), Emmy Kaiser (tennis) and April Kerely (swimming). Event officials will present awards to 26 local athletes, coaches, sponsors and administrators.
“I’m happy to be the speaker at the 20th anniversary awards dinner. It’s a great honor,” Mitts said. “I’m excited to meet other Olympians, too.”
Mitts said her retirement thus far feels like a long vacation with great opportunities, like the sports banquet and the two Philadelphia Union soccer matches she worked as a sideline reporter. She’ll conduct her annual CBTS Heather Mitts Soccer ProCamp at Lakota West Aug. 3 and 4, and for the first time will also have an evening-session elite camp for high schoolers.
Mitts’ retirement means she won’t compete in the new National Women’s Soccer League, but the former defender is optimistic that the fresh foray into women’s professional soccer will take root. Unlike previous short-lived leagues – the Women’s United Soccer League and Women’s Professional Soccer – the eight-team NWSL is supported by the United States Soccer Federation, Canadian Soccer Association and Federation of Mexican Football.
“Because of the fact that (U.S. Soccer) is taking the initiative to be involved, I do think it will succeed longer than leagues of the past. And by investing in a women’s professional league in the U.S., our players can train here on a daily basis,” Mitt said.
Mitts said it was bittersweet to finish her own career in London but “couldn’t have asked for a better way to go out.” Asked if she envisioned a return from retirement, Mitts promptly laughed.
“I will not be pulling a Brett Favre or Michael Jordan,” she said. “I want to start a family, and hopefully that happens here sooner rather than later.”
For information about the GCNKWSA banquet, which begins at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Savannah Center, visit cincywomensports.org. To learn more about Mitts’ soccer camps, visit procamps.com/heathermittselite.
Around 1,300 Lakota elementary students on 146 different teams helped raise more than $13,000 for local non-profits by participating in this month’s March Madness “Lakota Style” basketball tournament.
Last year, the event raised $3,000.
The charity basketball tournament tradition is organized by community volunteers, giving Lakota elementary students (boys and girls in grades 3-6) the opportunity to represent their school and help give back to their communities. The tournament, sponsored this year by One Stop Tool Rental, began on Monday, March 11 and concluded with the finals on Friday, March 22 and produced 13 championship teams.
Boys Red Division
The Woodland 6th grade girls’ team won their 4th consecutive March Madness championship. Photo provided.
3rd Grade – Freedom
4th Grade – Cherokee
5th Grade – VanGorden
6th Grade – Freedom
Boys Black Division
3rd Grade – VanGorden
4th Grade – VanGorden
5th Grade – Independence
6th Grade – Van Gorden
Girls Division
3rd Grade – Woodland
4th Grade – Endeavor
5th Grade Red – VanGorden
5th Grade Black – Endeavor
6th Grade – Woodland
“Every elementary school in the district was represented,” said the tournament’s chairman, Mike Goldman. “And we cannot thank enough the district, school principals, building staff, East and West coaches and players, the parents and the community as whole for their continued efforts to make this fun for the kids each and every year.”
Lakota East and Lakota West girls and boys high school basketball players volunteers as referees at this year’s games, many of which played in the tournament during their own elementary days. Lakota West graduate and Xavier University basketball player Amber Gray even returned to referee some of the games.
“I was so proud to see the school spirit and sportsmanship by schools like Freedom and VanGorden,” Goldman said. “Their 6th graders played against each other in the championship game and were smiling and having fun during the game and win or lose, after the game too.”
For more details, including scheduled TV air dates courtesy of West Chester TV, visit the Lakota March Madness webpage.
To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.
Zombie from the beginner shoot house lane at Shoot Extreme in West Chester. Photo provided.
New shooting range prepares public for zombie apocalypse- Kevin Higgins opened a new shooting range in West Chester called Shoot Extreme, 7773 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, that features instructional courses and zombie hunts. The zombie hunts features computer controlled zombies in a dark environment who scream and fall down when shot.
Princeton Road opens in Liberty Township – The Butler County Engineer’s Office recently announced that it has opened the portion of Princeton Road in Liberty Township that was closed to improve sight distance near the Reserves of Liberty subdivision.
Reach Out Lakota seeks back-to-school clothing – Reach Out Lakota recently finished collecting for its annual back-to-school program, a donation drive aimed at collecting school supplies for children in need in the Lakota school district. Now, the organization is in need of back-to-school clothing for children for the fall and the winter.
Cincinnati Marlins swimmer and Liberty Township resident Joshua McDonald won four individual titles at the Ohio 2012 Long Course Junior Olympics in late July. Photo provided.
Liberty Township swimmers help guide Marlins to title- The Cincinnati Marlins recently celebrated its four straight Junior Olympics championship when it competed at the Ohio 2012 Long Course Junior Olympics. Helping the Marlins to the title were Liberty Township residents Joshua McDonald and Grace Luebbe.
Lakota West ranked No. 10 in Enquirer coaches’ poll – The Lakota West football program was ranked No. 10 in The Cincinnati Enqurier coaches’ preseason poll, which was released last Monday. Lakota East was ranked No. 12.
Roundabout opens near Cherokee Elementary – The Butler County Engineer’s Office announced last Tuesday night that all four legs of the new roundabout at Kyles Station Road and LeSourdsville-West Chester Road are now open. The intersection is near Cherokee Elementary, which will have its first day of school this Thursday.
Texas junior Jordan Hicks is the only returning starter at linebacker. The Lakota West graduate is taking on a leadership role this season. Photo taken against Texas Tech Nov. 5, 2011. Provided by UT Athletics Photography.
Under new leadership, Hicks aims to put Texas back on top – This season, if the Texas Longhorns hope to continue their climb back to college football prominence, the defense will lean on Lakota West graduate Jordan Hicks after Keenan Robinson (Washington Redskins) and Emmanuel Acho (Cleveland Browns) were both drafted in the NFL.
Menchie’s opens West Chester location – West Chester has Greater Cincinnati’s second Menchie’s frozen yogurt location when it opened at 8177 Princeton-Glendale Road this past Friday. Owner and operator Jim Hach said the store will have a weeklong grand opening celebration beginning Saturday, Aug. 25.
Cincinnati Marlins swimmer and Liberty Township resident Joshua McDonald won four individual titles at the Ohio 2012 Long Course Junior Olympics in late July. Photo provided.
The Cincinnati Marlins celebrated its four straight Junior Olympics championship when it competed at the Ohio 2012 Long Course Junior Olympics in late July.
Grace Luebbe and coach Tim Williams. Photo provided.
At the competition, which is USA Swimming’s equivalent to a state championship for age group swimmers, the Marlins finished ahead of the Northern Kentucky Clippers and the Dayton Raiders.
The win gave the club, which has produced five junior national titles, one national title and 18 Olympians, more than 80 Junior Olympic (or “state”) titles to its credit.
Helping the Marlins to the title were Liberty Township residents Joshua McDonald and Grace Luebbe.
McDonald, was the boys’ 11-12 high point winner and won four titles, while Luebbe was the third high point winner of the girls’ 10 and under class and a three-time champion.
At the event, McDonald won the 50 back, 200 free, 400 free and the 200 IM. Luebbe won the 200 free, 100 fly and 100 free.
To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.
Menchie’s West Chester location. Photo provided.
Menchie’s to open West Chester location next month – West Chester will have Greater Cincinnati’s second Menchie’s frozen yogurt location when it opens at 8177 Princeton-Glendale Road sometime in August. Owner and operator Jim Hach estimated last Tuesday that the store will open in mid-to-late August.
No Lakota junior high sports will be canceled this fall – Chris Passarge, Lakota’s executive director of business operations, told WestChesterBuzz last week that not a single junior high sport will be canceled this fall due to low participation numbers. The school district is still accepting athletes who register and pay fees by Aug. 1.
Lakota approves $40K ‘Community Conversation’ – The Lakota Board of Education approved a $40,000 contract last Monday with Citizens for Civic Renewal for a program called “Community Conversation” that will focus on community engagement. The board approved the program despite not having two of its five members in attendance. The contract begins July 17, 2012 and ends July 31, 2013.
Randy Oppenheimer. Photo provided.
Lakota appoints community relations consultant – The Lakota Board of Education, minus two of its five board members, unanimously approved the hiring of Randy Oppenheimer last Monday as a consultant to fill its open community relations position. Oppenheimer was approved by the school board Monday on the recommendation of Superintendent Karen Mantia, who was absent from the board meeting due to a death in the family.
Crazy Cardboard Regatta entertains thousands – According to MetroParks of Butler County officials, the third annual Crazy Cardboard Regatta at Voice of America Park on Saturday attracted thousands for the second straight year. The park system announced the attendance and estimated funds collected for “Paddle with a Purpose” last Tuesday.
Lakota West junior Gabby Blados. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.
Ex-Bengal’s daughter garnering collegiate interest – Despite not playing volleyball until her freshman year, Lakota West junior Gabby Blados is already attracting the attention of recruiters from some of the biggest college conferences in the country.
Boehner releases statement on tragedy in Colorado – Speaker of the House and West Chester resident John Boehner released a statement last Friday morning in response to the tragedy that took place during a midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie.
Lakota footballers make local list of ‘players to watch’ – Cincinnati Enquirer recruiting reporter Mike Dyer mentioned four Lakota West football players among those to watch this season in the classes of 2013 and 2014. The only Lakota West senior mentioned in Dyer’s list of “50 area football players to watch in the 2013 class” was offensive lineman Kyle Meadows, who was ranked No. 5 among the list of athletes from throughout Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
Chris Passarge, Lakota’s executive director of business operations, said not a single junior high sport will be canceled this fall due to low participation numbers.
Passarge also said the participation numbers for this fall are down a little bit from last fall, but the school district is still accepting athletes who register and pay fees by Aug. 1. The previous deadline was June 29, which was more than two weeks earlier than the deadline last summer.
According to Passarge, the seventh grade football team at Lakota Ridge Junior School is in jeopardy of being consolidated with its eighth grade football team if participation numbers don’t increase by the new deadline.
Junior high girls’ and boys’ golf teams will continue to play together at the same tournaments, but against their same gender for the second consecutive fall. Also, the Lakota Ridge and Lakota Plains junior highs will combine its girls’ tennis teams for the second straight fall.
From the 2010-2011 school year to 2011-2012, fall athletic participation fell 14 percent at the junior high level largely due raised pay-to-play fees. Furthermore, the decrease in participation would have been greater if not for an increase in 7th grade and 8th grade cheerleaders – from 78 in 2010-11 to 106 in 2011-12.
Overall, the increased fees – from $200 in 2010-11 to $350 per sport, per athlete in 2011-12 – led to a drop off in fall student athletes from 753 participants in 2010-11 to 644 in 2011-12.
Last fall, while participation on the 8th grade football cheerleading squad grew 38 percent, the overall participation on the 8th grade football team fell 32 percent (from 168 student athletes in 2010-11 to 114 in 2011-2012).
Also last fall, in other sports, like boys’ cross country (down 46 percent), girls’ cross country (down 37 percent), girls’ golf (down 41 percent) and girls tennis (down 23 percent) all saw substantial losses in their participation numbers.
Official participation numbers for the 2012-13 fall sports season will not be known until Aug. 1.
To sign up for a junior high sport, students can visit the Lakota Central Office, 5572 Princeton Road, in Liberty Township or register and pay online on the athletics page on lakotaonline.com through EZPay.
If a student athlete fails to make a team, a full refund will be given a few weeks after final rosters are set.
Xavier’s Amber Gray will be at the opening ceremonies of the AAU 7th grade girls’ basketball national championships at the Cintas Center July 13. Gray is a Lakota West graduate and a former AAU championship winner. Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II.
The event, which begins Friday and lasts until July 18, is expected to draw approximately 5,000 visitors for games that will be played at various locations in and around Butler County.
“We are very excited to have some of the best youth basketball athletes in the nation competing in Butler County”, said Mark Hecquet, executive director of the Butler County Visitors Bureau. “We are proud to welcome this tournament back to the area and we invite the community to come out and enjoy this great event.”
The opening ceremonies, which will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at Xavier University’s Cintas Center, will feature Xavier forward, former AAU champion and Lakota West graduate Amber Gray, as well as performances by The Marvelous Mutts and a parade of athletes.
Games during the event will be played at various facilities throughout the region including Lakota West High School, Lakota Ridge Junior School, Fairfield High School, Courts4Sports and Sports Plus.
Ticket prices for the event are $10 for adults, $6 for children ages 6-18 and free for children under 6. Tickets will be available at the venues.
For more information on facilities, schedules and the opening ceremonies, visit www.aauinbutlercounty.com.
The Mason- West Chester Bears inside Ohio Stadium. Pictured left-to-right – back row: Coaches Michael Glass, John Wagner and Brian Glass. Middle row: Mitchell Peel, Kenneth Vieira, Bobby Scott and Michael Battle. Front row: Braden Headington, Jyan Waespe, Jacob Giesman and Spencer Wind. Photo provided.
A local flag football team claimed the state title in the 8-to-9 year-old division of the Ohio Flag Football Fanatics last Saturday, June 30, in Columbus.
En route to the title, the Mason-West Chester Bears won four playoff games, defeating the Kettering Cardinals twice, the Hilliard Seahawks and the Kettering Browns, at Ohio State’s Ohio Stadium.
“What a wonderful way to end a truly magical season,” head coach John Wagner said. “I knew from day one they were a very special group and they proved it.”
The championship team consists of eight players including Michael Battle (West Chester), Jacob Giesman (Mason), Braden Headington (Lebanon), Mitchell Peel (Hamilton), Bobby Scott (Mason), Kenneth Vieira (Maineville), Jyan Waespe (Mason) and Spencer Wind (Maineville).
The coaching staff includes Wagner (Mason) and assistant coaches Michael Glass (West Chester) and Brian Glass.
After winning the title, Wagner commented on how the coaching staff wanted to do more than just teach football skills. Wagner said they wanted to seek opportunities for the players to build determination and character, while learning to work well as a team.
“I want each child to remember what it took to be a champion and to apply that in everyday life,” Wagner said.
Brandon Underwood intercepts a Sam Bradford pass in the first half during the college football game between Oklahoma and Cincinnati Sept. 6, 2008. Photo taken by Steve Sisney.
The Cincinnati leg of the Greater Amazing Race will follow a football and cheer camp led by a professional football player with local ties at Hopewell Junior School, 8200 Cox Road, Thursday, July 12.
Oakland Raiders defensive back Brandon Underwood is hosting the free football and cheer camp, which begins at 3 p.m. The football and cheer camp is for children in grades 1-8.
Underwood starred at Hamilton High School and played at Ohio State University before transferring to the University of Cincinnati.
After the football camp, another running of the Great Amazing Race will take place at 7 p.m.
According to the release, the event will take place in all NFL cities and is committed to providing opportunities for youth to get active while experiencing the thrill of running in a fun and exciting environment.
The top 25 teams from each city qualify for the national championship race and a chance to win $2,000.
Patterned after the show, “The Amazing Race,” teams of two individuals will run a one-mile cross country race that includes up to eight challenge stations. At each station, teams will be provided clues that will direct them to perform a task before proceeding to the next station.
Teams can choose recreation pace (those who prefer to walk or jog at a leisure pace) or competitive pace (those who prefer to jog or run).
