"Ferndale is a career-killer job"

The Ancient Enemy · November 26th, 2010, 8:38 am

One of the brainiacs here in the HS forum claims that Ferndale is a career killer position. Is this more of the "woe is Ferndale" nonsense we have been hearing over the years?

I'll bet 95% of the area thinks Ferndale has the lowest enrollment in D6 Single A. Not so fast, my friend!

Single A ball in D6 is probably the toughest football classification in the entire state, if for no other reason than the amount of competition alone. I dont know what Ferndale's issues are in the administration, but there are more than enough boys in that HS to field 24 competitive football positions.

My worry is that the Ferndale fans, and players (and even the whole area) has simply given up and assumed a loser mentality. I hope that is not the case, because there are certainly a lot more kids in that HS than I thought there were. This is not Johnstown Christian or The Little Sisters of the Poor.

http://www.piaa.org/schools/classificat ... &asc=False

zonebreaker · Post by **zonebreaker** » November 26th, 2010, 9:15 am

The Ancient Enemy wrote: I'll bet 95% of the area thinks Ferndale has the lowest enrollment in D6 Single A. Not so fast, my friend!
sportID=10&district=6&class=A&orderBy=Enrollment&asc=False[/url]

I doubt that. Most people with any sort of interest in d6 sports know that it is Harmony. Now if you are only looking at schools that have football, then you still have schools like williamsburg and blacklick which are very small. Laurel Valley was around there too before combining with Ligonier. BC is as well but they tend to have a "better" smaller enrollment when it comes to football.

Ferndale has been very competitive in girls bball and before that volleyball. Don't have much to build on when it comes to football though.

The Ancient Enemy · November 26th, 2010, 9:23 am

Did you check the numbers before responding? They are in the top half of the D6 enrollment!

deepcreek · Post by **deepcreek** » November 26th, 2010, 9:33 am

TAE, I posted that, perhaps a little over the top. I apologize if it struck a nerve with you. I do stand by the notion that unless something drastic happens Ferndale will never win. Enrollment dropping and new age mentality will not equal wins. Difference between Ferndale and Portage is Portage seems to have full community involvement and all kids want to play football. If the Portage coach was at Ferndale I honestly believe he would never see .500 Just my opinion and tat and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee

The Ancient Enemy · November 26th, 2010, 10:27 am

I'm not a Ferndale guy in the least, so I'm not offended at all, deepcreek. I was just curious if you were one of the guys who seem to have this mentality that Ferndale CAN'T become good.

There's a long history of losing at that school, and I am sure the kids are beaten down pretty good mentally, from it. Maybe the same is happening at Cambria Heights. Ferndale will be incorporated into Johnstown soon enough, so maybe the kids will see better days. I dont know what Ferndale can do, because I know the pay there for a first year teacher is astronomically poor, so hiring a guy to teach and coach is almost pie in the sky. Who knows. Just a shame they have 120 boys in that HS, which puts them middle of the pack, and they cant get it together.

zonebreaker · Post by **zonebreaker** » November 26th, 2010, 10:35 am

they are higher than i thought. a lot can change in 5-10 years so you do never know if the right coach had a good group come along... that could turn things around.

some people may not realize that those enrollment numbers are only for boys in grades 9-11. so the high schools are bigger than those numbers. situation stays the same though...

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