LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Author: Cassie Mattia

OHSAA Confirms Cancellation of Spring Sports

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) informed member schools, including the Loveland City School District Monday, April 20th, that Spring sports would officially be canceled. This decision was made after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced earlier the same day that school facilities would remain closed for the rest of the academic year due to the coronavirus COVID-19.

OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass sent out a memo confirming to school administrators following Governor DeWine’s press conference about the Spring sports cancellation. For weeks, the OHSAA communicated that if schools remained closed for the year Spring sports would be canceled as well. Of course, there were several reasons that went into the final decision of Spring sports being canceled, one of the main reasons being that it would be nearly impossible to ensure the health and safety of all individuals and support personnel involved in practices and contests at all member schools.

OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass

“As we have stated in our previous communications, today’s announcement by Governor DeWine to close schools for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year also will now result in the cancellation of OHSAA-sponsored spring sports seasons including tournaments,” Snodgrass wrote Monday.

The OHSAA’s mandatory no-contact period for all interscholastic sports will remain in effect until at least May 3, and could in fact be extended until a later date. Coaches and school administrators have been encouraged to have non-mandatory electronic and online communications with their student-athletes during the no-contact period. The closure of school facilities includes all athletic facilities for any interscholastic training, practice, or competition.

In an interview Monday afternoon, Snodgrass reflected on the unprecedented times that the pandemic has brought to the nation and the impact it has had on schools and interscholastic athletics.

“I’ve heard from so many people who have said ‘You really need to understand what this means to our kids,’” Snodgrass said during the interview. “I’m a parent. I was a coach. I grew up every day as a player and a coach wanting to play high school sports and get to the state tournament. So I do think I understand that. I also have to go with the fact that my number one concern that I have, over everything, is the health and safety of everyone involved. It’s not just our student-athletes. It’s the parents, coaches, umpires, officials, the scorekeepers. All those things enter into this. It’s a tough decision and it’s one that I and all the other Executive Directors of the other states never thought we would have to do. Never did I think this would be the case, but I’ve tried to be as prepared as I could every step of the way.”

Snodgrass also addressed the Summer and the start of Fall sports in the interview

“July is a very physical month for our student-athletes entering fall sports, so we have already started looking at, if this continues through the summer, we’ll have the potential of having a lot of kids who haven’t had the physical activity that they would normally have going into a fall season. So for the health and safety of everyone, we have to look at the acclimation periods going into the fall, if that happens. We have to be prepared for that. We’re also talking about that if this does go through the summer, what is the likelihood that a student can get in to get a physical (annual medical exam). We have a sports medicine advisory group that is looking at that. They are looking at all aspects such as whether artificial surfaces need to be treated. We are relying on the advice of experts in our decision making.”

The OHSAA said that they will continue to communicate throughout the Spring and during the Summer regarding any adjustments to OHSAA’s off-season regulations, academic eligibility standards, sports medicine updates, and more. STAY TUNED!

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Raising Cane’s Partners with the OHSAA to Support Programs for Student-Athletes!

April 26, 2020
Raising Cane’s Partners with the OHSAA to Support Programs for Student-Athletes!

WHAT Raising Cane’s Ohio and the OHSAA partnership to provide funding for student-athletes.

WHERE All Raising Cane’s locations in Ohio, a full list of Ohio Raising Cane’s locations can be found here.

WHEN Thursday, April 30, 2020.

The nearest location is at 3901 Montgomery Road in Deerfield Township near Menards

by Cassie Mattia

Deerfield Township, Ohio – Restaurant chain Raising Cane’s Ohio is raising money for scholarships! The popular chicken establishment recently entered into a partnership with the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) in order to provide funding for student-athlete scholarship programs and postseason tournaments.

The three-year partnership will kick off Thursday, April 30th, in which all Raising Cane’s restaurants across Ohio will donate 15 percent of their sales from 4 PM to close to the OHSAA scholarship project. Due to the current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic that earlier this month canceled all of the OHSAA’s Winter State Tournaments as well as all Spring sports competitions, guests will have the ability to place their orders at the drive-thru.

The annual OHSAA Scholar-Athlete Scholarship Program, which provides more than $175,000 to college-bound seniors including many Loveland High School Tigers, was canceled this Spring partly due to the OHSAA’s lack of revenue from the tournaments.

Jerry Snodgrass, executive director of the OHSAA

“We cannot begin to thank Raising Cane’s enough for stepping up during these unprecedented times to help give back to the student-athletes across Ohio,” said Jerry Snodgrass, Executive Director of the OHSAA. “Our mission at the OHSAA begins with ‘to serve’ and we will be able to continue to do just that with partners like Raising Cane’s, who are committed to both education and active lifestyles. We get to see firsthand how those two directly impact communities, schools, and students across Ohio. We’re really excited to kick off this three-year partnership and forge what will be a special effort to positively impact students statewide.”

“Active lifestyle and education are two of our pillars of community involvement, when we found out various programming and scholarships could be lessened or taken away due to cancellations of championships from the COVID-19 pandemic, we immediately reached out to the OHSAA to see how we could help,” said Matt Salts, Director of Marketing at Raising Cane’s Ohio. “We’re committed to team up with the OHSAA to help provide support for the next three years to help keep these key programs available to athletes across the state of Ohio.”

For the latest updates on Ohio’s sports world stay tuned to Loveland Sports 411 With Cassie Mattia!

April 26, 2020
LHS Honors the top Winter Sport Student-Athletes!

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – Over the past couple of months many Loveland High School student-athletes have been patiently waiting for an answer as to if and when school and sports would start back up. Unfortunately, it was announced last week by Governor Dewine that Ohio students would not be attending school for the remainder of the school year meaning there would be no continuation of sports for the time being as well.

Due to the Stay At Home Order stipulations LHS wasn’t able to host their annual Winter Athletics Awards Ceremony, where the top student-athletes are honored for their Winter sports achievements. Here at Loveland Magazine, we couldn’t bear the thought of LHS student-athletes not being honored and recognized by the Loveland community for their fantastic sports seasons so we reached out to LHS’s Athletic Director, Brian Conatser to get a list of all the LHS Winter Sport Athletes that were recognized for their outstanding achievements.

Without much further ado here are your 2019-2020 LHS Winter Athletics award winners! Please don’t hesitate to give these student-athletes a virtual pat on the back or congratulations for amazing achievements!

Eastern Cincinnati All-Conference Awards

Honorable Mention

– Men’s Basketball – Collin Hedgepeth

– Women’s Basketball – Sophia Raby

– Wrestling – Jarod Mendoza

– Men’s Swim 100 Yard Butterfly – Evan Lucas

– Women’s Swim 100 Yard Breaststroke – Sarah Lolli

– Men’s Bowling – Ben Westley

– Women’s Bowling – Annelise Dartnall

– Academic Team – Clare Daumeyer

Second Team

– Men’s Swim 200 Yard Medley Relay – Brandon Day, Colin Blackburn, Evan Lucas, and Cade Jenkins

– Men’s Swim 500 Yard Freestyle – Brandon Day

– Men’s Swim 100 Yard Breaststroke – Colin Blackburn

– Men’s Basketball – Brenton Foust

– Academic Team – Ben Rupe

– Women’s Basketball – Tess Broermann and Kate Garry

– Wrestling – Michael Soupene, Kobi-D Milam, Jonah Rubio, and Semi Ozarslan

– Men’s Bowling – Alton French

– Women’s Bowling – Ashley George

– Dive – Riley Bullock

First Team

– Men’s Swim 200 Yard Freestyle – Brandon Day

– Men’s Basketball – Ian Cox

– Academic Team – Simon Grome and Alex Laman

– Women’s Basketball – Jenna Batsch and Jillian Hayes

– Wrestling – Brett Hogan and Jake Cotsonas

– Men’s Bowling – Matthew Rychlik and Jeffrey Scott

– Women’s Bowling – Ashley Gilker, Yanni Kahrs and Grady Pettit

4 YEAR VARSITY-WINTER SEASON 2019-2020

Men’s Basketball – Collin Hedgepeth and Alec Soth

Swim – Brandon Day, Nami Cannon, Audrey Lund, and Amy Deem

Women’s Basketball – Kate Garry and Jillian Hayes

Wrestling – Jacob Cotsonas and Kobi-D Milam

Dive – Riley Bullock

SPORTSPERSON OF THE SEASON-WINTER 2019-2020

“Every year one Varsity Student-Athlete from each Winter program is chosen as the Sportsperson of the Season by their Coach. This award goes to athletes who demonstrate respect and responsibility for their community, school, team, and above all their character.”

Jeffrey Scott (M Bowl)

Riley Bullock (Dive)

Kayla Adkins (Cheer)

Ashley Gilker (W Bowl)

Jacob Cotsonas (Wrestling)

Kate Garry (W Basketball)

Joey Jeffcott (Academic Team)

Collin Hedgepeth (M Basketball)

Cade Jenkins (Swim)

EDWARD JONES – COMMUNITY STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD

“We have a business in our community who has partnered with LHS to honor not just the outstanding athletic contributions but also good character and leadership within their sports team and school. Edward Jones, located in the business district of Old Loveland and owner Jeff Atkinson is honoring student-athletes for the fall, winter, and spring seasons. The LHS Athletic Department submits accomplishments for many of LHS’s student-athletes based on the criteria of LHS’s 4 CORE VALUES. Those 4 CORE VALUES are Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, and PRIDE. 1 female and 1 male athlete are chosen to represent Loveland High School Athletics as the Outstanding Student-Athlete for the 2019-2020 Winter Season.”

Jaden Walton (Swim Team) and Emma Christian (W Basketball / Athletic Photography)

STUDENT-ATHLETES and Teams who were ECC Champs and STATE QUALIFIERS FOR THE 2019-2020 WINTER SEASON

Dive State Placers:

Riley Bullock – 5th place

Swim State Placers:

Brandon Day – 2nd in the 200 Freestyle and the 6th 100 Backstroke

Wrestling State Qualifier:

Liam Hamill

ECC 2019-2020 CHAMPIONS

Women’s Bowling Team

Women’s Basketball Team (OHSAA SECTIONAL CHAMPS)

2019-2020 ECC Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Year

Jillian Hayes

2019-2020 ECC Women’s Varsity Basketball Coach of the Year

Darnell Parker

Stay tuned for your latest Loveland Sports news with me, Cassie Mattia!

April 25, 2020
LHS’s Women’s Soccer Coach Weighs in on What his Athletes are Doing to Stay in Shape!

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – Loveland High School is staying “Loveland Strong” by keeping both their students and athletes motivated through virtual classes and workouts! This year during these unfamiliar times, LHS coaches are dedicating a lot of their time to making sure their athletes are staying in shape.

This week we chatted with LHS’s Women’s Soccer Coach, Todd Kelly, to see just what his team is doing to stay in competition shape during the COVID-19 Stay At Home Order! Coach Kelly told us that in late February the coaching staff designed a series of workouts that are released to the team every couple weeks.

LHS’s Women’s Soccer Coach, Todd Kelly (Loveland Magazine file photo)

“These workouts are specific to what we do as a program so they focus on things we believe are inherent to the success of the women’s soccer program,” Kelly explained, “Anyone that has been in the program knows this and passes on the importance of the workouts to our incoming freshmen. Each day the girls can choose between a beginning workout, intermediate workout, or an advanced workout…so they have three choices each day depending on how they feel.”

Coach Kelly said that in order to encourage unity within the team, the coaching staff asked the 9 returning varsity juniors and seniors to be group leaders. The group leaders are responsible for following up with 6 to 7 players every day about how their individual workout went.

Maria Bashardoust during the 2019 season. Maria has committed to play for Cleveland State this Fall. (Loveland Magazine file photo)

“Each individual player in their respective group sends a snapshot of themselves after the workout each day, also indicating how they feel and which workout they completed,” Kelly said, “As you can imagine, the snapshots have continued to get more creative with text, emojis’, etc. They have even come up with taglines on their snapshots and also on twitter like #Beastssss, #LetsGetIt, and #WinTheOffseason to name just a few. The 9 leaders are assigned to one of the varsity coaches who they connect with every day by sending their group’s snapshots. These snapshots are compiled every two weeks and sent out to the players and parents in a video for them to watch so they can know what each of their teammates is doing. This has also created a little bit of a rivalry on which group or individual can come up with the best snapshots,” Kelly added.

LYSA COVID Relief

LYSA Challenge Grant to our soccer community DONATE NOW

The LHS Women’s Soccer coaching staff provided the women’s team with shirts in early March to keep them motivated to keep pushing themselves. Kelly said most of the team wear the shirts during each of their workouts.

The shirts above are the workout shirts the LHS Women’s Soccer Team has been wearing during the COVID-19 outbreak to stay motivated!

“In addition, the leaders have gone to the houses of their group members and left chalk messages on the driveway to help support and motivate them. We have the coaches and girls answering 12-15 questions about themselves on a slide with pictures, designs, etc. that represent them, kind of a “Get to Know” them or an “In the Spotlight” feature so they can learn more about their teammates while we are away from each other,” Kelly said, “We will put all these together into a slide show that we will send out each week with 7-10 new entries. We also have former players including some as far back as 2010 (and earlier) and some from our State Championship team that reached out and sent a 1-2 minute video message we are sending the current players to encourage them. These former players know the importance of what we do in the workouts and they wanted to encourage the current players during this difficult time to make sure they are staying focus and doing what needs to be done. They all view each other as one big family regardless of when you graduate…once a Tiger, always a Tiger,” Kelly said.

The 2017 State Champion Ring (Loveland Magazine file photo)

Coach Kelly really wanted to focus on the team connecting during these tough times so the coaches decided to hold a Zoom call every 2 weeks with all the team leaders and their groups. This has allowed each player in the Women’s Soccer program to get an idea of what is going on and has allowed the coaches to see how each player is doing, if they have any struggles, and how they can help support each player.

LHS’s Women’s Soccer Coach, Todd Kelly (Loveland Magazine file photo)

“As a result, we are connecting with either our leaders or our players each week on a video call. Since the leaders have access to a coaching staff member, we are interacting each day to ensure they have what they need to get through these unchartered times,” Kelly explained, “These are just a few of things we as a staff and program are doing to stay connected with our players and encourage them. It is important we all stay connected and supported and we want the girls to continue working out for their physical and mental health…and ours too.”

Thank you to all the LHS staff, coaches, administrators, and parents for keeping the students motivated and dedicated to bettering themselves as students and athletes! Here at Loveland Magazine, we will continue to bring the latest updates on COVID-19 and the effects it’s having on the community of Loveland as well as the latest LHS news!

Stayed tuned for the next “What are LHS Athletes Doing to Stay in Shape” segment!

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April 22, 2020
LHS Men’s Tennis Coach lets us in on What his Athletes are Doing to Stay in Shape!

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – Ohio is starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel and so are LHS’s coaches and athletes! Over the past couple of months, athletes and coaches have been in limbo waiting to see if their season will continue. During the COVID-19 outbreak, LHS’s Coaches have been hard at work with their athletes trying to keep them motivated and doing workouts even though they aren’t in school or competing. This week we spoke with LHS’s Men’s Tennis Coach, Thomas Sharpless, to see just what his athletes have been doing to stay in shape.

LHS’s Men’s Tennis Coach, Thomas Sharpless

Coach Sharpless gave a lot of credit to LHS’s Strength Coach for keeping his athletes in shape, but he also didn’t fail to recognize how dedicated his athletes have been during this time.

“Most of my athletes play tennis year-round at the club; however since the tennis clubs have been closed per the governor’s directions along with most of the local public courts, my players, like all Ohio athletes, are indeed having to find other means to stay fit,” Sharpless explained, “Luckily, we have an awesome weight coach at LHS and he has put together a nice list of dumbbell and free weight exercises for our players. I’ve shared this valuable resource with my players in the hopes that, if they have the equipment, they will utilize this information to stay in shape,” Sharpless added.

Sharpless had an unbelievable 2019 season leading his team to an ECC Championship! The Men’s Tennis team ended 2019 with a perfect 6-0 record and a 14-3 record overall.

We are excited to hopefully be seeing some Tiger competition very soon! Stay tuned to read more about what LHS coaches and athletes are doing to prepare for their potential seasons!

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April 18, 2020
Loveland High School’s Spring Athletes Commit to Collegiate Play!

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – Although time seems to be slowly dragging due to the COVID-19 Stay At Home Order, for LHS Seniors time is still flying by as graduation is right around the corner! With graduation just a few weeks away, LHS Senior Athletes are also preparing for collegiate sports opportunities. We would like to take the time to give a big shout out to the LHS Senior Athletes that have committed to playing their sport at the collegiate level! Congratulations to the following LHS Student-Athletes:

Katlyn Kramer-Softball

Otterbein University

Jake Cotsonas-Wrestling

University of Mount Union

Connor Patton-Soccer

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Nathan Holman-Football

Heidelberg University

Andrew Gwynn-Football

Thomas More University

(No Photograph Available)

Iyon Davis-Football

Hocking College

A Note from the Publisher to these athletes – their teachers, coaches, and parents

Over the past, five or so years Loveland Magazine TV was at the annual Spring, Fall, and Winter signing events at LHS to record the ceremonies so the whole community could hear the athletic director brag about your accomplishments on and off the playing fields, courts, pools, and alleys.

It was also a time I could see the athletes alongside their parents with those proud smiles and their own well deserved sense of accomplishment.

It was always a wonderful afternoon seeing the representatives of the Athletic Department, the Principals, teachers, and coaches deservedly proud of their own unwavering work.

It is darned sad that the event couldn’t be held this Spring because it was something you all deserved due to your outstanding work as an athlete, in your classroom, and at home. Being there has always been a real treat for me, however, I also know you didn’t accomplish so much just to get a few moments of fame and applause. Hard work is its own reward.

Your continued success is guaranteed because you have been scholars of merit, good sports, and good representatives of your school and the entire community. I have enjoyed every single moment watching you compete.

Best regards as you take these next steps,

David Miller

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April 17, 2020
LHS’s Men’s Track and Field Coach Tells us What his Athletes are Doing to Stay in Shape!

On Senior Night, April 26, 2019, during the Dawn Dahart Track and Field Invitational, Cooper Smeller cleared 14’9” to break the school pole vault record by an inch.

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – As May inches closer and closer, many LHS athletes are working hard to stay in the best shape they can in preparation for their Spring seasons. School is set to potentially open on May 4th and if indeed that happens Spring sports will reconvene as well!

Over the past couple of weeks, we have made it our goal to check in with LHS’s coaches and athletes to see just what they are doing to stay in shape in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. We have received some impressive responses from several motivated athletes and coaches! This week we chatted with LHS’s Head Men’s Track and Field Coach, James Vanatsky, to see what he is having his team do just in case the 2020 Track season continues.

LHS’s Head Men’s Track and Field Coach, James Vanatsky

Coach Vanatsky shared that he has been consistently sending out optional workouts every morning at 7:30 A.M. for his dedicated team.

“Some of our guys are early risers and they want to know what the workout will be so they can plan accordingly as to where and how they may have to complete their workouts,” Vanatsky said, “We send our workouts out through an app we have used for several years called ‘Remind 101.’ Before the quarantine I would use the app to send reminders to our guys for all kinds of things in the off-season and in-season but is it obviously handy in our current situation.”

Vanatsky also mentioned that the other Men’s Track team coaches have been getting involved by sending him daily optional workouts so that he can then add the workouts to what he sends out to the team.

“Our strength coach Derek Berry sends the team various workouts they can do based on the teams’ access to available weights, dumbbells, stretch bands, etc,” Vanatsky explained, “Our kids have told us they have been using the Loveland Bike Trail quite a bit for their workouts. They are supposed to be practicing social distancing while they workout but without being there in person (which we are not allowed to do) so it is hard to say if kids are completely by themselves or if they are getting up with a teammate or two in order to stay motivated and accountable for their workouts.”

With large neighborhoods spread throughout Loveland and easy access to the Loveland Bike Trail, Coach Vanatsky told us that he is very fortunate that his team is able to train outside in a safe and open environment.

“What percent of our kids are actually working out is hard to say,” Vanatsky added, “Also we do not know what intensity and regularity the workouts are being completed. It is obviously difficult to stay motivated when the season is not guaranteed or even probable at this point but we have a lot of very committed guys who I am sure are staying on top of their fitness levels.”

Here at Loveland Magazine, we commend all of the LHS coaches and athletes that continue to strive for success through these very tough times! We will continue to bring you the latest updates on what LHS athletes and coaches are doing to stay in shape so STAY TUNED!

April 14, 2020
OHSAA Announces Potential Ohio High School Spring Sports Plans!

Cassie Mattia

by Cassie Mattia

Columbus, Ohio – Athletes all over the state of Ohio are at a standstill as they wait to hear if their 2020 sport seasons will continue. Well the wait, for now, has ended as OHSAA announced last Wednesday that if school facilities reopen in early May Spring sports schedules and tournaments are in place and ready to go!

OHSAA’s Director of Communications, Tim Stried, and Executive Director, Jerry Snodgrass constructed and sent out a press release last Thursday addressing the state of Ohio’s concerns about high school athletes continuing their Spring sports schedules. Below are the plans OHSAA has put in place for Ohio High School Spring athletes.

“School facilities are closed through May 1 due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. If the closure is extended beyond May 1, the OHSAA will provide updated information. If school facilities do not reopen this school year, there will not be a spring sports season.

State tournament venues listed below are subject to change.

‘If the Governor and Ohio Department of Health deems it safe to reopen school facilities in early May, then we will have a shortened spring sports season that extends into June,’ said OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass. ‘I commend our sports administration staff for putting the schedules together working on state tournament sites.’

Wednesday’s memo to school administrators also included details regarding Pupil Activity/Coaching Permits, annual awards certificates, District Athletic Board elections and academic eligibility for fall sports and college-bound seniors. The memo is posted at https://www.ohsaa.org/news-media/articles/school-administrators-update-april-8

‘We continue to applaud each of you for helping provide guidance and leadership to your coaches and your efforts to keep students engaged,’ Snodgrass wrote to school administrators in the memo. ‘This crisis has heightened the awareness that students want to be back in the classroom. Teachers want students back in the classroom. In our solid belief that school-based athletic programs are an extension of the classroom, we hold that same belief for our student-athletes and coaches. Getting kids back with coaches is much more than winning and we feel it a vital part of returning life to normalcy.’

SPRING SPORTS OVERVIEW

– If school facilities are closed for the remainder of the school year, spring sports will be canceled.

– The dates below for each sport are tentative and are based on the Governor’s optimistic direction that schools will reopen May 4. We will adjust accordingly.

– The mandatory no-contact period remains in place through May 1. No practices or group workouts may occur through this date, but the OHSAA encourages coaches to maintain electronic correspondence with their student-athletes.

– With a current return on May 4, the schedules below have been adopted for spring sports. Specific information relative to sectional and district tournaments, playing dates, seeding procedures, game sites, will all be provided in communications from the respective six District Athletic Boards.

– State tournament venues listed below are subject to change.

– If for any reason specific sites are shut down due to Governor’s orders, ALL sites will be shut down and tournaments will not be held.

BASEBALL

State tournament dates determined by the availability of Akron Canal Park.

Acclimation Period – May 4-8

Season Begins – May 9

Tournament Entry/Withdrawal – May 11

Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting – May 17

Sectional Tournaments – May 23-30

District Tournaments – June 1-6

Regional Tournaments – June 11-12

State Tournament at Akron Canal Park (subject to change) – June 19-21

Season Concludes (regular-season games can be played up until this date) – June 27

SOFTBALL

Acclimation Period – May 4-8

Season Begins – May 9

Tournament Entry/Withdrawal – May 18

Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting – May 24

Sectional Tournaments – May 30-June 6

District Tournaments – June 8-13

Regional Tournaments – June 15-20

State Tournament at Akron Firestone Stadium (subject to change) – June 25-27

Season Concludes (regular-season games can be played up until this date) – July 4

LACROSSE

Acclimation Period – May 4-8

Season Begins – May 9

Tournament Entry/Withdrawal – May 18

Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting – May 25

Regional Qualifying – May 26-30

Regional Tournaments – June 1-7

State Semifinals – June 8-10

State Championships at Ohio Wesleyan University (subject to change) – June 13

Season Concludes (regular-season games can be played up until this date) – June 13

BOYS TENNIS

Acclimation Period – May 4-8

Season Begins – May 9

Tournament Entry/Withdrawal – May 18

Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting – May 24

Sectional Tournaments – May 30-June 6

District Tournaments – June 8-13

State Tournament at Hilliard Davidson High School (subject to change) – June 18-20

Season Concludes (regular-season contests can be played up until this date) – June 27

TRACK AND FIELD

Athletic facilities at The Ohio State University will not be available in June, so the state tournament will be split into three different sites, per division. The details are below.

Acclimation Period – May 4-8

Season Begins – May 9

Tournament Entry/Withdrawal – May 25

Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting – May 31

District Tournaments – June 9-13

Regional Tournaments – June 17-20

State Tournament – June 26-27

State Tournament Sites (subject to change): Division I at Hilliard Darby; Division II At Pickerington North; Division III at Westerville North

Season Concludes (regular-season meets can be held up until this date) – June 27″

For the latest news in the world of OHSAA, you can visit www.ohsaa.org. If you have any urgent questions about the tentative Spring sport plans contact Tim Stried at tstried@ohsaa.org.

April 13, 2020
LHS Women’s Track and Field Coach Shares What his Athletes are Doing to Stay in Shape!

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – The community of Loveland has proven time and time again that it can get through anything! The inspiration from the community has trickled down to the youth of Loveland especially the LHS athletes as they are continuing to put in as much work as they can to prepare for their potential sports seasons. The LHS coaching staff along with the Athletic Director has gathered around and taken time to not only prepare workouts for the athletes but has also made them easily accessible for the athletes through the new workout app Teambuildr!

LHS’s Women’s Track Coach, Herbert Laughman, is one of the many LHS coaches that has dedicated a lot of time and effort into helping his athletes succeed during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“This has been a very difficult time for all of us. It’s tough to keep things in perspective. Our staff and athletes have done a great job of this. We know the community and the health of the community comes first,” Laughman explained, “That being said, we are very creative in how we are staying in contact with the girls. We have a spring track group and I have put suggested workouts on there.”

Coach Laughman also created some fun challenges for his athletes!

“We have also done fun things like the Camera roll challenge. In this challenge, you pick the 5th picture on camera roll and post. Another fun activity we have done is having the athletes select their top 5 movies of all time,” Coach Laughman said, “My personal favorite activity has been having the athletes post pictures after their optional workout. The girls flooded me with pictures! These girls are still working hard and still want to be pushed. I am so honored and blessed to be a part of this group. I pray for the safety of all of those around us and hope that we can continue on with our spring season,” Coach Laughman added.

LHS’s Women’s Track captains’ weighed in as well on how COVID-19 is affecting them and how they are motivating themselves to keep working out.

“As a three-year varsity athlete, it’s scary to think that I may not get my fourth year,” LHS Women’s Track Captain, Sophia Horrigan, said, “Despite the setbacks, I have been working hard to stay in shape for a season that still may be. From lifting weights in my basement to running on the bike trail, I am doing whatever it takes to stay ahead of future competition. I see this as a reason to work harder, rather than giving up in the face of adversity. The season isn’t over yet!”

LHS’s Megan Korniak, who is also a Captain for the Women’s Track team said she is still working hard and that the team has made so much progress over the last few months.

“Now there is a lot more individual accountability to stay in shape,” Korniak added, “I personally have been doing home workouts and going on runs in public parks to stay active. We are still close as a team and love to send timer pictures of our workouts to keep spirits high!”

We would like to encourage the Loveland community to stay active and stay safe! If you aren’t sure what activities you can do to stay active check out our weekly “What are LHS Athletes Doing to Stay in Shape?” for tips! Stay tuned!

LHS Softball Coach Tells us What his Athletes are Doing to…

April 9, 2020
LHS Softball Coach Tells us What his Athletes are Doing to Stay in Shape!

Fastpitch Head Coach Mike Rapp explaining the ground rules to the ump before the start of the Senior Night Game in 2017

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – As the COVID-19 outbreak continues students and teachers will now not be returning back to school until May 4th. So what does that mean for LHS’s athletes?

Here at Loveland Magazine, we have made it our mission to talk to both LHS’s coaches and athletes to see just what they are doing to stay in shape in order to prepare for their potential seasons! This week we chatted with LHS’s Head Women’s Softball Coach, Michael Rapp, and LHS’s Strength Coach, Derek Berry, to see just what their athletes are up to.

Coach Rapp said that although it’s been tough for all of the LHS athletic programs, Strength Coach Derek Barry has really come through with some excellent workouts for the athletes.

Photo of Derek Berry from IGNITION ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE GROUP, LLC

“Our strength coach, Derek Berry, has created some training programs for our athletes,” Rapp said, “He just rolled out an App for the athletes to use on their phones from home!”

Coach Rapp added that although the new workout App that Berry rolled out has been primarily what the Women’s Softball Team has been using to stay in shape, Rapp has also been giving his Lady Tigers a few softball related workouts of his own.

“I told my softball players they could do 100 reps a day (3,000) for April including swings, and band work or our ab routines to stay in shape. Some are throwing with family members and some are doing the program that our Coach Berry sent out. I even promised them that I would do 100 reps a day plus walk the local park,” Rapp added.

Derek Berry, who is the Director of Sports Performance, is head of the LHS weight room. Berry stated that during these times he has been forced to get a little creative, but has received a lot of great feedback on the new workout app he has launched with LHS’s Athletic Director, Brian Conaster.

LHS Fastpitch Softball Coach, Mike Rapp recieved the prestigious 2019 Southwest District; Sportsmanship, Ethic & Integrity Coaches Award.

“We have partnered with a company called Teambuildr that provides an online Athlete Management System. Once the athletes register with their teams, they have full access to any workouts I put on there,” Berry explained, “Some features of the app include videos for all the exercises, a leaderboard for kids to compete with each other, and options to either check off the exercise as completed or how many reps you did. Coaches can then have a master account which shows them the progress of their team. On the app, I have only been releasing bodyweight workouts for the time being, but outside of that, I have been sending coaches two other options for athletes that may have a more advanced setup, which is a dumbbell workout, and a home gym workout,” Berry added.

Strength Coach Berry is apart of a contracted sports performance company called Ignition APG. Ignition APG was ultimately responsible for the partnership with Teambuildr. Ignition APG also offers a similar app to Teambuildr to the public for a small monthly fee.

Berry has also been releasing informative videos on social media that display creative ways to exercise.

“On @lovelandstrength I have been releasing informative videos on how to get creative with limited exercise options, and we’ve been having the kids post time-lapses of their workouts,” Berry explained, “I have also begun a wall sit competition for the month of April. Whoever can hold a wall sit for the longest time receives a prize!”

Thank you to the coaches and athletes that have been sharing their at-home workouts with Loveland Magazine and all of our readers! Stay tuned for the next “What are LHS’s Athletes Doing to Stay in Shape?” segment!

Shoes from the 2015 Fastpitch Senior day

Former Loveland High School Softball Player Stacye Toups is on Front…

RP Diamond is currently taking online orders. Retail Store is closed

RP Diamond Printing & Embroidery is located in the Loveland Plaza at 368 Loveland Madeira Road. Senior 2020 shirts available now! Free delivery…

April 7, 2020