EHS Athletic Department Update
"Home of the Eagles"
May 15, 2016 - A Spring To Remember Continues
Even as we wind down to the end of the school year on the school calendar, there is still so much left to accomplish for our Spring Sport student/athletes. With the Baseball and Softball teams advancing to the next level in the tournament and the Boys and Girls Track teams moving to their District competition this week as well there is still much left to look forward to. What I am most proud of is beyond the winning of games and competitions the teams and their coaches have done it with class and style. There is much to be said about that and the types of things our coaches teach beyond the sport itself and the pride and work ethic that they help to instill in our young men and women. It is evident every time they compete and we as a community should be proud of that an applaud their efforts no matter what happens from this point.
This has been a special Spring so far and one that we all should be proud of. Many schools would be happy with having success with even one of their program so we are fortunate that we all three of our Spring Sport programs performing at such a high level and being successful. We should not take that for granted. We should celebrate and go out a support them on their stretch runs.
Below you will see a summary for each of our Spring Sport Programs and where things stand as of Sunday, May 15th.
Baseball
The Varsity Baseball team still has much to play for in the regular season as they are currently in first place in the NBC by a half game with 3 conference games remaining with Elmwood at home (Tuesday, May 17), at Fostoria (Wednesday, May 18) and home with Lake (Monday, May 23). They will also play a non-league game on Monday, May 16 versus Toledo Rogers at home.
They currently stand at 16-4 overall and 8-3 in the conference and it has been an exciting season so far and this week will be their most competitive yet. Come out and support them in their quest as they are fun to watch and play the game hard! The players and coaches should be commended for their efforts to this point. Their success this year is a result of the work that the players have put in before and during the season and looking to get just a little better every day. It has been a success formula.
Boys/Girls Track and Field
To put things a little in perspective, here are a few fun facts as thinking about their streak of championships which began in 2000. Many members on our current track team were not even born yet. The price of gas per gallon was $1.30 per gallon. The new wing to the high school and the auxiliary gym were just completed. Some of the members of our coaching staff were students in elementary school. My age was 43 years old (I will let you all do the math to figure out my current age and still did not have any hair on my head).
My point in all of this is that when this streak of winning championships started, all but just a few were not even around to be as part of the start of it but yet the streak and the tradition continues and that is a great tribute to our coaching staff in all of the things they do to prepare their athletes physically and more importantly, mentally. From day one they challenge their athletes to set goals for personal growth that goes beyond just their physical talents and abilities and all of that helps for them to get them focused for team goals such as championships. This formula has been successful and is the main reason why our track athletes continually perform well on the big stage. Another huge goal they stress they stress from day one is a family atmosphere and the notion that they work together for the benefit of all. That was certainly evident yesterday in their overall performance.
Since this year the Boys and Girls are different divisions, they will be split in their sites of competition at the District and Regional level. They both start District competition this week. The Girls are Division II and will compete at Oak Harbor on Tuesday, May 17th and Friday, May 20th. The Boys are Division III this year and will compete at Gibsonburg HS on Thursday May 19th and Saturday, May 21st. Good luck to all of them as the quest continues for all of them to keep advancing to the next level! It is fun to watch them compete!
Softball
The have key conference games this week as well as they look to close out the conference as the undisputed league champion and possibly ending the regular season undefeated. They will travel to Fostoria on Thursday, May 19th and then play Lake on Monday, May 23rd. There has been make up date for the Genoa game established yet.
This is a fun group to watch with an interesting mix of a couple of 4 year starters as Seniors with the rest of the team made up of a couple of Juniors, couple of Sophomores and 6 Freshman. I don't think anybody can realistically say that everyone expected this team to be undefeated at this point of the season. Even in pre-season voting by the media we were picked to finish 3rd in the conference but for all of those reasons that is why we play the games and boy have these girls collectively contributed to their success so far. Our coaching staff has done an excellent job of molding this team together and getting them to perform at a high level right from the beginning.
If you have the chance to come out an support them in their stretch run it will not disappoint. Good luck to them in their stretch run!
Coach Matt Routson - Head Boys Basketball Coach
Eastwood High School Coach Matt Routson has stepped aside as the Head Boys Basketball Coach to spend more time with wife and four young sons. Coach Routson spent the last 8 years at Eastwood starting as the JV coach and serving as the Head Coach for the last four years. His teams compiled a 57-39 record highlighted by a District Championship and the school’s first trip to the Regional in 50 years in 2015 as well as a Sectional Championship in 2014.
We were saddened by Coach Routson’s decision to step aside, but we completely understand and admire his priorities. He has dedicated a significant amount of his life to building our program and with multiple championships at various levels, he has certainly left the program in good shape. We deeply appreciate all of his efforts and his commitment.
I don't think the average person has a clue on the amount of time it takes to be head coach at a high school like ours. The hours and days in the off season coaches put into their sport is staggering but add into that the actual season and it is difficult to understand why the average person would even consider doing it. In a world where way too much blame is given to coaches when the team loses and not near enough credit is given to them when the team wins, one can see how special coaches really are and we are fortunate to have the people we do in leading our programs. This might give you an idea of why Coach Routson made the decision that he did as tough as it was.
Our Head Coaching staffs of all of our sports as well as their assistant coaches function together as a team and in all truth, we are a family. Our staff share the same goals for our student/athletes of not only developing our student/athletes into the best athletes they can be but we also put the same emphasis on helping to develop them into fine young men and women. All of our sports and our coaches work together within their own programs with each other for the overall benefit of Eastwood Athletics as a whole. They know that their programs will only be stronger if they all work together as a team for each other. That helps to explain why we consistently perform well in all sports and not just a few.
I mention this because as we look for a new Head Boys Basketball Coach we will be looking for these qualities and characteristics mentioned above in the candidates for the position. It is essential that the new Head Boys Basketball Coach have those qualities if they are to be part of our staff. Coach Routson was a member of our coaching family and was a great team player within that family. We will expect nothing less with our new one.
Contact Information
Email: jhill@eastwoodschools.org
Website: www.eastwoodschools.org
Location: 4900 Sugar Ridge Road, Pemberville, OH, United States
Phone: 419-833-3611
Twitter: @EHSEaglesInfo