I am writing this newsletter during the commercial breaks of Saturday's Guardians playoff game, so if it seems like there are lots of highs and lows throughout you'll know why!

This past week we wrapped up our fall athletics season at SMS. Much like watching playoff baseball there were plenty highs and lows. The info below will highlight that and much more. Readers can find the information noted below throughout the newsletter. Enjoy your week!

• Canned food drive info
• Winter sports preliminary schedules/tryout information
• When/how to register for winter athletics at SMS (hint- NOW)
• Picture highlights of some of recent SMS athletic events.
• Fall sports wrap-up.
• How to follow teams if attending games/matches/contests is not possible.
• Athletic website info.
• Last chance to win a NEW CAR! The drawing is Friday!
• Player eligibility information.
• How you can now purchase game tickets from your phone.
• SBL is looking for a couple more girls travel basketball players.
• Information regarding club volleyball.
• Youth Hockey anyone?
• Some sports offerings from the Strongsville Recreation Department.
• Greet or Treat info (10/24)
• Click/Tap HERE for previous editions of the Cold Pizza

PS- Guardians win!!!!!!! Is anyone else getting an Oscar Gonzales jersey like me?!?!? Let's hope they can close things out tonight!

Warm Regards,

Jason Keppler, Assistant Athletic Director

Strongsville City Schools

Chick-fil-A Canned Food Drive for Rivalry Week / Strongsville vs. Brunswick (Oct. 17-21)

Strongsville hosts Brunswick in the "Battle for Boston Road" at Pat Catan Stadium on Friday, October 21 at 7pm. In addition to the competition on the football field, Strongsville High School and Strongsville Middle School will be collecting canned food in the days leading up to the big game. Students are encouraged to bring their non-perishable items from October 17 - October 21 in a food drive challenge with Brunswick High School. Items collected at SHS and SMS will benefit the Strongsville Food Bank. If Strongsville collects the most canned goods, they will win a pre-game meal from Chick-fil-A. This is a season-long high school football promotion, sponsored by Chick-fil-A - if Strongsville collects the most canned goods overall, the entire school will win Chick-fil-A. LET'S GO MUSTANGS!

Students looking to wrestle, or play basketball for SMS this winter should know that the process begins by logging into Final Forms. Access that site HERE. More details below about registration are below. Students should be registered by the second wee in October but it would be best to register now.

• Detailed Registration Instructions
• Having an active physical on file with the athletic office is a requirement. You can access the physical form HERE.
• Pay-to-Participate Info
• All Pay-to-Participate and prior year school fees must be paid in order for students to be eligible to participate.
• SMS students must have passed at least 4 classes in their previous quarter to be eligible. If their GPA is below a 2.0 they will have to submit weekly progress reports.

Click/Tap HERE for the upcoming open gym/mat and tryout dates/times for wrestling and basketball.

Please save the above linked doc. Although not all dates/times are posted yet, the doc will automatically update as soon as more information becomes available.

CROSS COUNTRY:

• Go HERE for a recap of last weeks meet and invitational. Once on the webpage tap menu, then fall, then cross country, then middle school, and then your specific team to view the recaps.

VOLLEYBALL:

• Go HERE for a recap of last weeks matches. Once on the webpage tap menu, then fall, then girls volleyball, then middle school, and then your specific team to view the recaps.

FOOTBALL:

• Go HERE for a recap of last weeks games. Once on the webpage tap menu, then fall, then boys football, then middle school, and then your specific team to view the recaps.

All things SMS Athletics can be found at the athletic website linked below.

http://strongsvilleathletics.org

• Game Schedules
• Game Results/Recaps
• Athletic Forms
• Sports Medicine Info
• Ticketing Info
• Online Team Shop
• Sports Registration/Tryout Info

The Strongsville Athletic Boosters is comprised of parent volunteers that raise funds and provide support to all of the Strongsville High School and Middle School athletic programs and student-athletes. Every dollar raised by the booster club is invested back into the student-athlete experience. We purchase uniforms, warm-ups, training equipment and other items to help our student-athletes perform to the best of their ability in representing Strongsville City Schools. Our ultimate success depends on the commitment of parents! Click HERE to join the Athletic Boosters for the 2022-2023 school year. Becoming a member not only helps your student's success but it also gets you some free SWAG. Details in the graphic below.

Win the car below. Click/Tap HERE for more details! The drawing is on 10/21 (this Friday)!

Player eligibility is determined by SCS and OHSAA policies. Some of the eligibility criteria is listed below.

• Students must maintain at least a 2.0 G.P.A. Should their G.P.A. fall below a 2.0 they will be put on a weekly progress reports to assure assignments and effort are up to snuff. If not the players will be required to sit until improvement is made.
• Students must have passed at least 4 classes in the previous quarter (5 if at SHS). Should this criteria not be met a student will not be eligible for the forthcoming athletic season.
• Pay to Participate and previous year academic fees must be paid in order to partake in athletic games/contests. Students will be withheld from all contests until fees are paid.

• OHSAA Eligibility Resource Center

• https://ohsaa.org/Eligibility

The Majority of Schools in the Northeast Ohio as well as the state of Ohio utilize the Hometown Ticketing app for online tickets. Fans can now download the Hometown ticketing app called Hometown Ticketing Fan and purchase tickets for many games (home and away) through the app.

Anyone that plans on attending a home contest for the Mustangs can purchase their tickets multiple ways. Keep in mind that ticket prices are set by the GCC

All other VARSITY sporting events will have $7.00 tickets for adults and $5.00 for students.

For stand alone JV, Freshman AND Middle School games, tickets will be $4.00 and $2.00

1. Tickets will be sold online through our NEW online Ticketing Partner, Hometown Ticketing. The link can be found HERE. This is the preferred method of payment for all home contests. You can also purchase tickets by going to STRONGSVILLEATHLETICS.ORG and by clicking on each team's schedule, there is a BUY TICKETS option. If you have question, please reach out to the Athletic Office.

2. We will offer at the gate cash and CREDIT CARD sales for all home contests. Again, if you do not want to wait in line, the online ticket option would be best

3. SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNTS. The GCC will allow Senior Citizens into any contest free of charge. At Strongsville, we will be issuing Senior Citizen All-Access passes that will allow them to attend any HOME sporting event free of charge. Passes will issued at any ticket gate upon entrance to an event.

(Please keep in mind that when we play non-league contests away, those schools may have a different senior citizen policy)

If you have any questions about the ticketing policy, please do not hesitate to contact the athletic department.

The Strongsville Basketball League is looking for 2-4 more 6th grade basketball players. If interested please reach out to Ted Wypasek at wypasekted@yahoo.com.

Is your daughter looking to play more volleyball after the looming conclusion of the current season? If so please contact Strongsville High School Freshman Volleyball Coach Erika Boyes HERE

Click/tap HERE for what sports programs are upcoming for the Strongsville Recreation Department.