Osborne dug his own hole deeper with this comment swiped from the Athens Banner-Herald's comment section
There is no way of knowing with absolute certainty if this is indeed the comment swiped from the article of the Athens Banner-Herald newspaper yesterday of evidently now former North Oconee principal John Osborne or not, but home slice needs to learn from Bill Hamby and Rick Pitino as when to shut the fuck up:
I have never in my life posted a to a blog, vent site or sent an editorial, but obviously there are lots of misperceptions out there. Listed below is the EXACT account of what I shared with the ABH. I have lots of pride in both schools and I am merely trying to protect my student athletes. I have been associated with numerous GHSA state championships and our athletes are top shelf. We won a state championship in football at OCHS when I was there because we made are kids bigger faster and stronger. OC is not our enemy nor is it who or what we are preparing our athletes for. My decision is about unity. My decision is about stepping up to play the Stephens Counties and the Hart counties. The strong survive I, nor we, are scared to play football or any other sport. Read on....
I have made some poor decisions that can have a lasting effect on our student athletes because of my competitive nature and the desires of our community. I allowed competition to begin between NOHS and OCHS long before it should have. The schools were 1000 students apart in size when we started to play each other in sports. North Oconee had no seniors and the school was built with limited facilities and no funding source for outside athletics (except for tennis). The gym was cut down in size during the building phase, which made it woefully inadequate, seating only 800, which is not large enough for the current student body to host a pep rally. The weight room reduced merely to a storage closet. Two schools in the same county playing a rivalry before they grow together can have a lasting negative effect that is hard to overcome. We only have to look to our east at Cedar Shoals, who after many years has finally grown out of the shadows of Clarke Central. Cedar Shoals was several years old before it was complete and the building was not even 25 years old when they bulldozed it and started over. Clarke Central still stands, old and nostalgic with deep and rich traditions. It took Cedar Shoals 13 years to finally beat Clarke Central in football even though Cedar clearly had better teams from time to time.
We can look right here in our own county and see the same analogy with our two middle schools. Malcom Bridge Middle School is just now starting to shed the little brother image and start to compete and defeat Oconee County Middle School, but they are just now becoming similar in size. It is a known fact that they have had better teams from time to time, but when you begin a rivalry before the schools are equitable it is not good enough to have a better team. Athletics requires mastering a mental component and when you have been beaten year in and year out this mental component becomes the biggest obstacle to overcome. Starting a rivalry before it's time can be detrimental to both schools, but in different ways. OCHS coach Mitch Olson said it best in the article this past Sunday when he said his team has nothing to gain from playing NOHS before the two schools are in the same classification. In fact, it could be a lose-lose proposition. I wish Coach Olson had been around two years ago when we agreed to start playing each other in a scrimmage.
Rivalry's are fun and they can be healthy, but as previously mentioned 50% of high school athletics is mental and you put your kids at a huge disadvantage when you throw them to the wolves before they are ready and before the resources are there to get them ready. We have struggled for almost 6 years now with facility issues at NOHS. To drive by the school one would not understand my facility concerns because you see what looks more like a mall from the outside. While the interior of the building has its challenges from the academics standpoint we are talking about athletics. The community has raised more than a million dollars to put with the just over $500,000 that interim superintendent Dr. Franklin Shumake found by refinancing bond debt so that there could be enough of a facility for the students to stay on their campus for practice and games.
Last Friday night I realized just how much of an injustice I have done the student athletes at NOHS when I joined our team in the visitor's locker room during the lightening delay at Warrior Stadium. This area doubles as the football weight room. It was impressive! Hats off to the parents and community for what they have done to make it impressive. Hat's off to the NOHS parents and community as well for all of their hard work and fundraising to get us to where we are today. Both schools have great working parents supporting student athletes, but the two schools are just at very different stages, making priorities very different. As aforementioned, NOHS was built with no weight room. We are excited about the funding which the BOE is allocating to build a weight room this school year, but here is where this principal has done an injustice to the student athletes. We should never have started playing a rivalry before we have the basic means to condition and strengthen our kids to compete. It is bad enough to play in a region with like size schools that have complete facilities, but to play your in county rival with more students, a complete facility and lots of proud tradition, that I would like to think I helped create, was just downright stupid on my part.
I am proud of what are kids have been able to accomplish despite the circumstances. We have had three graduating classes and have won the region all sports trophy three years running. This is an unbelievable accomplishment and credit to our student athletes, our coaches and our parents. I am disappointed in myself as the instructional and athletic leader of this school for what I have done by allowing these two schools to play before they were equitable. After the 2009-10 school year I am directing my coaches to not schedule OCHS until after 2014 when both schools will likely be in the same classification and region. OCHS has made recent improvements to its facility that are much needed, but move that dividing line farther apart. With a new state of the art practice gym that offers an awesome space for all indoor sports I think this is the right decision. NOHS is hopeful to get a suitable facility in place if the next SPOST is voted on that will be comparable and should suit us resuming play in 2014-15. The NOHS gym only seats 800 and the practice gym is literally half the size of just what a regulation gym floor should be. We will still have to rotate 6 basketball teams through practice daily, pushing those practices up until after 9:00 PM. This is not uncommon for small schools, but merely another reason for my decision to stop the rivalry until the facility can catch up to the programs.
Fortunately or unfortunately for those that disagree with my decision to stop play for the next four years, they may get their wish anyway. The GHSA will reclassify high schools in October of this year. NOHS and OCHS could be tossed into the same classification by virtue of the schools now being leveled to similar size. NOHS has a current enrollment of 1025 students and OCHS has 1050. The GHSA will look at a combined average from FTE (student counts) from the spring of 2009 and counts from this October. They will add the two counts and divide by two. The numbers for NOHS will be 900 and around 1025 for an average of about 963. OCHS will average 1200 and 1050, which will be 1125. The last classification cut between AA and AAA was 957. This is not a set cut score by no means. The GHSA has set Class A and Class AAAAA cut score, but classes AA, AAA, AAAA will divide out by enrollment and an even number of schools will be in each classification. I am hopeful that NOHS will remain in AA allowing our BOE time to help us complete our facility. If the GHSA classifies both schools together then the rivalry that never should have started will continue. If we are not in the same classification we will disband all competition between the two schools and allow our BOE some breathing room during a tough economy to help us get our facility up to speed.
While Oconee County, for the most part, was not in favor of a second high school it has been very positive for kids. Opportunities have been granted that would have never happened had we been one school. The only drawback has been the ability to fund a second comprehensive high school and staff it the way that it should be staffed. When the school opened there were less than 30 teachers and a need for 16 head coaches. We still employ 20 lay coaches that pretty much donate their time to help us. Four of these lay coaches are leaned on heavily to be the expert in their respective sports and draw a supplement like a certified staff person would. This will eventually balance, but until it does and the next SPLOST is approved, it is my intent to put our rivalry aside and support each other through these tough economic times. Both schools are great academic institutions and have been dominant in their respective classifications in athletics. I would suggest we be content with this for now.
While it is true that NOHS has held its own the past three years competing with OCHS, it is also true that OCHS commands a dominant advantage in wins. Our athletes have competed admirably through guts, determination and good coaching. In fact, with the momentum change last Friday night prior to the lightning delay, Coach Olson may have experienced what he noted in a recent article as a devastating blow that could have adversely affected his team's season. I think Mother Nature may have been looking after the football players from both schools Friday night. If the Oconee and North Oconee communities will be patient while we complete our facility and we balance both schools a true "healthy" rivalry will unfold where both schools will win their share.
It is my hope that the two schools never lose that sense of unity. This unity has been what makes Oconee County a special place. NOHS kept royal blue as an accent color because it stands for unity. I want Oconee County High School to win at everything they attempt so long as they are not going against North Oconee High School. My athletic directors son is a student at OCHS. I was once a Warrior and still love and support the Warriors, but my responsibility and passion now rest as a Titan and it is for that reason that I pray my future decisions as the instructional and athletic leader of the Titan nation are not clouded by my own desires or any other individual's desires. The health and welfare of our student athlete's must remain the focus. To our current and past student athletes I apologize for allowing this rivalry to start prematurely and I am proud of the guts and determination you have exhibited the past three years. It is a good day to be a Titan!
I have never in my life posted a to a blog, vent site or sent an editorial, but obviously there are lots of misperceptions out there. Listed below is the EXACT account of what I shared with the ABH. I have lots of pride in both schools and I am merely trying to protect my student athletes. I have been associated with numerous GHSA state championships and our athletes are top shelf. We won a state championship in football at OCHS when I was there because we made are kids bigger faster and stronger. OC is not our enemy nor is it who or what we are preparing our athletes for. My decision is about unity. My decision is about stepping up to play the Stephens Counties and the Hart counties. The strong survive I, nor we, are scared to play football or any other sport. Read on....
I have made some poor decisions that can have a lasting effect on our student athletes because of my competitive nature and the desires of our community. I allowed competition to begin between NOHS and OCHS long before it should have. The schools were 1000 students apart in size when we started to play each other in sports. North Oconee had no seniors and the school was built with limited facilities and no funding source for outside athletics (except for tennis). The gym was cut down in size during the building phase, which made it woefully inadequate, seating only 800, which is not large enough for the current student body to host a pep rally. The weight room reduced merely to a storage closet. Two schools in the same county playing a rivalry before they grow together can have a lasting negative effect that is hard to overcome. We only have to look to our east at Cedar Shoals, who after many years has finally grown out of the shadows of Clarke Central. Cedar Shoals was several years old before it was complete and the building was not even 25 years old when they bulldozed it and started over. Clarke Central still stands, old and nostalgic with deep and rich traditions. It took Cedar Shoals 13 years to finally beat Clarke Central in football even though Cedar clearly had better teams from time to time.
We can look right here in our own county and see the same analogy with our two middle schools. Malcom Bridge Middle School is just now starting to shed the little brother image and start to compete and defeat Oconee County Middle School, but they are just now becoming similar in size. It is a known fact that they have had better teams from time to time, but when you begin a rivalry before the schools are equitable it is not good enough to have a better team. Athletics requires mastering a mental component and when you have been beaten year in and year out this mental component becomes the biggest obstacle to overcome. Starting a rivalry before it's time can be detrimental to both schools, but in different ways. OCHS coach Mitch Olson said it best in the article this past Sunday when he said his team has nothing to gain from playing NOHS before the two schools are in the same classification. In fact, it could be a lose-lose proposition. I wish Coach Olson had been around two years ago when we agreed to start playing each other in a scrimmage.
Rivalry's are fun and they can be healthy, but as previously mentioned 50% of high school athletics is mental and you put your kids at a huge disadvantage when you throw them to the wolves before they are ready and before the resources are there to get them ready. We have struggled for almost 6 years now with facility issues at NOHS. To drive by the school one would not understand my facility concerns because you see what looks more like a mall from the outside. While the interior of the building has its challenges from the academics standpoint we are talking about athletics. The community has raised more than a million dollars to put with the just over $500,000 that interim superintendent Dr. Franklin Shumake found by refinancing bond debt so that there could be enough of a facility for the students to stay on their campus for practice and games.
Last Friday night I realized just how much of an injustice I have done the student athletes at NOHS when I joined our team in the visitor's locker room during the lightening delay at Warrior Stadium. This area doubles as the football weight room. It was impressive! Hats off to the parents and community for what they have done to make it impressive. Hat's off to the NOHS parents and community as well for all of their hard work and fundraising to get us to where we are today. Both schools have great working parents supporting student athletes, but the two schools are just at very different stages, making priorities very different. As aforementioned, NOHS was built with no weight room. We are excited about the funding which the BOE is allocating to build a weight room this school year, but here is where this principal has done an injustice to the student athletes. We should never have started playing a rivalry before we have the basic means to condition and strengthen our kids to compete. It is bad enough to play in a region with like size schools that have complete facilities, but to play your in county rival with more students, a complete facility and lots of proud tradition, that I would like to think I helped create, was just downright stupid on my part.
I am proud of what are kids have been able to accomplish despite the circumstances. We have had three graduating classes and have won the region all sports trophy three years running. This is an unbelievable accomplishment and credit to our student athletes, our coaches and our parents. I am disappointed in myself as the instructional and athletic leader of this school for what I have done by allowing these two schools to play before they were equitable. After the 2009-10 school year I am directing my coaches to not schedule OCHS until after 2014 when both schools will likely be in the same classification and region. OCHS has made recent improvements to its facility that are much needed, but move that dividing line farther apart. With a new state of the art practice gym that offers an awesome space for all indoor sports I think this is the right decision. NOHS is hopeful to get a suitable facility in place if the next SPOST is voted on that will be comparable and should suit us resuming play in 2014-15. The NOHS gym only seats 800 and the practice gym is literally half the size of just what a regulation gym floor should be. We will still have to rotate 6 basketball teams through practice daily, pushing those practices up until after 9:00 PM. This is not uncommon for small schools, but merely another reason for my decision to stop the rivalry until the facility can catch up to the programs.
Fortunately or unfortunately for those that disagree with my decision to stop play for the next four years, they may get their wish anyway. The GHSA will reclassify high schools in October of this year. NOHS and OCHS could be tossed into the same classification by virtue of the schools now being leveled to similar size. NOHS has a current enrollment of 1025 students and OCHS has 1050. The GHSA will look at a combined average from FTE (student counts) from the spring of 2009 and counts from this October. They will add the two counts and divide by two. The numbers for NOHS will be 900 and around 1025 for an average of about 963. OCHS will average 1200 and 1050, which will be 1125. The last classification cut between AA and AAA was 957. This is not a set cut score by no means. The GHSA has set Class A and Class AAAAA cut score, but classes AA, AAA, AAAA will divide out by enrollment and an even number of schools will be in each classification. I am hopeful that NOHS will remain in AA allowing our BOE time to help us complete our facility. If the GHSA classifies both schools together then the rivalry that never should have started will continue. If we are not in the same classification we will disband all competition between the two schools and allow our BOE some breathing room during a tough economy to help us get our facility up to speed.
While Oconee County, for the most part, was not in favor of a second high school it has been very positive for kids. Opportunities have been granted that would have never happened had we been one school. The only drawback has been the ability to fund a second comprehensive high school and staff it the way that it should be staffed. When the school opened there were less than 30 teachers and a need for 16 head coaches. We still employ 20 lay coaches that pretty much donate their time to help us. Four of these lay coaches are leaned on heavily to be the expert in their respective sports and draw a supplement like a certified staff person would. This will eventually balance, but until it does and the next SPLOST is approved, it is my intent to put our rivalry aside and support each other through these tough economic times. Both schools are great academic institutions and have been dominant in their respective classifications in athletics. I would suggest we be content with this for now.
While it is true that NOHS has held its own the past three years competing with OCHS, it is also true that OCHS commands a dominant advantage in wins. Our athletes have competed admirably through guts, determination and good coaching. In fact, with the momentum change last Friday night prior to the lightning delay, Coach Olson may have experienced what he noted in a recent article as a devastating blow that could have adversely affected his team's season. I think Mother Nature may have been looking after the football players from both schools Friday night. If the Oconee and North Oconee communities will be patient while we complete our facility and we balance both schools a true "healthy" rivalry will unfold where both schools will win their share.
It is my hope that the two schools never lose that sense of unity. This unity has been what makes Oconee County a special place. NOHS kept royal blue as an accent color because it stands for unity. I want Oconee County High School to win at everything they attempt so long as they are not going against North Oconee High School. My athletic directors son is a student at OCHS. I was once a Warrior and still love and support the Warriors, but my responsibility and passion now rest as a Titan and it is for that reason that I pray my future decisions as the instructional and athletic leader of the Titan nation are not clouded by my own desires or any other individual's desires. The health and welfare of our student athlete's must remain the focus. To our current and past student athletes I apologize for allowing this rivalry to start prematurely and I am proud of the guts and determination you have exhibited the past three years. It is a good day to be a Titan!
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