Shamrock Strength

Coach Gilbert passed along the comparisons in our strength in conditioning numbers since we started tracking them a year ago. Rocks have been working hard in the weight room, and it shows. Take a look...

	BENCH			SQUAT			POWER CLEAN
	200lb	250lb	275lb	315lb	350lb	400lb	200lb	225lb	250lb
2/12	22	4	2	20	5	3	19	10	1
2/13	30	6	3	22	12	5	30	16	6

VERTICAL JUMP			40 YARD DASH
25 in	28 in	30 in	4.9 sec	4.8 sec	4.7 sec
22	3	1	10	6	3
32	15	3	16	8	1

Great stuff. Then, the Shamrocks followed it up with a much improved performance at the Ben Davis lifting competition on Saturday. The final ranking for the lifting contest were: Ben Davis, Avon, Pike, Plainfield, Whiteland, Noblesville, Westfield, Fishers, Greenwood, Hamilton Heights. We barely lost to Noblesville.  Speed rankings came in as: BD, Pike, Whiteland, Plainfield, Avon, Westfield, Noblesville, Greenwood, Fishers, Heights.

To give you yet another idea of just how much ground we've gained, consider that last year we were 9th in both contests. Our overall team score was way higher this year, as well, and AD, Keyonte, Elvin, Page, Devin, and Frank all won individual awards.  Way to go Rocks!

Definitely a great year to be a Shamrock.

2013-14 School Enrollments Released

The IHSAA released its tally of school enrollments that will be used to figure out the new reclassification of sporting tiers. Nothing is set in stone yet, but preliminary indications seem pretty clear that Westfield will be a 5A (out of 6) school. This does NOT (necessarily) change our conference affiliations. (To be clear, I just wanted to point out that it is entirely fine to have schools of different classification levels within the same conference. The levels only really matter with respect to the state tournament.)

Now, I'm not an expert on exactly how this is all going to shake out, but I wanted to engage in some idle speculation. Pretend we're on ESPN for a moment... so I can be completely wrong in my breakdown, but I'm going throw some stuff out there in a confident fashion anyway. Read at your own peril.

I believe they said basically the top 32 teams enrollment-wise will be 6A. After that, a second set of 32 comprises the 5A bracket, and then things continue down from there in usual fashion. This means both the 5A and 6A tournaments will have a bye week where "semi-state" used to be.

There's the "tradition" component, as well. This is something completely new, enabling schools to jump classes on a sport-by-sport basis based on previous tournament success. One point is awarded for a sectional title. Two for regional. Three for semi-state. Four for a state championship. Any school amassing six or more points within a two-year span will be bumped up a class for two years. Continued success would mean more bumping. Lack of success would reset you to the previous classification with 0 points. You can only fall as far as your enrollment allows (rising as high as, well, 6A).

In my opinion, it's an elegant solution to the old public vs private school enrollment debate. It's not a straight modifier or anything, so it doesn't particularly "punish" anyone. I would say that it actual enables "tradition-heavy" programs such as Cathedral a chance to play for the big 6A title. (Having amassed more than 6 points in the last two years, Cathedral should end up in 6A this year. So yes, the point calculations are somewhat retrospective.) I think Cathedral's coaching staff will be excited to pit their teams against the very best the state has to offer.

Perhaps the lone downside I can see is if you simply have a very good class for a couple of years, but then have "rebuilding" years afterward. I'm not sure how you could account for that, however, as it seems a bit of an outlier to the norm. It is likely that no system can achieve perfection, and I think this is better than how things were.

So, how does Westfield shake out under this system? Enrollment wise, we're sitting at 40... 7 slots higher than we ranked last year (Shamrocks are growing!). Even so, our slot would appear to be outside of the top 32, and I'm pretty sure at least Cathedral is going to get bumped up (meaning someone gets bumped down?). Thus, we can say with pretty high confidence that Westfield will fall firmly in the 5A bracket. Our conference looks to be mostly made up of 6A teams. (In a similar situation is Zionsville, while most of the other area teams would figure to be in 6A, such as Fishers and HSE.)

What does Coach Gilbert have to say about this? Well, I snagged y'all a quotation:

I am excited to see our sectional. I believe that anyone would agree that we will be a major force in 5A. We are pumped to compete for a State Championship right away. Our conference is predominately filled with 6A teams and will prepare us to play with anyone who is in 5A. 

What do you think? I think it looks like a great year to be a Shamrock...

Shamrock Star Power

Have a couple of quick announcements to share:

1. Congratulations to Deryion Sturdivant and Dani Hartnett for making the Region 8 All-Star team. They are one step away from the Indiana team!

2. Coach Gilbert passed along a link for the new uniforms we're purchasing. I figured some of you just might be interested in seeing them...

It's a great day to be a Shamrock.

2012 Academic All-State

I believe this got mentioned via Twitter yesterday, but I wanted to throw up an announcement on here, too. A big Shamrock Congrats to Normando Gonzalez, Carson Lorts, and Jacob Tebbe for being named to the 2012 Academic All-State Football Team! Way to go, men!

Rocks Don't Need Sleep

We were back to our regularly schedule workouts this morning, what with no more pesky two-hour delays (I'm sure y'all were heartbroken last week). As difficult as it is to yank myself from my nice, warm bed so early, I have to admit that I look forward to the workouts. I'm sure several of you are rolling your eyes. Of course coaches love morning workouts!

Not always true, says I. Sure, many coaches are morning folks, but I am not among those ranks. Mornings are still very much my arch-enemy. Sleeping in is wonderful, even a few extra hours, so I feel your pain. You'll just have to trust me on this one.

Even so, there's something about the energy of our workouts that takes me from bleary-eyed to awake more effectively than any cup of coffee. It's great to be a part of our football family and witness our young men working hard even before the sun has risen. If I have to be up, I'm glad it's among Rocks.

Sleep is a valuable commodity in today's go-go-go world. If you're going to sacrifice it, you may as well sacrifice it for something you believe in. As much as I'd love to stay up late watching one more television show or catching the west-coast games (Blake Griffin is pretty awesome, if you ask me. The man can dunk a basketball. No joke.), I know I'm getting far more out of these early morning workouts... and I'm not even working out! There's just something about sacrificing toward a shared goal that is fulfilling. It's something only members of a family can have experienced!

Just wanted to check in today and share this. I was doubly fortunate to lose some sleep this weekend with the coaches as we attended a large coaching clinic on Indy's west side. We were able to hear a lot of very knowledgeable coaches speak and share notes on how we could improve our program.

I've also been trying to keep an eye on the push to fund the new stadium. We're hoping to have some exciting news in the near future, but I have nothing concrete yet. If you've not considered throwing in some money for a brick, check out my post from a couple weeks ago for more information. Money is tight, I'm sure, so it may cause you to lose a bit of sleep... but we've already set the bar as a family in that regard, right? Westfield desperately needs an upgrade!

Rocks Support

One of the cool things the team likes to do during the offseason is get together and attend other Westfield sporting competitions, cheering on their fellow Shamrocks. Coach Gilbert sent me a pretty awesome pic from a middle school basketball game this past week, and I wanted to share it on here. Go Rocks!

Build the Rock

As much as I may love Red Stanley Stadium, let's be honest: it struggles to host all of the events that Westfield requires of it. Even if you consider just the football games, we play every level of football on the the field. The ground crew does a wonderful job, but they are fighting a losing battle. Give that poor thing some rain and a whole bunch of cleats, day-in-day-out, and come Sectional time it's always a mud bowl.

Over the last decade, Westfield has rocketed into the ranks of 5A Indiana football. I know some Texans that may disagree, but Indiana High School football is serious stuff. This state holds some wonderful events, and Friday nights in the fall are exciting times to be a Hoosier, for sure. In such an environment, Westfield desperately needs an updated stadium. I mean, we're the only team in the conference that has to take a bus to home games. And boy, what our magnificent staff could do with some newer facilities! I promise you, you'll get every penny's worth.

Which brings me to the point of this post. There's an exciting fundraiser going on for the Westfield faithful. Stadium plans have been drafted. You can get all the nitty-gritty (complete with some wonderful graphics and a video) on the school website here. I'll wait for a moment while you click over...

Now, wipe off the drool. I know. I was excited too.

We're calling it the "Build the Rock" campaign, and we're asking local businesses, business owners, and individuals to consider contributions. Make no mistake, a vibrant, growing community like Westfield needs this stadium. Not just for football games or even only for sporting events. Such a stadium can cater to a whole host of Shamrock needs.

Big businesses (or some seriously wealthy individuals) can chase after things like naming rights for the various structures. For the rest of us, they are offering bricks for individuals, groups, or families. For more information, see the school website (linked above) or contact Athletic Director Bill Davis (Office: 317-867-6814).

On a personal note, I'd like to have a press box I could be proud of. I've been up on top of our current rickety installation on Friday nights for the last 6 years. I promise, you feel like you're taking your life into your hands every time!

Like I said, don't get me wrong: I love the tradition and history of our current stadium. It is a great place to play! But the realist in me knows a program like Westfield requires room to grow. We have a great opportunity on our doorstep, Rocks! Let's get it funded!