The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
One year later, St. Ignatius column merits reflection
There is no way to anticipate what truly resonates. Readers are the arbiter that matters most in our line of work.
Some opinions come and go quietly, which is fine.
Occasionally, however, that dynamic is far from quiet.
One year ago this week, I wrote a column regarding St. Ignatius’ place as a prep hockey program competing for the Ohio high school varsity state championship.
The reaction that followed was remarkable.
On this anniversary of sorts, it’s an appropriate time to reflect — and express a couple regrets.
I stand by my opinion.
It was argued objectively out of respect for St. Ignatius, for which I’ve long held deep reverence, and Ohio high school hockey, for which I’ve had a personal investment covering it for The News-Herald for 20 years.
Whether it’s St. Ignatius or anyone else, a prep team should not play for the varsity hockey state title in Ohio. Period.
With their program caliber and depth, the Wildcats have simply graduated from Ohio varsity hockey. There’s nothing wrong with that. That seamless transition to a more competitive dichotomy should be lauded.
That noted, there is no dispute what I should have done differently: the column’s headline.
“Is St. Ignatius too good for Ohio high school hockey?” was a swing and a miss. That’s my fault. Paired with an opinion given considerable thought, the headline was not. It was confrontational, far from what I had in mind. Hand over heart, it was not done for clickbait. It just wasn’t pondered as deeply as it should have been.
Had the headline been more measured, the reaction may have been, too.
That reaction ran the gamut: Agreement. Anger. Heartfelt. Hard to comprehend.
It was in person, by email, by phone. I was even blocked and unfollowed on Twitter.
One other slight regret came from this: “With the Blue Jackets’ influence, Columbus isn’t going anywhere in high school hockey.”
It was meant as a compliment — as in, Columbus is entrenched as a power broker. But understandably, it could have been interpreted negatively with the wording.
Some people thought I was brave to express the opinion at all. Being a contrarian is not bravery, though — it’s telling truth when you must.
Coaches opined in the affirmative and otherwise.
My wife, admittedly not a sports fan, heard about it. She’s an elementary-school teacher, and at her school last year, her principal played hockey at Trinity.
Prior to a meeting last March, the principal said to my wife, “I read your husband’s article about St. Ignatius.”
“He was saying some things about what you wrote,” she later told me.
“But I have no idea what he was talking about.”
As expected, there was some attempt to twist the narrative into something it was not. Some feedback, frankly, wasn’t in the same universe as what was written. Whataboutism was invoked.
One youth coach, with vested interest as a feeder program, stated deep disagreement over several inaccurate tweets before concluding with, paraphrasing, “Just because St. Ignatius calls itself a prep program doesn’t mean it actually is one.”
That notion, seemingly not isolated, is nonsensical. You can’t be a prep team and a varsity team all at once in hockey.
Some people reached conclusion without reading the column. A few invoked faith. A couple snuck in that old chestnut, “Let’s give everyone a participation trophy.”
One parent from a Great Lakes Hockey League program not in The News-Herald’s coverage area wrote a long, heartfelt email. She wondered aloud if she had done “enough” as a parent for her son’s hockey career because he wasn’t at St. Ignatius. It broke my heart with its sincerity. So where do we stand? St. Ignatius went to the 2019 frozen four and dispatched Sylvania Northview, 7-0, in a semifinal and Dublin Jerome, 7-2, in the state final. The Wildcats had a 6123 shots advantage over those games.
This winter, after a 9-1 win over 26-5 reigning three-time Baron Cup II champion Amherst Steele on Feb. 29 in a Brooklyn District semifinal, they are 29-4-1. The four defeats came to Michigan foes, and the tie was against an Illinois squad, states that tend to have better high school hockey. They added games this year against News-Herald coverage area powers Gilmour and University, along with a weekend trip to Toledo St. Francis and Toledo St. John’s and a Holy War renewal with St. Edward. Against Ohio varsity opponents this season, they are 8-0 and have outscored their foes, 61-5 — which, in fairness, includes a 2-1 win over the Lancers.
St. Ignatius coach Pat O’Rourke — whom I respect and like immensely — was asked about the prep vs. varsity debate after the 2019 state final.
O’Rourke lamented detractors’ inconsistency, not being there when the program wasn’t successful to this extent, a reigning four-time state champion with a strong shot at a fifth straight soon.
One year later, with the same quandary, perhaps this much is true:
St. Ignatius is a firstclass program with firstclass people from a firstclass school. But the Wildcats’ prep distinction presents a conundrum for everyone else on the ice in the Buckeye State, and one potential upset in the frozen four or earlier won’t change that.
If the gulf between prep and varsity is too wide — and by definition, it should be — it must be addressed.
The gulf between haves and have nots is playing a role in Ohio high school hockey’s deterioration. Now, so is the gulf between St. Ignatius and the haves.
Fair or unfair, a select few being better than the vast majority is a way of life.
But how are we building a sport in the best interest of all within reason? On one end, one team — to its credit — is playing a different game than everyone else, even its most established opponents. On the other end, teams are pulling student-athletes out of the hallway to learn how to skate and teach them hockey on the fly.
Pretending that divide is normal doesn’t make it so.
If there aren’t more competitive teams left to contend, then really, hasn’t the state hockey tournament become a disparity abyss and a formality?
Within the framework of rules as written and enforced, that’s NOT St. Ignatius’ problem.
That’s OUR problem, one for which it’s time for the Ohio High School Athletic Association and its other member schools to consider intervention.
If tough love one year ago aided that discussion and drove even fractionally toward a solution, so be it.
You can respect success and admire people and performance while recognizing status quo is counterproductive.
If this resonated so deeply with so many of you initially, then it is a discussion worth having.