In a world where sports are becoming ever more competitive, schools look for every advantage to get a leg up on their opponents.
Unfortunately, Ohio lacks one key advantage - a field house.
Ohio is one of only three schools that lack an indoor training facility in the Mid-American Conference -Miami and Marshall being the other two. The teams that appear to be affected the most by this are the outdoor and, especially, indoor track and field teams.
It's night and day
Ohio track and field coach Clay Calkins said. As a track and field athlete you have basically
two months of lost time... And basically in January and February here we travel to Division III schools if we want to get any kind of indoor training. I think it's kind of ironic that a Division I school travels to a Division III school to get indoor training.
What also is ironic is that several schools that have indoor facilities do not have a men's outdoor program, let alone indoor programs. Those schools include Northern Illinois and Bowling Green.
It's really a big inconvenience
especially for field events
sprinter/jumper Scott Mayle said. We don't have any time to practice. The only time we get to practice is at the meets.
Mayle said the indoor track teams spend its home practices in either The Convo, working in the stairwells, or in the track locker room, where they work on starts and box jumps. But the only time he gets to sprint or jump is at the various meets.
There's really no place to practice for that right now
he said. Basically it's all just conditioning stuff.
But Calkins said the disadvantages go beyond training. Recruiting also is a factor, as student-athletes will look at which schools can offer the most in their sport, he said.
Kent State Director of Athletics Laing Kennedy said the facility on Kent State's campus is a huge recruiting tool.
It certainly helps
Kennedy said. Recruiting student athletes
to me
is about what we have to offer both academically and athletically. It definitely enhances excellence at Kent State.
However, Ohio Director of Athletics Thomas Boeh said it is something the athletic department is looking into for the future. The athletic department is pursuing two options, both of which Boeh discusses online at http://www.ohiobobcats.com/info/business/question/6.asp.
We are continually looking for benefactors for that project
and we've not been successful to date
