WEST CARROLLTON — West Carrollton High School has found the first head football coach to lead them in its Greater Western Ohio Conference era.
The West Carrollton Board of Education approved Fairmont offensive coordinator Chris Newman as the new Pirates coach at its meeting Wednesday night. Newman has spent five seasons at Fairmont as offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, during which he met West Carrollton Athletic Director Rob Dement, a former Fairmont defensive coordinator.
“We had a tremendous pool of candidates, and Chris just moved forward in that group,” Dement said.
The Pirates have made two playoff appearances, in 2005 and 2009. The 2009 team went 8-3 under first-year coach Rob Berger after undergoing a 1-25 stretch through the 2006-08 seasons. The Pirates then went 1-9 and 3-7 in the past two seasons, after which Berger resigned.
Newman spent two seasons as an intern for the Ohio State football program, which included the 2002 national championship season. He has served as an assistant coach at Springfield North, graduate assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati and assistant coach at Fairmont, where he teaches special education.
West Carrollton will become a football-playing member of the GWOC this fall after two seasons of playing all other sports in the conference. The Pirates have played a schedule made up largely of Fort Ancient Valley Conference opponents in the past two seasons.
They ranked 17th out of 18 GWOC teams last season in total offense, averaging 210.8 yards per game.
“Fairmont had some really good offensive performances last season, and he has good experience on different levels,” Dement said.

The Dayton Dutch Lions professional soccer team has taken a major step in leaving a permanent footprint in Dayton.

The Dutch Lions last week entered into a long-term contract with West Carrollton City Schools and the City of West Carrollton in a deal that will upgrade the West Carrollton All-Sports Stadium and provide a permanent home for the Dutch Lions pro teams as well as their academies.

“This is huge,” Dutch Lions coach Ivar van Dinteren said. “West Carrollton is really happy because we don’t view this as just a partnership, but we have the same ambitions with our players and players in the academy as they have with their students.”

The Dutch Lions played their first two seasons at Bellbrook High School. The squad — and the women’s team — will begin play at West Carrollton in the 2012 season.

Under the first phase, scheduled to begin in January 2012, the Dutch Lions will put in four top grass fields to European standards, which includes thin grass cut short.

Phase two, which van Dinteren says will be done by their kickoff next season, is putting artificial turf down in the current stadium.

Phase three, which hasn’t been scheduled, is to renovate the current stadium.

“We looked at four things we needed to succeed and one of them was having our own facility,” van Dinteren said. “We are investing in their facility and will be able to use it for the Dutch Lions as well as our academies.”

The facility could be a perfect fit for the Dutch Lions, with easy access from Interstate 75 and room for them to grow. In addition to the four fields the organization will build and care for under phase one, there also is additional land outlined that it could build on in the future.

By John Cummings, Contributing Writer

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The one-day event takes place on Saturday, August 6th at West Carrollton High School.  Ford Motor Company will donate $20 to the school for every person who test drives a new 2011 Lincoln.  Participants are automatically entered for a chance to win a 32GB Apple iPod touch.

The school will use the proceeds to help fund their football program.

The football team will also be holding a car wash at the high school to coincide with the event, as well as selling merchandise and having full concession.

DOWNLOAD: DRIVE ONE FLYER-2011

Friday, May 27, 2011

WEST CARROLLTON — By middle school, West Carrollton High School senior Brandon Craig knew football was his game.

His mom, Christy Stacy, had urged him to go out for basketball in grade school, but he soon found, “I was more a physical person,” he said.

“I think that my mom always thought if I were in a school activity it would help me keep my grades up for school,” he said. “When I was younger, I couldn’t sit still or pay attention.” He had a combination of dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and auditory processing disorder, which made it difficult for him to read, to write and to comprehend.

A tutor in grade school and linguistics classes helped him learn phonics and read words by sounding them out. “I kept trying. I kept pushing until I got it,” he said. Still, progress was slow.

Going out for football put a different spin on the game of life.

“The first day of middle school, I went out for football and fell in love with it, though I wasn’t really good until my junior year,” he said. He was named the Edward Jones Athlete of the Month that September.

“It did help out for school,” he said. “I couldn’t go out and had to go to bed early. I had to work out.”

He credits his mom for keeping him on track.

“My mom made sure I got to school every day and got in bed at the right time and made sure I got my work done,” he said.

His high school counselor, Alicia Soich, praised Craig’s “never give up” attitude in presenting him with the Most Outstanding Male Student Award for the Class of 2011 at the school awards assembly on May 20.

“I got that from my mother,” Craig said. “I saw her be a single mother raising four kids. She just never gave up on us, and I didn’t want to give up for her.” His dad left when he was young, he said. His stepdad, Michael Craig, later added a stepbrother and stepsister to the family of four boys.

West Carrollton principal Fred Gehron calls Craig a “great kid” who “takes on the challenge,” whatever it is. “We’re proud to call him a Pirate,” he said.

Soich said she witnessed Craig go from reading at a third-grade level as a freshman in high school to reading at a 12th-grade level as a senior. “He has battled, fought and found strategies to assist him in overcoming and coping with his obstacles in life,” she said.

It is important that the students she works with not view themselves as being different she said.

“They just learn differently,” she said.

Craig gives credit to all his special education tutors, who “helped me out a lot. They are pretty much the people who got me through school.”

Now, with three local scholarships in hand and a full-time summer job ahead working with a local landscaping business to earn money for college, Craig plans to head to Anderson University in Indiana in the fall. He will play Division III football while studying sports medicine.

“It’s something I’ve been wanting to do since I was little,” he said. “I was always hurt, and I had to play through injuries. I think it will be cool to actually learn about it.”

“He’s an amazing young man,” Soich said. “He’s really going to be missed by all his coaches. He’s special. He’s just a caring kid.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@Dayton

DailyNews.com.

The 2011 senior class will be sending seven of its graduates off to college to continue their education along with their prowess on their respective courts and fields.  These seniors possess not only the ability in the classroom to reach the next level but the talent in their sports to use that as tool to enhance their educational opportunities. These seniors are the first to give credit to their families for all of their support, to their coaches for their guidance, and to their teammates for their help and encouragement.  “We are very proud of these athletes not only for their athletic abilities but more importantly for the way they represent the WCSD, this high school, and our community”, stated athletic director Rob Dement.  Here are the seven seniors, where they will attend college, and the sport they will play.

TJ Bretz                 College of Wooster                            Basketball
Brandon Craig    Anderson University                       Football
Alexis Harvey    Wittenberg University                    Softball
Sara Marrs           Ohio Valley University                   Softball
Derek Miller        Trine University                                Tennis
Bill Olson              Otterbein College                              Football
Seth Zellers         Trevecca Nazarene University    Soccer

Brandon and Bill have won many awards this year recognizing performances on the field of play and beyond.  There commitment, character, and leadership will be greatly missed and the entire West Carrollton Football family wishes them the best of luck at the next level.

Brandon will also be playing in the Miami Valley Coaches Association All Star game on Friday, June 10 at 7 pm at Welcome Stadium.

• July 18, 19, 20 from 6 – 7:30 pm at WCHS football practice field.
• Wee Pirate football grades 1st – 6th
• Wear HELMETS, t-shirt, shorts, cleats, and bring gym shoes in case of rain.  Helmets are supplied by Wee Pirate football.  Call 937-478-6840 or go to www.weepirates.com to sign up.
• Cost is $25 per participant due before participating in the camp (cash or checks payable to West Carrollton Athletic Boosters – please include campers name in memo)
• Parent/Guardian must fill out information form before participation
• Campers will receive a camp t-shirt
• Campers will have lots of fun competing against each other, learn basic skills and fundamentals, and become better prepared for the upcoming football season

If you have any questions or concerns, contact WCHS head football coach Rob Berger at 937-859-5121 ext 7772 or e-mail rberger@wcsd.k12.oh.us

Fill out the information on the back of this page to participate in the camp.

Thanks,

Coach Berger

Go Pirates!  Expect To Win!

Wee Pirate Football Camp 2011

Friday, July 15, 2011

PipeStone Golf Club
4344 Benner Road,
Miamisburg OH  45342
The mission of the West Carrollton Football Alumni Club is to provide financial support for the advancement of the Pirate football program.

DOWNLOAD: 2011 Golf Outing Brochure