My son signed a contract to play for the Southern Ohio Copperheads this summer. Can any of you Ohio guys tell me anything about this league , area etc etc. I hope to make at least one trip up there this summer to see him play. Thanks

First of all, you have new head coach Mike Florak former HC at Youngstown State. He is well regarded.

Athens, Ohio can be explored via the web. If depends what you want. Ohio has good golf and fishing, and Kings Island isn't very far north of Cinci.

The baseball is good, the crowds minimal, and the scout presence below average.

I was told Columbus and Deleware are not fielding a team in 2009, but a new addition from Hamilton has been formed, which is around KI amusement park.

Here is a good thread from last year:
http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6616002781/m/8301074742/p/1

Some tidbits...

Athens, Ohio is a college town and home to Ohio University where the Copperheads play. It is a quaint/nice town with some history and has nice resteraunts and pubs. Since school is out, there is not a whole lot of activity in town as most of the college kids have gone home for the summer. The Ohio University Inn is a nice hotel to stay at with reasonable rates.

My son had several teammates who enjoyed playing in this league. They enjoyed getting out of the opressive heat of the deep south although it can get warm here in Ohio as well. One of his teammates - Dock Doyle played two or three years in this league. Dock was runner up for the Johnny Bench award as the nation's best catcher last year and was a fifth round draft choice of the Mets. His family lived in North Carolina and I believe his Dad told me it was a five or six hour drive to watch games in Ohio. I don't remember which team Dock played for.

Thanks guys I appreciate the information. I was not aware Dock was from NC I guess I assumed he was from SC. He played for the Southern Ohio Copperheads according to their website. Great kid I met him when my son went on his visit to Coastal.

May be a little too late to comment on this discussion but anyway... Yeah I know the new coach very well. Mike Florak. I did winter workouts with him all winter last year. He's a great guy with a lot of experience under his belt. He made me a better player.

quote:

Originally posted by kt333:
May be a little too late to comment on this discussion but anyway... Yeah I know the new coach very well. Mike Florak. I did winter workouts with him all winter last year. He's a great guy with a lot of experience under his belt. He made me a better player.

kt - that's a great compliment to make to a coach. I think any coach would be appreciative to hear those thoughts!!