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HIGH SCHOOL
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Jaime Walz, best girls high school basketball player in the country We love sports, and we're good at themGreater Cincinnati is a hotbed for high school sports -- a place where entire communities support their teams. It produced eight members of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, including two gymnasts. It has more soccer players per population than any other city in the country. It's also one of the nation's leading centers for softball, swimming and bowling. And it produces more than its share of national amateur champions. Here's a rundown on high school and amateur sports:
High schoolWith about 150 high schools in the Greater Cincinnati area, prep sports is a year-round phenomenon. The area has produced countless athletes who went on to professional stardom, including baseball greats Pete Rose, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Larkin, Dave Parker, David Justice and 1996 Hall of Famer Jim Bunning. There was football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, and basketball Hall of Famers Jerry Lucas and Dave Cowens. School and neighborhood loyalties make for intense rivalries -- perhaps more intense than anywhere else. Other cities have gang wars, but in Greater Cincinnati, the quickest way to start a fight is to insult someone's alma mater. Prep football has been a top drawing card for years in Ohio, with headliner Moeller High School winning several mythical national championships in the 1970s and early 1980s while dominating the Ohio big-school division. The Crusaders won seven titles between 1975 and 1985. Princeton won three between 1978-'87. But Cincinnati has not had a state football champion since 1992. In basketball, Cincinnati has had a recent grip on the boys big-school state title, with LaSalle, Elder and Lakota winning since 1992. St. Xavier has ruled Ohio boys swimming, winning 20 state titles in the past 27 years. In Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana, basketball is king. And not just the boys. The biggest recent headliner was Highlands' Jaime Walz, who was named Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year in 1996 and broke the all-time Kentucky career scoring record. She's going to Western Kentucky University. In football, Beechwood set a record of four straight Kentucky Class A championships in 1994, but the string ended last year in a 28-27 loss in the finals. Highlands lost its bid for a record 12th state title in the Class AAA finals.
SoccerThe city that dubs itself the capital of baseball, Greater Cincinnati is now the most soccer-ized metropolitan area in the country, with the greatest percentage of soccer players (11.6%), according to a 1994 survey by the Soccer Industry Council of America. More than 195,000 Greater Cincinnatians play soccer on a regular basis in youth and adult leagues, the 1994 study showed. That includes more than 50,000 registered youth soccer players. Southern California, New York and Florida used to be the dominant areas for soccer, but Cincinnati is quickly overcoming those large metropolises because of its highly structured youth programs. "Soccer is a sport which any kid can play, no matter his size, ability or background," says Rene Durand, executive director of Cincinnati's Soccer Association for Youth. "The exercise is phenomenal for the kids, and they have a lot of fun." Cincinnati teams play for keeps, too. In the past three years, the city has won two national championships: Club Ohio was the 16-under titlist in 1994. In 1993, the Hammer FC girls team won the under-19 championship.
BaseballBefore soccer became a rage among the kid set, Knothole baseball was king here. More than 50 years ago, before Little League was born, Tristaters started their own regional organization for youth baseball. While baseball interest nationwide has declined, Greater Cincinnati Knothole still has more than 35,000 players and 2,700 teams in 15 counties. The annual city tournament still attracts huge crowds, with many parents hoping their kids win the Knothole titles they never did. Knothole baseball has sent more than 100 Cincinnatians to the major leagues - most notably, Pete Rose, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Barry Larkin. The Reds stage annual "Kid Glove Games" to benefit Knothole; in 47 years, more than $4.3 million has been raised. How big is Knothole here? Families put off their summer vacations until after the city tournament. Friendships, mostly on the parental end, have been severed when players jump teams. Players must sign "releases" if they switch teams. Most schools, churches and/or neighborhoods have teams. Unless you've lived it, it may be difficult to understand the passion Knothole inspires. Steve Dugger, whose Amelia Bulldogs won the Class C city title last year, put it this way: "You really don't know how special it is to win a Knothole title until you finally win it." Building on its Knothole programs, Greater Cincinnati has established a number of successful amateur clubs that carry the Tristate banner in state and national tournaments. Midland and Storm Club have been winning national titles since the '70s, and many new programs have sprung up in the '90s.
SoftballCincinnati softball mavens dub the city as "the softball capital of the world," with men's and women's teams winning numerous world and national titles over several decades. One of the biggest sports events of the summer is the Cincinnati Metro men's softball championships, held in July. In 1995, the Metro tourney attracted a record 339 teams -- most in the nation. It included some 5,000 players in seven divisions. The major division games usually play to packed houses at Rumpke Park in suburban Crosby Township. The competition is so intense that in the Industrial Division, where players on company teams must work for the company, tournament officials have begun random checks on photo IDs and - yes - pay stubs. The idea is to prevent teams from loading up with talented non-employees. "I guess it's good," Mutual Supply player Roy Carpenter said of the checks. "People cheat; that's the way it is." Cincinnati Softball News: Mark Linnemann, (513) 341-7088. Rumpke Park: Danny Saylor, manager, (513) 738-2646, 47.
BowlingThere are 25 bowling centers in the Greater Cincinnati area, an area which loves its kegling (and the accompanying beer). It's an unpretentious town where if you're alive, you either bowl or know someone who does. The city has produced national luminaries such as Eddie Jackson and Steve Fehr, and Western Bowl hosts the world's richest bowling tournament, the Hoinke Classic, a 45-week-long handicap event that allows once-a-week leaguers to compete with the very best. Western Bowl: (513) 574-2222. Bowling Proprietors Association of Greater Cincinnati: (513) 761-9274
GymnasticsCoach Mary Lee Tracy has built one of the country's leading programs at the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy in Fairfield. Two of her pupils, Amanda Borden and Jaycie Phelps, won gold medals on the 1996 Olympic team. Tracy was an assistant coach on the Olympic team,. and her peers named her national coach of the year the past two years.
Water sportsCincinnati has strong youth swimming programs and several -- including the Cincinnati Marlins, Anderson Barracudas, Blue Ash YMCA and M.E. Lyons YMCA -- have won national titles. The Marlins have had seven Olympians: Joe Hudepohl (1992,'96), Kim Rhodenbaugh, Betsy Mitchell and David Wilson (1984), and Jenny Kemp (Carey), Deena Deardurff (Schmidt) and Gary Hall (1972). All but Rhodenbaugh won medals. Hudepohl won a gold medal in '96 on the 800-meter freestyle relay. In '92, he won a gold and a bronze on relays. Coach Charlie Casuto's diving team, the Cincinnati Stingrays, is a national powerhouse. Becky Ruehl of the Stingrays made the '96 Olympic team and finished fourth in the platform event. Four other current or former Stingrays competed in the U.S. Trials. Gamble-Nippert YMCA has won national titles in synchronized swimming.
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