There is a simply, undeniable, and
nearly unavoidable fact for Ohio Track and Field in general and it is that the
playing field is not the same. Sure there is disparity in all sports for Ohio
as some places have better weight rooms, better practice fields, and some
schools openly recruiting kids from junior highs or even other high schools.
These all play factors, without a doubt, but some places have the added boost
of being blessed beyond comparison for places that they can practice and
compete for indoor track and field. Two different concerns but that offer
unique storylines for both the indoor and outdoor season.
Training for indoor the elephant in the room is weather. As I write this the temperature outside is a comfortable 42 degrees, its beautiful albeit mildly concerning for the threat of a late Winter as we roll to outdoor in February. If the weather held like this there would be no trouble for anyone, warm up inside, do a small workout outside, hit the weight room. That system would work and we would have even opportunity. But if, definitely when, the weather turns and becomes teen temps and wind chill below zero with ice covering the track and sidewalks then there becomes an advantage for certain schools. For starters some schools in Ohio are physically massive. Should you want to run a 5k indoor at Mentor high school I'd venture you need fewer than 20 laps around its maze of hallways. Places with large gyms in the Dayton area have indoor tracks around the upper portion of their gyms. There are even some places where the school has had the brilliant plan to make their athletics hallway a Mondo track surface. All these are brilliant opportunities and allow for their track athletes to have reasonably contestant and quality track workouts. But these are not the majority of schools in Ohio these are the outliers. Many schools, such as my own, where the hallways allow only two abreast and at doorways if a person 5'10" or taller are in stride they will knock themselves out. This very reason is why we have shifted to the point that unless it is a field event I recommend my athletes not compete at indoor meets. Beyond the limited space to try and have thirty some athletes work there was also the nagging issue of running on concrete halls ruining shins for outdoor season. Before the "stretch and rollout" people jump me for this choice note that we do preventative care. With our school and many like us running into the same concerns there is limited representation of the schools that come the Spring are D-II or D-III hence they are combined by the OATCCC. The kids who then compete are stuck with the dilemma of having to mentally handle underperforming against people who have better facilities to work in. In regards to practice facilities it can be all's well that ends well when headed to the Spring and you see this in many places, but not just for training issues.
Beyond the training is the dilemma of where to compete. Indoor facilities are not even spread out for starters and so many teams from the East, South East, and South West are forced to venture to other places. In the Northwest it is not uncommon to see Gahanna Lincoln or Kings at the Findlay or BGSU meets. This is a fun exposure to athletes you may not see otherwise but definitely gives an advantage to the teams who are more willing to travel great distances. For my own kids the closest meet would be an hour and a half away and that is a hard sell for high schoolers to give up on a Saturday or Sunday during what is for all intents and purposes their offseason. Pair on top of this the dilemma that indoor tracks have limited lanes and an abundance of entries is can take an hour at a time to get through the numerous heats of each event another tough sell for kids not on a collegiate trajectory or near the facility.
To say that indoor is negatively impacted by the facilities and the lack of competition venues readily available would be an understatement. But what we can take away is that the people who do show up are some of the most dedicated tracksters in the state and we know they are enduring less than favorable conditions to compete. Often times Ohio takes a while for our athletes to peak and show out in the national rankings but when we do it is because of the tough kids who persevere in the trials of indoor competition lead the way.