The Repository | CantonRep.
com | Sunday, March 27, 2016J9
PLAIN TOWNSHIP
RECIPE BUILT FOR SUCCESS
By Joe Scalzo
Repository sports writer
T
wenty-five years
ago, fresh off a
sprinting career at
Malone College,
Scott Ferrell began his high
school coaching career at
GlenOak.
The school was even
younger than he was it
started in 1975 as a merger
between Glenwood and
Oakwood and, in many
ways, put the plain in Plain
Township.
Students were still split
into two (old) high school
campuses. The basketball
gym was small. The football
stadium was crummy. And,
while the Golden Eagles
were competitive (or better)
in most sports, they had a
fraction of the following
youd find at, say, McKinley
or Hoover.
Not anymore.
From 1991 to now,
theres such a huge differ-
ence, Ferrell said. The
way the school has changed
is unbelievable. You go to
the store now and you see
people wearing all kinds of
GlenOak stuff.
Its still young com-
pared to the other Federal
League powerhouses and
its taken time to adjust to
the merger, but its really
coming into its own.
With about 2,200 stu-
dents, GlenOak is the
third-largest high school
in Stark County behind
McKinley and Jackson.
It also is one of the most
successful athletically,
boasting five state champi-
onships while winning the
Federal Leagues all-sports
trophy six times. (Only
Jackson and Hoover have
won more). Over the past
year, the Golden Eagles
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n Future NBA stars C.J. McCollum (with ball) and Kosta Koufos (31) were teammates on the GlenOak High
School basketball team. They advanced to the Division I state semifinal against St. Xavier in this 2007 game.
have won three league titles
(football, boys track, girls
track) and placed second
in three others (volleyball,
baseball, softball).
The Golden Eagles also
have two current NBA play-
ers (Kosta Koufos and C.J.
McCollum), one NFL player
(Brian Hartline) and a tail-
back at Ohio State (Brionte
Dunn).
So, what makes GlenOak
so good? Here are three
major factors.
Diversity
While there are more
racially diverse school
districts in Stark County
McKinley and Alliance, for
instance maybe no other
featuring
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area offers such an intrigu-
ing mix of black and white,
rich and poor. Perhaps
no district matches Plain
Locals socio-economic
mix. Thats especially
true of its sports teams,
which bring together play-
ers from a wide range of
backgrounds.
We usually have the
best of both worlds, said
GlenOak senior Brennon
Tibbs, who was the starting
quarterback on the football
team and is a starting guard
on the basketball team. We
have big players, we have
fast city players. We have
pretty much everything you
need. And it helps because
you have to learn how to
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REPOSITORY FILE
work with different people.
Some people are raised one
way, other people are raised
another way. Its hard to
bring everyone together,
but in football its easy
because theres always one
common goal.
Dustin Fox, who played
cornerback on Ohio States
2002 national cham-
pionship team before a
four-year NFL career, said
attending GlenOak made
for an easy transition to
college.
A lot of times kids go to
high school and theyre very
sheltered, because every-
body is just like them,
said Fox, who was also a
standout on the track team.
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I think what GlenOak
provided is unique to high
school, but it was a very
similar experience to going
to Ohio State, which is the
ultimate melting pot.
No one benefits from that
diversity more than Fer-
rell, who has built a track
powerhouse at GlenOak.
Since 1993, when he started
as the girls track coach, the
Golden Eagles have won
16 Federal League titles,
13 district titles and four
regional titles. Eight of
Stark Countys 34 track
records are held by GlenOak
most in the county.
Thats one benefit to
having such a diverse
school system it makes
it perfect for the track and
field team, said Ferrell,
who took over the boys
program in 2000. You
have sprinters, distance
runners, throwers and
everything in between.
Of course, there are
times when that diversity
makes things challeng-
ing. Girls basketball coach
Paul Wackerly, who has
lived his entire life in Plain
Township (although he
graduated from Aquinas),
said the community isnt
quite as close-knit as North
Canton or Perry, his two
previous stops.
Its a lot more individu-
alized, he said. Even the
parents, theyre just not
as close. A lot of people
dont know each other,
they dont hang out with
each other and even in the
bleachers, you see parents
sitting in different spots.
It takes time to build that
chemistry, that family-
type thing. I think thats
why the track team has
done so well. Its more
of an individual thing.
It doesnt require team
chemistry.
But the kids, as far as the
willingness to be coached
and put the effort in, I dont
see that much of a differ-
ence between here and
Hoover or Perry. We do the
same things, run the same
system. And while youve
got kids from Section 8
housing and kids from
elaborate homes that have
five furnaces, if you didnt
know them and just sat
down and talked to them,
you wouldnt know the
difference.
Facilities
In 2006, GlenOak
moved into its new 114-
acre campus, which now
includes a multi-purpose
football stadium, new
softball and baseball fields,
new tennis courts and a
spacious gymnasium, not
to mention a public library,
900-seat theater and a
video studio. Even the
cross country course is one
of the best in the state. It
hosted the Mid-American
Conference tournament
last fall.
Compared to some
county schools, GlenOak
feels like a small college.
Were in just the 10th
year of the high school, so
were continuing to catch
up to where a lot of the
people around the county
are, said Scott Garcia, the
schools football coach and
athletic director. Were
continuing to improve
our facilities and expand
on what we have. We just
put in tennis courts last
year, were continuing to
improve our stadium and
our softball and baseball
fields, and our track and
cross country facilities are
probably the best in the
state.
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