Testimonials
As a resident
taxpayer, employee and a football alumnus of the Plain
Local Schools, I have experienced first hand the negative
impact that inadequate athletic facilities have had on our
students as well as our overall community spirit. It has
become painfully obvious to me after thirteen years of
playing and coaching for GlenOak that to be competitive in
a high school football hot bed like northeast Ohio, a
school must provide modern and flexible facilities for
student-athletes. A stadium at the Plain Community Campus
will instill pride, desire and a willingness in our
athletes to give their all for their school, their home and
their community. For a school that has not had a home
football game in a decade, this could provide the ultimate
source of inspiration for our young people. It awes me to
think of the emotions that will be felt by generations of
GlenOak football players and families the first time the
Golden Eagles take the field between Schnieder and Easton.
Our team, playing and winning next to our school. Winning
for Plain Local.
Gregory
M. Ramos GOHS Alumni Class of 1994
I
liked playing at the old stadium on 44th Street because it
was our home field. I loved the feeling I got when walking
down the hill from OUR lockers and into OUR stadium. It was
a great feeling! The emotions were always high and we were
pumped to defend our home turf. It was definitely a home
field advantage for us. We don’t need to be the only school
in Stark County that does not have their own stadium. I
fully support our efforts in building a community complex –
Plain Local needs it!
Derek Fox GOHS Alumni Class of 1996
I
would of much rather have played on our own field than to
travel and play our games at Fawcett Stadium. As a team, we
never felt like it was home, nor did we feel we had a home
field advantage. We all knew we were playing on McKinley’s
field and not our own. I regret never experiencing a home
field advantage while in high school.
Dustin Fox GOHS Alumni Class of 2001
As
a member of the GlenOak Golden Eagles, I was fortunate to
play under the lights at 44th Street. As a young kid in
Plain Local Midget Football, I always dreamed of playing in
the same stadium that we played our preview games. I cannot
begin to explain the feeling I got the first time I walked
out onto that field as a varsity player. I know I will
never forget that memory and many others that we created on
our field. When I talk to the players from recent teams,
that feeling no longer exists and I feel they are missing
out on an important aspect of high school athletics. The
idea behind the community complex is to bring all the
sports together to play and practice in one central
location to develop a real sense of community as well as a
true home field advantage. As a parent of soccer athletes,
I look forward to spending my evenings supporting my
daughters and their teammates at the new community complex.
I also look forward to sharing Friday nights with my family
and friends supporting the Golden Eagles in our own
backyard. Our community and athletes deserve the same
opportunities afforded to those in surrounding communities.
Therefore, I fully support the efforts to build a community
complex that will benefit all of Plain
Local.
Todd Dean DiMichele GOHS Alumni Class of 1990
As
a current member of the GlenOak football team, I feel
slighted when we load the bus and head to Fawcett to play
our home games. For me and the other members of the team,
it feels like an away game every week. I would love to be
able to dress at our high school and enter our stadium
without having to ride a bus.
Adam Garman Current GOHS Student Class of 2009
As
a former student, and resident of Plain Local I can
empathize with the current situation we face athletically
in this community. While I was competing here I always felt
a sense of pride walking onto the home soil at 44th St.,
simply because it was our home field. My thoughts of pride
and grandeur were quickly shunned, however, after countless
times hearing from fans, opposing players, and officials
how poor our facility was and continues to be for soccer
events. Having been associated with Plain Local for a
number of years and following a number of different sports
teams here, I can say without reservation that talent isn’t
the biggest problem holding our sports programs back. It
is, rather, a mental edge that comes from a sense of pride
while wearing the green and gold and running out under the
lights to a capacity crowd. It’s difficult to remain
focused mentally when your first thought is always how bad
the field will be that night and how much it will affect
your game or what time you have to catch the bus to travel
to your home game. The kids here deserve better, the fans
deserve better, and the community deserves better because,
despite our lack of home field advantage, everyone involved
continues to hold strong and do their best to make GlenOak
proud - no matter what the circumstances may be. I feel
honored to be a part of this community effort to restore
the pride here in Plain Local because I get to work day in
and day out with tremendous people and wonderful student
athletes. It’s time we repay them for all the work they put
in each day to be the best that they can be. It’s time we
bring these kids home.
Kyle Geosits GOHS Alumni Class of 2001
For more information e-mail brabsont@plainlocal.org or call 330.492.3500 ext. 330