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Rochester St. Laurence

tomloner said:
65k dollar question. What did Mrs. Leonard sit? Or did she sit half on each side?
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I'm assuming you are referring to Liz Leonard, Derek's mother who tragically passed away in 2017. She was the epitome of a "House Divided" fan. As bad as it was for Derek and Ken, it was worse for her having the two people she cared so much for as "enemies' for that week. She apparently enforced the "No talking about football" rules as DL and Ken were, I'm sure prone to do.

If you are interested the book "Victorious" by Mike Chamness does a wonderful job of telling the Leonard story as well as the histories of the SHG and Rocket programs.

victoriousleonards.com

Victorious! A story of Faith, Family and Football in the Heartland | Victorious Leonards

Victorious! is the story of Sacred Heart-Griffin coach Ken Leonard, the winningest high school football coach in Illinois history, and his son, Derek, who won eight state championships in a 10-year period at Rochester, an unprecedented feat at a public school in Illinois. USA Today named Ken...
victoriousleonards.com victoriousleonards.com
 
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Interestingly, the Massey ratings have this and the 1A game as the most competitive.

After listening to Edgy and Leng, I'm not so certain of a Rocket victory. If this turns into a 4 quarter game, the advantage lies with STL. The Rockets will have to make use of every possession.
 
FB1976 said:
I'm assuming you are referring to Liz Leonard, Derek's mother who tragically passed away in 2017. She was the epitome of a "House Divided" fan. As bad as it was for Derek and Ken, it was worse for her having the two people she cared so much for as "enemies' for that week. She apparently enforced the "No talking about football" rules as DL and Ken were, I'm sure prone to do.

If you are interested the book "Victorious" by Mike Chamness does a wonderful job of telling the Leonard story as well as the histories of the SHG and Rocket programs.

victoriousleonards.com

Victorious! A story of Faith, Family and Football in the Heartland | Victorious Leonards

Victorious! is the story of Sacred Heart-Griffin coach Ken Leonard, the winningest high school football coach in Illinois history, and his son, Derek, who won eight state championships in a 10-year period at Rochester, an unprecedented feat at a public school in Illinois. USA Today named Ken...
victoriousleonards.com victoriousleonards.com
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I'm so sorry for bringing that up. Thank you for the book referral. I have a friend that had to kids playing football in the midwest. Two boys went to different colleges. His wife would spend a half on each side.
 
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rocketnation said:
The one big loss I'm aware of a young man living in the Rochester district but attending SHG was a talented basketball player on the Cyclones state title team 2 years ago.

The closest Catholic high schools to SHG are Decatur St Teresa (2A school about 40 minutes away) and Jacksonville Routt (1A school about 30 minutes away). St Teresa has had a very successful program until this year when forced to play an independent schedule.

Ken's grandson was the Freshman QB for Rochester this year. I saw him at every Freshman game I attended. I also saw him at the Morris-SHG playoff game but don't know if he was going to all the SHG games.
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Sounds like the Leonards are that type of family you would like living next door to you.
 
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FB1976 said:
I'm assuming you are referring to Liz Leonard, Derek's mother who tragically passed away in 2017. She was the epitome of a "House Divided" fan. As bad as it was for Derek and Ken, it was worse for her having the two people she cared so much for as "enemies' for that week. She apparently enforced the "No talking about football" rules as DL and Ken were, I'm sure prone to do.

If you are interested the book "Victorious" by Mike Chamness does a wonderful job of telling the Leonard story as well as the histories of the SHG and Rocket programs.

victoriousleonards.com

Victorious! A story of Faith, Family and Football in the Heartland | Victorious Leonards

Victorious! is the story of Sacred Heart-Griffin coach Ken Leonard, the winningest high school football coach in Illinois history, and his son, Derek, who won eight state championships in a 10-year period at Rochester, an unprecedented feat at a public school in Illinois. USA Today named Ken...
victoriousleonards.com victoriousleonards.com
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For anyone else interested in the Leonard family dynamic, USA Football did a great piece a few years ago with Ken going for a milestone win (20 minutes, “documentary” format).When I saw the book, it reminded me of the video. Unique story and pretty heartwarming with Liz. Hope all enjoy a great thanksgiving.

 
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Rochester doesn’t get too much scouting here, they are having another strong year? Who are their playmakers?
 
Gotta stop the St. Laurence RB. He is a stud. Having said that I think Rochester does that to a point...he will still get his yards but I don't think the St. Laurence Defense holds up to the Rochester Offense. Rochester by 3 scores at least. We will see if I am correct.
 
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cigaros said:
It’s almost like Rochester doesn’t have a JFL or something starting in the third grade. Weird. Some years they’re awesome. Some years they’re great. Some years they’re good. And some years they struggle. But they show up and learn. But I’ll tell you what… The average home price in Rochester is $250,000.. 99% of all dwellings in Rochester are single-family structures. 92% of all homes are owner occupied. 95% of all homes in Rochester are occupied. The parents show up and fill the stands. The teachers are fantastic. Rochester was just recognized by the Illinois state Board of education as exemplary with their 94.1% graduation rate. The streets are clean. The communities are safe. The teachers care about the students. What parent would not want their child in an environment in which the teachers will actually teach? But you will just call that recruiting.
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Cool
 
Silver Rain said:
SOUTHSIDECFD

RIP Andrew Price
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Thank you very much. It's has been a tough year. On my way soon for lunch at my last command. Seeing less and less faces that I worked with. The accumulation of these after a while are a tremendous weight. Fire Fighters and Police Officers are very good at two things - funerals and benefit parties.

So when you leave your family tonight give everyone a hug.
 
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A little clarification here. A student living in the city of Springfield itself could play football for a city school, Rochester, Pleasant Plains, New Berlin or Chatham Glenwood. The city boundries extent into all those school districts territories.
 
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Autumnball said:
A little clarification here. A student living in the city of Springfield itself could play football for a city school, Rochester, Pleasant Plains, New Berlin or Chatham Glenwood. The city boundries extent into all those school districts territories.
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Sounds a bit different than up here in the burbs. Each school has boundaries. Kids from Main West can’t just jump to Main South to play got a better team. Same for Glenbard South To Glenbard West, etc. same district but each school has their own boundaries
 
rfb321 said:
Sounds a bit different than up here in the burbs. Each school has boundaries. Kids from Main West can’t just jump to Main South to play got a better team. Same for Glenbard South To Glenbard West, etc. same district but each school has their own boundaries
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Having a Springfield address does not guarantee that you will attend a Springfield school. All the schools that Autumnball listed above have boundaries that include parts of Springfield.

I had a Springfield address growing up, but it fell within the boundaries of the Chatham school district.
 
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Right, but does each high school have specific boundaries where you can’t move from one school to another even if it’s close by?
 
rfb321 said:
Right, but does each high school have specific boundaries where you can’t move from one school to another even if it’s close by?
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School district boundaries are not the same thing as city boundaries. For example, I believe there is some overlap with the western boundary of the city of Joliet and the Plainfield school district.
 
I’m just asking about school bounties. Does Rochester have a defined geographical boundary where if your within , you go to Rochester, if not you go to another school?
 
When the school district lines were drawn decades ago, the area outside of Springfield was farmland. As Springfield grew and this land was developed it was annexed into Springfield. The annexed land inside the Springfield school district attended Springfield schools. As land was annexed outside Springfield school district these residents became Springfield residents but the original district borders remained unchanged.
 
Okay , but cutting to the chase. Does Rochester have a defined boundary where crossovers are not allowed?
 
rfb321 said:
Okay , but cutting to the chase. Does Rochester have a defined boundary where crossovers are not allowed?
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Yes Yes Yes It is a public school district. U have to live in the rochester school district to attend rochester.
 
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rfb321 said:
I’m just asking about school bounties. Does Rochester have a defined geographical boundary where if your within ,you go to Rochester, if not you go to another school?
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Yes, there are defined boundaries for Rochester and for the other local school districts that only have a single high school.

Springfield, which has three high schools, has more complicated attendance rules which are only partly based on geography. This is due to the district being under a longtime federal desegregation order.
 
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Good answer. So now someone has to explain the Rocket “”recruiting “” (double quotes) accusation to me. Again, up north, you can bend the rules by renting/ buying another address within another public school’s boundaries, or up root and move across town Not easy. Or, you can cheat and get caught quickly.
 
Joliet address, Plainfield schools is a better analogy. Or when sone assistant coaches on the Chicago Bears staff caught weird looks for having a Waukegan house with many not realizing that said house was a good ways west of core Waukegan and probably in Libertyville or Warren boundaries.
 
rfb321 said:
Good answer. So now someone has to explain the Rocket “”recruiting “” (double quotes) accusation to me. Again, up north, you can bend the rules by renting/ buying another address within another public school’s boundaries, or up root and move across town Not easy. Or, you can cheat and get caught quickly.
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Rule bending is possible here too. I do remember having to sign a form every year my kids were in school stating that the address I provided to the district was where we lived. I believe the form also mentioned potential penalties for being untruthful about our address.
 
rfb321 said:
Good answer. So now someone has to explain the Rocket “”recruiting “” (double quotes) accusation to me. Again, up north, you can bend the rules by renting/ buying another address within another public school’s boundaries, or up root and move across town Not easy. Or, you can cheat and get caught quickly.
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I think it is extremely unlikely someone would be able to get away with address buying in a town the size of Rochester. The football program is under such intense scrutiny (both from within the school district and outside), rumors would spread, word would get out, and other schools would file complaints.

Simply put, Rochester and DL do not recruit in the sense of poaching athletes. Yes, talent shows up every now and then...but they have to move into the school district. I know where the Cox brothers lived, where Matt Wike lived, where Adam Conrady lived, and I know where Jack Swaney currently lives. Not because I'm a stalker...it's a small town...everyone knows where everyone lives. And again...there are less than 10 impactful players that have moved into RSD to play since 2010. If DL was recruiting, that's not a very successful resume!

If someone's definition of recruiting is "talking to a kid", or "convincing a kid to play", then every public school coach recruits.

The accusations about recruiting exist, I think, because to many it is unimaginable that DL can continue to turn out this level of success year in and year out without recruiting. But he does...he's a phenomenal coach with a phenomenal staff. That coaching is carried all the way down the grades...down to 2nd grade JFL.
 
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FB1976 said:
I think it is extremely unlikely someone would be able to get away with address buying in a town the size of Rochester. The football program is under such intense scrutiny (both from within the school district and outside), rumors would spread, word would get out, and other schools would file complaints.

Simply put, Rochester and DL do not recruit in the sense of poaching athletes. Yes, talent shows up every now and then...but they have to move into the school district. I know where the Cox brothers lived, where Matt Wike lived, where Adam Conrady lived, and I know where Jack Swaney currently lives. Not because I'm a stalker...it's a small town...everyone knows where everyone lives. And again...there are less than 10 impactful players that have moved into RSD to play since 2010. If DL was recruiting, that's not a very successful resume!

If someone's definition of recruiting is "talking to a kid", or "convincing a kid to play", then every public school coach recruits.

The accusations about recruiting exist, I think, because to many it is unimaginable that DL can continue to turn out this level of success year in and year out without recruiting. But he does...he's a phenomenal coach with a phenomenal staff. That coaching is carried all the way down the grades...down to 2nd grade JFL.
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The only “recruiting” I remember hearing about from Rochester was the Cox twins, but the Rockets didn’t even get the best player from that original Williamville class.
 
doctor_d said:
The only “recruiting” I remember hearing about from Rochester was the Cox twins, but the Rockets didn’t even get the best player from that original Williamville class.
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To what extent they were "recruited" by DL, I don't know. What I do know about the Cox twins, having talked with their relatives, is that they were leaving Williamsville schools due to problems they were having in that district...problems that, if thrust upon us, would make any of us leave.
 
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rfb321 said:
Sounds a bit different than up here in the burbs. Each school has boundaries. Kids from Main West can’t just jump to Main South to play got a better team. Same for Glenbard South To Glenbard West, etc. same district but each school has their own boundaries
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I might remember this incorrectly, but weren’t there certain areas of the district where kids could chose to go to MainE East or MainE South at their discretion?
Perhaps a bad choice of examples?
 
Bwm57 said:
I might remember this incorrectly, but weren’t there certain areas of the district where kids could chose to go to MainE East or MainE South at their discretion?
Perhaps a bad choice of examples?
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Yes, but you have to submit a petition to both schools to allow the transfer. It would be based on things like special needs or certain curriculum not offered at the resident school. Not athletics. I think one of the Napervilles bent those rules a few years back and we’re quickly ratted out
 
At one point Springfield public high schools each offered a unique foreign language to study that was only available at that school. This was sometimes used as justification to transfer to a school. Unclear how many students actually took Latin at Springfield H.S.
 
Cycs21 said:
For anyone else interested in the Leonard family dynamic, USA Football did a great piece a few years ago with Ken going for a milestone win (20 minutes, “documentary” format).When I saw the book, it reminded me of the video. Unique story and pretty heartwarming with Liz. Hope all enjoy a great thanksgiving.

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Great video. Thanks for posting that.
 
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