[ColtPride]

Considering they're having to compete with Trinity, Saint Xavier, Holy Cross, CAL, as well as every other private school from Louisville and southern Indiana. They are an all-boys school. Can you imagine recruiting kids to come to your school and then having to tell a teenage boy that he won't be able to even look at a female until college? My answer would've been no thank you very quickly. DeSales has a great reputation academically, but they also have to compete with the big time traditions of other private schools in your same area, and one having a national championship trophy for one doesn't hurt either. What I'm trying to get at is DeSales can't compete with those schools in getting the top athletes every year. They're are actually the 5th choice for most high school athletes behind Trinity, Saint Xavier, CAL, and Holy Cross. That's why I think it is such an astronomical accomplishment. I realize everyone or some rather want to make the private schools have their own state title, but theyre just not that dominant over other programs to warrant that. That aspect became very apparent to me when I first started writing a column and I was covering the 2008 baseball state championship tournament. At the time, there was only 8 schools from different regions, some prvate some not. There were also schools from every level on enrollment. Everybody got to watch a Lawrence County team with less players and only a fraction of enrollment than anyone there had, go down to the wire with PRP (who quadrupled their enrollment) in the state title game. Ill also add they did it on zero rest on the back end of a double header. In the semifinal game a few hours before they shutout Lexington Catholic, a team that everyone knows recruits every year. Here was a team that didn't ask for a separate tournament for the private schools, or even to be separated by class. They simply had a great team that played together and had a lot of heart. I will take a good program and coaching staff over great recruits any day.

You think we are the 5th choice? Your waaaaaay out of touch. I can tell you we are not behind CAL, and especially Holy Cross. They will be lucky to keep their doors open. We just had the largest open house we've ever had. Trinity, and X will always get theirs. We are selling the small class sizes, and the brotherhood. Not a coincidence we are getting kids who traditionally would have gone to X. DeSales chooses to stay where we are number wise. We don't want to become a big box school.