Fans of LHS athletics will see a lot of changes on the field this fall. After seven decades in the Lake Erie League, LHS jumps to the new Northeast Ohio Conference (NOC). The Northeast Ohio Conference was created through a merger of the remaining teams in the Western Reserve and Pioneer Conferences, along with Garfield Heights and Lakewood High Schools, which had previously expressed interest in joining. The new Northeast Ohio Conference will be the biggest conference in northeast Ohio. The new conference includes these sports: Football, Basketball, Tennis, Cross Country, Swimming, Gymnastics, Track, Softball, Baseball, Golf, Wrestling, Volleyball, and Soccer.

The conference switch has been in the works for many months. The new Northeast Ohio Conference features 18 schools from across the Cleveland area. The conference is divided into three six-team divisions for each sport. A unique aspect of the conference is that division assignments can change every two years, allowing schools to be more evenly matched in each particular sport. For example, if a school is strong in wrestling but struggles in softball, it can remain in the toughest wresting division and be moved to an easier softball division. The original division assignments were made based upon traditional strength and the caliber of their freshman and sophomore classes at the time.

The NEO conference commissioner is former LHS athletic director Dan Gerome. Although his new commissioner role is not as stressful as being an AD, it has its challenges. "Especially working with 18 AD's and principals and trying to get them to think NEO conference instead of their old league ways," he says.

Although they are in a new league, one thing remains the same -- regardless of sport, LHS will still be in one of the toughest conferences in the state. In ten of the league’s 17 sports, LHS is in the conference’s toughest division. For example, in football the Rangers will share a division with Brunswick, Solon, Medina, Strongsville and Elyria. All five of those schools had winning records in 2006, and some of them are considered among the finest programs in the state. In most sports, schools will play each of their division mates once or twice per year, plus play some games against schools from the other divisions. Other LHS programs that have been placed in the NOC’s toughest division (called the Valley Division) are volleyball, boy’s soccer, boy’s basketball, track, boy’s golf, softball, cross country, swimming and diving, and gymnastics. For more information on the conference, including a complete rundown of divisional breakouts and schedule formula for every sport, visit the conference website www.neohc.org.

NEW TURF AT LAKEWOOD STADIUM

Not only will LHS fans see new teams on the field this fall, but they will see a new field. Lakewood Stadium has been resurfaced with state-of-the-art FieldTurf. Unlike old-fashioned fake turf, which feels and plays like a carpet, FieldTurf is an artificial surface that is designed to replicate grass. FieldTurf is used in hundreds of stadiums and practice facilities around the country, including by the National Football League, Major League Soccer and NCAA college football teams. The project cost over $600,000, nearly two-thirds of which will be paid from rental fees. In addition to being home to LHS teams, the stadium is used for St. Edward football games, CYO events, and other activities.