Frasier named Troy Football Coach.

Written Sunday January 29th at 12:00 PM

The Troy Colts have their new football coach in a former player and assistant.

According to the Troy Patch, the Colts have named Chris Frasier as their new head football coach replacing Gary Griffith.

Griffith stepped down from coaching at Troy for 42 years last season.

Frasier was an assistant for nine years under Griffith and is currently the Junior Varsity Girls Basketball coach at Troy under Simon Bato.

According to the Press Release it said "Troy High has a long tradition of success and the Troy High Administration are extremely enthusiastic about the future of the program. Chris has a proven track record as a coach and an educator of motivating, educating, and energizing our students. Whether it's on the field or in the classroom, Chris expects nothing but the best. Chris is passionate about instilling positive values of football in our community's youth."

The Colts have been struggling as of late with numbers despite being one of the biggest schools in Oakland County. Troy did not have a Freshman Football program last season.

The Colts haven't made the playoffs since 2009. Last season they were 3-6 and 3-3 in the Blue. Troy is 20-45 since 2009 and they have not beaten their city rivals Troy Athens since 2012.

To make matters worse thanks to protest from smaller schools, Troy was forced to move up from the Blue to the White this season. The Colts will see teams like Harrison, Oak Park, Stoney Creek, Groves, Seaholm, Berkley, and Rochester.

The Troy High School Administration according to the Press Release is very confident that Frasier is the right guy that will get the Colts football program heading back in the right direction. "With Chris's tireless leadership, we are confident that the Troy High football program will once again be a major competitor in the MHSAA, continuing the strong program established by Gary Griffith in his 42 years of coaching at Troy High."

Thoughts.

The Colts decided to go in house with their new head coach just like Orion and Farmington did with their respective football coaches.

I read the press release from the Troy School District. It was an interesting to say the least that they talked about making the Troy football program to be a major competitor despite the fact they have a really difficult schedule this upcoming season.

Frasier has a lot of work to do to fix the Colts football program. He has to get the freshman football program back so it would keep players in the program. It's no excuse with how big of a school Troy is to not have a freshman football program.

Frasier has to fix the Troy Athens problem. The Colts have lost four straight to the Red Hawks in the city battle for Troy. A lot of the football kids have went to Troy Athens, so he has to fix that problem and convince the Troy Middle School students that Troy can also develop players like their rivals can.

Frasier has to get the Colts student body involved in the football program. Troy High has a strong academic school and is a powerhouse in soccer and band but football hasn't been it's strong point so Frasier has to get that going.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest updates on this developing story.

Elam and Patterson Leaves Bloomfield Hills and West Bloomfield.

Written Sunday January 29th at 12:10 AM

First it was Maddie Novak leaving Orion.

Now it's Jamia Elam and Samantha Patterson leaving their respective schools.

Elam has transferred from West Bloomfield to Birmingham Detroit Country Day while Patterson has transferred from Bloomfield Hills to Birmingham Marian.

This is the second straight weekend that White teams have taken a hit with transfer losses. Last weekend it was the Dragons with Novak leaving for Birmingham Detroit Country Day. Now this weekend it's both Elam and Patterson that are leaving their respective schools.

Elam and Patterson like Novak will have to sit out the rest of the regular season.

Bloomfield Hills has already lost Kathrine Prinna for the season to ACL injury now loses Patterson, their top three point shooter. The Blackhawks do have the talent to overcome Patterson's departure in guards Maryam Hashim, Grace Getz, and Becca Hancock. Also lets not forget they have Amanda Sape and Victorie Franklin as well.

West Bloomfield losing Elam will hurt them inside but that means that Rakiyah Curry will see extended time to develop her game. The Lakers still have Elam's older sister Jordyn along with some very good shooters in Destini Cannon, Kori Maxie, and Destiny Monroe.

Elam will be a junior next season joining Novak at Birmingham Detroit Country Day while Patterson will be a senior for Birmingham Marian.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest updates on this story.

Cioroch named Farmington Football Coach.

Written Saturday January 28th at 9:05 PM

The Farmington Falcons have their new football coach and it’s not John Erstine or Ryan Baker.

It’s Kory Cioroch.

Cioroch was hired to coach the Falcons replacing coach John Bechtel. Cioroch was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach under Bechtel last season.

Cioroch played linebacker at Berkley in his high school playing days.

He is a Special Education Teacher in the building at Farmington High School.

Cioroch will have a tough task rebuilding the Varsity Falcons football program that finished 2-7 (1-8 technically) last season. He also has to address the Farmington Freshman and Junior Varsity program which struggled last season as well.

The Falcons will be young once again led by offensive lineman and defensive end Donovan King this upcoming season.

Thoughts.

This is an interesting hire to say the least but like what Orion did with coach John Blackstock taking over the Dragons program. The Falcons decided to keep their head coach in house as well.

I’m very curious about this hire because if the Falcons get off to the same rough start like they did last season then there could be more turmoil. Last season Cioroch’s defense was terrible allowing 347 points (38.5 ppg), some which included 56 to West Bloomfield, 46 to Groves, 42 to Oak Park, 41 to Walled Lake Western, and 40 to Harrison.

What should help Cioroch grow his team is that the Falcons are going to be back in the Blue division this season. Last season Farmington was in the White division, which didn't help things. When they were in the Blue they won the division in 2014 finishing at 7-3. They could be the favorite this season.

There are a lot of questions surrounding this program. Will this program be different??? We shall see.

Farmington opens up the season with Berkley in Week One.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for complete coverage on this story.

Johnson III Leaves Southfield Arts and Tech.

Written Thursday January 26th at 11:00 PM

Well Quarterback Sam Johnson III will be playing for the Warriors next season.

But it will be for a different set of Warriors.

Johnson III confirmed on his Twitter page that he is transferring from Southfield Arts and Tech and will enroll at Walled Lake Western next season.

With Johnson III's departure, it would mean that John Darby will become the starting quarterback for the Warriors next season.

Southfield Arts and Tech loses 43 seniors this season but they do return a solid core of talent for next season for coach Tim Conley.

The Warriors under Darby went to more of a read option game when Johnson III got hurt late in the regular season. Under Johnson III, Southfield Arts and Tech went to more of a spread attack, in which was huge in their big win over Clarkston. The Warriors won their final three games to make the playoffs with Darby leading them. They lost to Utica Eisenhower in the regional final last season.

It is expected that Johnson III will be the starting for Walled Lake Western next season. He will be a junior  and holds multiple Division One College Football offers. The Warriors went to the Division Two State Finals losing to Detroit Martin Luther King last season in the Division Two Final and will be in a new league with them departing from the Kensington Lakes Athletic Association.

Thoughts.

This move was clear that Southfield Arts and Tech was going to go to more of the read option attack with Darby than Johnson III. Johnson III is not a running quarterback (more of a pro-style) while Darby is a read option quarterback.

Johnson III  threw for 1.700 yards and 20 touchdowns as a freshman at Southfield saw that Walled Lake Western needed a quarterback with John Tracey graduating and playing College football at Harvard. He won’t have a Cody White to throw too but he will have wide receiver Justin Thomas and a trio of offensive lineman in Joey George, Zach Fodal, Ryan Dickerson, and newcomer Spencer Brown, whom came over from Walled Lake Northern to protect him. Walled Lake Western will have four defensive starters back as well.

For the Warriors, they have Darby and some athletic running backs to fill the void. Also, Southfield Arts and Tech has depth. They will be fine moving forward.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest updates on this developing story.

Best and Worst Basketball Uniforms Both Girls and Boys.

Written Wednesday January 25th at 6:40 PM

Here are my top ten best and worst basketball uniforms this season. Don't be offended if I criticize your uniforms so here they are and enjoy.


Best.

1. Royal Oak (Girls): The name RAVENS along with a simple blue and white design on the black uniforms and the black and blue design on the white uniform makes the look plain and simple.

2. Orion (Both Boys and Girls Alts): The Dragons have a black set of uniforms which makes them fierce in both Boys and Girls.

3. Adams (Boys Alt): The Highlanders gray uniforms take the cake. It is Adams best uniform and the design is fine as well.

4. Stoney Creek (Girls): Love the jerseys and the style of the uniform on both the whites and the blues. They just added new grays despite being 0-2 wearing them but they look good in them. Just beautiful.

5. Oxford (Girls): The blue line on top of the white uniform along with the gold line on top of the blue uniform is good for me.

6. Groves (Girls Home): The name Falcons decked in just green and no gold is great with me.

7. Harrison (Girls Home): The green and gold on the Hawks white jerseys are beautiful.

8. Rochester (Girls): The Falcons uniforms are very similar to Orion’s uniforms. They look pretty good especially their home white’s.

9. Troy (Boys Home): The home white with black and red trim is beautiful. It has a clean look to them.

10. North Farmington (Girls Road): The Raiders have a new dark black uniform with the name NORTH looking fierce with gold trim, I like it a lot.

Worst.

1. Southfield Arts and Tech (Both Boys and Girls): The Warriors look like a modified version of an American flag but without the stars with different colors on the top of the shorts. Also what I don't like is the team name on the back on the bottom of the jersey. The Adidas look on them is absolutely horrible that needs to be fixed NOW.

2. Clarkston (Boys New Uniforms): The Wolves have new uniforms and they don’t look good. The name Clarkston is in cursive which makes no sense. Is cursive starting to become the new norm here???

3. Avondale (Both Boys and Girls): Anything Adidas is not good. The Yellow Jackets wear Adidas and the road look doesn’t make sense.

4. West Bloomfield (Boys Home): The cursive Lakers name on the front of the jersey is not a good thing to do.

5. West Bloomfield (Girls): The new Lakers white jersey looks good on the front but the name “Lady Lakers” on the back is not a solid idea for a uniform. The road green I don’t like the cursive font on them at all.

6. Berkley (Girls Home): The name Berkley in White just doesn’t make the jersey look good. The maroon coloring on the number is good but the name is too white. Needs fixing for it to be good.

7. Seaholm (Girls): I thought the jerseys looked good until I looked at the back in which the number is there with the team name on the back. Please leave that look to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Men’s Basketball team please.

8. Bloomfield Hills (Girls): The word BLACK on top and HAWKS on the bottom with the number on the center is just awful. I mean this uniform design Nike made for Bloomfield Hills needs a makeover from day one.

9. Adams (Boys Home and Road): The small wording of Adams is not a good look. It’s odd and scary at the same time. If only the Highlanders can wear their alternates all the time, then it would be a good look.

10. Troy Athens (Girls Road): The road reds are an absolute disaster. Unlike the Boys which are also debatable the red uniform has no flow to it especially on the collar. Now Troy Athens has the best warmup with the Indiana red-white pants, just not the jersey.

Wondering if John Callahan would come to the OAA???

Written Monday January 23rd at 11:40 PM

I wonder if John Callahan would be interested in coming into the OAA???

Callahan resigned from Detroit Loyola on Monday. He was 86-16 in his eight seasons there. He took Detroit Loyola to four Division Seven State Championship appearances in the last five years.

Callahan’s teams weren’t afraid to play anyone on the schedule that was bigger in class or in school size. His teams played some tough Catholic League powers during his tenure.

Detroit Loyola had a 38-game winning streak from 2010-2014 in the process as well. He knows how to build winning programs.

Hmm Is It Possible???

Well if Callahan wanted a challenge there are two jobs available surrounding the OAA for football in Troy and Farmington.

Both the Falcons and Colts are in need of different directions after having rough 2016 seasons.

Both teams will present major challenges if Callahan were to take either job. With Troy, its rebuilding it’s freshman football program along with getting the kids to come out and play for the Varsity and Junior Varsity programs. With Farmington, they need to start over from scratch and rebuild the whole program.

The Colts will be in the White while the Falcons will be in the Blue this fall.

I’m just saying if Callahan were to coach at Troy or Farmington it will be interesting to see what type of program he would have with more students in the program.

That’s if he’s interested though, that's the question.

Cotter takes over at Royal Oak.

Written Monday January 23rd at 11:10 PM

The Royal Oak Ravens have brought in a veteran coach to take over their Girls Soccer program in Lisa Cotter.

Cotter spent two seasons as the Junior Varsity coach at Grosse Pointe North but does know the Royal Oak community very well. She coaches three different teams within the Youth program, which will help in the future. Cotter has spent time coaching soccer in Georgia before moving within the State.

The Ravens of the present had a disappointing season finishing at 5-15 losing to Troy Athens in the district semifinal. Royal Oak will have ton of experience coming back, only losing three seniors and the future of the program is bright as well.

The Ravens could be a sleeper this upcoming spring.

We’ll see what happens.