Athletic Director
Contents
A Message From the Athletic Director
The 2023-24 school and athletic year is underway. As always, there are specific items that must be accomplished prior to participating in any athletic event. Both parents and athletes must create a Final Forms account. In Final Forms, parents and athletes will find information on the Mandatory OHSAA Preseason Meeting. The items that must be covered are: Student Athlete Handbook, OHSAA Preseason Meeting Presentation, OHSAA Student Athlete Eligibility, Concussion Acknowledgement, ImPACT Testing Consent, Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness and the OHSAA Authorization. The athlete and a parent/guardian must review all the of the material and then both the athlete and parent/guardian must acknowledge that they reviewed and understand all of the requirements of being a student athlete at Houston High School. In addition to completing the OHSAA Preseason Meeting, all athletes must have an up to date physical on file at the school. The OHSAA will recognize an athletic physical for 13 months after it is completed. Furthermore, both a parent and the athlete must attend one of our three in-person OHSAA Preseason Meetings. Dates will be announced for the Winter and Spring seasons soon. All these requirements must be completed prior to an athlete participating in any practice, scrimmage, game or any other type of competition. If you have questions on how to accomplish any part, please contact the school.
I sincerely hope everyone has an outstanding year, and GO CATS!
Finally, my Arbitrary, Nonsensical, No Purpose, Musical Dedications:
Mr. Maier – I don’t do Bette Midler, this is as close as I can get, though. Kendra Morris “Wizards Float”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ED3_FxmFLw
One really for Mr. Maier – John Legend, “Who Did That to You”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyf4Z7RKOzs
Mr. Judy – One of the most Iconic bands ever! Queen “ Don’t Stop Me Now”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM
Christopher T. Knouff – Love and miss you brother, ACDC “For Those About To Rock”
Admission Prices
SCAL adopted athletic prices for 23-24 school year:
HS Volleyball and Basketball
Students: $5.00
Adults: $7.00
JH Volleyball and Basketball
Students: $5.00
Adults: $5.00
Adult and Student Activity Passes
As long as governmental mandates remain the same regarding Covid-19, the Athletic Department will again be offering student and adult athletic passes. Athletic passes can be purchased through the front office. The fee for a student pass is $50 and an adult pass can be acquired for $100. The Golden Wildcat pass will also be offered to our senior residents, 65 years or older, free of charge. In addition to the pass, Houston students will have the opportunity to purchase a Houston High School t-shirt for $20. As in the past, with the purchase of the t-shirt the students will be able to enter any home high school or junior high event for $1.
The athletic department will once more be broadcasting all of our athletic events, which are to be held in the auxiliary gym and the high school gym, over the NFHS Network system. A subscription is necessary to view the games. An annual pass can be purchased for $79.99 and a monthly pass can be had for $11.99. To subscribe, please visit nfhsnetwork.com/subscribe/retail.
Mandatory Preseason Meetings
The Ohio High School Athletic Association requires the Houston High School Athletic Department to hold preseason informational meetings for parents and athletes in grades 7-12. A parent and athlete are only required to attend one of these meetings per school year. If a parent and athlete attend the fall meeting, the parent and athlete do not have to attend the winter or spring meetings. Please mark your calendars and plan accordingly. Again, this is a mandatory meeting and your child’s participation will be declined until the requirement is met.
A large portion, of the elements required by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) and Houston High School, is accomplished through the school’s online FinalForms system. Therefore, when parents/guardians go online to enroll/update their student’s information for the 2023–2024 school year, many of the mandatory preseason “meeting” requirements can be completed at the same time. As in the past, both the student and parent/guardian must indicate their understanding and acceptance of each component required by the OHSAA and Houston High School. It is imperative that these components are completed by both the parent and student. Again, both the student and parent must login to their own individual FinalForms account and complete the requirements and acknowledge their participation, by signing each portion.
To access FinalForms, on the main menu go to “School Information” then “Registration & Forms” and then click on “FinalForms.”
Helpful Links for Wildcat Fans
Southwest District Website – Get tournament and other valuable information for our part of the state
Ohio High School Athletic Association – Rules, OHSAA bylaws, tournament information, etc
Coaching Staff
HS Cross Country
Bill McKinney
Teresa Knouff
JH Cross Country
Bill McKinney
Teresa Knouff
HS Golf
Nate Fridley
Varsity Volleyball
Lauren Vagedes
Karissa Allen, Assistant
JV Volleyball
Catryn Mohler
JH Volleyball
Dana Anthony, 8th Grade
Janelle Hillard, 7th Grade
HS Girls Track & Field
Jack Earl, Lisa Earl
Steve Mowery, Assistant
Wes Ritter, Assistant
HS Boys Track & Field
Jack Earl, Lisa Earl
Steve Mowery, Assistant
Wes Ritter, Assistant
JH Girls Track & Field
TBA
JH Boys Track & Field
TBA
Varsity Softball
Tammy Vondenhuevel
Beth Shaffer, Assistant
Varsity Baseball
Dan Barker
Mike Ely, Assistant
JV Baseball
TBA
Varsity Girls Basketball
Brian Gillespie
Kyle Borchers, Assistant
JV Girls Basketball
Angela Ahrens
JH Girls Basketball
Madison Curtner, 8th Grade
Ainsleigh Spradlin, 7th Grade
Varsity Boys Basketball
Caleb Fledderjohann
Zach Freeling, Assistant
JV Boys Basketball
Steve Mowery
Freshman Boys Basketball
Brian Crim
JH Boys Basketball
Kennedy Hickman, 8th Grade
Bill Shoffner, 7th Grade
Cheerleading
Brooke Duncum, High School
Ashley Brown, Junior High