Lorain City Schools athletics report: more participation, new website, Browns to supply flag-football gear

Lorain City Schools athletics staff told the Board of Education on Aug. 25 that fall-sport participation has increased across most programs and the district will soon launch a dedicated athletics website and app that will include ticketing and streaming links.

The report, delivered during recognition of visitors by a district athletics staff member identified in the meeting as Corey, said overall participation is up by about 35 athletes compared with last year and that some sports now have full rosters. "We have increased by 35 participants, from last year to this year," Corey said. He said volleyball fields freshmen, JV and varsity teams without relying on athletes crossing over between teams, and that both boys and girls have full cross‑country and golf teams.

Why it matters: higher participation can affect scheduling, transportation and coaching needs and may influence budget and facility use in coming months.

Corey and other staff described several operational changes and program additions. The district will launch a dedicated athletics website and app within about a week to host schedules, sport‑specific pages, a calendar of events and an integrated ticket link. The site will also provide streaming of games via TV20's YouTube channel. "They can get notifications," Corey said of the app feature. He added the ticket link will be tied directly to the site.

Middle school participation: the staff member said middle‑school football remains roughly the same as last year, at about 35 seventh‑grade players and 35 eighth‑grade players. Exact counts for some middle‑school teams were not provided.

Season passes and pricing: district staff said season passes are available and set by the league. The staff member reported fall adult season passes cost $20, winter passes $30 and an all‑season pass is $50; student season passes are $20 for the school year. Senior citizens 65 and older are admitted free to Lorain City Schools and Greater Cleveland Conference games.

Program additions and partnerships: the presenter said the district plans to add girls flag football in spring 2026 if the sport becomes sanctioned locally. The Ohio High School Athletic Association has run a postseason tournament and the presenter said participation grew from about 88 schools last year and could reach roughly 150 schools — the threshold he cited for becoming a sanctioned sport. "They expect it to be up to 150, which is the minimum number that's required for it to become a sanctioned sport," he said.

Corey said he contacted a Cleveland Browns representative and the team will supply uniforms and equipment for the proposed girls flag‑football program. "They're gonna pay for all of our uniforms and all of our equipment," he said.

Other youth and intramural programs mentioned included adaptive kickball (24–25 participants this summer), plans for adaptive basketball in winter, soccer camps and a planned bowling clinic with a local bowling partner. The district will also experiment with pickleball and indoor soccer this winter and continue existing camps and clinics.

The athletics staff closed by saying the program is expanding but trying to preserve quality and ensure the district can staff teams and camps appropriately; volunteers and coaches were credited. "We made a promise to our community to create opportunities and invest in opportunities to keep our kids in our schools and off our streets," the athletics staff member said.

Ending: Board members praised the growth and thanked staff and volunteers. No board action was taken on athletics during the meeting; the items reported were informational.