Bay coach Cale LaRiccia talks with his team during a timeout at Battle 4 The Bay on June 18. (Travis Nelson — The Morning Journal)
Battle 4 The Bay’s growth is on full display as it has expanded by attracting out-of-state teams.
Six area teams accepted the challenge to compete and get better at the annual event held at the Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky on June 17-18.
The 45 teams were split into nine pools and the two-day event culminated in a single-elimination tournament. Olmsted Falls won a game to make it to the Round of 16, and Bay won its opening-round game. Both teams were upended by Rockford, a high-caliber Division I program in Michigan.
Vermilion fell in its opening game of the tournament, while Lorain, Keystone and Westlake opted out of it and only played in their pool play match-ups. No matter the results, area teams saw steady improvement playing in Sandusky.
“To us, the summer is about team culture and getting challenged,” Olmsted Falls coach Chris DeLisio said. “We want to play the best teams that we can. This event and some of the other camps that we go to, we always want to play the best. It’s going to penalize you for your weaknesses, but nothing gets you more prepared than knowing exactly what you need to work on.”
After winning four games in the 2022-23 season, Olmsted Falls doubled that total to eight a year ago. The Bulldogs bring back a lot from that team and are looking to take another step.
It was a solid two days for them with an overall 4-2 record. There is existing chemistry among their returners, but it never hurts to get more reps.
“It has been a seamless transition,” DeLisio said. “Our guys are figuring out their roles and doing a great job. They’re playing with a lot of confidence because of their experience. As a coach you always love that.”
There are always moving parts in the offseason no matter how many returners, but sometimes teams start from scratch. Vermilion is currently in that situation after graduating its senior core.
The Sailors finished 1-4 at Battle 4 The Bay, but new teams such as them see the most improvement attending events like this. Coach Kurt Habermehl is proud of the growth that he has seen from his young guys.
“It’s great because we have a lot of young kids that are trying to play on varsity for the first time,” he said. “Facing good competition like this will only help. You don’t know until you know, so now they’re seeing some of their weaknesses and seeing some of the things that we need to get better at. I’ll give them credit, they played their tails off the last two days. We’re getting better.”
Olmsted Falls returns a lot and Vermilion is basically a brand new team. Bay is somewhere in the middle.
The Rockets are trying to fit the parts together with a mix of returners and new players. They’ve been battle-tested this summer in the first offseason for Bay coach Cale LaRiccia. They finished 2-4 at Battle 4 The Bay with a win against Black River to open tournament play before falling to Rockford.
Bay is also a regular competitor in the Avon Lake summer league, so it has been seeing good opponents all of June. It’s preparation for what’s to come.
“I think it’s really important,” LaRiccia said. “We have a lot of great local talent here in Northeast Ohio, and we played two Division I equivalents from Indiana and Michigan. When we play team basketball and compete together as brothers, we can play with a lot of these teams.”
“We’re returning key starters and we’ve had welcomed additions to the program this summer. It’s important getting all of these guys to play together. They’re seeing the vision.”