Ohio.
It is the home state of eight U.S. presidents, the creators of the world's first airplane and the first man to orbit Earth.
It also will be home of an international football "first" in 2009 when high school-aged national teams from eight nations, representing four continents, arrive in Canton near the globally-recognized Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ohio High School Athletic Association Commissioner Daniel Ross, Ph.D., is among those eagerly awaiting the tournament, formally known as the 2009 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Junior World Championship. As the sport's national governing body on youth an amateur levels, USA Football will assemble Team USA. America's team will be composed of the country's most talented graduating high school seniors.
"This team gives youngsters a tremendous opportunity to participate and represent their country," said Ross, who has 30 years of experience as a school administrator in Ohio as a superintendent, principal, teacher, counselor, coach, and sports official. "Some people only get this opportunity in the Olympics. This gives good kids and top coaches an opportunity to come together as Americans to represent the United States against seven other countries and do it at the birthplace of football.
"It's likely that student-athletes or coaches from Ohio who may be part of Team USA have been to Canton, but many others across the country may not have," added Ross. "They'll have a chance to experience the Hall of Fame, see where Paul Brown coached, and play in marvelous facilities."
All 50 state high school athletic associations and the District of Columbia are invited to nominate at least 10 players to compose a talent pool from which Team USA's coaching staff will select its roster next spring.
Team USA qualifies for the tournament as its host nation. Joining the United States as an automatic qualifier is Canada. Due to the long-time strength of its junior national team program in international play, the Canadian team will hold the No. 1 seed with the USA positioned as the No. 2 seed.
The tournament's six open seats will be claimed by February 2009 from the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
"High school athletics are about having fun and participation," adds Ohio's Ross. "Now, not to add pressure, but in this tournament, this team will participate at a high level. With ‘USA' on their jerseys, there are some higher stakes involved with that. That said, this will be a tremendous learning experience. They'll make friends that they'll have for the rest of their lives.
"Five years from now, I can imagine a team reunion with the coaches and kids that would have just finished college. This is what makes sports great - the friendships, the lessons learned - and USA Football is providing those opportunities."
Team USA's head coach will be selected among the high school ranks by USA Football by August 1. The team's coaching staff will be assembled before the 2008 high school football season kicks off.
"This is going to be a tremendous experience for the kids," said Ross, "and they couldn't be with better people than those at USA Football and Team USA's coaching staff, which I'm sure will be a great collection of coaches."