TigerDude13

I doubt many people will reply to this thread due to Iroquois lack of prominence in HS Football lately, however I will since by now most of you know how close I followed them last season... Personally, I think Coach Thompson is a good coach in a difficult situation. Yearly struggle with numbers and an apparent lack of support from the administration makes this a difficult job. Not to mention the fact that I think they graduated something like 14 seniors off last years 4-7 squad. They were very successful last season in the first half of the season going 4-1 and then had to suffer a brutal district (Male, X, PRP, Manual & Butler) to close out. Next season should be a tad bit easier with teams in their district being more on the same caliber of talent and numbers. I think they have Waggener, John Hardin and I can recall who the 4th team is in that district, but at least its more competitive for them. With that said, I know they are returning an solid O-line with 4 starters having at least 3 years varsity experience. They should have some talent returning with Steve Bowen and Dominque Spearman at receivers but like last season, this year they may struggle to find a quality QB to handle the job. Defensively, they run a 3-5-3 which suits them since they lack real Defensive Linemen but have decent sized guys to play QB. Since Thompson is a defensive guy, I expect them to be good on Defense and struggle offensively. Since they lost their OC, I dont know what type of offense they will run in 07 but i would expect it should be something of a running attack (unless they get a good QB in there). Bottom line is, they need to have a good turnout and get some good numbers out there, keep them eligible and maybe they can develop a solid running game behind their O-Line. I look for them to finish 2nd in the district with a 5-5 finish and their first visit to the playoffs since the early 90's. Good luck Raiders in 07!

Legally, any person, including the average citizen, has the right to inquire as to any institution's current status with their hiring process. This includes information pertaining to applications, a list of candidates who have undergone interviews, etc. Most people who call are probably told something along the lines of "we cant verify that information at this time" or some jargon that prevents the release of any information. However, the mistake many schools make is the assumption that they are legally protected from giving out that information which is incorrect. As someone mentioned, it really becomes a matter of how knowledgeable someone is in the law and is able to correctly ask for the information within the limits of the law. The reason why most schools or newspapers dont print this type of information is because it is often viewed as not newsworthy, except for when the decision has been made. Now for a little bit of reality: The other reason they dont print this information is become some schools do not abide by the rules pertaining to the hiring process. Some ADs and Principals know who they want and will contact the coach and ask if they are interested. If so, then they say "ok, its yours but we cant make a formal announcement until the deadline passes for how long the opening is required to be made public". In the meantime, ADs are gifted at "we are reviewing resumes and will be making interviews in the next few weeks, blah blah blah." And yes, the school will keep a few resumes in case they get called on this. However, even though the decision has already been made, they can easily say that they are following proper protocol. Thus, one of the nasty results of all of this is when coaches are hired and their current school has bitter feelings now because it was all done secretly. Thats just a chance you take, I guess, when you're a coach. But another thing to consider is that there is no privacy because an AD or a Principal can, and sometimes does, call the coach's current school to get background information on that coach. But this is nothing new because this type of thing happens everyday in normal worklife. If you want to change jobs, you have to assume the risk that your current employer may find out that you are attempting to do so. However, people should keep in mind that you can not be fired just because you are looking for another job elsewhere. (even though bosses can easily make up a good reason to let you go anyway).

Does anyone know anything about Western (Louisville)? I just heard a few days ago that their HC has just added a Williams person to his staff as the OC. I tried to call my buddy at Male to see if this was the same guy as his son but can not get a hold of him. I know Western is usually loaded with speed and did well last year but thats about it. Anyone else have any info on them pertaining to what they are like or personnel changes/additions? Would appreciate it. Thanks

I didnt mean to imply that he ran at 4. anything AT Louisville, just that he was timed by UL who was also recruiting him to run track. (BTW, he later went on to star on Tennessee's track team at the time they were the cream of the crop in Track in college). And since Redman had (and still does) such close ties to UL, Redman asked them to come and time some of his kids to assist with putting out recruiting stats. They came out to do "official" 40 times & Brian was timed in the 40 at 4.18, 4.27 and 4.24 on three trials. I remember it well because I was there and I can still remember the look on Redman's face when he saw the results. Too bad he couldnt catch and hated contact, otherwise, who knows what he could have accomplished. he was a pure track kid with no football skills at all. Almost like being 6 foot 8 and having no basketball skills. And H, your right, Raspberry could blow by Pointer. But it was fun to watch them run relays together in track.

Some people may not remember these guys but I think they are certainly up there as being the fastest. They hail from the 93 Male championship team: Chris Pointer (He was timed as 4.2 by UL his senior year. Once he got any open field he was GONE!!! There was also Rondell Menendez the same year at Eastern HS. And most people may not even know about this next kid: Brian Raspberry at Male in 93. Only played a few downs because he wasnt a real football player but a pure track star. But Redman gave him the ball a few times in games that were already decided and let me tell you....this kid could F-L-Y!!!! At that time, he was the only player to EVER run a 100 meter in less than 10 seconds. He ran for a 87 yard TD off a sweep play and just left everyone behind once he got to the corner. It was amazing what kind of speed he had.

I'd like to know where "the word" is coming from because this sounds almost absolutely ludicrous to me. Now, this is only my personal opinion of course, but I think to leave the 6-A becuase of having to play X & Trinity on a yearly basis would almost be like "wussing out" and I cant see Redman, as much of a competitor as he is, bowing out of 6-A just because he would no longer have to deal with X & Trinity. Redman is still one of the best coaches in the state and I would have to think that he would want to end his career coaching at the highest high school level. Im not knocking Central, but to go from 6-A to 3-A is as a head coach, though not impossible, doesnt seem to fit Redman's persona. Yes, this is going to be a highly sought after position but I look for this position to be filled by someone who has been fairly successful at someplace other than Male. And, I hate to say it, but considering the population, tradition and other factors, I am guessing that the administration will take a hard look at hiring an African-American coach for this position. You can bet that there is probably going to be some intense pressure from the African American community to hire a black coach. Just look at the recent news with Rev. Coleman and his points on the Super Bowl coaches being black and his charge for the NCAA to adopt interview processes to allow for more diversity opportunities. So I can easily see this becoming a political hire. Not that this is the right thing to do, but I can see it happening. With all of the talent at Central, now would be a perfect opportunity for the Black community to call for a black coach to come in and become successful in leading a school that has such strong ties to the black community and history. But that is just my opinion on this matter. Good luck Central becuase I can easily see this becoming a very hot issue in the course of the next few weeks/months. And good luck to whoever they hire.

Are we talking about Championships or just overall Dominance??? If you go by Championships, then yes, I would have to agree that Trinity is in a certain class themselves about all else with all the trophies. However, if we are talking about "Dominance", then it would hard to eliminate the "other 2" as we have referred to. I remember a few years ago that Trinity won a state title after starting the year off 0-4. Not a dominant team but one that learned from their mistakes. Male could easily be argued as having dominated this season (pardon the woulda, coulda talk) and fell short of beating Trinity this year. To me, a dominant team is one that that repeatedly puts forth 10 and 9 win seasons year in and year out. Not saying that Male and X do that every year and are the dominant teams, but i would argue that if we are comparing championships to overall play, the first would have Trinity in their own league...but the latter HAS to continue to include X & Male. And for that matter, I dont see them letting up any time soon. Maybe its just the way I am reading this thread. Though I guess you could argue that Trinty has dominated their district in years past. Then again, so has Male and X. Bottom line is....i think its comparing two different things.

About a month ago, I posted an announcement that my friend's son had left Iroquois to become the OC at Spencer County High School. Although at the time, it appeared that this was going to be a new challenge Coach Williams and one that he was very eager and excited to take on. I found out last night that apparently SCHS and Williams have parted ways and Williams' father told me that this was due to SCHS administrators deciding that now (after the Williams' hire) they want all coaches to be teachers at the high school and Williams refused to leave his current teaching position in Jefferson Co. The way I was told, Williams had told the HC and Prinicpal during the interview that he had no intentions of leaving Jefferson Co as a teacher and they decided to hire him anyway since it was acceptable that he lived in Spencer Co. Now the adminstrators decided to change their stand and thus Williams was told he could not coach there if he wouldnt teach there. I called Williams last night and as of last night, he is not coaching anywhere. He would only say that he was disappointed by this decision but also said "While I dont understand what is going on since I was upfront about my desire to remain a teacher in Jefferson Co, it is their decision to make and I have to live with it and move on." I asked if he was going to return to Iroquois and he said that he had spoken with HC Shawn Thompson at Iroquois but that they have already hired his replacement and their staff is now full. Williams did say he knew they were going to move on and, though disappointed, he understood Iroquois' situation and their need to move forward. I asked several coaches and ADs that I know and they have said that they havent heard of anything like this before regarding assistant coaches. I know Williams very well and know him to be a great young man with a love for the game of football and has always been very committed to his teams and players. So I cant imagine what would have prompted this situation to occur. My question is this: Why do you hire an assistant coach knowing his desires upfront, let him leave his former program only to tell him that he can no longer be a coach because he wont come to your school to teach when you knew ahead of time that this was going to be the case and you still hired him???

I would like to add that I think its important for committees to eliminate a lot of these questions that are going to reveal NOTHING about the coach. Example: How long do you plan on being with the program? Ans: Every coach is going to say something along the lines of "I plan on staying for a very long time to show my committment to the development of the players and the program". I mean really...what candidate is going to honestly say "Im going to stay until something better comes along" What are your plans for the program? Ans: "I would like to develop a program that is a winner among the district and eventually lead us to the state championship and with the right attititude and effort among the staff and players, we should achieve that rather quickly" Again, what coach is going to say otherwise? All coaches want the same thing: A winning program What is your feeling on athletes and academics? Ans: "I think all athletes need to be students first and athletes second. I believe all my players will understand that being a good student is first and foremost and if they dont perform well in the classroom then they will not play. Fact: This usually applies only to those players who are not going to play much anyway. But it rarely applies to the All-American/All Stater that rushes for 2,000 yards but struggles to get even just a "D" in his classes. BEcuase some coaches will "make exceptions" and will have something in the works that the coach can show he is working with the student with his grades and therefore can still play becuase he is making an effort to do better via study skills, one on one work with a coach etc. In other words, I would suggest committees meet and decide "Lets ask questions that are reflective of the coach's experience and beliefs and see if they mesh with our desires and goals." I prefer committees, as someone said earlier, that ask the not so obvious question to get a not so routine answer that all the other coaches will say. Ask questions that are reflective of the coach as an individual. Typical practice schedule, game plan philosophies, scenarios & situations, etc. Lets face it...every coach is usually going to state the following: I am going to work with the administration, I am going to build a winner, I want to be here for a while, I want to improve and build on the current support from the community and student body, I am going to bring a system that will breathe new life into the program, I am going to be a disciplinarian when it comes to grades and work ethic on and off the field, I want to make these young men prepare for the their futures outside of football, blah blah blah."

First and foremost, they need to find a head coach and one that can, like other schools such as Atherton and Shawnee, be willing to stick it out for more than 2-3 years. In a place like Bullitt Central, you are going to be competing for athletes against East and North, so it is going to take some time. I cant see anyone turning a program around like this in 1 or 2 years. 2nd- Get back to the basics. Weight Training, basics on offense & defense and start building from the ground up. 3rd- Re-establish some pride in the program. Schools like Bullitt Central need a coach with a lot of energy and pride in their program to get the kids to buy into it as well. After years of 1, 2 maybe 3 wins seasons, moral and pride is probably gone (at least the confidence to compete and play). 2007 their district is very tough, with Male, Fern Creek and Southern. But over time, they could battle for that 2 and 3 spot as Im sure Male will undoubtedly be #1 in that district for years to come.

From what I saw, they play a 3-5-3 defense and I think they had to with the limited number of D-Linemen they had. Offensively, they ran a shotgun Spread offense, using 3 to 4 receivers. Last season, their QB was pretty good in that he had decent speed and a fairly good arm. The O-Line wasnt very good, RB was often hesistant (but that could be due to the O-line) and they had one pretty good receiver. They struggled often in the Red Zone and most points came on big plays. Defensively, they lacked fundamentals. Often times their D-Line didnt know where the ball was, LBs were fairly quick but didnt tackle well and secondary was pretty low and had many troubles covering WRs.

I would think that after 20 years of decline there are some major obstacles that have to be overcome. These include: 1. Establishing a coach who is willing to stick it out and grind out the tough times. Look at what Nichols has done at Manual. Early on, Manual was a doormat with some exceptions when they had senior dominated classes that would compete every now and then. But over time, he was able to get kids in there began to believe in helping him establish a foundation for success. I think Atherton needs a coach who is willing to to stick it out and stick around for a good long haul to help re-establish a foundation for success for the future. The mark of a good coach is when he can handle the disappointing seasons in preparing for success at a later date. 2. Atherton has not been known to be a football school for quite some time and so many of the athletes are going elsewhere, especially Seneca (Since they seem to compete for a lot of the athletes in a similar area. Atherton is known for other sports such as Cross Country, Soccer, etc. I can remember at times when they were pretty good at Basketball. 3. A coach needs to sell his program to current student-athletes. I think if he is honest enough to say "Look, Im not going to lie, we are going to struggle early on but you can be a part of something special in helping initiate a great turn around of this program. All we have to do is win a few games here and there and get some upsets now and then and we are on our way." Its a tough sell but one that I think can be done with the right person. From a teenager's perspective, sure no one likes to go 0-10 or 1-9 all the time but the sell has to be more than wins and losses. There has to be some sort of pitch that can get the kids out there to work hard for something more than a winning record. Something along the lines of "Look, I dont know what our record will be but lets look at other things like getting in shape, being a part of something and working towards being competitive. If we dont win, fine...but lets at least work at being competitive first then we can alter our goals each year. If we can first compete then we have something we can measure our success with. Eventually, games that we lose by 3 or 7 points can easily be seen as little victories for preparation of next year. All in all, I think it is just going to take a coach who is committed to being around for a good amount of time. I dont think anyone can deny a coach committed to a lengthy tenure is a great step towards eventual success.

I understand that there are going to be some coaching openings throughout the state as the off season wears on. So far, there are only a few openings (Berea, Hancock, Bullitt Central, Conner) to name a few off the top of my head. I have heard that some of these programs and adminstrations are going to "take their time" in selecting their next head coach. My question is: Is it better to wait as long as possible to begin the screening and interview process to get the best possible candidate (which sounds good) or move through it quickly so that a coach can get in as soon as possible so that they can begin the off season workouts as soon as possible so that the players dont miss much in terms of conditioning, strength work and begin the process of learning new schemes and expectations (which also makes sense)? Seems to me that if you take your time, your chances of finding the best candidate increases...however you run the risk of losing valuable off season work out time. I am guessing that most will wait until at least January (after Christmas break) to begin the process. What do you guys think? Pros and cons???

Here's a question for you: Ask the Trinity players what they care more about...having a Championship Ring on their fingers or being #1 in a final poll that really doesnt mean anything? Hmmm...gonna have think real long and hard about that one

With all the talk in other posts about whether he is going or staying....maybe its Beatty looking for a new challenge (LOL) :laugh: