My son has been running a lot of post routes, curls and mostly timing throws. For a first year player in the starter division he has pretty good size almost four foot tall and 45 pounds.

 

The first sentence combined then with the second sentence makes me laugh.

So then, every public school head football coach should bow down to parental demands every time the Beechwood, or Cov Cath or Highlands card is played?????

So then, every public school head football coach should bow down to parental demands every time the Beechwood, or Cov Cath or Highlands card is played?????

 

Who said that?

They owe the feeder program nothing beyond their best effort while participating. In fact, many kids today select the "feeder program" they participate in out of self interest. This "self interest" issue doesn't start with choosing a high school. Kids and their parents choose AAU, select teams, etc. starting at young ages today. There are kids that participate in the Ft. Thomas Youth Football league knowing they will not attend Highlands. They choose that league because they like the way it is run. They don't owe Highlands anything. If a kid from St. Pius plays on the CCH 8th grade team and then decides that Holy Cross is a better fit for him, should CCH be upset? Disappointed perhaps but you can't fault a kid and his parents for doing what they think is best for them.

 

In addition, just because the feeder program is good and you learned a lot doesn't mean the high school program is the right place. There are different coaches, a different school and other factors that come into play. There is no obligation to go to a particular high school just because you went to their feeder school.

 

High school is a very brief and crucial time for young men and women. There is so much development that happens and sometimes a school just isn't the right fit. If that is true, there is absolutely no reason - including "loyalty" - that says that child should continue to attend that school.

 

The reverse of this question is interesting. If there are 2 kids on your team that play running back in the Ft. Thomas Jr. Football league, 1 is going to NCC and one is going to Highlands. Essentially the FTJFL is a feeder for Highlands. The NCC kid is a better player. Should the coach play the kid that is going to Highlands, or the kid that is going to NCC? Does the league owe it to the kid to let him play, or does the league owe it to Highlands to develop the player that is going to Highlands?

What about them? If they're good enough to play they'll play.

 

What % of kids in a feeder program go to another high school?

 

Kids that are superstars in youth football often fizzle in high school and kids that are obscure in middle school can develop into great high school players. A lot has to do with rate of development and kids who decide to play elsewhere deprive other kids the oppertunity to develop.

The reverse of this question is interesting. If there are 2 kids on your team that play running back in the Ft. Thomas Jr. Football league, 1 is going to NCC and one is going to Highlands. Essentially the FTJFL is a feeder for Highlands. The NCC kid is a better player. Should the coach play the kid that is going to Highlands, or the kid that is going to NCC? Does the league owe it to the kid to let him play, or does the league owe it to Highlands to develop the player that is going to Highlands?

 

I don't want a coach in my program that will punish a kid who might go another high school.

Kids that are superstars in youth football often fizzle in high school and kids that are obscure in middle school can develop into great high school players. A lot has to do with rate of development and kids who decide to play elsewhere deprive other kids the oppertunity to develop.

 

OK.

So if the player does not owe anything to the feeder program in which they participate, why should the school even have a feeder program if there is so limited return on the investment of the coaching staff? What about the kids who would have otherwise played and been committed to the school?

 

I agree with Clyde. The programs aren't seeing boatloads of kids heading elsewhere. For those who do, from an athletics perspective, I'd call that the price of developing your program. If you put money into a feeder program for your school, you simply should expect that you're not going to end up with all of those kids playing at your school on a varsity level, one way or another. What is the difference in losing a kid to another school, or losing a kid to disinterest in the sport? None as far as I'm concerned. It's asking an awful lot of a 10 year old to decide then and there what high school sports they're going to play and at which school they will be playing them.

The reverse of this question is interesting. If there are 2 kids on your team that play running back in the Ft. Thomas Jr. Football league, 1 is going to NCC and one is going to Highlands. Essentially the FTJFL is a feeder for Highlands. The NCC kid is a better player. Should the coach play the kid that is going to Highlands, or the kid that is going to NCC? Does the league owe it to the kid to let him play, or does the league owe it to Highlands to develop the player that is going to Highlands?

 

Well since you're using the FTJFL as a model, they have a required amount of playing time for all players in all games. That makes it a non-issue in my eyes. Furthermore, that kind of a coach is not a good coach.

I agree with you, but isn't the objective of a high school youth feeder system to actually feed the high school it is intended to feed?

Who said that?

 

This is really the heart of the issue Clyde. Its about attempting to extort demands from the program (School , coach or administrator) on behalf of a kid. When parents can't accept no for an answer , they bail.

I agree with you, but isn't the objective of a high school youth feeder system to actually feed the high school it is intended to feed?

 

Yes, and I don't think any program with a feeder program will tell you otherwise...even after having a handful of players decide not to play, or that their future lies in another alma mater.

I don't want a coach in my program that will punish a kid who might go another high school.

 

If you are not committed to that high school, is it really your program?

I agree with Clyde. The programs aren't seeing boatloads of kids heading elsewhere. For those who do, from an athletics perspective, I'd call that the price of developing your program. If you put money into a feeder program for your school, you simply should expect that you're not going to end up with all of those kids playing at your school on a varsity level, one way or another. What is the difference in losing a kid to another school, or losing a kid to disinterest in the sport? None as far as I'm concerned. It's asking an awful lot of a 10 year old to decide then and there what high school sports they're going to play and at which school they will be playing them.

 

Those programs are not in Kenton County. Dixie and Simon are devastated by Beechwood and Cov. Cath annually.

This is really the heart of the issue Clyde. Its about attempting to extort demands from the program (School , coach or administrator) on behalf of a kid. When parents can't accept no for an answer , they bail.

 

...and if it's my program, then I'm happy to see them bail. I don't want a kid like that poisoning the water at my school.