So, the football coach gets Spring practice to evaluate what he'll have in the Fall. Basketball coaches have open gym to evaluate what they may have in the Fall/Winter. And baseball coaches have about a month (Feb 15th to March 27th) to see what they may have. That really seems fair.

 

Thank Heaven above that there are such organizations like Babe Ruth that have leagues for the HS age kids that want to play only baseball, so that they can get better.

 

I see it this way, if a kid wants to play two, three different sports, so be it. But, if a kid only wants to play one sport and excel in it, give him the opportunity to do so. Football and basketball are the only two that get this opportunity.

If he just wants to play one sport, then why is spring football an issue? I know baseball coaches that have months of evaluation before practice actually starts.

Not feeling the love SM :banana: ; not feeling it at all. We'll just disagree about a lot of things in your last post ( but probably can't agree with your assertion that I'm a meathead however, dang it. But for the record, at least this meathead knows when to spell the word "won" and when to spell it "one").

 

You picked up on one of my rare mistakes. :irked: About the meathead, takes one to know one.

If he just wants to play one sport, then why is spring football an issue? I know baseball coaches that have months of evaluation before practice actually starts.

To me the issue is the timing of the practice, as opposed to the practice itself and I believe most Baseball people would agree.

 

For instance, if Baseball was granted a 14 day evaluation period in August or October, would most of these kids have to choose which one they attended...Yes, more times than naught. This is what happens during spring football practice.

 

I'm sure some coaches work together, while others have the mentality about the importance of their program, which I understand.

 

Bottom line for me, if Basketball has an out of season period (which it does) and Football has an out of season period (which it does), than Baseball needs one as well....Modifying so the 3 never overlap, is the goal and should be the main focus of coaches, Board of Control, A.D's and school officials....Let's not "force" the kids to choose, because some won't like the choice.

At Lynn Camp the football and baseball coaches work well together on this issue. The football team puts off practice until about 5:00 while baseball practice is directly after school. Any baseball player who wants to participate in spring practice will just come over to the practice field after baseball practice is over. They are usually a little late but it has worked pretty well. We have had baseball players who chose not to participate in spring practice which is their option. It doesn't usually affect their playing status. In general, the kids are eager to get over to football practice. This doesn't have to be such a devisive issue if both coaches are willing to compromise a little.

You picked up on one of my rare mistakes. :irked: About the meathead, takes one to know one.

 

 

I almost want to correct another one of your mistakes: the meaning of the word "rare" but I won't. You are just too nice of a guy for me to pick on!

I almost want to correct another one of your mistakes: the meaning of the word "rare" but I won't. You are just too nice of a guy for me to pick on!

 

:irked: You're old. Or is it olde? :banana:

:irked: You're old. Or is it olde? :banana:

 

See what I have to deal with Sticky. :argue: Although I'm going to have to agree with the Neck of Leather on this issue. That shouldn't surprise you. However LN just remember if you have any chance of getting a seat for the Highlands vs. Elder game, you had better start being nice to Sticky today. :bunny:

See what I have to deal with Sticky. :argue: Although I'm going to have to agree with the Neck of Leather on this issue. That shouldn't surprise you. However LN just remember if you have any chance of getting a seat for the Highlands vs. Elder game, you had better start being nice to Sticky today. :bunny:

 

Oh how the tables have turned... :fire:

:irked: You're old. Or is it olde? :banana:

 

 

You're right about that at least.

At the small schools...players can play more easily than at the large schools. At a larger school, especially one with a gloried gridiron tradition, the "unspoken emphasis" is NOT to miss spring ball ...for reasons that "Neck has stated above. A player can gain or lose a position in the Spring. The kids just have to "weigh the risk"....which is a decision they really shouldn't have to make if they really want to play a Spring sport. The spring rule is 3 weeks to get 15 practices ??? Why so much ?? Didn't it used to be a week ??

At the small schools...players can play more easily than at the large schools. At a larger school, especially one with a gloried gridiron tradition, the "unspoken emphasis" is NOT to miss spring ball ...for reasons that "Neck has stated above. A player can gain or lose a position in the Spring. The kids just have to "weigh the risk"....which is a decision they really shouldn't have to make if they really want to play a Spring sport. The spring rule is 3 weeks to get 15 practices ??? Why so much ?? Didn't it used to be a week ??

 

 

3 weeks for 10 practices, not 15. I disagree about the unspoken emphasis. If you are playing another sport, Dale's fine with missing football. Actually the new head baseball coach is going to allow the baseball players play spring football but still play baseball. Smart move. Missing two weeks, unless there is an injury, isn't probably going to make a big difference come playoff time for 99% of the baseball players.

 

Thanks DMZ about my b-i-l. It was Mase. Dang shame.

Lets face it folks, sports are supposed to teach us about life and in life we are Forced to make some tough decisions. Alot of kids are trying for scholorships to college in their sport of choice and for alot of these kids thats the only way they can get to college. And these kids are afraid of blowing their ride by getting hurt in another sport.

So if these kids have to choose dont blame anyone. Its just the nature of sports doing its job which is teaching these kids about life.

 

 

I agree with you, but you have to consider that the majority of the kids playing high schools sports are not going to be playing in college, and most of them know it. It should be fun for the kids, yes sports teaches about life but lets not make too much of it. High school sports should be fun and entertaining for the kids, and for the ones who are going to play at the next level, coaches should support their decisions to play one, two or even three sports, but ultimately it should be the kids decision.

Spring practice should be done away with and even the dead period in the summer. A coach can tell alot about a player thru out the summer weight and conditioning program. The kids should be able to play baseball without it getting in the way of football. Theres no way a football coach can come up with a starting line up during spring practice. Spring practice is fairly new to Ky. football. I don't see where the benefit is when a coach doesn't have a full team to work with in the spring practice.

 

BTLA I disagree with doing away with the dead period. I think it's important for these kids to get a break from being boombarded by thier respective sport coaches.

 

One thing I do NOT understand is why is there only one dead period that includes ALL sports? Here is were Baseball really suffers. Right in the middle of the summer when most baseball leagues are in full swing their coach can't be their coach for two(2) weeks. Why isn't there a dead period for each sport?

I can not believe that the baseball players out there are not playing in fall leagues, spring leagues, etc. I have coached baseball and I know of many avenues a coach can travel to find all the extra tournaments for a school team. He may not be the "coach" of said team but they are playing well into October. These kids are still playing organized ball well into the summer with Babe Ruth and "select" teams as well. The basketball players are playing in summer leagues and spring tournaments. Now we are trying to make a case for getting rid of 10 extra practices for football(?) because it puts pressure on kids to make a decision. I can honestly say that the coaching staff I am familiar with has a hands off approach to the kids that are playing other school sponsored sports. I can not say that attitude is reciprocated by other coaches. There seems to be a lot of pressure from the basketball coach to lock these players up for 4 years. I have seen a lot of these players with potential given a pass to the varsity level as freshmen and given a false sense of hope that they are the next Jordan or LeBron. Seen a few good football prospects waste 2,3 & 4 years by not weightlifting. This in itself puts football in Kentucky behind the typical football power states like Texas, Georgia, and Florida. Yes, Spring football does make a huge difference as someone else already stated, an extra 40 practices or so in a four year career. We already get less practice time with the football players in Kentucky than any of the surrounding states. High school in general these days resembles a college atmosphere more than 20 years ago. I think we expect the students to be more decisive in other areas and this makes them prioritize their schedules more. All the club teams for Volleyball, Basketball, Baseball, seems like it is okay to occupy all the time available for these sports. Taking a physically (and mentally) demanding sport like football and give coaches the least amount of time to prepare the kids is not sensible.