It has been well discussed that the Courier Journal All-State process consisted of less then 50% of coaches voting and widely speculated that, quite possibly, less then 50% of the coaches bothered to submit nomination for their players. Many reasons have been provided from coaches not having time to evaluate players from around the state, to ballots not counting for incompleteness. Perhaps coaches should not be charged with this responsibility due them not having time, or interest, in deciding who are noteworthy around the state.

 

The Best of the Bluegrass list seemed to eliminate linemen from the process and named the player with numbers only, with little consideration of much else.

 

Now, the Associated Press list is out and seems to be lacking in many areas, with the probable reason being some AP votes were not cast or not submitted properly.

 

Perhaps it's time for a reformatting of the All-State process doing away with the various lists and combining resources. Perhaps Coaches should have a vote along side the AP voters. In addition, perhaps there should be several "At Large" voters. People from around the state that follow football around the state and can take time to evaluate players.

 

I also take exception to the nominating process. Obviously, some coaches do not take the process seriously, or do not take the time to nominate their players, likewise, it would seem some AP members do not nominate players from their are either. Perhaps, in an effort to get the best possible players on the All-State Team, anyone should be able to nominate players. And, in doing so, they should have to submit a highlight video and a list of accomplishments. Then, after a player is nominated, the highlight videos and accomplishments could be placed on a secure network for all the members of the voting body to view. That would allow people who really want to take part in the All-State selection to make informed decisions and be able to evaluate all the players.

 

Just some random thoughts. What's your thoughts on the process?

Edited January 3, 201412 yr by Ram

I think the best and fairest way of doing it is simply having 1 All State All star team and let it be done by KHSAA. I think every coach in the state and AP writers for the regions should nominate so many players and once the list is compiled send it out to the coaches and writers and have them vote. Leave it at that.

 

The all star teams are a joke and embarrasment. Do away with all of them except for one.

The highlight video idea, while beneficial, would be a waste of time. NO ONE has enough time to watch 80+ videos.

 

It's a flawed process. No good way to fix it IMO. I have no clue who votes for BGP's team but even those guys can't say for sure who the best right tackle in the state is.

I think the best and fairest way of doing it is simply having 1 All State All star team and let it be overmatched by KHSAA. I think every coach in the state should nominate so many players and once the list is compiled send it out to the coaches and have them vote. You can add AP writers like they are supposed to for the AP list and include them on this and nominate players in the area they cover and combine both nomination lists and send them out to all coaches and writers who submitted nominations and have them vote for the team. Leave it at that.

 

The all star teams are a joke and embarrasment. Do away with all of them except for one.

I agree with much of what you propose, but I think adding others in the voting process, aside from the coaches and AP writers would bring a balance to the process. Both these two groups have proven to me that many of their members do not wish to be part of the process. By limiting the voting to just coaches and AP writers does not fix the problem with only half of each group actually voting.

 

I think having some "At Large" voters would fill some of the void. Perhaps some former coaches that are now retired and have more time to evaluate players, some Non-AP media members, or some other people that have proven to be knowledgable about Kentucky High School Football.

The highlight video idea, while beneficial, would be a waste of time. NO ONE has enough time to watch 80+ videos.

 

It's a flawed process. No good way to fix it IMO. I have no clue who votes for BGP's team but even those guys can't say for sure who the best right tackle in the state is.

I think there are some people that could be concerned about the All-State process enough to watch the videos. At least, keep track of the players around the state.

 

I tell you that the people that vote for the All Bluegrasspreps Team do watch a lot of highlight videos of players from around the state and read all the media coverage of players from around the state, in addition to combing though several hundred nominations. The BGP process is much more organized and involved then any other All-State Teams in Kentucky, I can promise that.

I think there are some people that could be concerned about the All-State process enough to watch the videos. At least, keep track of the players around the state.

 

I tell you that the people that vote for the All Bluegrasspreps Team do watch a lot of highlight videos of players from around the state and read all the media coverage of players from around the state, in addition to combing though several hundred nominations. The BGP process is much more organized and involved then any other All-State Teams in Kentucky, I can promise that.

 

I don't doubt that. I just don't think many voters are well-equipped to know OL play to accurately pick. That's not a shot. It's just saying they're not a)football people by trade and b)well-versed in line play.

I agree with much of what you propose, but I think adding others in the voting process, aside from the coaches and AP writers would bring a balance to the process. Both these two groups have proven to me that many of their members do not wish to be part of the process. By limiting the voting to just coaches and AP writers does not fix the problem with only half of each group actually voting.

 

I think having some "At Large" voters would fill some of the void. Perhaps some former coaches that are now retired and have more time to evaluate players, some Non-AP media members, or some other people that have proven to be knowledgable about Kentucky High School Football.

to the bolded part is why I said KHSAA should oversee the process so they can force the participation of all the coaches or they can hand down some type of fine or what have you.

I don't doubt that. I just don't think many voters are well-equipped to know OL play to accurately pick. That's not a shot. It's just saying they're not a)football people by trade and b)well-versed in line play.

I can promise you there is, at least, one person on the selection team that focuses on linemen and knows line play very well.

 

And, linemen get a lot of discussion. Every player on the All Bluegrasspreps Team is well vetted.

to the bolded part is why I said KHSAA should oversee the process so they can force the participation of all the coaches or they can hand down some type of fine or what have you.

I'm not big on that much government involvement. I would rather just have some people that want to be involved in the process.

I can promise you there is, at least, one person on the selection team that focuses on linemen and knows line play very well.

 

And, linemen get a lot of discussion. Every player on the All Bluegrasspreps Team is well vetted.

 

Refresh my memory: Is it just one team for the BGP team? 5 OL? 1 QB? etc?

Refresh my memory: Is it just one team for the BGP team? 5 OL? 1 QB? etc?

A 12 man offense (all positions with kicker), a 12 man defense (all positions with punter), and 12 man athlete team (players that excel in multiple positions), for 36 total players.

I'm not big on that much government involvement. I would rather just have some people that want to be involved in the process.

That would be the best scenerio but as we've seen year after year that it's usually the same coachesmetc that vote while many others don't which leaves out a lot of deserving kids, it's not their fault they are being overlooked nor is it fair they are overlooked.

 

It isnt just these two we are talking about but others too I have problems with. I will give you another example of a poor job in a top player list. NKYfan did a list ore season of top 100 players and then another after the season. Although it was a novel idea to do this, the outcome was a head scratcher. I will usem1 player to let you know what happened. Pre season list of who they thought the top players were going into the season they had a player and I wont hide it anymore and try to be politically correct because I've past the point of trying to be PC and watch these things continue. Fussinger for Cooper was listed in the top 25 players in NKY and they were simply looking at Hamas a WR only going into the season. He goes into the season and is among thhe state leaders in receptions through the majority of the season and leading everyone through 8 games. He finishes the regular season among state leaders in receptions and yards. He is top 5 in NKY in all WR stats and I. Top of that p,ayes both ways and finished 2nd I. The team with 7 sacks as well. After the season they release the top 100 players andnhendrops over 30 spots and finishes listed as the 12th best WR in NKY. This after he being named 1st team NKY All Star team as WR. ,as well as #A state all star team...how is that possible?

 

I sound sour and I apologize for that but it's after year after year seeing deserving players overlooked simply because they don't have the publicity or play on state title teams. I'm venting, but I have a problem with thesempostmseason awards, I'd rather just have 1 team honored and move on instead of all the different all star teams with the same areas being ignored.

I sound sour and I apologize for that but it's after year after year seeing deserving players overlooked simply because they don't have the publicity or play on state title teams. I'm venting, but I have a problem with thesempostmseason awards, I'd rather just have 1 team honored and move on instead of all the different all star teams with the same areas being ignored.

I understand your frustration, and it's warranted. The process has ran it's course and needs improvement or all credibility will be lost. "Fix it or do away with it", is my message to people involved.

For the broader teams - CJ and AP If you are going to the trouble of having 3 full teams plus another 2 or 3 teams in the HM catagory someone should be able to build a pool with the 'nominee's' from across the state fairly easily. Where do you start? How about KHSAA statistics. Like the voting process many teams do not post their statistics. Shame on them and shame on any coach who fails to do this for multiple reasons. Again - linemen and defensive postions can be tricky here. But you can use rushing yards and QB stats to help with offensive linemen, TFLs and Ts for defensive linemen, etc.

 

Use All-City teams and all-region teams as another input and ensure there is decent representation by class and by geographic region.

 

It seems like an overwhelming task but KHSAA has a bunch of the numbers. Other services like WLSTATs are extremely useful. Local papers provide the first level of vetting and validation. Its probably a lot less work than trying to communicate with 200+ coaches.

 

From there the task is more to sort into 2 or 3 teams and name HMs. This part gets subjective and is where some voting/input comes in. 1st, 2nd or 3rd team in all-state list - the arguments can last forever. But at least get those 72 spots as best as possible. And ensure those that were close are on the HM list. The glaring omissions from these state-wide 'broad' teams is not hard to address with a little leg work by the coordinators.

Is there an all BGPREPS team somewhere??