Going to School with Jeff Marksberry

[Ram]

School's in session, everyone pay attention. Coach Marksberry is going to be providing a presentation on "Program Building" and if you don't pay attention, you may score badly on the quiz that follows. Listen up!

 

Coach Marksberry and his Pioneers are often criticized for playing a weak schedule.

Question 1: would you even been talking about Simon Kenton 10 years ago?

 

Don't answer now, we will go over the answers later.

 

Question 2: What is the one thing that a coach needs from his players?

 

Most of the criticizing comes from people at successful programs.

Question 3: Why is that?

 

Coach Marksberry has supplied us with the first part of how to build a program. He took a program that was little more then an afterthought in his area of the state and instilled belief and a winning tradition, short lived thus far, but tradition nonetheless given he is now coaching players that were in the youth league when it started.

Question 4: How did he do that?

 

Now, after a period of building, Coach Marksberry is getting ready to set off on the next phase of his mission, Question 5: He is going to do what?

 

Simon Kenton is relevant in Northern Kentucky. Simon Kenton is relevant in the state of Kentucky. Coach Marksberry made this happen right in front of our eyes, will other coaches and programs take note and follow his lead and thusly make the quality of football in Kentucky better? Is he the first person to use these tactics? No, it's been done before, and with success. Coach Marksberry paid attention. Will other high school coaches and fans?

 

Quiz Answers:

1. No. I would have excepted "only when saying other teams would have an easy game when they played Simon Kenton".

2. To "Buy in". By creating a winning atmosphere players will be more likely to "Buy in", if they see it work, they will duplicate it.

3. Because they probably don't remember, or were not there when their program was "Built" they only remember the success that followed.

4. This one is complex and has multiple phases, partial credit will be given: Phase 1: He scheduled down - scheduled weaker then a large school should to create a winning atmosphere, players don't care about how big an opponent is, they just want to win. Phase 2: He knows "strength of schedule" doesn't really mean anything - he wanted to create a winning atmosphere and didn't care about the strength of the teams he did it against. Phase 3: He upgraded the schedule: Not to far, just a little at first, this is where some coaches make a big mistake and want to upgrade the schedule too fast. Now, some of the teams he upgraded the schedule with are a little down right now, but he did move the schedule forward and the players see the name on the opposing jersey and used to think they would like to beat that team, now they are doing it.

5. Phase 4: Upgrade the schedule further - next year Simon Kenton will play Highlands and Covington Catholic (historically the strongest opponents in the region).

[Ram]

[TABLE=width: 500]

[TR]

[TD]Year[/TD]

[TD]Record[/TD]

[TD]Where Season Ended[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014[/TD]

[TD]3-0[/TD]

[TD]Unknown [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2013[/TD]

[TD]12-1[/TD]

[TD]Regional Championship[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2012[/TD]

[TD]9-4[/TD]

[TD]Regional Championship[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2011[/TD]

[TD]2-9[/TD]

[TD]First Round of Playoffs[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2010[/TD]

[TD]10-3[/TD]

[TD]Regional Championship[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2009[/TD]

[TD]11-2[/TD]

[TD]Regional Championship[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2008[/TD]

[TD]10-5[/TD]

[TD]State Runner-Up[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]57-24[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[BlueColonel87]

Marksberry is a good coach, person and friend. Best of luck.

[Hellbird]

Personally I've always thought 1A schools had the biggest disadvantage when it comes to building a program only because they usually have to at way up for non district games most of the time.

 

SK schedule really means nothing unless they at the best teams in the region IMO.

 

You ask what the best way to build up a program? I like what Marksberry is doing but there are others that have done better IMO.

Highlands is the perfect example of a team in this area that showed how to build through schedules. CCH is the next one I would think of.

 

Now if you want to talk about how to build a program from scratch. I have to point to none other than Randy Borchers. Brand new school with closed enrollment and the majority of his out of district games has been against the areas 6A schools. He ayes bigger schools and it seemed to serve him well. The first two years of the schools existence they didn't have the number of ayers needed because seniors could stay at their current school

When Cooper

Opened.

 

That meant he built the program from aging freshman out of necessity not because of talent level. Then made it to the title game in what was realistically only the third real year they had where true seniors who has been there from

The first year went up

Through the program.

 

That is who I'm pretty impressed with.

[Lawnboy13]

:deadhorse:

[bballguy]

[TABLE=width: 500]

[TR]

[TD]Year[/TD]

[TD]Record[/TD]

[TD]Where Season Ended[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014[/TD]

[TD]3-0[/TD]

[TD]Unknown [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2013[/TD]

[TD]12-1[/TD]

[TD]Regional Championship[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2012[/TD]

[TD]9-4[/TD]

[TD]Regional Championship[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2011[/TD]

[TD]2-9[/TD]

[TD]First Round of Playoffs[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2010[/TD]

[TD]10-3[/TD]

[TD]Regional Championship[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2009[/TD]

[TD]11-2[/TD]

[TD]Regional Championship[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2008[/TD]

[TD]10-5[/TD]

[TD]State Runner-Up[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]57-24[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

Winning consistently at a public school program that has to answer to a school board is impressive. I don't care who is on your schedule.

[Ram]

:deadhorse:

Come on. Give me something.

 

We both know that, more then likely, Simon Kenton is going to beat NewCath this week, was that possible 10 years ago? What do you think beating NewCath means to the Simon Kenton players? It doesn't matter what level NewCath is on this year or what class they are in, they are NewCath to the Simon Kenton players.

[Ram]

Personally I've always thought 1A schools had the biggest disadvantage when it comes to building a program only because they usually have to at way up for non district games most of the time.

 

SK schedule really means nothing unless they at the best teams in the region IMO........................

There is obviously more then one way to skin a cat, but Simon Kenton has utilized one of those ways and appears to be successful at it.

 

Your example of Cooper is a good story and a useful one, but I would contend it is more difficult to take a program that is used to loosing, then to take a brand new program and win. Not diminishing what Coach Borchers has, and is, doing but, I have seen many programs that have great players but just seem to not know how to win. Much of that is because they have never been in a winning program. I see underachieving programs continue to underachieve and I have to think they just don't "believe" it can happen. They are stuck in a bad mindset of excepting defeat because it is what they are used to.

[bballguy]

Personally I've always thought 1A schools had the biggest disadvantage when it comes to building a program only because they usually have to at way up for non district games most of the time.

 

SK schedule really means nothing unless they at the best teams in the region IMO.

 

You ask what the best way to build up a program? I like what Marksberry is doing but there are others that have done better IMO.

Highlands is the perfect example of a team in this area that showed how to build through schedules. CCH is the next one I would think of.

 

Now if you want to talk about how to build a program from scratch. I have to point to none other than Randy Borchers. Brand new school with closed enrollment and the majority of his out of district games has been against the areas 6A schools. He ayes bigger schools and it seemed to serve him well. The first two years of the schools existence they didn't have the number of ayers needed because seniors could stay at their current school

When Cooper

Opened.

 

That meant he built the program from aging freshman out of necessity not because of talent level. Then made it to the title game in what was realistically only the third real year they had where true seniors who has been there from

The first year went up

Through the program.

 

That is who I'm pretty impressed with.

 

Highlands does not have to answer to a public school board and administration. There is no district executive that tells you when you can practice, where and when you can travel and they don't tell what you can do with the money your program raised.

 

No one has had to build anything at Highlands in decades. They only had to maintain the culture that was there. Big difference. We in Independence know where we came from and as a result we retain our humility. Some have much difficulty in this area.

[kypride]

Simon Kenton also does a couple of things that other coaches are afraid to do. Platoon and balance the offense.

[Ram]

Simon Kenton also does a couple of things that other coaches are afraid to do. Platoon and balance the offense.

Very valid point, and they were able to install the platoon system against a weaker schedule and get the players to "Buy in" to the Platoon system. Platooning is going to prepare Simon Kenton for a much stronger schedule next year.

[Ram]

Highlands does not have to answer to a public school board and administration. There is no district executive that tells you when you can practice, where and when you can travel and they don't tell what you can do with the money your program raised.

Highlands is a public school and has a School Board and Superintendent just like any other public school.

[bballguy]

Highlands is a public school and has a School Board and Superintendent just like any other public school.

 

Highlands is Independent, like Beechwood and Walton-Verona. They are not part of Campbell County School District. They get to make way more decisions locally.

[Ram]

Highlands is Independent, like Beechwood and Walton-Verona. They are not part of Campbell County School District. They get to make way more decisions locally.

I understand how Independent Schools work, but you said: "Highlands does not have to answer to a public school board and administration. There is no district executive that tells you when you can practice, where and when you can travel and they don't tell what you can do with the money your program raised."

 

That is incorrect, Highlands does have a public school board and administration, just like every other public school.

[Voice of Reason]

Marksberry has done a very nice job and I do think all the moves you outline worked well at Simon Kenton. However, there is one other major factor, probably the biggest factor of all, that has led to Simon Kenton's success - demographics. Simon Kenton's district has been a boom town over the past 15 years. From 2000 to 2010, Independence has grown by 65%. At one point it was one of the 100 fastest growing cities in the United States. Huge growth with nice homes. That gives you a lot more good kids and families to work with. IMO, this is reason #1 for Simon Kenton's improvement.