He did not play a snap on D his Sr yr...100% two platoon in 2009

 

 

Pretty sure he played some D against St X.

OBryan wore 32 for last few away games because the white jersey shrunk. He is a junior.

 

Jersey shrunk? Do the players still wash their own jerseys, or does the school do them now?

Pretty sure he played some D against St X.

 

Also in the Manual game, as well as the Johnson Central game. A much more limited role, but a role nonetheless.

Pretty sure he played some D against St X.

 

Also in the Manual game, as well as the Johnson Central game. A much more limited role, but a role nonetheless.

 

 

Ram might have an anxiety attack when he reads this.

Jersey shrunk? Do the players still wash their own jerseys, or does the school do them now?

 

school

Also in the Manual game, as well as the Johnson Central game. A much more limited role, but a role nonetheless.

 

 

Like Henry said 5 yrs ago a long time at this age...

 

Heck, I heard the kid sold popcorn in between snaps as well.:thumb:

 

Either way 2009 was Highlands proverbial coming out party for the two platoon or was 2010 the first yr that absolutely nobody played both ways? What is ironic is that team didnt have anywhere near the athletes but yet they 2 platooned...That was indeed a very mediocre team to say the least much like the 2014 team

I'll say this...the difference in Highlands and most of the state is not simply platooning. That is a part of it, but Highlands along with a select few others have this football thing figured out. Platooning is an advantage, but is not truly insurmountable given the right team. I really envy their youth program, what a benefit for their program.

 

To me, Highlands is as well coached, top to bottom as any program around. The community cares about football, and the kids are all in.

 

The talent level is high, but not to the point to where they'd have the dominance they do. Just an excellent program.

I'll say this...the difference in Highlands and most of the state is not simply platooning. That is a part of it, but Highlands along with a select few others have this football thing figured out. Platooning is an advantage, but is not truly insurmountable given the right team. I really envy their youth program, what a benefit for their program.

 

To me, Highlands is as well coached, top to bottom as any program around. The community cares about football, and the kids are all in.

 

The talent level is high, but not to the point to where they'd have the dominance they do. Just an excellent program.

 

I competely agree.. I love the concept of platooning. But unless you can field around 100 kids a year or have a feeder system like Highlands it may be out of reach for most teams. Personally I have always thought that with a feeder system that teaches kids the same things from day one has a great advantage. Then you add in the platoon system, which adds a great advantage, especially for schools that have the previously mentioned feeder system. Unfortunetly, Ashland has neither in place. Highlands has both.

I competely agree.. I love the concept of platooning. But unless you can field around 100 kids a year or have a feeder system like Highlands it may be out of reach for most teams. Personally I have always thought that with a feeder system that teaches kids the same things from day one has a great advantage. Then you add in the platoon system, which adds a great advantage, especially for schools that have the previously mentioned feeder system. Unfortunetly, Ashland has neither in place. Highlands has both.

 

The feeder is what I always notice about Highlands. Don't seem to be extremely big or even much faster than the competition, just good football players. Excellent conditioning, good fundamentals, football smart, and winners.

 

Seems like Highlands rarely ever has a kid out there that doesn't know exactly what technique to use, who to block etc. That's a tribute to tier coaching and the community around the program.

 

The Highlands system would work anywhere if given the opportunity to be run correctly with proper community buy in. Not as much X and Os (though there is plenty of that) as it is fundamentals and just good football. Not saying everyone else would have the kind of success FTH has had because they wouldn't. Just saying that most programs in the state could definitely learn something from the way Highlands does things top to bottom. Same could be said for many programs at the top of the state, but I've always admired the way the Bluebirds do business.

Like Henry said 5 yrs ago a long time at this age...

 

Heck, I heard the kid sold popcorn in between snaps as well.:thumb:

 

Either way 2009 was Highlands proverbial coming out party for the two platoon or was 2010 the first yr that absolutely nobody played both ways? What is ironic is that team didnt have anywhere near the athletes but yet they 2 platooned...That was indeed a very mediocre team to say the least much like the 2014 team

 

If I recall properly, 2010 was the first year that nobody played both ways; 2010 was the first year that the players only practiced on one side of the ball and were assigned to either O or D; in 09, you had a few O only and a few D only, but most of the players practiced on both sides of the ball.

I'll say this...the difference in Highlands and most of the state is not simply platooning. That is a part of it, but Highlands along with a select few others have this football thing figured out. Platooning is an advantage, but is not truly insurmountable given the right team. I really envy their youth program, what a benefit for their program.

 

To me, Highlands is as well coached, top to bottom as any program around. The community cares about football, and the kids are all in.

 

The talent level is high, but not to the point to where they'd have the dominance they do. Just an excellent program.

 

Thanks for the compliments about the FTJFL and Highlands.

 

THE first priority of the FTJFL is, and should be, for the players to have fun so they keep playing football into their high school years. There are several reasons Highlands has such large squads (which increases the chances of success while platooning). Obviously the past success of the Highlands program, community support and the family tradition plays a role in that.

 

But keeping young players playing football because they enjoyed their youth football experience is also a very important reason. As Dale has said to the FTJFL administrators and coaches on many occasions: I can't coach them up when they become Highlands players if they quit playing football as young kids because they didn't enjoy their youth football experience; if you can teach them something, great but I'm more interested in seeing that they have fun playing youth football.

 

Another reason for the large Highlands squads is the platooning system itself. It takes a lot of commitment to play Highlands football; a whole lot. Knowing that you have a real chance to play as a sophomore, makes it somewhat easier to give that level of commitment starting as a freshman. Thinking you won't have a chance to get much time on the field until you became a senior or maybe a junior can discourage a lot of frosh and sophomore players from truly making the commitment. In essence, platooning becomes a self fulfilling prophesy if you will. Because platooning means a lot more players see playing time at a younger age, a lot more players make the commitment necessary to become good football player; a lot more good players means more success when platooning. It's a wonderful circle.

Thanks for the compliments about the FTJFL and Highlands.

 

THE first priority of the FTJFL is, and should be, for the players to have fun so they keep playing football into their high school years. There are several reasons Highlands has such large squads (which increases the chances of success while platooning). Obviously the past success of the Highlands program, community support and the family tradition plays a role in that.

 

But keeping young players playing football because they enjoyed their youth football experience is also a very important reason. As Dale has said to the FTJFL administrators and coaches on many occasions: I can't coach them up when they become Highlands players if they quit playing football as young kids because they didn't enjoy their youth football experience; if you can teach them something, great but I'm more interested in seeing that they have fun playing youth football.

Another reason for the large Highlands squads is the platooning system itself. It takes a lot of commitment to play Highlands football; a whole lot. Knowing that you have a real chance to play as a sophomore, makes it somewhat easier to give that level of commitment starting as a freshman. Thinking you won't have a chance to get much time on the field until you became a senior or maybe a junior can discourage a lot of frosh and sophomore players from truly making the commitment. In essence, platooning becomes a self fulfilling prophesy if you will. Because platooning means a lot more players see playing time at a younger age, a lot more players make the commitment necessary to become good football player; a lot more good players means more success when platooning. It's a wonderful circle.

That to me is the main reason for Highland's success. Yes, platooning is great if you have the players to do it, but without the FTJFL, and keeping the game of football an enjoyable part of their life, and something they want to continue to do as they progress thru middle school, then you wouldn't have the number of kids available to be able to platoon. I know Ashland has a great following in football for Friday nights, but to me Highlands football is something the whole community gets behind and supports tremendously from the bottom all the way to the top. Ashland, and I'm sure other programs lose too many of those kids from JFL to middle school, and even more from middle school to high school.

Do you take them off the defensive side of the ball if they play QB?

 

Not if you think you have atleast a decent backup. Lets say you have O'Bryan, Bradley, or Tate Dowdy a viable option at QB....I say you go with the best one at QB let them play D. Hunter Prince played a lot of DB as a soph but not any as a JR or SR...probably because there was no legit backup QB. Couldn't risk it the last 2 years...

I think you play your best players as much as you can. Ashland simply doesn't have the numbers or enough really talented kids to have only offensive and only defensive players. Baker and Long are D1 kids, which don't grow on trees in Eastern KY, you have to play them as many snaps as you can. Improved depth would be a nice plus, but comparing Ashland/Highlands in those terms is apples and oranges. For Ashland to be successful atleast in the near future they have no choice but to play their best athletes two ways. If there is some population increase in Ashland over the next few years or just an abundance of good athletes come up through the ranks things will not change. I don't think there is enough focus on identifying young talent in JFL and middle school, then developing a training/learning program for those students. I attend JFL games and it is very easy to spot the 2-3 kids on each team that have the ability to become good players. It would be nice for those kids to receive some attention from the high school coaches, might inspire them to work harder as the move towards Blazer.

I think the mistake that most people make when figuring out how to platoon is focusing on the wrong group of players. You don't start platooning by taking you best, most athletic player and putting him on one side of the ball. You start with the O and D lines. If you can have fresh O and D lines in the fourth quarter, and you're playing a team that is playing linemen on both sides of the ball and are gassed in the fourth quarter, 9 times out of 10 you're going to win that game. Platooning also doesn't start in the summer, or even in the spring. It starts in January when conditioning does, by focusing on specific drills for specific position groups.

 

For example, lets just imagine a hypothetical situation where you have 5 returning offensive linemen. Lets say 2 of those OL also started on defense the prior year. If you have 2 DL who were not starters the year before, but were pretty dang good, I would suggest take the returning starters and keep them on offense and begin training (in January when workouts start) the backups to assume a starting role.

 

I am not sure if what I have said is very clear, or maybe if I am just echoing what everyone has already said, but I think that when people consider platooning they often look at the wrong players. It has to start with the O and D lines, and this is done by getting those second-tier players ready to compete and take over starting position in the off-season.