article Middle School Football - Benefit or Hindrance?

[GCHS]

I have seen several comments about MS FB, in general, but not a specific thread - so I thought starting a discussion might be good.

 

FIRST OFF - THIS IS NOT INTENDED AS A DISCUSSION FOR KYMSFA PLAYOFFS, but rather a general discussion about whether the development of middle school teams have been a positive or negative.

 

My personal opinion is that, in rural areas at least, middle schools have been a negative. For instance - a rural town that had a good youth league probably had at least 4 teams of 7-8 graders, you figure 15-20 kids on each team, each getting a little bit of playing time, at least. That means a 3A program had 60-80 7th & 8th graders playing football in youth league.

 

Enter middle schools: Now you have ONE 7th grade team and ONE 8th grade team (if you are lucky - most have to play an A team w/8th & some 7th graders, and a B team w/7th & some 6th graders). Usually, you can figure a roster size of 30-45 7th & 8th graders, as an optimistic figure for most 3A schools. It also contributes to the rampant specialization we see. Kids aren't stupid... They figure out which 5-10 kids are the best at each sport, then they look for another place to get time. As a result, I think schools lose a lot of players who are never going to be stars, but could be solid, productive, football players.

 

What do y'all think?

[Jumper_Dad]

It depends on the school and the program. I don't see being a part of it as a hindrance to any program. That said it may not be right for all schools and programs.

 

If the middle school runs the same "Stuff" and uses the same terminology as the high school team then IMO that is more important than playing in the KYMSFA. I have nothing but good things to say about the KYMSFA though and I think that stronger competition in middle school will lift football as a whole in the state over time.

[PepRock01]

I think it helps. The CSAA in Louisville has been one of the biggest reasons behind the success of the Catholic schools here. Over the history of these schools most of the majority of our players are solid kids from these programs.

[GCHS]

Again... This is not a KYMSFA argument -- I am talking about the emergence of middle schools in the 90s and their impacts on football. I think if utilized properly, they can improve the quality of players programs get as freshmen, but I think the overall impact on numbers has been a problem, especially for rural schools.

[Toothpick]

I live in a rural small town, we owe alot of our success to the early development that begins in elementary school football and continues into middle school football. The positives for us clearly outweigh any negatives. It has not had any measurable negative impact on our numbers and gets our best players the opportunity to begin learning the basics and our system at a early age eliminating mistakes at the high school level and gaining them experience needed to be a successful program. Our kids and parents know that not everyone is going to be one of the stars and a few may quit but most here do not and continue to work to be a contributor.

[Toothpick]

There is also a large county school system here and while our much smaller program has ran like a well oiled machine for decades with no changes, the big school's program has suffered some of the issues that you mention but from the outside looking in it appears to me that most of it is self inflicted from alot of mistakes that have occurred for a great many reasons

[coach1980]

I feel it to be a productive thing as long as you have the right coaches and teachings in place . Fundamentals and proper techniques. In my opinion it would be very benefical if the middle school feeds into an individual high school , that the coaching staff is on the same page from top to bottom . That way they are taught the offense and defense and already know the expectations what the coaches expect once they enter high school. This way the high school coaches aren't forced to recoach what kids should of been taught in the development years. This also builds numbers and team work.

[ThrillVille Cardinal51]

I think it helps. The CSAA in Louisville has been one of the biggest reasons behind the success of the Catholic schools here. Over the history of these schools most of the majority of our players are solid kids from these programs.

 

I coached in the CSAA last year and was shocked at how competitive it actually was. Moreover, the percentage of kids that play at each school is really a lot higher than what you might think. The school I coached legitimately had 75% of the boys play in the 7th and 8th grade.

[RAM TIME]

It would have to terrible setup for any middle school football program to be considered a hindrance to the high school program.

 

The entire program would probably be considered a lackluster program.

 

Any structured learning and game experience should make any player better, thus making the football program better.

 

There is definitely big problems if middle school football isn't significant to your high school program, or you better have a good recruiting program in place, which I know definitely has happened in the past in our area.

[Jumper_Dad]

It would have to terrible setup for any middle school football program to be considered a hindrance to the high school program.

 

The entire program would probably be considered a lackluster program.

 

Any structured learning and game experience should make any player better, thus making the football program better.

 

There is definitely big problems if middle school football isn't significant to your high school program, or you better have a good recruiting program in place, which I know definitely has happened in the past in our area.

 

Programs that play players out of their normal position just to MS wins doesn't help at the next level. Programs that run a 5 wide passing attack when the high school team runs the ball 90% of the time doesn't help much and teams that insist on using different terminology from the high school team doesn't help much. A good MS program will work hand in hand with the HS team. HS coach has to show an interest in the MS program and both coaching staffs should work together any chance they get.

 

When the little guys are replicating what they will be doing as big guys it is a definite step in the right direction for the HS program.

[PepRock01]

 

I coached in the CSAA last year and was shocked at how competitive it actually was. Moreover, the percentage of kids that play at each school is really a lot higher than what you might think. The school I coached legitimately had 75% of the boys play in the 7th and 8th grade.

 

This is an often overlooked source for Trinity and St. X's success. Do we occasionally have studs that didn't come up through this? Yes, but most of the biggest success comes from this program. The competition and desire to be a Shamrock or Tiger really permeates the whole thing.

[Mustang75]

My son played for a youth leauge in middel school. I think the coaching was better. Less kids more playing time. two youth teams in the league fed the HS. I would say out of the top 6-8 players almost all played in the youth league vs the middel school team. Two of those kids are getting ready to play D1 football full schlorships.

[uk#1fan]

My son played for a youth leauge in middel school. I think the coaching was better. Less kids more playing time. two youth teams in the league fed the HS. I would say out of the top 6-8 players almost all played in the youth league vs the middel school team. Two of those kids are getting ready to play D1 football full schlorships.

 

I agree with you. To many weird rules in middle school football compared to youth football.

[GCHS]

My son played for a youth leauge in middel school. I think the coaching was better. Less kids more playing time. two youth teams in the league fed the HS. I would say out of the top 6-8 players almost all played in the youth league vs the middel school team. Two of those kids are getting ready to play D1 football full schlorships.

 

I guess this is what my argument boils down to... The comments about quality coaching, involvement with the HS coach/program, etc., that you guys make about good MS programs could all apply to youth leagues as well.

 

To me, it is just a numbers issue. Rather than having multiple teams of middle school-aged kids, there is only one.

[ThrillVille Cardinal51]

This is an often overlooked source for Trinity and St. X's success. Do we occasionally have studs that didn't come up through this? Yes, but most of the biggest success comes from this program. The competition and desire to be a Shamrock or Tiger really permeates the whole thing.

Or a colt or cougar...