I agree they are specializing at earlier ages, but I don't think it always, or even most of the time, has to do with playing time. I think it has much more to do with the misplaced idea that they can only play and succeed at one sport; this is an idea reinforced by both the structure the KHSAA has in place and by the actions of many coaches.

This is exactly right and especially true in basketball. What is the difference between an "open gym" and a practice? It's not clear to me. The players (correctly) believe that if they aren't present for these year-round sessions, they will not play.

Partially. There is no off-season in most high school sports now. There are "voluntary" workouts that look a whole lot like practice to me in most if not all varsity sports year round. Coaches may not "forbid" playing multiple sports but some make it very clear that if you don't devote 100% of your efforts to one sport you won't play.

 

I don't disagree but I also think the most valuable ones in multiple sports will continue to play multiple sports. I see more and more kids each year quitting sports because they don't want to work to earn more playing time. A kid playing varsity football isn't going to keep playing basketball if he is on the JV basketball team. Just the way it is these days.

This is exactly right and especially true in basketball. What is the difference between an "open gym" and a practice? It's not clear to me. The players (correctly) believe that if they aren't present for these year-round sessions, they will not play.

 

That isn't true in every situation though and that is my point. I know kids playing multiple sports that particpate in offseason individual workouts for basketball. Freshmen actually. They will be on the varsity basketball team this year. They will also be on the varsity football team as well. It can be done. How bad do you want it is the question. Too many kids don't have any fight in them anymore.

I agree they are specializing at earlier ages, but I don't think it always, or even most of the time, has to do with playing time. I think it has much more to do with the misplaced idea that they can only play and succeed at one sport; this is an idea reinforced by both the structure the KHSAA has in place and by the actions of many coaches.

 

It has a lot to do with the disappearance of local, non travel leagues. Parents are taking their kids to travel/AAU basketball and baseball at 7/8 years old now. And if they don't make a travel team, since the local leagues are virtually gone or just extremely uncompetitive (again because of the emphasis on select/AAU ball), kids end up not playing. So the specialization starts early, as kids give up on sports if they don't make it, and end up playing the ones they do make nearly year round.

...or simply screw all of the crap in June and July for all sports, go back to how things used to be and everybody go the hell home/hang out/do stuff things you're supposed to do in the summer.

 

It's always 70 degrees for basketball. They should be last in the topic of the big 3.

 

Start football practice August 1. Knock two games off the regular season ( non district scheduling is a headache as is since the birth of 6 teams). Still end the 1st weekend of December.

 

Baseball only needs 20 regular season games..which would make their season a couple weeks shorter..same for basketball.

 

All of this summer crap is a joke anyway. Ties up way too much time for kids, coaches and families of both (not to mention with cuts in extended days, coaches aren't getting compensated for it...and, I hate to say it (actually I don't)..but, it's not that dang important in the first place. Know why we are losing so many coaches, only to never see the vast majority of them resurface? Tell ya why...summers and no pay for it.

 

In football, we wonder why it's getting harder and harder to get kids out, yet programs are now practicing three FULL weeks in the month of July (and, many at an average of 6 times a week when you factor in "camp week" and 7v7 tourneys on Saturday's). Yet we wonder why kids don't want to play...really? Is it that hard to see why?

 

You aren't going to meet a bigger believer in working hard, while at the same time knowing fully well that there is also something to be said for that when it boils down to...you either have a group of kids (or kid) that either can or cant (as well as a schedule loaded with more teams that are worse than you).

 

...but, admitting that stuff above doesn't allow the ole' chest to stick out as far.

 

I will never understand why we need to be practicing football in May/June when the games aren't starting until middle of August. I understand why they do it but I don't understand it at the same time. Honestly, kids are not getting a break which is just causing burnout. For those kids who are playing multiple sports there is no break. As a coach they can say oh we are giving him a week off but is that week off really doing a lot for the kids? No in my opinion. Let the kids be kids and have a summer. You can say coaches are getting burned out but so are high school athletic trainers who have to cover this year round as well.

I will never understand why we need to be practicing football in May/June when the games aren't starting until middle of August. I understand why they do it but I don't understand it at the same time. Honestly, kids are not getting a break which is just causing burnout. For those kids who are playing multiple sports there is no break. As a coach they can say oh we are giving him a week off but is that week off really doing a lot for the kids? No in my opinion. Let the kids be kids and have a summer. You can say coaches are getting burned out but so are high school athletic trainers who have to cover this year round as well.

 

It's nothing more than trying (key word there) to keep up with the Jones'...all it is.

 

If spring ball, June "workouts" (plenty of programs out there that "install" in June), practicing for THREE FULL WEEKS in JULY really made that much of a difference...we wouldn't have as many bad programs out there that we do in the state year in year out.

 

Fact is...I've not ever met one coach who said they didn't actually didn't work / coach harder in the bad years (and, the preseasons before them BC they knew going into those years that things were going to be awful) than they did the good ones.

Furthermore @memyselfandi I'll also never understand why we start our season some two full weeks before the college season (Labor Day weekend) or even the NFL, which starts the weekend after Labor Day.

 

Because of the above..neither start practice/camp until roundabouts August 1st (some before, some after)...but, what the hell do they (or we) know.

Well...I know why we start practice/season when we do under the current set up. We'd be playing up until the weekend before Christmas if we applied those start dates, but kept the amount of regular season and/or playoff rounds.

Furthermore @memyselfandi I'll also never understand why we start our season some two full weeks before the college season (Labor Day weekend) or even the NFL, which starts the weekend after Labor Day.

 

Because of the above..neither start practice/camp until roundabouts August 1st (some before, some after)...but, what the hell do they (or we) know.

 

Ohio starts August 1 and ends I think a week before Kentucky does.

Something not taken into consideration that mostly affects only the smaller schools and lower profile sports such as golf, cross country, and volleyball, plus basketball and football is marching band.

 

At a school like my alma mater, marching band is king, in terms of success, participation, and time dedicated. Nothing about it was "voluntary" except for signing up, and it serves as a microcosm of team sports, despite being universally regarded as an activity rather than a sport, which is a debate we won't have here.

 

Basketball, baseball, golf, track, volleyball, and cheerleaders all participated from the middle of July through the middle of October, or beginning of November depending on the success of a given band. There is no football being played in Williamstown on Friday nights, but most, if not all of the schools we competed against had football teams, granted, I can't imagine the crossover rate being very high for those two extracurriculars.

 

How's that for a wrench in your scheduling?

Ohio starts August 1 and ends I think a week before Kentucky does.

 

Indiana ends a week before us and also used to start August 1 (maybe they still do). Ohio now starts August 1 and ends the same week as us (I think, maybe a week after...but, not on Thanksgiving).

 

I'm good with our end date(s)..something special about playing that first week of December. However, playing 6-7 games by the 1st of October? Doesn't make a lot of sense.

Athletes should participate in as many sports as possible. Our current sports calendar discourages participation in multiple sports due to overlapping timelines. It also allows coaches to improperly pressure athletes to not play one sport in order to participate in the offseason program of another. Below is an athletic calendar for football, basketball, and baseball that would allow an athlete to play all three. All three sports give up a bit to make this possible.

 

Football:

Start: Last Monday of July

Pads: First Monday of August

Game #1: third week of August

Final: Third weekend of November

Give up: Week 0, one round of the playoffs, and spring practice.

 

Basketball:

Start: Monday after football state championship

Game #1: Last Week of November

Finals: 2nd week of March

Give up: One week of regular season, Open Gym, June tournaments

 

Baseball:

Start: Monday after basketball state championship

Game #1: 3rd week of March

Finals: 2nd to last week of June

Give up: One week of regular season

 

Dead Period:

Start: First day of Summer Break (except baseball)

End: 2nd to last Sunday in July

 

 

 

Rules:

- No sport-specific training outside of the established dates for each sport. Only weight training and conditioning allowed

- Maximum of 5 hours per week of conditioning during a sports offseason

Suggestions:

- High school coaches must read a KHSAA script that promotes multi-sport athletes at the start and end of their season each year. This must be observed by the athletic director of the school OR the principal if the athletic director is a coach.

- High school coaches should never encourage or require athletes to participate in non-KHSAA sponsored programs (AAU basketball, Club soccer, 7on7 leagues, Showcase Baseball, etc.)

- The KHSAA should mandate that all high school athletes watch a training video that covers the basics of recruiting including:

- Academic requirements at different levels

- the amount of scholarship money given in a given sport

- the percentage of high school participants who play a given sport at the college level

- the percentage that receive a scholarship to play a given sport at the college level

- the amount of scholarship money that the average player in a given sport receives to play at the college level compared to the total cost of attendance

- the average height and weight of players in each sport at each division competing in that sport

- The percentage of players in a given sport that were multi-sport athletes in high school.

 

We started spring practice in 2006.

 

Since that time the number of young men in this state getting D1 scholarships has increased dramatically.

 

Getting rid of spring practice and lifting is a horrible idea.

 

 

I disagree with most of the rest, just not as strongly.

Who said anything about getting rid of lifting?

 

If you think spring practice influences the number of D1 players in a state, you are delusional. Kids are either D1 or they aren't. 10 practices in the spring does not have any effect on a kids ability to get a scholarship.

We started spring practice in 2006.

 

Since that time the number of young men in this state getting D1 scholarships has increased dramatically.

Getting rid of spring practice and lifting is a horrible idea.

 

 

I disagree with most of the rest, just not as strongly.

 

Spring ball hasn't hurt the quality of KY players, but I think it has very little to do with kids getting D1 scholly's. Spring ball doesn't affect the size and speed measurables that D1 schools are looking for, and over the course of 4 years is only an additional 40 practices, if the kid makes all of them.

 

I don't mind spring ball. I wouldn't get rid of it. The only thing I don't like are the coaches that make kids give up other sports for 10 days of football practice.