True....and it's a shame, there are some very nice athletes roaming the halls at Newport that could, with the right motivation and guidance, be playing at the next level.

 

No doubt about that. We are working hard on that too.

Or maybe in some of these towns, the motivation to play a game comes in second to other things. Many times, some of these kids have to grow up very quickly. Broken families, the need to work to earn a living....some just don't have the time to fit football into that schedule.

 

This is a bigger issue across the state then many realize.

I still say kids are working harder than ever at sports. Year round lifting programs, at home film study with Hudl, spring ball, early summer practice. I think it's misconception that kids are lazy and spend too much time indoors. The reason you don't see kids playing outside is because they've always got some organized sports activity to do.

 

Completely disagree with you on not thinking kids spend to much time in doors. Yes kids who do play sports do work hard when they are in practice. However disagree that it's harder now. Spring Ball has been around for years. June practices have been around for years. In fact especially in football it has gotten easier in terms of practices. Two a days are a lot easier these days, gone are the days of 2 full padded practices a day being every consecutive

Days. Gone are the days when there was no heat limit. These are the thints kids 10 years ago were still going through but yet even after long practices each day they still would get outside. Kids would still go to the pools, go outside play whiffle Ball, street two hand tag football, pick up basketball games outside.

 

Today kids still work their butt off, but that mainly comes during their practice times. Once they leave that practice they don't get outside as much as kids use to.

Completely disagree with you on not thinking kids spend to much time in doors. Yes kids who do play sports do work hard when they are in practice. However disagree that it's harder now. Spring Ball has been around for years. June practices have been around for years. In fact especially in football it has gotten easier in terms of practices. Two a days are a lot easier these days, gone are the days of 2 full padded practices a day being every consecutive

Days. Gone are the days when there was no heat limit. These are the thints kids 10 years ago were still going through but yet even after long practices each day they still would get outside. Kids would still go to the pools, go outside play whiffle Ball, street two hand tag football, pick up basketball games outside.

 

Today kids still work their butt off, but that mainly comes during their practice times. Once they leave that practice they don't get outside as much as kids use to.

 

I know how much time I spent outside when away from practice when I had two-a-days (and even 3-a-days).....and it was close to zero. I also know I didn't attend camps, have a personal trainer, or take private lessons when I played in the 80's, which kids do nowadays just to keep up. I also didn't have the option of playing fall baseball, my summer league games ended in July, and spring and June/July football didn't exist at the high school level. All these things I mention exist now, and take up a kids time that they have to "go outside and play". Which quite honestly, we didn't do much of while in season either for fear of injury and missing time. Do kids have more choices right now? Yes. But I'd bet good money, the kids that are involved in sports now, are way more involved and spend much more time practicing/playing/training than kids did 20+ years ago. And we coaches constantly harp on them to take care of their bodies, get plenty of rest and recovery, and not to do anything stupid and get hurt.

 

And you can't blame it on video games either...mine was the first generation with video games, and they've been around since the early 1980's, and while they look primitive and pretty awful by today's standards, back then they were pretty cool, and I can still hear my dad complaining about us playing them.

 

I've said it before. My parents and grandparents complained about my generation the same way. We were too lazy, too spoiled, not tough enough etc. Each generation thinks the next is getting weaker. It's not true. High school athletes are better conditioned, better trained, in better shape, bigger, faster and stronger then ever before, with a deeper understanding of the game. I teach concepts at the middle school level that we never even thought about in high school during my playing days.

 

And to get back on topic, it's this level of commitment of time that leads to kids specializing in sports, or giving up sports altogether, especially in our inner city schools and rural schools where kids have economic and family disadvantages, that is causing the drop in numbers that many schools are seeing.

True....and it's a shame, there are very nice athletes roaming the halls at Newport that could, with the right motivation and guidance, be playing at the next level.

 

There was another Northern Kentucky high school that had a numbers problem a couple years ago that also had a lot of nice athletes in the halls who weren't playing football. Hopefully Newport can turn things around like that school did.

 

For those who may not know who it is I'm talking about, that other school is Bishop Brossart.

Very well said......My son is wanting to go fishing and do things with his friends and it is all taken up by sports. He loves sports, but it comes a time that they have to be a kid as well. I am a believer if you pound All the time sports at a kid, they will get burnt out. He is at that very point with 1 particular sport at this moment and I hope he doesn't decide to give that up.

Truth to that.

 

Other side of that coin is this generation you could say is required/expected to put in more time than any that have come before them as well. Stuff never stops. Summer? What is that? June "workouts" 3-4 days a week. Three full weeks of July is now for practice 5 evenings a week. School starts the 1st week of August...some places August 1st.

 

Fact is...when you add up all of the other things they could (and, let's face it..should be doing during those times of the year) be doing...it's just not that attractive.

Where are the kids going? Didn't Newport have to replace the projects with low income housing scattered throughout the city? Is enrollment down at Newport? I don't think it is up in Bellevue, Dayton, Holmes or NCC? Less kids period now a days. Folks can't afford to have them and still have the lifestyles we all love.

 

I have heard that Boone County has been a landing spot for some of the former tenants of the housing that was torn down in Newport.

I have heard that Boone County has been a landing spot for some of the former tenants of the housing that was torn down in Newport.

 

I think they have landed all over. The big complex on Moock road is low income.

Hope they get it together. There are some great rivalry's that will disappear if they don't. It's not just football. Their numbers are low on everything except maybe basketball.

At some places, yes, I agree. At Newport, that's nowhere near the issue. It's hot, it's hard, practice in the mornings. The kids just don't want to do that and make that kind of commitment.

 

This is what some of the Holmes people have said about the situation at Newport. Is it truth only 20 or so players out for the football team?

I know how much time I spent outside when away from practice when I had two-a-days (and even 3-a-days).....and it was close to zero. I also know I didn't attend camps, have a personal trainer, or take private lessons when I played in the 80's, which kids do nowadays just to keep up. I also didn't have the option of playing fall baseball, my summer league games ended in July, and spring and June/July football didn't exist at the high school level. All these things I mention exist now, and take up a kids time that they have to "go outside and play". Which quite honestly, we didn't do much of while in season either for fear of injury and missing time. Do kids have more choices right now? Yes. But I'd bet good money, the kids that are involved in sports now, are way more involved and spend much more time practicing/playing/training than kids did 20+ years ago. And we coaches constantly harp on them to take care of their bodies, get plenty of rest and recovery, and not to do anything stupid and get hurt.

 

And you can't blame it on video games either...mine was the first generation with video games, and they've been around since the early 1980's, and while they look primitive and pretty awful by today's standards, back then they were pretty cool, and I can still hear my dad complaining about us playing them.

 

I've said it before. My parents and grandparents complained about my generation the same way. We were too lazy, too spoiled, not tough enough etc. Each generation thinks the next is getting weaker. It's not true. High school athletes are better conditioned, better trained, in better shape, bigger, faster and stronger then ever before, with a deeper understanding of the game. I teach concepts at the middle school level that we never even thought about in high school during my playing days.

 

And to get back on topic, it's this level of commitment of time that leads to kids specializing in sports, or giving up sports altogether, especially in our inner city schools and rural schools where kids have economic and family disadvantages, that is causing the drop in numbers that many schools are seeing.

 

The majority of kids playing today still do not take private lessons or have personal trainers, etc. That would be a minority of kids who do that not the majority still. Do more kids do those things now than 20 years ago, yes. Do the majority of them though, no. I didn't play in the 80s, I played in the early 2000s and the majority of kids I knew at small and big Schools all still had those long days of practices and then still still went outside. This was all still before everyone had a cell phone, Facebook was just starting, etc.

 

Now as for better understanding of the game I agree with. With things like Hudl at the palm of players hands they can get on with their cell phones to watch film is a great thing. I also agree weight training and conditioning is much better for players these days than back then because coaches have a much better understanding of it. So I agree on the work kids put in for conditioning and weight training is much better today. I just disagree with you completely when you say that is the reason kids don't play outside anymore. Technology is the big reason why kids don't play outside anymore. As early as the early 2000s kids definitely were still outside more and that hashe declined more each yeah and technology got better and better.

This is what some of the Holmes people have said about the situation at Newport. Is it truth only 20 or so players out for the football team?

 

Through our spring ball, we had avg 27-28 kids. Had 38 on the high side and 22 on the low side. We are getting around 25 at lifting right now. We will see come July what the numbers will be.

I hope the numbers come up. However this is what happens at smaller Schools and we have seen it at Newport for years. When they have success everyone wants to play. When they don't have success the numbers go down. I would bet 2 Years ago the numbers were good and that was because they had success. Last year they are coming off 1 win and players see that and don't want to put in the work if they don't believe it will pay off. A coach can do everything right but if the players dont see some success they are less likely to want to put in the work required. They have to believe the work they are putting in will help them be successful at any small school especially low income schools. It's definitely a tough job for a coach. It's a very rewarding job but also a very difficult job. If players see the success they are more willing to put in the work. If they don't then they are not willing to put in the work required.

 

I hope to see Newport with how many players they have this year have success. I believe if they get to 5 wins then they will see their numbers go up more next year. I believe they have the right people in place to have that success this year.

I know how much time I spent outside when away from practice when I had two-a-days (and even 3-a-days).....and it was close to zero. I also know I didn't attend camps, have a personal trainer, or take private lessons when I played in the 80's, which kids do nowadays just to keep up. I also didn't have the option of playing fall baseball, my summer league games ended in July, and spring and June/July football didn't exist at the high school level. All these things I mention exist now, and take up a kids time that they have to "go outside and play". Which quite honestly, we didn't do much of while in season either for fear of injury and missing time. Do kids have more choices right now? Yes. But I'd bet good money, the kids that are involved in sports now, are way more involved and spend much more time practicing/playing/training than kids did 20+ years ago. And we coaches constantly harp on them to take care of their bodies, get plenty of rest and recovery, and not to do anything stupid and get hurt.

 

And you can't blame it on video games either...mine was the first generation with video games, and they've been around since the early 1980's, and while they look primitive and pretty awful by today's standards, back then they were pretty cool, and I can still hear my dad complaining about us playing them.

 

I've said it before. My parents and grandparents complained about my generation the same way. We were too lazy, too spoiled, not tough enough etc. Each generation thinks the next is getting weaker. It's not true. High school athletes are better conditioned, better trained, in better shape, bigger, faster and stronger then ever before, with a deeper understanding of the game. I teach concepts at the middle school level that we never even thought about in high school during my playing days.

 

And to get back on topic, it's this level of commitment of time that leads to kids specializing in sports, or giving up sports altogether, especially in our inner city schools and rural schools where kids have economic and family disadvantages, that is causing the drop in numbers that many schools are seeing.

 

Newport has had number problems in the past especially near the end of a couple seasons. May have ended a few seasons with as few as 20 dressed and some of those were not going to contribute. But it seems to go in cycles and they bounced back to field some decent teams. They would be fine with 25-30 dedicated kids who can and want to play. That's better than 40 with 20 that you can't count on to finish the season.