Fayette County schools are a nightmare to coach for, they have so many rules and they are so scared to let one sport get anything another does not.....very unorganized and over zealous in FCS. Add that with the pillaging from LCA and LC, who will be in the hunt each year its gonna be tough times to come for Fayette County schools. I also feel like most the schools in Lexington do not have any Great Coaches......I said great, they have some good ones in that area, but none that can overcome the other obstacles.

This is simple. Lexington has become a baseball town. South Lex and Southeastern Little Leagues are getiing kids in baseball early and champions baseball is keeping them year round. Just look at last years high school rankings, I think something like half the top ten were from the 11th region. An earlier post said "is one or two players enough to reduce the level of a program". Without a doubt it is.

This is simple. Lexington has become a baseball town. South Lex and Southeastern Little Leagues are getting kids in baseball early and champions baseball is keeping them year round. Just look at last years high school rankings, I think something like half the top ten were from the 11th region. An earlier post said "is one or two players enough to reduce the level of a program". Without a doubt it is.

 

I think we have a winner. I have been told by many people that coaches in Lexington tell the athletes, "if you are not over 6'4 you should play baseball and not basketball and football". I think baseball is pushed more then other sports.

I think Fayette is indeed considerly down.Seems that Lex Cath and LCA had helped keep their heads above water but now with both of these squads being down some(Lex Cath moreso than LCA), Fayette Co is really struggling.

Do you think a Lex Cath/Public rivalry might bring some excitement back to Lexington Football? It could be a great atmosphere game with an outstanding gate and virtually no travel expenses. With Lex Cath down, they could replace Trinity and St X with two city schools and everybody be a winner.

I think part of the problem is the treatment FC coaches get from the central office downtown: I learned this past week that the Dunbar coaches are required to empty trash can, pick up trash, clean the gym and dressing rooms, etc. No maintainence personnel are provided to clean up after games. There was also a time when coaches wanted to come to FC because the larger schools gave them a larger student body from which to select teams. Now, FC requires all student athletes to maintain a 2.0 GPA, while the KHSAA requires student athletes to be passing (this includes a D grade) in four of six core subjects.

I think part of the problem is the treatment FC coaches get from the central office downtown: I learned this past week that the Dunbar coaches are required to empty trash can, pick up trash, clean the gym and dressing rooms, etc. No maintainence personnel are provided to clean up after games. There was also a time when coaches wanted to come to FC because the larger schools gave them a larger student body from which to select teams. Now, FC requires all student athletes to maintain a 2.0 GPA, while the KHSAA requires student athletes to be passing (this includes a D grade) in four of six core subjects.[/QUOTE]

 

An lot of other school systems in the state require significantly higher academic standards than the KHSAA and are still extremely competitive... I don't think GPA requirement is a legit argument...

Even Station who had shown huge improvment over the past few years, but doesn't look like it's heading in the same direction with the new coach.

Is there any youth or middle school football in Fayette County?

Several years ago when the schools had a "junior high school" program that went through and including the ninth grade, then jumped to "senior high school" through the 12th, Lexington had some very impressive junior high football and basketball programs which were not only strong in and of their competition but also became strong feeder programs for Lex high schools. Then a fellow named Barth Pemberton became the big dog here in Fayette and ushered in the shift to the middle school concept. He saw little need for an athletic adjunct to the middle school academics and, with the exception of intramural sports, did away with the athletics in middle schools. Many parents did not share his view and demanded a sports program so, in a compromise, he agreed to a "modified" athletic program with specific rules which a lot of counties adjacent to Fayette could not stomach. Consequently, the only competition the Fayette middle teams could attract were in Fayette Co itself. The preparation this provided to the players moving on to the local high schools was not "top shelf" and resulted in many parents checking into other options.

I do agree it is down and going deeper!

Is there any youth or middle school football in Fayette County?

 

I think Voice has raised the most pertinent question for this discussion. Without strong youth football its diffucult to have strong high school football. Jefferson County has very strong Optimist leagues and the Catholics have strong CSAA teams. There is no middle school football in JCPS, which is probably a good thing.