Warning - Following is a blanket statement:

 

Highlands will not get you a D1 scholly if you're not of that caliber, but if you are or are close to it, it WILL ensure you don't get overlooked. Not all schools can offer that.

It's true that Highlands has produced some pretty good NCAA D-I players over the years, but the real strength of the HHS program is not in having the best athletes year in and year out, it's consistently having a group of dedicated, hard-working players, players' families and coaches who take pride in playing good team football at the high school level. Some of these players have been from out of town, while most have been from Ft. Thomas. But I bet if you look back over all the years, for every Jared Lorenzen or John Schlarman (both of whom had solid D-I careers) there have been 20 Cam Dierigs (i.e., guys not made for D-I football but go all out to become the best high school football players they can be).

 

I know very little about football, but one thing I do know is that the high school game and the college game are very, very different. There are a lot of outstanding prep football teams who don't have a bunch of future D-I greats on the roster, and I believe HHS happens to be one of those teams/programs.

Lets talk about both boys revenue producing sports.........HHS kills in FB but, overall is very weak in basketball (typically). CovCath is (typically) top tier in both, while Beechwood and Holmes (as examples) are top shelf in one but not the other. Is it possible that FB is killing the basketball program at HHS? I know a pretty good athlete playing at a public school that was ready to make the jump after 8th to HHS but did not because he was encouraged to 'drop' basketball.

Lets talk about both boys revenue producing sports.........HHS kills in FB but, overall is very weak in basketball (typically). CovCath is (typically) top tier in both, while Beechwood and Holmes (as examples) are top shelf in one but not the other. Is it possible that FB is killing the basketball program at HHS? I know a pretty good athlete playing at a public school that was ready to make the jump after 8th to HHS but did not because he was encouraged to 'drop' basketball.

From the perspective of someone who is removed from the situation, it seems that prep football is becoming more and more a year-round time investment. Maybe it's always been like this but it APPEARS to be more so now. If I'm a kid at Highlands who has some athletic ability and wants to play sports, and say I like BBall and FBall about the same, I think I'd rather want to be on the football team and spend my athletics-associated time focused on excelling in that sport, than be on both teams and split my time equally. I think kids (and people generally) like to be winners, and I would rather put in the time required to be a major contributor on a state-championship (and possibly nationally ranked) football team than split my time equally between the two sports, with the result being that I don't get to play/contribute as much on the football field (since there will be other kids on that team beating me out for playing time due to their willingness to focus more on playing football) and that I'm a member of a BBall team that, at best, can win the region and maybe one state tourney game. Maybe that's just me.

 

When I was a HHS student back in the early/mid 1990s, it seemed to me that the kids playing BBall and FBall cared more about how the football team did than how the basketball team fared. I don't know if that came from them, their parents or the coaches, but they seemed to care more about football.

This freshman class has some great multi sport players so it will be interesting to see what they decide. Tyler Grubbs did ok playing both.

This freshman class has some great multi sport players so it will be interesting to see what they decide. Tyler Grubbs did ok playing both.

 

Of course it helped that he had the size thing on his side

This freshman class has some great multi sport players so it will be interesting to see what they decide. Tyler Grubbs did ok playing both.

 

Same goes with Towles. People may differ, but in my opinion, the claim that football hurts basketball at Highlands is a myth perpetuated by people that support other schools, made in an attempt to scare multi sport players away from Highlands.

 

Being very, very close friends with the parents of several players on last year's football team that could have helped Highlands basketball program over the years, those kids choose to not play basketball freely and of their own choice. No pressure was ever applied nor were they ever encouraged to drop basketball or any other sport for that matter. Likewise, several basketball players that could have been contributors on the football team but did not play football were never encouraged to drop football.

 

In talking directly with Mueller and Flynn on several occasions on the subject (with Flynn as recently as a home game this year; we often stand next to one another in the south endzone and talk to each other a lot), both have looked me directly in the eye and told me that they are totally fine with the basketball players playing football, and the football players playing basketball. They actually encourage it because they believe the athletic skills used in one sport actually help the other sport. For anyone to deny that, they are calling Mueller, Flynn or me a liar.

 

If Highlands football was based on bulk, raw strength and size, and we ran "smash mouth" systems on O and D, maybe it would be more believable that football players were discouraged from playing basketball to spend every waking moment in the weight room bulking up. But we emphasize conditioning, athleticism and speed, which are all traits improved by playing basketball. So participating in basketball actually improves the skills needed to play football. I know it helped Grubbs with his footspeed and I'm sure it helped Towles getting prepared for this football season. So it just doesn't make sense to me that Mueller would encourage football players not to play basketball.

I also believe if your kid is not a marginal or average player at a young age. They could be better served to play in the NKYFL if the child and parents want to play at a more competitive level. I have been involved in both and have seen each side. The FTJFL develops all the kids and the NKYFL develops the top 11-15 kids..JMO

I would argue that the FTJFL takes all of those marginal players and elevates them to the level of those 11-15 over in the NKYFL.

My guess is that the majority of the people who start these stupid threads aren't adults who have contributed directly to the program. They are either directly out of high school, in high school, or have moved into Ft. Thomas for their kids b/c they feel that little Johnny is the next all state player.

 

I read the post. You stated he was probably a young person, moved to Ft Thomas, yada, yada. NONE of which is true. Oh wait you were right on one thing he's not apart of the Highlands program. :thumb:

He said "THE MAJORITY." He said nothing about Wildcat.

This freshman class has some great multi sport players so it will be interesting to see what they decide. Tyler Grubbs did ok playing both.

 

And no one seemed too concerned about Cody Rosenhagen playing baseball in the spring as he was taking a fumble back 95 yds to the house against JC in the playoffs two years ago. Or when he was booming kickoffs into the endzone either.

So you are telling me that NewCath or Beechwood attract as many scouts as Highlands? Would you not say that you have a better chance at getting a look, when your team gets greater exposure? I never said that he would get a full ride. What I said was that this class will attract a ton of attention from college scouts. THIS is a special class. Taking all the alternatives there are in NKY, I think that it is safe to assume for a kid from Campbell County, that Highlands provides the best chance to be seen. Unless you are a "Can't Miss," it helps to get as much exposure as you can. Case in point is NewCath's present head coach. He was a DI safety in high school He was, but he never got the looks. He was hurt by playing at a small school. Obviously it worked out great for him, but if he were at Trinity or Highlands he would have had a full ride to a DI school.

 

Warning - Following is a blanket statement:

 

Highlands will not get you a D1 scholly if you're not of that caliber, but if you are or are close to it, it WILL ensure you don't get overlooked. Not all schools can offer that.

 

I think Ft. Bronc's reply is close to the way it works. A kid at NewCath or Beechwood might have to hit the camps harder perhaps than a Highlands kid but that is all. If you are good enough to play college ball, you can get to where you belong while playing at most high schools.

I think Ft. Bronc's reply is close to the way it works. A kid at NewCath or Beechwood might have to hit the camps harder perhaps than a Highlands kid but that is all. If you are good enough to play college ball, you can get to where you belong while playing at most high schools.

 

In my opinion playing at Highlands will help you significantly getting a chance to play NAIA, DII and the better DIII programs. DI coaches are (in general) looking at very specific physical attributes when recruiting for their schools. Every once in a while they will see a kid play who doesn't fit those requirements and fall in love with their tenacity or their style of play. However, for the most part 6'0" 215 d-lineman playing at Highlands or anywhere else for that matter do not get offered DI schollys. Highlands and their success will get an NAIA/DII school to take a look, it's not going to make much of difference to a DI coach.

 

No offense to SK or Boone, but neither would be considered a Traditional Powerhouse as far as the state is concerned, but it didn't stop a whole bunch of DI schools to offer Simpson and Alexander respectively.

I think Ft. Bronc's reply is close to the way it works. A kid at NewCath or Beechwood might have to hit the camps harder perhaps than a Highlands kid but that is all. If you are good enough to play college ball, you can get to where you belong while playing at most high schools.

 

That's what I was trying to communicate. We were on the same page, but everything got lost in translation.

In my opinion playing at Highlands will help you significantly getting a chance to play NAIA, DII and the better DIII programs. DI coaches are (in general) looking at very specific physical attributes when recruiting for their schools. Every once in a while they will see a kid play who doesn't fit those requirements and fall in love with their tenacity or their style of play. However, for the most part 6'0" 215 d-lineman playing at Highlands or anywhere else for that matter do not get offered DI schollys. Highlands and their success will get an NAIA/DII school to take a look, it's not going to make much of difference to a DI coach.

 

No offense to SK or Boone, but neither would be considered a Traditional Powerhouse as far as the state is concerned, but it didn't stop a whole bunch of DI schools to offer Simpson and Alexander respectively.

 

When Alexander was there, they were at the end of an impressive run. He and Simpson were can't miss w/ the measurables. Again, nobody is guaranteed a scholarship at Highlands like starting at Long Beach Poly or Mater Dei used to be in Cali. We are all agreeing on the same thing, just taking different routes.

I would argue that the FTJFL takes all of those marginal players and elevates them to the level of those 11-15 over in the NKYFL.

 

What I was trying to say is that in the FTJFL all of the kids play. That is not always the case in the NKYFL. I am not saying the FTJFL is developing all of those kids to be as good as those 11-15 kids in the NKYFL. Just saying more kids get to develop because they get a chance to play..This is where I think it gives HHS an advantage with depth.