Not sure Jim, I know when a son is not there we are not involved due to where our son is , we are there. Now when the sons move on, who knows? I'll still go to the games.

 

Male preaches parents involvement.

 

That's just it -- it takes more than just parents. The alumni have to be involved, preaching to the kids what it means to be a part of the program. And those kids need to see those alumni involved volunteering, whether or not they have a kid in the program.

Now, I'm generally not one to advocate political correctness, but perhaps in the county public/independent public/private debate it is necessary to retire the phrase "work harder" in favor of something less loaded.

 

Facts are that county public school supporters, when being offered reasons as to their school's lack of success, generally close their ears when they read/hear "work harder" from the supporters of a successful FB program. Nobody who's pouring themselves out for their program wants to be told they're lazy when they just sat down to check BGP at 10:30 p.m. after they just got done washing another load of smelly uniforms.

 

The problem, of course, is that those involved with the county public schools that struggle are indeed busting their butts to make their school successful. There just aren't enough people in the community committed to the success of the program; at least not at the level they need to be to change the culture.

 

So, for the sake of improving football across the board in Ky., instead of "work harder," supporters of successful programs should be saying "get more people involved." Because, at the end of the day, the lack of broad community involvement/participation/support the biggest difference I see between successful programs and struggling ones.

 

I'm Jim Schue and I support this message ...

 

Out of your 35,000+ post this is your best ever!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parents, alumni, business owners, local public figures, past players, past players parents......I could go on and on, but it truly takes a village to get and keep a successful program.

I would agree with some of what you are saying but I would have to add this angle. Most of the people on the private school side will say that they are just better coached or have better support when it comes to success of a program. What they fail to acknowledge is that talent usually wins games at any level. That being said, a private school like ST X or Trinity have much more talent to choose from yearly than any school in the state. Every kid from around the Louisville area, if they are talented in football, will choose from one of the two.

 

In a place like Ryle for example, we have great community involvement, a coach that works non stop to grow and improve the program, and we are developing a pee wee system to support better fundamentals and growth of the program. Even with all of that, we are still relying on players in a specific area to love football and be talented enough to compete. Not only are we relying on this player, but we are hoping that there are many of players in each grade that have that desire. Places like ST X and Trinity are hand fed these players every year. They have rosters and school classes that dwarf there opponents on the average.

While I agree with what you have written for the most part, there are many scenarios that private supporters also fail to acknowledge.

 

That pretty much sums it up.

That pretty much sums it up.

 

Sure, if you like to make excuses and shift blame. As I said, if the local football program is doing what it takes to be successful, those talented kids don't flock to Trinity, St. X, LexCath, etc. Nobody said it would be easy, but shifting the blame isn't solving the problem.

Sounds like your community doesn't take football as seriously as they do in South Williamson, Jackson and Log Mtn. Somehow, those economically depressed areas make it work.

 

It's so much easier to make excuses and shift blame than to do something to make a change.

 

My community is Williamsburg and ALL our programs are supported. I believe Bell, Boyle and the successful county schools are the exception. To think all can be successful is crazy. To think the private schools along with HHS dont have an advantage is rediculous.

My community is Williamsburg and ALL our programs are supported. I believe Bell, Boyle and the successful county schools are the exception. To think all can be successful is crazy. To think the private schools along with HHS dont have an advantage is rediculous.

 

Oh, for God's sake. We're talking about games. Obviously, there will be winners and losers. :ohbrother:

 

Schools can reduce their chances of being one of the losers by having their people get more involved. Simple as that.

 

Pray tell me, what evil private schools are there nearby you making things so difficult for the Williamsburg program to be successful? Is LCA, some two hours away, stealing away all your good players?

 

Sounds like you're just repeating the talking points. Bell Co., Breathitt Co., Belfry, etc. should be models for the other county schools to copy rather than being viewed as exceptions.

 

Seems to me Williamsburg is always looking for something to cry about, like when they opted out of district basketball play a few years ago in protest of that big, evil private school South Laurel being moved into the 50th.

Definitely both. :thumb:

 

I think some people have different views on the getting more people part.

I think some people have different views on the getting more people part.

 

I suppose. Can you elaborate on what you mean, and what you think they mean?

I can mostly agree with that. There are people that blame the schools, the parents, the community, the resources, etc. Personally, I believe that it is a little bit of a mix containing all of these things. But with saying that, I heavily believe that community and alumni support is huge, it has destroyed the school that I played at and it is clearly evident.

Parents, alumni, business owners, local public figures, past players, past players parents......I could go on and on, but it truly takes a village to get and keep a successful program.

 

Very well put; I couldn't agree more.

As you know people hate winners unless its your team. So you must be doing something illegal since you win all the time. Your team has the advantage because you get to have kids come from everywhere! Or, how do you guys get all those transfers. I guess its ok if the KHSAA saids it is. I dont buy the idea of the one local town Dairy queen is gonna make me a better team, it helps after the game when your hungry. It doesnt beat the big boys. Im tired of beating this dead horse. It is what it is. I dont care what you say football or basketball its all the same and make everyone play by the same rules. Everyone seems ok until the trophies are handed out.

I can mostly agree with that. There are people that blame the schools, the parents, the community, the resources, etc. Personally, I believe that it is a little bit of a mix containing all of these things. But with saying that, I heavily believe that community and alumni support is huge, it has destroyed the school that I played at and it is clearly evident.

 

Can you clarify what you mean here? I'm reading this as though you feel that community/alumni support is a bad thing.

Oh, for God's sake. We're talking about games. Obviously, there will be winners and losers. :ohbrother:

 

Schools can reduce their chances of being one of the losers by having their people get more involved. Simple as that.

 

Pray tell me, what evil private schools are there nearby you making things so difficult for the Williamsburg program to be successful? Is LCA, some two hours away, stealing away all your good players?

 

Sounds like you're just repeating the talking points. Bell Co., Breathitt Co., Belfry, etc. should be models for the other county schools to copy rather than being viewed as exceptions.

 

Seems to me Williamsburg is always looking for something to cry about, like when they opted out of district basketball play a few years ago in protest of that big, evil private school South Laurel being moved into the 50th.

 

I agree. Schools can increase success rate with community involvement, but I think it's really hard for county schools to achieve that. I'm not crying about anything actually you seem to be the 1 upset here. I'm proud of our little school with 200 students in high school. If it were not for community and parental involvment we would have nothing. I didn't agree with not playing that year but it wasn't my call.

Jim you have a solid point made and I agree that it all starts here. Additionally, I would add two things to strengthen your point and that being "buying into" and "support". Having a program be successful can only happen if you have total support for any program and the support needed to make it run. Great booster programs is a big factor and when they "buy into" what the program WANTS to achieve it all works together. Having traveled to many places over the years I have seen my fair share of programs that had lots of promise towards success but the "support" was lacking. Whether it be the community, parents, students or the administration you could just sense it was missing.

 

I am NOT saying many programs do not have this problem, because they do not. What I am trying to point out is they seem to lack the "buying into" factor of the program they tend to support. Successful programs get peoplt to "buy into" a program by starting with the basics and build up the program from the ground up, whether it be boosters, junior leagues or community involvement. Simply put they do not seem to really be on the same page. We have seen posts recently from fans that grumble about about everything, but very few posts on ways to resolve or improve. This is usually the lack of support or lack of buying into that basically impedes a programs chance of getting to the needed levels to be a success.

 

If you do have more people working together on the same page it is a huge boost for the programs chance of success, IMO.