I figure there will be a lot of opinions on this one.

What causes a group of players to struggle big time on Friday night at the varsity level when they have had nothing but success at the younger levels.

 

Let’s add to this SCENARIO that a school has three classes or more in a row who all fair very, very well from 7th grade up to 9th grade then when they come together as a team on Friday nights they are not good.

You can be get with one really good player at the younger levels and that simply doesn't translate well to high school.

Weight room. Maturing late vs early. Winning on talent early and lacking fundamentals later.??????????

Growth Spurts and/or system change. You can never really predict the growth of a young man from middle to high. Some grow fast, others not til later. Obviously this can have an effect. While good programs try to instill a certain system from an early age, not everybody does this. Wishbone in middle, then spread in high school isn't doing anything for your program either. Lastly, coaching....hopefully the coach doesn't run a system just because it's familiar. I would hope he knows enough about football to tailor that suit to his athletes. With that being said, an athlete is just that...an athlete. They should produce in just about any offense. This is why I believe coaching is only a partial reason.

Might want to compare age of kids instead of grade they are in......some classes have kids that were started late or had kids that were held back.......age sometimes is a bigger factor at this level

Growth Spurts and/or system change. You can never really predict the growth of a young man from middle to high. Some grow fast, others not til later. Obviously this can have an effect. While good programs try to instill a certain system from an early age, not everybody does this. Wishbone in middle, then spread in high school isn't doing anything for your program either. Lastly, coaching....hopefully the coach doesn't run a system just because it's familiar. I would hope he knows enough about football to tailor that suit to his athletes. With that being said, an athlete is just that...an athlete. They should produce in just about any offense. This is why I believe coaching is only a partial reason.

 

I do not think it matters what a team in middle school does offensively or defensively scheme wise. What matters is teaching them HOW to play football not how to run plays.

 

Two big things make a difference: 1 kids do change A LOT from middle school to high school, 2 effectiveness of the high school coach and program.

I agree with the comments on this thread, but what about coaching?

I respectfully disagree. I would hope that a player knows HOW to play football earlier than middle school. As a coach I would want my middle school team to become somewhat familiar with what the high school level does simply because it lessens the learning curve once they enter high school.

I respectfully disagree. I would hope that a player knows HOW to play football earlier than middle school. As a coach I would want my middle school team to become somewhat familiar with what the high school level does simply because it lessens the learning curve once they enter high school.

 

 

I understand the premise of what you are saying. I think the best example is Highlands their 7/8 teams do not run their high schools system. They are more interested in getting kids out to play and teaching them fundamentals.

Obviously there are many reasons. 1st, maturation physically and emotionally contribute (either early or late. 2nd, some programs are not as concerned about winning at the ms, 9th and JV levels. Head coaches want to see lots of kids play and see them play lots of positions, they are trying to determine where kids might fit at the varsity level. Don't get me wrong they want kids to play hard and try to win, but it isn't the priority. 3rd, is it a program 7-12 or is it many programs in with each their own.

A lot of it may have to do with the schedule. They may have won a lot at the lower level, but they may not be playing the same teams at the varsity level.

For the most part they are playing the same teams at the lower levels as they do the varsity level.

I agree with the comments on this thread, but what about coaching?

 

That's what i'm screaming... poor coaching at the HS level.

As much as I don't like to say it, IMO I believe it is program structure. Coaching has to be a huge part of it, as coaches build the structure in the program. Having tunnel vision and lack of implementation of programs to enhance what you have. I've sat through so many games and called the plays before they are run, and been right a large portion of the time. To put that into some perspective, I did not attend a school that had football, I never played football, I never coached football. I have however tried to learn the game to the best of my ability, because I love the game. So for some one like me that can sit in the stands and see what a team is doing with a very limited amount of football knowledge. What are the coaches and football minded people doing when they are watching the same game. Coaching is at so many levels in high school. Some poor, some good, and a very few great coaches. And lastly, tradition. A school with tradition, has youth that their ambition is to play high school football for their high school team. You don't have athletes that should be playing that are just walking the halls and have no interest in playing. Which goes back to coaches with the lack of ability to get those kids on the field. No matter how hard players work, no matter how dedicated they are, you need coaches to put it all together and put a good product on the field. If you give me the New England Patriots to coach the past few years, they don't have Super Bowl rings and division titles. They loose a great deal of the time. I do not have the coaching skills to make winners out of them. They are the same players, they have still worked just as hard. The difference is I'm not a good coach, little lone a great coach. Now to be fair, even a great coach has trouble winning if he does not have the players to win with. JMO

I respectfully disagree. I would hope that a player knows HOW to play football earlier than middle school. As a coach I would want my middle school team to become somewhat familiar with what the high school level does simply because it lessens the learning curve once they enter high school.

I agree with your comment, but what a high school does in their system also can change from year to year, you have to predicate your offensive and defensive schemes based on the athletes you have in your stable. You may go from a core group of young men who are athletic at the skill positions and be adept at running the spread, yet in two years you may be more talented in the trenches and change your offensive philosophy to the power I. In my opinion learning the fundamentals is paramount, if an athlete is fundamentally strong, they, along with the HS coaches can adapt their system to the athletes in place.