rjs4470

I think there's a legitimate conversation to be had about whether football's summer restrictions should be updated, but I'm not convinced basketball is the problem. Basketball allows more games because skill development comes from repetitions in live competition. Football is a collision sport, so the KHSAA has to balance player development with safety concerns. Those aren't identical situations. As for recruiting, very few Kentucky athletes in any sport are being recruited by UK or Louisville. Most college opportunities come from smaller Division I programs, Division II, NAIA, and Division III schools. Summer camps and travel ball can help those athletes get exposure they might not otherwise receive. If Kentucky football is falling behind neighboring states, it's worth studying what they're doing differently. But simply saying "let football do what basketball does" ignores the fundamental differences between the sports. The goal should be finding the right balance between development, safety, and giving kids the best opportunity to improve.

From what I can see, it appears that Board Drills are mostly banned at the NCAA level, aside from the two exceptions below: One-on-one pass rush or pass protection drills are still allowed, provided they do not occur within these confined areas. Coaches are permitted to conduct the Board Drill with or without pads if it is done at a walking or jogging pace.

That was my senior year, and my coaches had the exact same gear. It was all BIKE and Champion...from coaches gear to uni's where I was from.

It's still really, really hard no matter how talented you are. Because you're playing with and against guys who are just as talented, and in many cases maybe even more. And those guys are continuing to develop their talent in the offseason. Especially in football, where lifting, and studying/learning the system in the offseason is critical. And college baseball is such a daily grind for the 4 month season, not being able to work on football will be a huge disadvantage. And going right into that grind after a D1 football season is going to be hard on the body physically. It's been done, but the number of guys who do it, keeps getting smaller, and smaller. It would be great to see it happen.

I don't think this would hurt financially. Based on what I've read, this isn't replacing the current state tourneys in Florida. The top 8 tourney would be in addition to the existing tournaments. You'd still have a State champ in each class, you'd just have an open (or whatever you want to call it) tournament. In Kentucky, for football, this would probably mean going back to 4 or 5 classes, which is certainly doable. For the other sports that aren't classed, I really don't see how it would work, or even be necessary. Which is why I think you'll never see it. Financially, it would probably help.

I think it could work in baseball, basketball, and soccer on the boys side and maybe the same corresponding sports on the girls side. Those sports are more competitive from top to bottom, and tend to have different state champs every year. But since those sports aren't classed, and we've already got the district and regional tourney's that lead up to a 16 team state tourney, it would really be kind of pointless. Sure, some teams suffer from being in a deep region, but for the most part those state tournaments as they are currently formatted are pretty competitive, and likely wouldn't be all that much better or even different in a tournament made of the top 8 based on rankings. Football and volleyball though just don't have enough depth for this to work.

At what point does good business become "greed". If someone is willing to pay a lot of money for something, does that really make the person (or company) that owns that something greedy for selling as much of it as they can? It's 8 more teams, or 4 more games. I can't say I noticed all that much of a difference when they expanded to 68, and I doubt expanding to 76 will really make a noticeable difference one way or the other. You just get 6 games on Tuesday night instead of 2.

I wonder how many football coaches are open to kids participating in spring/winter sport workouts during football season?

Yes. There are many states that do computer based rankings (which I know aren't perfect), or a combination of conference/regional champs, and the next highest rated teams. Relying strictly on regions/district winners without considering competitive balance of those districts/regions is always going to leave good teams out.

If you do that survey in KY, the answer will likely be KY. If you ask that in other states, you'll likely get different answers.

No plan is perfect. And I'm not necessarily worried about getting the best 24 (or however many you choose). I do want to make sure we get at least the best 10 or 12 teams in, especially when the strongest few regions in the state have multiple teams that could contend.

If you're married to the district-regional method of qualifying, the easiest way would be to keep the existing format with the 16 regional winners, but adding 8 at large teams for a 24 team tourney. Seed the top 8 (using region strength), random draw for the remaining 16. Obviously, you'd have to have a method to select the at large teams and the region strength, whether RPI or some other computer based formula (and I know how much everyone hates that). This keeps most of the existing format, while not punishing good teams from strong regions, and will pretty much ensure you've got the best teams playing for the prize, while still giving the "little guys" a chance and keeping Cindarella alive.

Yes. But it's especially true here in Kentucky where all it takes is winning a few games in a weak region tournament. Kentucky doesn't even try to get the best 16 teams in.

Can't be the best, when all the best teams don't get in.

What's more important? Having good first round games, or having a great championship game? Random draws may create some good first/second round matchups, but down the road, it can create bad semifinal/championship games. Especially when there is so much disparity between regions in terms of strength allowing weaker teams to get in, and leaving strong teams out. Put the best teams in regardless of region, and you'll get better first round games AND a good semi-final/final. I could live with a random draw if they just put the best 16 teams in.