born2reign

I am only sharing what was directly told to me. I do think that it is important to point out a few things that I know working in private schools in many capacities for over a decade: 1. Football start up costs are the most prohibitive of just about any program. Unless you get a chunk of funds that are earmarked for starting the program or have access to a lot of cash, it is very difficult for a school as small as St. Henry to absorb those costs. 2. Any boost in enrollment would not come close to offsetting the costs of football because most parochial schools do not rely solely on tuition to cover costs for educating students. The diocese will foot part of the cost and fundraising will cover the rest. That means that they will have to decide how to cover the costs for educating additional students before even thinking about how to allocate additional tuition dollars to football, and in all likelihood football will never see any of those additional tuition dollars. 3. Football does not generate the type of revenue that would cause it to be cash flow positive in short order at the overwhelming majority of high schools around the country and I would imagine that it would be similar at St. Henry's. I am not on the inside to confirm this, though. I hope this does not come across as an attack, VOR. It is not meant as such. I am just sharing what experiences I have had and the information gained from said experiences.

I applied for a gig at St. Henry's a few years back (about 7 or 8 years ago now) and asked about starting football. I was told directly that it is a money issue. The cost to refurbish facilities to incorporate football, equipment and travel costs were all prohibitive for the school. St. Henry's is not a financial powerhouse, so the costs were a major factor. I was also told that the troubles Bishop Brossart had when they started with getting coaches, facilities and kids to commit to the program were a factor because St. Henry's did not want to go through similar struggles.

Roll Tide...Saturdays in Heaven just got a little more interesting Rest in peace, Larry.

In that case, I'll piggy back off of your question and ask what would a person in that position do if they are not the head coach (I would assume administrative responsibilities fall to the AD, head trainer and maintenance staff)?

It is a regular occurrence at the big schools in Texas. It is an administrative position in the schools and they can make good money. The head coach at Southlake Carroll is the Director of Football Operations and he has a 6 figure salary in a public school. There are not too many public school administrators that can say that.

There are some prep schools that operate this way. They play other prep schools, JV teams of D1 NCAA programs or Junior College programs. Those schools have the overwhelming majority of their players coming from the post-graduate ranks, however. So, most of their players are 18, 19 or 20.

Folks may not be running the Air Raid or Tony Franklin's system as much as in the past, but I imagine that many teams still use spread structures to success in Kentucky. Is this not the case (Ace Formations, Near and Far Formations, Trio, Empty, etc.)?

It would be the worst thing that could happen to Kentucky football- you go from a program gaining national noteriety for the state to falling back into obscurity as a state from a high school football perspective.

I am pretty sure there is only one team in Kentucky that Highlands would not be a huge favorite against. I wonder how big of an under dog they would be against the Rocks?

Beechwood vs NCC, IMO. Highlands= Hammer and Cov Cath= Nail; that is not a rivalry (Highlands leads series 39-17 according to http://www.highlands-bluebirds.com/ssp/opponents)- actually, that was just to light a fire under Cov Cath fans- I think both rivalries are 1 and 1A.

Here is the Max Preps preview: St. Xavier has more pieces returning on offense than it has had in any season since 2007, the year the Bombers went 15-0 and captured the Division I state title. Under head coach Steve Specht, St. Xavier has been known for its defense, which is almost always very solid. An experienced offense plus a defense that returns several important pieces is a recipe for a potentially very good season for the Bombers, who are ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 10 Ohio Football Dynasties list. Quarterback Griffin Dolle brings stability to a position that the Bombers have had trouble at in recent years. His health will be critical to St. Xavier's success. The team's leader rusher from a year ago, Conor Hundley, also returns. He tallied 1,386 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2010. C.J. Hilliard, who saw playing time as a freshman, is a great change of pace back. Kevin Milligan and Trey Kilgore are both playmakers at wide receiver. Alex Breen and Brandyn Cook return on an offensive line that is usually one of the team's strengths. 6-foot-5 senior Will Piening is one of several promising linemen who could step up. The team's defense lacks the superstar like Luke Kuechly or Steven Daniels of years past, but as a unit, it should be difficult to penetrate. Linebackers Nate Gerbus and Mark Jacob will be stout against the run. 6-4 defensive end Bryson Albright is back up front, with Andrew Arand and Sean Ahern returning in the secondary, providing the Bombers valuable experience at all three levels of defense. Also know that they are undefeated with wins over Colerain and Pickerington Central- two quality programs.

I am picking Trinity, but this is the best team they have played to this point. St. X can run and they are sound and solid on defense. Going into St. X and getting a victory will be no small feat. The bombers have a ton of talent.

I like Trinity in this one. It is hard to go into the Pit and get a victory. I think Trinity is just that good.

I can not imagine that there is a team in the country that beats this year's Trinity team by 4 or 5 touchdowns; and before anyone calls me a Trinity homer or even a fan, check my posts in the past on national high school football.

I guess it is a good thing that I answered that with my first sentence, then.

Is this legitimate- are the Rocks really trying to add Hoover? They will have a legit claim to the final #1 ranking if they are able to run the table with the addition of Hoover. Run the table with Hoover on the schedule and they are the unquestioned best team the state has ever produced- bar none.

Cincy St. X has a tougher schedule. It will be a tough go, but Trinity could beat them and make this a moot point in terms of national ranking. Again I write- it will be tough!

If Trinity can run the table, this may be the best high school team the state has ever produced- '08 Highlands team may be able to argue this point, but it would be worth a conversation.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/blog?name=feldman_bruce&id=6299990 "Top QB recruiting battles for 2012 3. Zeke Pike, Dixie Heights High School (Kentucky) Teams in the mix: Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Clemson Tigers, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Iowa Hawkeyes, Michigan Wolverines, North Carolina Tar Heels, Purdue Boilermakers, Tennessee Volunteers Like Kiel, Pike has an NFL pedigree. His dad, Mark, spent 12 seasons playing for the Buffalo Bills after leaving Georgia Tech. The younger Pike drew some offers based on the film his dad sent out after Zeke's sophomore season as a JV quarterback. The Pikes also were pretty active going out and visiting campuses while Zeke took part in one-day college camps, showing off his arm and his 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame. Mark said his son's stock really seemed to jump last summer after he competed with a makeshift 7-on-7 team called the Goon Squad at Michigan, on which one of his teammates was Kiel. The team won the whole tournament and the buzz around both QBs grew. The college coaches I spoke to this week were enamored not only with Pike's size but also his athleticism and temperament. "He's the type of kid where, if he does make a mistake, he won't hang his head about it," said one college recruiter. Pike, who has been polishing up his footwork and fundamentals with former Cincinnati QB Dustin Grutza, said the recruiting process has been hectic. He's on break next week, and he and his dad will be road-tripping to Tennessee, Georgia, FSU, Clemson and Auburn. He's already been to Arkansas and Michigan in recent weeks. Pike gave both schools very high marks. "What was most intriguing about Michigan is that they don't have a pro-style quarterback, and if I went there Denard [Robinson] would be a senior, " Pike said. "So I could play a little as a freshman and possibly be a three-year starter." As for Arkansas, Pike said he loves Bobby Petrino's system and thinks the Hogs could be a national title team in two years. Pike said he wants to play in a pro-style offense, but that doesn't mean you should count out teams deemed as spread attacks, such as Auburn. "Coach [Gus] Malzahn is great about adapting to what he has," Pike said, using Chris Todd and the Tigers 2009 offense as his example. He conceded that he keeps an eye on the other top QBs "a little bit" and speculated that Winston may end up at LSU, FSU or Clemson and that Kiel is going to end up at Notre Dame. Pike isn't in a hurry to make a move. "Hopefully, by the summer, I'll have a top five," he said. He and his dad said they've been told by some schools that if another QB wants to commit, "we'll call you first because that's how much we want you." The younger Pike said he was told that by North Carolina, Clemson, Auburn, Arkansas, Purdue, Michigan and Iowa. But he said he's not worried about whether a team has a young starting QB or just signed a blue-chip prospect. "I really am willing to go anywhere to compete against anybody," he said"

The school that does this is South Panola High School in Batesville, Mississippi. They had an 89 game win streak and have won 8 state titles since 1993. While this works for them, they are in a larger school district that can afford to purchase the jerseys with names on the back. You can do a similar idea with t-shirts that signify participation in the weight program. We always post weight lifting attendance numbers publicly so that everyone that comes into the weight room can see who is putting in the work. We also post the lift records for the current team near those attendance numbers- kids see the connection. One idea that I have also seen in the player contract. There is one here: http://www.coachteed.com/freedl/Coaching%20Aides/ Look for the document Contract of team commitment.xls. It is an example that you could use. You could also call up the coaches at the best programs in the state (T, X, Highlands, Boyle, Lex Cath, Mayfield, etc.) and ask them what their numbers look like for weight lifting. Then, communicate this to your kids and use this to tell them how important the weight room is. I'm just trowing out some ideas.

I love the double wing! I think their offense is a great equalizer. I have been reading a lot of stuff from Tim Murphy and different youth coaches. I can not understand why more coaches do not go to this offense. Good luck to Estill in 2011!

This discussion reminded me of a thread I started when I first got on to Bluegrasspreps.com. I talked about a Kentucky vs. USA high school football challenge a la Kirk Herbstreit. Here is the thread: http://www.bluegrasspreps.com/showthread.php?139011-If-there-was-a-Kentucky-vs.-USA-Challenge...&highlight= I love this type of discussion!

Again, my points were not meant as an attack on Highlands. It is just an observation based on having seen all the teams. Could I be wrong, of course. Obviously, I feel that Cal Preps ranking system is faulty but I do commend them for putting a system together because it stirs debates like these. I love this type of discussion. What I am writing next will read as harsh, but please understand, leatherneck, that I do not intend it to read as such. It is impossible to communicate tone on a site like this, but I want to continue a respectful dialogue about this topic. To address some of the points you mentioned, I will say simply that a) you never heard me say that Christian County could beat Highlands and b) basing how Highlands would perform against a team like Southlake Carroll or Flower Mound Marcus on how the Bluebirds faired against Christian County tells me that you have not seen the Texas teams I have mentioned.

Yes, there are two divisions. The two biggest enrollments in the district qualify as Division 1 and everyone else as Division 2. All 5A teams play each other during the regular season and divide up for the playoffs. That Abilene teams was amazing with the Sims boys (I believe they are cousins). Herschel Sims is going to Oklahoma, I believe. Didn't that Plant team have some struggles because of injuries at the time they played Abilene? They still gave the Eagles all they wanted.

You can't get this right unless teams play each other, which is impossible. I just offered my opinion based on how Cal Preps designed their rankings. I am basing my opinion on seeing all of the teams that I mentioned with my own eyes.