CoachJ

Great coach. Better guy. Enjoy this new chapter, Coach!

Good coach and an even better man. Hoping he stays involved in some way with football in the state.

I went to the National version of this clinic last year in Indy and it was exceptional. There are lots of opportunities like this at colleges and such--and those are great in terms of specific training ideas--but what makes this group and this kind of clinic a little different is that it is geared to how to incorporate the development of HIGH SCHOOL players within the particular hurdles present to HIGH SCHOOL athletes. Stuff college guys just can't relate to have an emphasis with NHSSCA like: maximizing facility/equipment despite limitations, making off-season work for multi-sport athletes, nutrition needs for ADOLESCENT athletes, and a lot more. And the giveaways were incredible -- almost too good to be true and MOST of the participants walked out of there with a great training tool. The manufacturers at these clinics seem to really understand that if they can get their equipment actually in the hands of coaches, their best marketing will happen with direct usage and then word-of-mouth. Kudos to Coach Mike Snyder at THS for pulling this off. In my 20+ years of doing this, I've seen so much growth around this state for off-season programs going from "get in there and push some weight around" to now much more of this kind of real exercise science-based approach.

I think CoachP has very valid points about travel. I personally believe the beginning rounds of the playoffs are to establish the best team in each class by geographic REGION which could then lead to a seeding situation for the final two rounds -- essential if wanting the best chance to get to the top 2 teams in finals. I think there are a couple different ways travel difficulties could be mitigated if seeding for the semifinals: Play semifinals on SATURDAY of Thanksgiving weekend at centrally-located neutral sites--this would mean no school has to have their kids away from their families on Thanksgiving Day. It would require six different sites to host double-headers in the central corridor of Ky. (think: small colleges and HS's w/ turf fields between I-75 and I-65). Game times could be 2:30pm and 6:00pm (Eastern Time) to allow for teams to choose same-day travel instead of an overnight stay (the 6:00pm time assigned to the game with the team having to travel the greatest distance to the site). The teams playing at 2:30 EST would hopefully have no more than a 3-hour trip so might have to leave home around 8:00am (if on Central Time) to get to the site 2 hours before the game. This doesn't seem egregiously early as many teams have worked off this type of schedule to get to UofL, WKU, or UK for state finals games in the past (most I've talked to that have been multiple times say they prefer same-day travel over spend-the-night-before). The teams playing at 6:00pm would have their game end between 8:30 to 9:00 so they'd likely not be traveling during the wee hours of the morning even if to the far ends of the state. I think such a system could be a win also for high schools/colleges choosing to host as they could be rewarded with proceeds from concessions and gate-receipts beyond expenses (travel for all four teams, officials, etc.). Regardless of what is decided--seeded or not-seeded--I'd like to see centrally-located neutral sites for the semifinals to limit the chances of one team having to travel significantly longer than the other. By the time you get to the final 4, I'm not sure it's right that one team should get 'home field advantage' either through a ratings system or the random assigning of home field as is done now through linking up even- and odd-numbered years/regions.

While I may not be crazy about intra-district play, I'm hoping there's a chance this could open the door to doing away with those 1 vs. 4 matchups in first round. It's plausible that a #4 from one very strong district could (and, in fact, has) beat the #1 when matched with a relatively weak district. However, the regular season matchups of teams within the same district would make it clear that the #1 is far superior to their own district's #4 so playing that game in an intra-district playoff format would be moot -- better for travel budgets -- but certainly moot on the field of play. So then, it would make sense to then eliminate the 4's from playoff contention (having finally coached an overwhelming underdog 4-seed, I can attest first-hand that there is NOTHING good about playing that game vs. a 1-seed), give the 1-seed a bye for the first round, and have the 2 and 3 seed play for the right to meet the 1-seed to see who goes to the Region championship. Giving the 1-seed an outright bye would be a way to still make the regular season matter if you do have intra-district games for the first 2 rounds. Additionally, I think you'd get some pretty competitive games in those #2 vs #3 games -- with the coming referee shortage, probably would be a good thing to eliminate a large number of games for that week anyway.

Wow...I don't think I've had as satisfying a compliment as this one. By the way, the great--not just 'good'--men who have coached with me are just as big a reason that 'sense of family' was established everywhere I've been. My best quality as a head coach has always been being able to surround myself with people better than myself. I pray God is with me in the task to find a staff of the same caliber of men I've had on my previous staffs. Thank you to all the others offering congrats. My hope is we can bring some success both on and off the field to the deserving young men at Seneca. They've had it there on the field before (and not that long ago--tip of the hat to Coach Lou Dover and Lonnie Oldham before that) and there's a spirit of support in the current administration that's very reassuring to an incoming coach.

Oh, you don't have to tell me. What happened for many of those years was they had a GREAT run of kids from Louisville area (TJ Pryor, Garnett Phelps, and Brandon Gathof just to name 3 I know personally) all of whom they convinced to either WALK-ON or GRAYSHIRT so they could save their scholarships for out-of-state kids. Those three all ended up being 1st team All-OVC and holding school records. But to get a full ride (not until Soph or Jr year), it required one of their out-of-state studs to eventually peter out due to grades or disciplinary action. I guess they saw it was worth it NOT to give actual offers to Ky. kids when in this state there are so few other 1AA options (Murray also did very little for Ky. kids outside Western part of state). It really hurt those kids in state not quite good enough for UK/UofL but better than NAIA/D2. (Thank God Coach Brohm at WKU started plucking kids like Taylor from PRP, Wales from Central, etc.). Whether getting them to walk-on and not offering was an actual deliberate policy at EKU or not, it seemed to be a trend so I stopped recommending EKU to my players as a place to ever walk on and worked HARD to get them looked at by schools that played EKU (like SEMO, Austin Peay, So. Illinois, Tenn. Tech, etc.). I know of 4 players during that time EKU refused to offer that ended up at SEMO and Tenn. Tech and were key contributors in WINS against them.

Prayers answered. Thank you, Coach Elder. FINALLY, kids in Central Kentucky, Louisville, etc. will actually have a scholarship FCS option. (Murray signed 3 kids from Ky. outside of western part of the state -- actually a pretty good increase for them--but again ZERO Louisville kids. Can't help but think they're missing out not making Louisville a priority.)

Good man and kids at Ballard really like him. Intense, knowledgeable, and very good work ethic. Congrats to Coach Morton.

Hired from within. Justin Blanford has been OL coach at Eastern the previous two seasons. Jason Frakes article in Courier in link below: Justin Blanford named football coach at Eastern High School

This may not be to the liking of people looking for controversy on this topic, but speaking for myself and based on what I've read from the stories on other head coaches who stepped down on their own volition, there does not seem to be anything near any kind of "organized walk-out." I can't speak for the coaches of these other programs, but I know my situation, Ty's at Central, and Jason's at PRP were specifically due to feeling the pull of father duties at that particular point in time (by the way, all three of us mentioned at the time we would likely be getting back into coaching when the timing was right). Coach Copley stepped down at Ballard after only one year because he was approached by a school near where he'd been previously who offered more salary, more say in what assistants are paid, a teaching schedule that allowed for more concentration on football duties, and superior facilities plus better yearly monetary support for football needs outside of what must be fundraised. Add to it his wife felt very at home in that part of the country and I think you could chalk a large part of his decision to "family" as well "coaching opportunities elsewhere" as you mentioned. So, while ALL of us as head coaches (everywhere, not just JCPS) think the grass--or artificial turf--is usually greener elsewhere and would like to see our schools supply better facilities, financial support, etc., to say this is some kind of organized statement against poor conditions is, from my understanding anyway, not the primary factor in what's going on.

Though I don't think any coach in JCPS is pleased with how they're compensated for the time and effort specifically for their coaching, I will say I think to say it's some kind of "revolt" makes it sound more coordinated than it is. I know in my situation a year ago, Coach Scroggins, and Coach Hiser it was primarily due to family situations -- namely that timing was such we had kids of a certain age that made us need to be with them more and the time spent/money earned related to being a head coach weren't enough to outweigh our desire to spend more time with family. I don't know the actual reasoning for Coach Shinholster of Western, but I think Coach Leasor at Seneca knew a while back this was his last season at Seneca (is already in retirement and I think took that over for just a couple of years to get the program organized). Not sure the situation at Eastern but think that might have been more a mutual agreement between the school and coach. So no, I don't think the word "revolt" fits. But I do think we are a pretty collegial bunch (despite our competitive drives against each other on Friday nights) and we talk/commiserate about the same kinds of issues. After a while you start to realize the issues you have at your school are being felt by everyone else around you and you maybe give up a little hope that your situation will improve because it seems it's more "systemic" than you thought. Still, a WHOLE lot of positives about coaching in this county and certainly some situations are somewhat better than others. But that's the case in a lot of systems around the state. One thing that makes it tougher in Jeff. Co. is that we are close enough to see first-hand the kind of support the private school folks get (many of us drive by their turf fields and indoor training facilities every day we drive to our place) and those differences are just a little more 'in your face' than if you were a whole county over from your better-supported rivals. And to the school system's defense, I know it would be unrealistic to think they could support all programs in the most populous county in the state at the level private schools are used to. (*this post typed during my planning period for those of you who worry about such things)

No offense taken. But I am curious how many programs in Ky. have head coaches who make under $7500 (remember, that includes off-season training, weightlifting, etc.). Also would be very interested to know how many programs with more than 100 kids freshman to senior yearly make that little.

A) What schedule did he play against to acquire these stats? (this is not a loaded question; I honestly don't know where he played) B) How "connected" is his coach with lots of other head coaches (for it is a coaches' vote in the C-J)? A lot of times (not always) some of the votes are 'acquired' through emails saying, "you vote for my OL kid, I'll vote for your WR." C) How much was he "hyped" by his own school, coaching staff, and the media outlets in his area (I include people coming onto THIS site as important hype)?

You are right about this. And their work, along with the Board's acknowledgement there are unique stressors working in JCPS, gives us good compensation teaching-wise. Again, I didn't want to come off as 'complaining' about the work they've done on our behalf as teachers. Just wanted to address those who think b/c our teaching pay is higher it somehow justifies low coaching pay. To your point, I think if they wanted to take this up as an issue, they would do a good job on our behalf. I'm sure they want to spend most of their time and effort getting the teaching pay as high as possible. (There was a slight bump in coaches' stipends after the last CBA due to their work, but with the highest head coach pay topping out at $7,444 you can see it still lags quite a bit behind our out-in-the-state bretheren.)

This is pretty much correct. For 12 years experience in Oldham with a Rank 1 you make $70,090 as Head Football Coach (teaching pay: $57,926, head coaching can earn you 21% of your teaching salary on top of that: $12,164). In JCPS you make $69,514 for teaching with a Rank 1. Again though, I can tell you from experience, I spent just as much time and tried just as hard to educate ALL my students as a teacher in Oldham schools for what they felt inclined to pay me for teaching as I did in JCPS. Similarly, as a JCPS head coach I worked just as hard in time and effort (maybe more considering all the times I drove kids home somewhere in the west end after 11pm following a Friday night game) for the $7,444 in head coaching pay as I did in OCHS schools for what they felt was fair to pay me for coaching. By the way, don't lose sight that I only earned the $7,444 head coaching stipend the year I reached my 4th year as a head coach in JCPS. My 5th year, it remained $7,444 as it did in the 6th, 7th, and so on (Bob Redman of all people got no bump in his head coaching pay following his 4th season as head coach despite all the success he had). Somehow you are rewarded/compensated for your loyalty/experience in the classroom with a progressive pay scale, but that doesn't hold true for you as a coach. Oh, and don't forget, part of what you are paid in Oldham Schools as a coach is for your OFF-season time (you get 15% of your teaching salary for "coaching" and 6% more for what you do specifically in the off-season). As I said in a previous post, I spent 10-15 hours per week, after school, on top of lesson planning/paper grading running a fully comprehensive off-season strength, speed, and agility program (not to mention extra hours during spring practice weeks) both at OCHS and at Ballard. Oh, and consider the time you spend in playoffs working for free, because I made $7,444 total in 2014 when we played 4 weeks beyond the regular season and went to the state semifinals -- that's the same exact coaching salary head coaches made at JCPS schools who didn't make the playoffs. (Obvioiusly, none of us complain about that because we all want to work for free as long as possible because our teams are still playing.) I greatly appreciate what JCPS pays us to teach. I feel it's very much earned. I have also never complained -- and am not really complaining in this thread -- about being paid poorly for our efforts as coaches. I am just wanting to point out that just because your pay as a teacher is good, that should not be used as a justification to make your pay as a coach any less than any other coach in the state (unless a coach is compensated more than others on the basis of MERIT -- something I'm all for).

While this is objectively true, to say that as a justification for low coaching (head and assistant) stipends, to me doesn't make sense. I said to someone at the Board level when first taking the job at Ballard that our coaching pay was extremely low compared to other places I'd been. The comment back was, "well, you get paid more to teach here, so it makes up for it." The person teaching down the hall from a coach gets paid the same as the coach for their teaching. As Coach Scroggins (and several others now publicly) have pointed out, the teaching load is not lessened much (if at all) for you just because you spend an inordinate amount of time coaching (for me, usually 30-35 more hours a week outside of school hours in-season and 10-15 hours outside school hours in off-season). So then, to use a higher teaching salary as a reason it's okay to pay you less as a coach doesn't make much sense me. If you are expected to teach with just as much effort as a teacher with zero extra-curricular responsibilities (and believe me, you are), you EARN every penny of that "higher teaching salary." So why should that legitimize paying you less for all the hours you spend outside of school compared to your peers at pretty much any other public system in the state?

Pretty sure he coached OLB's at T. I have a couple good friends in coaching who know him well and the main thing that came up when describing him was "extremely organized." Essential quality for a HC -- especially a first-time HC. Coming from T you also know he will require a high level of commitment year-round from the kids who say they want to play. That was without a doubt the key to the years there's been success at OC -- and why I think there's a high level of success at SOHS right now. Has coaching in his blood -- father is former HC and is currently on staff at T. Schedule sets up for a couple years of W/L success and then add to that there's an extremely good couple of classes coming up talent-wise. If Coach Fox fits his schemes to the strengths of the kids he'll have year-in/year-out, there's very good potential for a consistent winner once again in Buckner.

It is, Harry. You were right and that's what Mr. Network was saying. (Both my parents--and most of my extended family--went to Lynn Camp.)

I agree Paulson would fit well at UofL in Petrino's system... BUT -- has verbally committed to WKU. And don't think UofL offered.

...and only a SOPHOMORE. Reminds me a little of another HS WR I saw once up close. (Am watching him right now vs. the Baltimore Ravens.)

2 men on, 2 outs. Chance to go ahead with one swing of the bat... Here's the pitch...swung on...foul ball -- caught. Score remains, CAL 2 Danville 0. Onto the bottom of the 4th. Still got half a game of ball to play. Danville getting on base consistently, but CAL still throwing the shutout.

Great point. Wish dads understood LONG-SNAPPING is a lot of time the ONLY way a boy will get a chance to play in a Division 1 program. Your kid who is a stud HS receiver under 6'0 who runs a 4.7 will NOT be playing D1 even if he led the state in receiving for 2 years. ...but he CAN maybe make it as as long snapper. (My son--8th grader--will be going out later today to work on speed, quickness, catching, route-running, AND LONG-SNAPPING.)

Guru--CAL has a RT they list as 6'5, 230 named John Young and is only a FRESHMAN. I assume he's still playing there (haven't gotten to see them since game 3). If you get a chance to isolate on him, I'd be interested to hear your take. With a 6'5 frame with room to put on serious weight and the kind of playing experience he'll get for 4 years of varsity football in a great program against good competition, if his ability matches his size, might be looking at a future NFL kid. Looked very good for a freshman in the games we broadcast them.

Key to this matchup I don't think I've seen anyone point out yet... It's not so much 'size vs. speed' but it IS about the pass rush -- just not so much the inside pass rush. Those of you there, when Danville has the ball, watch the matchup of CAL's Defensive Ends vs. Danville's edge rushers when Danville passes. Unless it's a 1-3 step drop or Danville assigns RB's to each to help OUTSIDE on each side, it would be tough for most HS OL to block those two long cats CAL has. Then, if you load up, their two interior kids are good at getting around or through pass blocks too.