CoachJ

Good luck also to our Will Bush who got an invite. Is only in his 2nd year playing football, but has clocked a sub-11.0 electronically-timed 100m this spring, and has a football body (6'1, 190). We recommended Kelan Martin (6'5,240 TE/WR) and he was invited as well, but can't go this weekend due to a prior commitment to an AAU Bball tourney in Dallas,TX. Good luck to ALL the local guys at this camp and the many Camps/Combines coming up in May and June.

Played frosh year. Was a huge target and ran VERY well for his size. He is in our advanced PE class (all strength training) so he's remained 'football-strong' the last 2 years. Wants to see where his 'ceiling' is in basketball (got some decent offers at some very nice programs -- ones you hear about in March each year) but would undoubtedly be a BCS-level school Tight End if he chooses that. He'll go to some football camps this June to 'feel the waters' and see what the big-boys say about his potential, then decide this summer.

Don't know a lot of '14 grads other than the ones on that list--Kelan Martin (6'5 TE who is stud bball player) for us will be a high D1 (invited to Jr. Day at LSU) if he decides to come back out for football. Will Bush is a WR for us that's getting interest from UCincinnati and WKU right now -- 2nd-fastest 100m time right now but has only done track & bball til Junior year. I know the city is loaded with potential D1 '15 kids (Central, Eastern, we have a couple, Trinity has some stud LB in that class as well as Brooks at RB).

I'm having a hard time thinking of a Ky. RB with better offers as a Junior. I know Shaun Alexander ended up big-time, but not sure he was recruited to the same extent as Madison Southern kid.

If it's the site I'm thinking of, it's a guy who's an avid UK fan but doesn't live in Ky. Follows recruiting VERY closely from afar...so gets his information on kids from people he knows back in state or from guys mentioned on Rivals, Scout. Since not getting to actually see them play much, I'm sure he relies on who he hears colleges are interested in. He looks very closely at which kids are being mentioned by D1 schools. He does a good job following up with kids (talks to them directly via phone). By this time, if you're going to be a senior and you're not getting serious attention from D1 schools (like offers or handwritten letters) or you didn't go and perform well at one of the big national camps/combines (like Sparq, RivalsCamps, etc.), it's going to be hard to get onto lists like this. As good as DeVante Parker was in high school (had a GREAT Junior year), he didn't get much love from stuff like this. Didn't go to the Sparq camps, didn't return mail from Alabama, USC, etc. after they saw his film -- knew he was going to UofL all along.

Recruitniks care about 1 thing 1st and foremost: MEASURABLES. And specific to college football, HEIGHT.

Orange barrels everywhere as a matter of fact.

St. X with 4 in the top 25...and Percell & Walker probably deserving. A true 'All-Star' team in itself to be sure. Can't see how they're not the odds-on to win it all. Would almost have to try to have anything less than an undefeated season with talent like that. Looks like Trinity hasn't gobbled up ALL the top Jefferson County kids in recent years.

We have an extremely 'bought-in' group of seniors returning (unfortunately, isn't always the case in Jeff. Co. public schools), so I'm more optimistic than in certain previous years when maybe the talent was there, but I knew going in the 'intangibles' weren't. As a coach, you can affect that kind of thing to some extent, but it takes someone better than me to completely overcome it. Now the tough news: we match up with the 'super-district' for the first 3 rounds of the playoffs (which is part of why we tried to schedule all of them in the regular season). They'll all be tough next year and though we've been competitive with them (within 1pt of beating X, within a TD of Trinity a few years ago, an even record w/ Male, winning record vs. Manual), it was with a different group of kids than we currently have. A lot will come down to us convincing our guys we belong with them (we'll see). Even if we get that done, we'd likely have to make it through THREE of them in 3 consecutive rounds. Not saying that can't be done, but we'll have to do a great job as coaches and players to accomplish that. That being said, we REALLY like the group we've got coming back. I can already tell this will be a group we'll enjoy coaching, win or lose.

Davis is already listed at #8. Are you saying the Soph is deserving of top 5 in whole state already? If so...:eek:

Bonnafon from Trinity.

My bet is they'll have their kids geeked to prove they can beat a Louisville 6A team (was always great motivation for our kids at Oldham).

Mmmm...popcorn!

Billy is HC at North Oldham (has done a VERY good job there) & played at HCHS. Also cut his teeth in coaching at North Jr High (my first job was at South). Kevin was HC at Shelby Valley while I was at Pikeville. Known for having hard-nosed teams & he's an 'old school coach' in every sense of the word. Both are extremely passionate about football. Billy is a true 'football nerd' -- probably has watched more video about every kind of offense/defense/SpTms as anybody.

Kid is 'sneaky strong.' Can't take it in amongst the big boys and score as often as he does without strength. He doesn't lift in a way to get 'bulky'--more of a workout that develops endurance strength than what I do for our football guys.

Byrd was 1st Team All-District WR and DB. One of best young men AND weight room workers I've ever coached. Will be a preferred walk on at UofL at their request. Was a terror on defense in Bball. Snider IS. A gym rat--his skills prove that out. However, between his freshman and Soph year, his dad sought me out and asked me to train him in WEIGHT ROOM. So he started lifting in my Advanced Weightlifting class. After about 3 months, he was making great gains--as a result, starting varsity as a Sophomore was no issue--he could take it in amongst the tall trees, get hacked, & still get buckets. Interestingly, Quinten was a kid in class who--when I told Bball players they could have a day off if they had a big AAU game or something--he came up to me and asked if he could still do his squat workout anyway! By the way, Kelan Martin--our 6'5 Swingman who had 4 great Sweet 16 games, along with phenom Sophomore Jalen Perry are also in that strength class (Perry weighs 185 & dead lifts 400lbs...Martin bench presses 245--VERY GOOD for a kid with long arms).

prefer it that way!

I don't disagree with your point. Though I like physicality, I'm not sure I like it on a basketball court (especially outside the paint). However, I don't see the more physical style of play (or even the what-would-seem-obvious case you bring up) going away. It's all trickle-down from the higher levels. Thus, the need for that weight room and more emphasis on football/bball kids.

Our coaches--especially Chris Renner--did one of the most OUTSTANDING coaching jobs I've ever seen from the beginning of the season until its end Sunday afternoon. We have 8, 9, or 10 guys who were contributors in virtually every game. Most coaches play only their best 6 or 7 and get stuck in a situation where foul trouble or an injury costs them dearly. Never the case with us all year. There was a time in the post-season I saw Chris pull the entire starting five to 'send a message' and because the next 5 had played important minutes all year, we not only didn't miss a beat, but we extended the lead. Those guys felt vital to our team's success all year, so when called upon in the Region and State Tourneys, they were seasoned and ready down to a man. As for having a big lead and losing it, I'd ask the people on this board (most I'm sure who have seen a lot more bball than me): how many times have you seen a team--playing against another very good team who can score--try to take the air out of the ball with a lead and in the process, lose the game eventually? Essentially, you stop doing what you were doing to get the lead and your opponent is the only team on the court trying to score. Maybe if you have a big lead in the 4th quarter you might do that, but that wasn't the case in this game. Taking your team at ANY school -- especially one that has to come out of probably the toughest Region in the state -- not just to the Sweet 16 many times but to the State CHAMPIONSHIP five different times over a 14 year period is nothing short of impossible. Great job by our Bruins and Coach Renner and staff this (and every other) year. I'd put a pretty big amount on their being back -- and taking no prisoners -- in 2014.

I've been to many Sweet16's over the years. I watched almost every game this year and one big thing stood out... Basketball officiating in HS is basically like college bball now -- very rarely getting fouls called for hands on the arm when you have the ball and even while shooting in the paint. I saw many times when balls were ripped away from people on rebounds or while pressing with LOTS of contact involved and no call. The other thing that stood out -- the FINALS consisted of two teams who were STOUT young men who had OBVIOUSLY been in the weight room. (I know from personal experience that the kids from Ballard have a coach who believes in the importance of STRENGTH...they're in the weight room at least 2 days a week even on weeks they have 3 or 4 games and he encourages his players to be in my end-of-the-day Strength class--have 5 bball kids in there this year.) I hope bball coaches in Ky took away that the way the games are officiated now, you'd better have STRONG players! Further, there were MANY football/basketball players on both those teams in the finals. I believe I heard 4 of the 5 starters from MC were football kids...and Ballard had 3 kids who started or played a significant role who are football/basketball. Coach Renner from literally the first day I was hired as football coach made it clear he ENCOURAGED his players to play football and has made it known that having football kids on his team makes them not just physically but also MENTALLY tougher as a whole. I, like most Ballard fans, was CRUSHED at the way things ended for our guys. But I am extremely proud of our coaches, players, and fans for the STRONG showing we made at Rupp this year and throughout the season as a whole. I'm pretty sure we'll be favored to win it all next year -- and I know a big part of that will be that we'll have one of the STRONGEST teams in the state. I know what's going on at Madison Central and Ballard (and Mason County and a few others) is not the case in other bball programs throughout the state, I hope the evidence from this year's finals will convince other bball coaches that getting stronger doesn't 'hurt your shot' (we're not doing 'bodybuilding' after all!) and you don't have to be a 24/7 gym rat to be an outstanding HS basketball player. Go Bruins!

I watched almost every game this year and one big thing stood out... Basketball officiating in HS is basically like college bball now -- very rarely getting fouls called for hands on the arm when you have the ball and even while shooting in the paint. I saw many times when balls were ripped away from people on rebounds or while pressing with LOTS of contact involved and no call. The other thing that stood out -- the FINALS consisted of two teams who were STOUT young men who had OBVIOUSLY been in the weight room. (I know from personal experience that the kids from Ballard have a coach who believes in the importance of STRENGTH...they're in the weight room at least 2 days a week even on weeks they have 3 or 4 games and he encourages his players to be in my end-of-the-day Strength class--have 5 bball kids in there this year.) I hope bball coaches in Ky took away that the way the games are officiated now, you'd better have STRONG players! Further, there were MANY football/basketball players on both those teams in the finals. I believe I heard 4 of the 5 starters from MC were football kids...and Ballard had 3 kids who started or played a significant role who are football/basketball. Coach Renner from literally the first day I was hired as football coach made it clear he ENCOURAGED his players to play football and has made it known that having football kids on his team makes them not just physically but also MENTALLY tougher as a whole. I, like most Ballard fans, was CRUSHED at the way things ended for our guys. But I am extremely proud of our coaches, players, and fans for the STRONG showing we made at Rupp this year and throughout the season as a whole. I'm pretty sure we'll be favored to win it all next year -- and I know a big part of that will be that we'll have one of the STRONGEST teams in the state. I know what's going on at Madison Central and Ballard (and Mason County and a few others) is not the case in other bball programs throughout the state, but maybe evidence like this year's finals will convince other bball coaches that getting stronger doesn't 'hurt your shot' (we're not doing 'bodybuilding' after all!) and you don't have to be a 24/7 gym rat to be an outstanding HS basketball player. Go Bruins!

Just curious about something...since TN separates public and private school championships, how did a "Christian Academy" beat Alcoa in the PLAYOFFS? (Good looking schedule by the way.)

Ballard HS 2013 Schedule ScrimmTBA @ Lex Cath 08/23/2013 @ St. X 08/31/2013 @ J'town 09/06/2013 @ Collins 09/13/2013 Western 09/20/2013 @ Manual 09/27/2013 Male 10/04/2013 OPEN 10/11/2013 Eastern 10/18/2013 @Fern Creek 10/25/2013 Oldham County 11/1/2013 Bryan Station

This one hurts to have to read. His speech was definitely the inspiration for our team going out on the field in this year's Border Bowl vs. Tennessee. Hoping and praying for the best for this very well-respected coach.

This is of high interest to me...I have seen MANY 'intentional' pass interferences fouls over the last 15 or so years (some by my guys, some by theirs). Not once have I seen an extra 15 yard penalty.