Drunk Johnny

It is still early for the rankings to see who will be the top dogs this year, but this year looks as if it will be more wide open then in recent seasons. The past couple years pretty much Tates Creek and Norte Dame were unbeatable and everyone else was trying to catch up. It looks like the talent has evened out more, and should be an interesting year with no "buzz saw" out there that teams have a hard time competing against. Would not be surprised to see a team currently not in the top 10 make a run to the finals.

There will be a lot of emotion in the game and I think that will help carry the Camels early, but Highlands has just too much speed and talent and will pull away in the second half. Final score will probably be 42 to 14 HHS. The gap is closing though between these two schools. I will give coach Lickert credit for getting the program headed in the right direction and hope it continues to build.

There are several factors that are keeping the numbers down at the youth football level. The kids specializing at a younger age in one sport has knocked down the numbers and there are several new leagues in Northern Kentucky that were not around just a few years ago. Plus I do think that the concussion/head injuries has scared some kids (mainly parents) from allowing their kids to play and have steered them more toward other sports. There can always be a freak injury, but it is very rare that a head injury would occur at that age level. As far as coaching, I think it is like anything else, you get good coaches and some coaches that are just out there because it makes the practice go faster than sitting in the chair watching. Most are dads that are assistant coaches at the youth level and they must to have enough to coach the team. Asking questions as a parent is not a bad idea to the coaches because not all are up on it as one would think.

The demise of Ryle football the past few years was in part to the "Daddy ball" that will not work at any level. It doesn't work at the youth level and it sure doesn't work at the high school level. Also, being one dimensional by trying to run the ball everyplay isn't going to sustain long drives. I think the former coach has a large amount of football talent that allowed him to get away with that to a certain extent, but once that group graduated, the current talent couldn't win with that scheme. The talent has picked up some but it will be interesting to see what kind of scheme Ryle will run. Hopefully they will develope a QB that will be able to throw the ball enough to keep teams from stacking 9 in the box. This 6A district will be competitive and I don't know if Ryle is ready climb the mountain yet to win the district. But that is why they play the games. We will see.

The turnover at most of the DIII schools is very high. I am familar with Thomas More and they will bring in 50 or so freshman every year. I would say about half can play at the college level, and the other half they are taking a flyer on to see how they work out. Many quit playing after their freshman year due to they don't have the talent to play at the college level, or don't enjoy playing the game anymore do to the large time committment. Some just don't have the finances to continue and must get a job to help pay for college. However, they don't just open the doors to anyone that wants to come out and play football They are selective, as are most colleges about who they invite to be on their team.

I have been involved with youth football for many years and the bottom line is every team plays to win a championship. As soon as the score board lights up teams are going to try and win. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. I have yet to see a game where a team played every player on the team during a close game just to make sure they get playing time (unless it may be the last minutes of the game). Honestly, it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the team because the opponent is going to run or throw at the lesser talented player. The main thing to help youth football is to have good coaching that teach basic fundamentals of the game and keep the kids enthused about football. As far as the Fort Thomas league I think they have the talent split up, but they are still playing to win the game.

I think as far as lower numbers at the youth level it won't hurt the high school teams due to most of the kids that play football that it is their second or third sport, probably wouldn't play in high school anyway. With all the specialization going on, and I'm afraid it will only get worse, many kids aren't playing mulitiply sports very much anymore. The more talented football players at the youth level are going to continue to play through high school, but more of the fringe players at the youth level are going to concentrate on their main sport whether it is baseball, basketball or soccer. With more youth football leagues available for kids to choose from, it was going to be a challenge to keep numbers up to be able for teams to have good practices to prepare for game day.

Notre Dame, coach or no coach, by far has the most talent top to bottom in N KY. Not saying they can't be beat this year, but as far as pre season # 1 they are typical Notre Dame. Two through four will probably be HHS, Ryle, and Ncc, but hard to tell what order. Not sure how much Ryle lost, but I know HHS and Ncc didn't lose much and should be better this year than last and both made it to at least the regional semis. The next five through ten will probably be St. Henry, Boone County, Simon Kenton, Dixie, and Campbell County in no particular order. Brossart lost a lot to graduation and will be interesting to see how they do this year. Not saying they won't have a good year but a lot of new faces will be on the field for the Mustangs this year.

That was a fast replacement. Why didn't they hire him to begin with.

Can you expand on your answer. ^^^^^^^^^^^

With the dead period for Brossart ending the 14th of July has there been a head coach named yet. Schools will be doing the "pre season", none contact drills before the pads come on the 1st of August.

My post was not to slam the talent or the Grant County program or other freshman teams. Just girls sports are much different than boys that a lot of freshman girls play up on jv or varsity. It is hard to predict if a successful freshman team will relate to winning at the varsity level. Its all good.

May want to slow down on where to place the regional banner at in the gym. Most schools have freshman girls that are very good play at the junior varsity or varsity level. Some schools even have 8th and 7th graders just doing varsity. I know SK had several girls on the jv or varsity team, and didn't even play freshman at all. I am not saying that the Sophmore class isn't talented, but beating up, especially on smaller schools freshman teams, does mean that this team is going to dominate the region. Time will tell the next few years how this class turns out.

Highlands main focus is to have as many kids play their jr. high league as possible to have a bigger talent pool when they get to high school. It helps big time as you have 4 kids playing quarterback in Jr. high instead of having one and a backup. Also at other postitions as well. In addition it keeps kids involved in the sport as they are starting and not 2nd or 3rd string that they may get frustrated and quit.

I think you made the point why he should not have been hired in the first place. At a place like Highlands that is tradition rich and 100 kids plus you need to be tough on them because talent and competition will make them better. However, if you are trying to build a program and get kids to come out and play, the hard core style isn't going to build it, it will have the opposite effect. Football is a demanding sport and a lot of kids don't want to pay the price to become good football players because of the phyiscal and mental committment it takes. I don't think Brossart is in the position to talk about winning state championships, they need to build up numbers and get the school to rally around them. I am not saying that Teegarden is not a good coach, I am sure he is a very good coach, but he was the wrong type of coaching style at a program trying to survive.

For the sake of Campbell County Athletics lets hope. Every school has their share of "those parents" that think little Johnny or Susie is the savior of the program, and get more than a little "chippy" with whatever sports program their child in involved in if they aren't the star. The difference is at most schools the coaches have the backing of the administration if they tell the parent that the coach is doing what is the best for the team, and not, were going to make your kid and the parent happy at the expense of the team! As a public school it is very surprising that this has gone on for as long as it has. Hopefully this last coaching mess will get things in to perspective for all parties where the coaches coach, and the parents cheer.

I would agree on the most talented team in the 9th region will be Holy Cross. The one thing that hurt them last year was very little, if any bench production. If the refs call everything again this coming year like last year, they will need to get some bench minutes/points/rebounds due to possible foul trouble or fagitue. Also there are several other teams in the 9th that should be very good this year with the likes of Highlands, Conner, Ryle, Boone Co., and Ncc will still be strong.

That is correct. Highlands did get the wins back in court. Also, they were 2 - 13 before the ruling.

Has Brossart decided to play a full schedule this year or is that still to be determined? Also, anyone know the reason why Teegarden left when he did so close to the season starting? At this point in the year getting a coach is going to be a challenge. Maybe a call to Dale Muller wouldn't hurt. He isn't coaching this year. Just kidding.

I think one other thing to realize also is there is only so much football talent out there in Northern Kentucky. Brossart is limited with its general area where it gets students/athletes from, Southern and Central Campbell County, where basketball and soccer interest seems stronger, and not a large amount of football talent is around. Drawing from Pendleton County really does not help much either since they are struggling to keep a program as well.

It's all about getting the right fit. If Ohio State doesn't work out then there are plently of other options out there. I would say at that size 6'5" and 310 lbs.I would work as much as possible on footwork and agility. A 40 time for offensive lineman really isn't a hugh factor at most locations, some schools like Ohio State it may be, but the shuttle run and good footwork are critical to get interest from college level coaches. Be selective at which schools you think the coaches would have an interest unless you just want you son to have the experience of a large school camp. (Which is pretty cool to see how he does against other players).

When did age mean anything in AAU basketball. This would be front page news worthy it they actually told a player he is too old to play on an AAU team reguardless of age.

I don't see how this is any different than Kenton County's open enrollment or the city of Louisville. Students decide where they want to go to high school for their education and play sports. Brossart has to make their football program more attractive to get the players they need to succeed. Look at Beechwood, they have had kids from all over the Northern Kentucky area to play there and it is a 1A program. Why? because they have a chance to bring home a state title and have very good facilities. If Brossart wants to continue football they are going to have to invest in the future, (with a home stadium and practice facilities). Also, they need to rally the adminstration to get on board as well to find the money to make it happen. This is not going to be a quick fix. They need to sell the program at the youth level. They need to interact with the Red Devils and Campbell County Thunder to get potential players excited about the Brossart program. Have a Brossart night for these organizations at one of their football games and try to get the Mustangs name out there.

Brossart is in a no win situation this year. If they play the games with the low numbers they may not have enough to finish the year due to injuries, or at least be competitive. However, with the options student/athletes have for choices to play football in Brossarts main area where they draw from, between Campbell County, Ncc, and Cov Cath, this isn't going to help. Unless all their buddys go to Brossart, or their parents went there, this is a very tough sell to get someone to wear the green and white over other schools they could play at. Brossart has to push hard the fact that they can compete after this year for a district title and a guarenteed a playoff game back in 1A.

I think this team needs to measure success with getting better every game. This program has struggled since the start and it needs to stay positive and continue to build. For a 5A school the numbers are low. The coaches, players, and community need to rally around this program and keep it going in the right direction. They had a very good head coach, but they need to get more talent out on the field and keep developing the talent that is there. The bottom line is your speed is your speed, and they are not a fast team, but they need to make up some of that with grit and toughness. I feel they are going in the right direction but this is going to be a long journey to get where they want to be.