bruin66

I think 2-a-days are an invaluable way to get a team ready to play. More reps and more chances to work on situational football, as well as a chance to devote more time to younger players. Plus, I like the fact that they make players fight through some adversity, something that is lacking at times in current society. As far as the heat issue, I think the biggest thing is to get the players acclimated to the heat by spending time outside in the summer. For many high schoolers, their summers are spent almost entirely in an air-conditioned environment. In that case, their bodies are not used to the heat, not to mention the addition of pads and exercise.

I see WAY too many teams and coaches trying to run the spread when it does not fit their players and does not have sufficient answers to situational football such as short yardage, goal line, and 4-minute offense. I have nothing against spreading it out at times, but I am not in favor of doing it exclusively.

I do not think there is one magic football offensive system out there. It is whatever the coach can effectively teach, what the players at that particular school can execute, and if the system has flexibility to cater to the talent on hand from year to year.

Chief, Thank you for reminding us that coaching is and has a PURPOSE. "Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations." - Albert Einstein

If the goal of the KHSAA is to get the best playoff tournament possible, then they will seed the playoffs. Something that should have been done a long time ago. If the goal is to make some of the heavyweights take each other out in early rounds, then they should keep it as is. I think seeding would actually give more teams a chance to advance in the playoffs as the brackets would change every year. Some very good teams under the current system have very little chance of advancing deep into the playoffs due to the fact that they are in the same district/region of another state power. Manual, for instance, has been a top-5 team some years and never made it past the second round.

I agree with you that it is a matter of preference of whether or not to use one. To me, these situations come down to being able to win close games. If the games are not close (like most were not in the Highlands recent run), then it really does not matter. If you are blowing a team out, it does not matter if you get stuffed in short yardage occasionally.

I see so many teams get stuffed in short yardage situations by not having a TE and having defenders screaming off the edge unblocked and blowing up the run game. Even pass-happy teams like the NE Patriots get into multiple TE formations at times. The key to me is to have answers for situational football. In my opinion, teams that never use a TE do not have answers for certain situations. Short yardage, goal line, coming off the goal line, 4-minute offense, etc. I have no problem with offenses spreading it out. I just don't think it is sound to only do that. Just like I don't think it is sound to always play with 2 TE's.

I think having a TE presents the problem for the defense of having another gap to cover in the run game as well as a target in the passing game. To me, it is unsound to never have a TE. I am not saying that a TE should be used every snap, but if nothing else, it helps in short yardage situations. In fact, I believe that it is also helpful to use 2 TE's at times in such situations.

Has the St. X schedule been released for 2017?

Homer Smith's book on clock management is a MUST READ for any football coach as well.

Awesome!

I respect the heck out of the coaches that choose to work in the Jefferson County system. I honestly don't see how they do it with the lack of resources and lack of commitment shown by the county administration as a whole to facilities. Not just athletic facilities, but also school facilities. I believe the newest high school in Jefferson County is Ballard, which opened in 1968. Many of the building are decrepit county wide.

St. X has won 2 of the last 3 state baseball championships.

What does ANY of this have to do with the title of the thread?????????????

I have coached for teams that went 1-9 and have coached for teams that have won state championships. (By the way, the team that went 1-9 in the regular season beat an undefeated #1 seed in the first round of the playoffs that year.) I have played for a team that went 3-7 (my junior year) and have played for a team that went 13-1 (my senior year). Having said that, I think I have a unique perspective of this post. I have been in on both ends of the debate. It took many years of perspective to get to the opinion in my above post. In my younger years, I would have been fuming about a team "running up a score." But after careful reflection, and after realizing that my teams, both players and coaches, are responsible for our fate and games, I came upon my stance about the fact that any energy spent by me or my team on what another coaching staff does or does not do with their team is futile. My energy is better spent on my team and making it better rather than making excuses or complaining about what another team does when they have a substantial lead. I would rather focus on what I could do to help my team not let our opponent build a substantial lead.

Here is my take on this: I coach my team, you coach your team. I think a coach should take his starters out when he believes it is best for his team and its development. Maybe it is better for that them to take the starters out early and let more kids play. Maybe for that particular team, the starters need more reps against a particular defensive front or coverage that it will see later in the season. It is not my job to keep the score down; it the job of my opponent to do so. It is my job to keep my opponent's score down. It has never bothered me if an opponent left starters in. Having said all of this, a coach must be willing to accept the consequences of leaving in starters too long. If he loses a starter due to injury, it is his issue to deal with.

I do remember that, but they have used the 2-back as more of their regular offense the past few years, not just in goalline situations. They have also used the 2-back recently to use play-action to get deep throws, which has been very effective.

I would agree that early on in the Beatty tenure they ran primarily a spread offense. In the early years, they were in a 1-back set 100% of the time. However, I think a key to their recent success has been their ability to adjust their offense to a much more diverse collection. Besides spreading it out, they now have the capacity to play with multiple TE's, and they also often play with 2 backs. This allows them to play better situational football. They are much more competent in short yardage and goal line situations than they were 10 years ago. This situational prowess, combined with their ability to spread it out and sling it, makes them pretty tough to stop. They have also racketed up their defense in the past few years.

Not sure if it is the "right" pieces in place, but at least the pieces have been consistent for more than one year.

I think Central Hardin's defense and home field advantage will contribute to the win.

I don't really have a dog in the fight here, but it seems a little ridiculous for something like this to take 8 weeks.

I disagree with you in that I think Jefferson Co. schools NOT having neighborhood schools has hurt their overall success and balance. Currently, there are many Jefferson Co. public school football programs that are not competitive. That has not always been the case. In years past, many more of the Jefferson Co. teams were competitive. Now it is pretty much Male, Trinity, and sometimes St. X with Manual and PRP on the fringe.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think they should take the playoff game out of Papa Johns and play it at the home site of the school that earns the home game. The atmosphere would be awesome even though it would be a pain to manage the crowd/parking.

This may be the year they get by Desalles, but Mayfield is a tough out in the playoffs.

The key is for the coach to have clear communication about his policy for fall break at the beginning of the year parent meeting.