RickGrimes

I apologize I was trying to give context and reasons for my arguments, so it would not come off as purely my opinion. I wish no ill will towards Mr. Jackson, never even said he was a bad player, just that I am skeptical that he is without a doubt the best center in the entire country in the 2016 class. But when it devolves to making fun instead of trying to have a discussion time to move on to a new thread. I will leave you with this link on the recruiting rankings from the most recent draft class: How 2015 first-round draft picks rated as high school recruits - NFL.com Whats particularly interesting if you scroll to the bottom is the analysis. For example, there are no longer any kids from the HS class of 2009 with college eligibility. Of the 33 5 star recruits in that class only 16 (48%) were ever drafted and only 3 (9%) were 1st round picks. And these rankings are determined by someone whose fulltime job it is to evaluate these kids. Cant say the recruiting gurus were very successful and the numbers for other classes are very similar. So again, pardon me if I believe recruiting is based on potential and should be treated with some skepticism.

That makes no sense. Im making the point that Trinity was 5-5 and then dominated everyone not named Male and St X in the playoffs, so pardon me if I am skeptical about the relative talent levels of KY HS players to other states THIS season and last.

Trinity was 5-5 before the playoffs this season and won state championship game by 30 points. Im talking about the kids playing right now.

I am a coach in the state but I am also realistic about the overall talent level in the state. There is a reason a school like Trinity with all of their advantages goes .500 against out of state opponents and then blows out everyone in KY not named Male and St. X. There is just another level of competition out there and even all those kids are not major D1 prospects. But you will be more ready to immediately contribute in college if that is the caliber of competition you are used to playing. That is a great accomplishment for the kid but in my opinion, and I have seen him play, I would be very surprised if he is better than every other high school center in the 2016 class in the enitre country. He has good size and those rankings just mean has an awful lot of potential, still has to realize it. And if Im flat out wrong then if UK keeps locking up these #1 ranked in state kids like Barker, Elam, Daniel and Jackson they should be dominating the SEC in no time.

He competed against those kids in shorts. If he is that good he will demonstrate it. But recruiting is just as much about potential as results, colleges look at size and believe they can coach those kids up. But when you get to the D1 level you arent going to just dominate because you arent the biggest fastest and strongest anymore. Look at Elam last year. Has all the potential, but no conditioning and no technique, he got by in HS because he was just bigger than everyone. Eventually he might have an impact, but he wasnt one of the best freshmen DL in country despite what his recruiting ranking may say.

I know what the ranking next to his name is, but the reality is the kid from KY is not seeing the best competition the country has to offer and in my opinion is not the best player in the country. Perform all you want at combines with shorts and tshirts, pads on Friday night is a different story. The best player at Center and RB are probably found in Texas, Florida or California, there is nothing to really argue.

Seen Woodford lose to Nelson County the last two years. Jackson didnt stand out, no disrespect but no way he is number 1 center in nation. Recruiting rankings are based on combine results and projections/hype. I cant see a kid who plays all KY competition all season long truly be the best prospect at any position nationally.

From some of the comments on here after the hire it sounds like no one should be surprised by the less than professional actions of the coaching staff.

Good luck to him. It really is better for UofL, UK and HS football in KY in general for both programs to be competitive year in and year out.

Some schools petitioned KHSAA to play in 6A because of travel. So then KHSAA starts at bottom of 6A asking if those schools want to play down. Remember only 32 schools in 6A so it wouldn't take long to get to Fern Creek. And can you blame them? I would say they have a very good chance to win their region in 5A vs being in a district with Trinity and Ballard in 6A.

Next year will be my 8th, all high school math. I will have more classroom experience then my principal and all 3 APs after next year. And yes, you still need a strong principal and superintendent that will invest in athletics just like the classroom and career pathways, because they know it will attract and motivate students.

I agree with your sentiment, but its not that principals are necessarily former math or science teachers or whatever and thats why they're bad, its you have people with the sole ambition to be administrators. So they only teach 3 or 4 years and become admins, so they dont have strong experience or previous leadership roles (coaching experience). You used to get former teachers or coaches that were in the profession for 15-20 years before they became admins, and had the experiences and understanding to excel. So now the admins have less experience than half their teachers and are more easily influenced by their respective Boards of Ed and Superintendents. People who have been admins for 20 years lose touch with what actually goes on in classroom and on fields.

Sorry, hard to detect sarcasm in forums. Watched several T games, Manual arguably most athletic team they played all year. Had some great looking kids.

What part of last year's championship was lucky or an upset? Trinity dominated every aspect of game. T, St. X and Male were head and shoulders above the rest of 6A.

More important question than helmets is that no one mentioned the article looking forward to 15 spring practices. So either 1. Author doesnt know whats going on 2. KHSAA has no authority in Tiger town 3. I'm the only one who clicked link to read article

Are we talking about the same Bullitt Central that doesn't have a Principal because no one will apply for the job, AD just left to take Southern job, and their new head coach applied/looked into the North Bullitt job right after accepting the BC job? And as a whole a school district where the super will spend no money on athletics, thus why BC has no practice field and all 3 high schools cannot host a track meet because the tracks are safety hazards. And finally, no middle school football in Bullitt County, so 120 lb ball carriers and everyone who makes Bullitt County all-stars should start on Fridays as true freshmen (if you ask the parents). I would not call that support . . . But that is just me.

If I'm not mistaken, Etown has turf field, locker room, nice new video board and the advantages of being an independent school district. With the construction in Bullitt Co, North I believe has no practice field, a superintendent who will make no investment in athletics (all 3 Bullitt schools cannot host track meets due to their terrible condition) and finished the year with under 30 kids at a 5A school. There is no MS football either. Coming from Etown and St X just curious how Coach Billings will thrive without the support and built in advantages those schools have.

Another in a long tradition of hires that shows being friends with administration is the most important qualification. Did not win at Etown with the tradition and resources, interested to see how successful he can be at North when he has to build the tradition and facilities.

I have some friends in Bullitt County, I hear all this has happened in the last few weeks.

His wife recently lost her battle with cancer. He is eligible for retirement this year, so I heard he is retiring from the classroom as well.

I think Trinity actually prefers this schedule. All of that travel takes a toll on the kids and coaches and can get quite expensive. Do you think anyone in their right minds wants to play Moeller week 10 before the playoffs start while the rest of the state is taking the week to get healthy? I think they want to play good competition and teams from KY, but the issue has been getting non-district teams to schedule them . . . which no one has wanted to do.

Since I consider myself one of the young coaches being talked about, I will share. I'm in my 7th year of teaching, almost 30 yrs old. I've been coaching football that entire time, as a position coach and coordinator. I have coached on a state championship team. I played football at the small college level. I firmly believe that my job is first and foremost to be the best educator I can be. However I am very passionate about football and know the benefits of playing as well as the benefits of some kids needing that structure and positive adult role models. I don't expect to make my living solely from coaching at the high school level, but it is not fair to my wife and children to miss spending time with them for free. When talking about the "me" culture, I will say I have coached at 4 different schools during those 7 yrs (though I've taught at the same school the entire time). I have moved around because I have sought out opportunities to coach with well respected coaches to learn how to be a better coach and different schemes and philosophies. I have moved to become a coordinator and prove I can implement and teach my system, and I have moved to see exactly what it takes to win a state championship. I would think those would all be things that would show I am dedicated to my profession and am trying to build the skills and experience to be a quality head coach. I have interviewed for a couple head jobs and I have been frustrated when I feel like most of the time my teaching and coaching experience were the least important requirements. I was passed over for a principal's best man, a coach with no experience but was an alum of the school, a coach that only coached middle school but the middle school principal moved to the high school and several more. I was once laughed at in an interview when I talked about having high expectations for all kids and the person doing the interview didn't understand why I was serious. Unfortunately not everyone understands what it takes to build and maintain a successful program and I remain unwavering about what I would do because I have seen what works best for all kids. So I will continue moving around to build the experience necessary to hopefully one day become a head coach. I have applied for one of the jobs still open on this list and hope to hear something soon. If given the opportunity I plan to stay as long as they will have me, I want to build a program that I would want my own sons to be a part of. If not, then I will keep looking for the next opportunity to grow as a teacher and coach and if that makes me part of the selfish culture so be it.

It was a 5 year rule. When you started 8th grade you had 5 years to complete your 4 years of high school eligibility. So, if you had to repeat any grade from 8 - 12 you lost a year of participation.

From Bylaw 23 on limitations of season: "(3) During the period beginning on the day immediately following the dead period (Bylaw 24) and through July 31, member schools may participate in noncontact simulations (i.e. 7 on 7) and such participation does not count against scrimmage limitations provided that the first practice in full pads has not been conducted. The school issued helmet may be used during these activities, but no other equipment included in NFHS Rule 1-5 may be issued prior to the dates detailed in subsection (a)(2) of this section. The KHSAA catastrophic insurance is not in effect for these simulations if other schools are involved; (4) Preseason and during season practice in football shall be as follows: a. The first legal organized practice wearing a helmet only shall be no earlier than July 22" No surprise but the bylaw leaves a lot of gray area. #3 seems to say from end of dead period, July 15, through July 31 (first day of full pads is August 1) schools can do 7 on 7 and wear helmets. It also says 7 on 7 does not count as a scrimmage BUT if you go against other schools you are not covered by insurance, so why the statement about 7 on 7 not counting as a scrimmage? However #4 says no practice with helmets until July 22. I'm trying to decide if this is intentionally confusing so it can be enforced (or not) at the KHSAA's convenience and they can blame schools for not following rules? Or is the person/committee in charge of writing the bylaw an idiot and doesn't have access to a calendar?

From what I know I believe Beatty's kids both live in Louisville area. He may have applied but this seems more likemaking a statement over some issue to Trinity admin than really wanting to leave. I'd expect no change at Trinity.