ChiefSmoke

If we stick with 6 classes, I would prefer we only take top two. Or, we go back to four classes and take top 4. But, there is not enough support for that among schools.

I am proud of Coach Thomas, his staff, and the players. They have fought hard this season and did make substantial improvement. Congrats to the Tomcats. I always enjoyed our games at Putnam. Great stadium & tradition!

Remember 2003.... Can the Royals beat Oklahoma? Fill in the blank.... In 2016.... Can __________ beat Alabama? Lol.

The best I remember.....they were in the process of becoming the West Union HS Football Team. When we signed the deal, I thought by this time that would have taken place. For all practical purposes, the way I understand it, they are the West Union HS Football Team and they play OHSAA teams. Our JV game with them was very competitive. Scott has that community excited about football. They brought a good crowd to that JV game and were fired up to play that game. I remember being impressed with their fans, kids and coaches. They were ready to play football. I thought they appreciated the game and that some times in other programs the fans, players, & coaches can take it for granted.

We made the deal with West Union when I was still there. Scott McFarland is working his tail off to start football at West Union. He is their head coach. We played them in JV a couple seasons ago. They needed the money for their program and anytime we can get six home games we will take it. It benefitted both programs.

I liked Crad alot and enjoyed talking to him. His family is in our prayers.

I received this from a good friend, someone I have great respect for. And, I will admit that although he is not a coach, he certainly knows HS football and quality HS football. I thought this was probably the best answer from the other side of the question. Being given a hat, a whistle and a title of “coach” does not magically turn a person into a good coach. A coach may spend more time around the players, but if the coach doesn’t know what the hades he’s doing, a bunch of time does not magically make the coach make good coaching decisions. There are bad lawyers, bad electricians, bad plumbers, bad mechanics and yes bad coaches. I know enough about electric to see a bad electric job and be able to spot a bad electrician. Likewise, there are fans (in some programs, a lot of fans) that know enough about the game to see bad coaching decisions and be able to spot bad coaches. If you tolerate mediocrity, you will always be mediocre.

Sorry, but this not directed at Highlands. It is all programs. I will admit though that it applies more to programs that have long range success and that would certainly include the Birds.

I have seen this alot..... a team is losing and it turns into a moral/ethical issue... attitude, lack of heart, commitment, toughness, etc. In my opinion, most of the time, the other teams have better players. I think it is better to focus on making the kids better players than go down that road of blaming the kids and their lack of intrinsic motivation or intangibles.

I value the information I get from my MS coaches in regards to the incoming freshmen. I also value what our frosh coaches tell us about those kids when they become sophomores. I especially value the input of the HS position coaches. In regards to youth football, kids develop at different rates and they can change. The best lineman in 5th grade may be a RB in HS and vice versa. Mikah Turner (Mason County) was a very good offensive tackle as a freshman and all through HS. Had he played in college, he most definitely would have been better at TE. We chose to leave him at OT & DE because at those positions he would never come off the field and he was a very good player. He went on to be a great basketball player at Berea. One of the highlights for me coaching the KY All Stars versus Tennessee was when Brandon Deaderick didn't want to go to sleep and stayed up late, talking about lining up across from Mikah. Players certainly evolve and change.

My question was not directed at Mercer or any one program. I meant it in general. I know the second guessing goes with the job. I just wanted to get into specifics and get some insights. This stuff has been really good. Glad I met you the other day!

Sorry for the double post.

I appreciate the responses and the spirit of your answers. This is good stuff. Thank you!

It is probably just a low cycle of numbers. That happens at many smaller schools.

I am not trying to antagonize anyone, but maybe someone on here can help me understand....do fans who see the ballgame each week, and possibly catch parts of a practice through the week, really believe they know better than the staff when it comes to how to use players, their strengths & weaknesses, the best offensive & defensive strategies, etc? If a staff has a proven track record of success, is at practice everyday with their players, watch the practice video and evaluate their players, spend a boatload of hours on the weekend watching their game video, the opponent video, staff meetings to evaluate / discuss personnel & strategy....and obviously a group of extremely competitive men.... Do the fans know better than they do? I have been around HS football my entire life and around some great coaches and players. I've worked more hours, days, weeks on this stuff than I could even begin to count. Of all topics, the one I would think I know best is HS football. But, if I am not on another school's staff and attend every practice or meeting, I would not begin to think I know better than they do on how to coach their team. Maybe it is just fans having fun, and if so, that is what it is. Or, maybe it is for entertainment value which I could see as well. But , sometimes it seems like the fans really think they do know better. I love HS football and Bluegrass Preps has been great in promoting it. It is all good. I am just curious what the mindset is on stuff like this. This is our off week. I had a little extra time this Sunday. :thumb:

Congratulations to Coach Perry and the Knights. Mark has done a super job at Catholic and he is an outstanding coach. Boyle is on our schedule the next two years. Chuck Smith is still a great coach and the Rebels are loaded with young talent. They will be very good in the near future. Good luck to both teams the rest of the way.

Congratulations to Coach Thomas and the Royals! :thumb:

Yes. We are looking forward to it. Boyle has a great program and we are excited to get our young kids more live reps. Of course we want to win, but the big picture is reps and player development.

Yes

Boyle is at Mercer. Kickoff is set for 6 pm, for the freshman game, followed by the JV game.

Since many Americans are unhappy with our choices for President, should we consider future Supreme Court nominees in deciding who gets our vote? If we favor a strict interpretation of the Constitution, we vote to the right. If we support a loose interpretation of the Constitution, we support a candidate to the left. Part of my rationale: The Industrial Revolution was a major event in American History. Can you name the Presidents during this time? But, do you recognize the names Carnegie & Rockefeller? And almost all of us know the importance of Roe vs. Wade, Plessy vs. Ferguson, & Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education. My point.... Who is President is not as important as who is on the Supreme Court and the decisions that are made. Agree or disagree? Is the Supreme Court make up in the future enough to justify voting for a candidate that you do not like?

I hope I followed the rules right on this. I am really proud of Trevon. I was very uncomfortable making this decision, but I am glad that I did. Trevon has made it the right decision because of his effort & attitude. Mercer’s Faulkner makes successful jump to football By Jeremy Schneider Email the author Published 4:13 pm Friday, October 7, 2016 Everyone knows Trevon Faulkner, the basketball player. If Mercer County football coach David Buchanan is right, many more people are going to know Trevon Faulkner, the football player. Faulkner, a star on the Titans’ basketball team who averaged 18.6 points and 5.9 rebounds last season, joined the football team three games ago, and his impact has been immediate. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound junior leads the team with three interceptions from his free safety spot, where Buchanan called him the best he’s coached in 16 years. “When he’s a free safety, I’d think twice about throwing the ball between the hash marks. He can cover that much ground,” Buchanan said. “He’s that good in what, just three games. He’s a doggone good player. He can cover a lot of ground.” The decision to play football was influenced by the Titans boys basketball team’s coaching change. While Faulkner said former coach Josh Cook didn’t forbid him to play football, it was discouraged. “He didn’t want me to, he didn’t want to risk it, didn’t want me to get hurt,” Faulkner said. Faulkner isn’t scared to get hurt, and new basketball coach Kurt Young isn’t concerned, either. He’s completely on board with Faulkner playing football, even with the risk of injury derailing the basketball season. “You don’t want to see any kid get hurt, but he could get hurt playing a pickup game or going through a workout on the basketball court,” Young said. “… I think it’s going to be great for Trevon. Yeah, you want to be greedy and have your kids do your sport 24/7, but I think we’ve lost a lot because of that. He’s going to gain a lot because of this. “When he comes back, I think he’s going to be hungry, along with the other football kids. Our job is to peak at the end of the year, to peak during tournament time.” Up to now, Faulkner’s athletic future appeared to be in basketball; he’s already picked up scholarship offers from Wright State in Ohio and Middle Tennessee State. But Buchanan believes the ceiling could be even higher in football, saying Faulkner, who played football in middle school and as a freshman, could be a BCS-level recruit with his size and skill. This is the first time in his career Buchanan has allowed a player to join the football team in the middle of the season. He made the exception for Faulkner because of a variety of reasons, including giving college coaches a chance to see him this season. The impact Faulkner has had on the football team hasn’t just occurred on the field, according to Buchanan, who brought up the quality of character and his experience winning at a high level. The coach said this adjustment and late addition wouldn’t have worked had Faulkner not been a positive personality. “I thought the right thing to do was to allow him on the team, and he’s made it the right decision because of his actions,” Buchanan said. “He’s worked his tail off, he’s got a great attitude with his teammates. He’s hit a home run with his teammates. Yes, he’s a very talented young man, there’s no question about that, but he’s just really been a guy I’m glad I’ve got in our locker room. He’s made it work because of his attitude and work ethic.” In addition to the members of the football team who won a state track title last year, Faulkner has success in basketball. The Titans were ranked No. 1 in the state for much of the season and finished 33-2 with an appearance in the state tournament. “Winning a state title or region championship, that’s not an overwhelming idea for our kids,” Buchanan said. “They see that all the time in our school.” There are benefits in his basketball game from Faulkner playing football. An increased level of toughness, the extra competition he experiences in a live-action sport and working with teammates through another team-sport season are just a few reasons Faulkner could come into the basketball season better than before. Young, who has spent 20 years coaching in the college ranks, has seen certain skills disappearing from high school athletes as more of them focus on one sport. The thought is athletes like Trevon will gain different skill sets from other sports they couldn’t get by only playing basketball, such as hand-eye coordination from baseball and the ease of catching a basketball after catching a football. Plus, there’s the issue of becoming tougher. “He’s going to learn how to make plays through contact, hopefully a lot more contact than he’ll see on the basketball court,” Young said. “There are so many positives to it.” Buchanan brought up Chris Lofton, a Mr. Basketball winner at Mason County who also happened to be a first-team All-State football player for Buchanan before going on to a successful career at the University of Tennessee and then the NBA. He said Lofton didn’t play football to make him tougher or better at basketball but only because he loved the sport. And he sees the same with Faulkner. There are also skills he brings to the football field which remind Buchanan of watching a basketball game. “They can anticipate a pass and they break on it and react, and the next thing you know they’ve got it and headed the other way,” Buchanan said. “… Those guys are used to playing in space, they’re used to anticipating a pass and where the ball’s going, they already know the angles. There are things built into playing the secondary that go along with being a good basketball player. That’s why I always want my skill guys to play basketball, there’s a lot of carryover.” Other than remaining injury free, the biggest issue facing Faulkner’s decision to play football is getting back on the court. The Titans’ final regular season football game is exactly one month before the basketball team’s first game, and that can be blown up if the Titans win a few games in the postseason. However, missing time on the court doesn’t concern Faulkner. “If we make it deep in the playoffs, that’s something I want, that’s why I came onto the football team, to get a championship,” Faulkner said. “It really doesn’t bother me. I’ll miss it, but at the same time it really wouldn’t bother me because I’m still doing great things for the football team.” Joining the football team a couple of weeks into the season and playing his first game in Week 4 wasn’t ideal, and Faulkner admits he had to play catch up. But he’s already made it clear — there will be no catching up next year. He’ll be back with the football team from day one. And that’s a decision Faulkner, Buchanan and Young can all live with. Follow Jeremy Schneider on Twitter @jschneideramn Welcomed Addition: Mercer’s Faulkner makes successful jump to football | The Advocate-Messenger

We try to practice tackling without going live against another person and taking them to the ground. We also try to go full speed in Team Defense but wrap and stay off the ground. Drill work with dummies and sleds are also an option. The best time for live tackling to the ground is spring.

This is a great win. I am very happy for the kids, staff and Coach Thomas. Congratulations to the Royals!!