Kenny Powers

Great pick up for UC, IMO. Coombs is a phenomenal coach and incredible motivator.

What makes you think 6-10 years?

Awesome hire by Lex Cath! Super happy for Bert as he is a great coach and even better guy from an awesome family. Really wish he would have been offered the HHS job! Good luck Coach B and the Knights!

Kerry Coombs and OSU parted ways this week. I wonder if he and Eliano will basically swap positions?

Money of course is the easy answer and honestly would solve part of the problem. Removing "during the day" duties for coaches would also help alleviate the issue so that they are essentially not performing TWO full-time jobs at once. However, for things to truly change and for high schools to have an abundance of high quality applicants for open positions, the same people who say they support coaches and athletic programs need to understand that a lot of times their words and their actions are not aligned. This is obviously not a blanket assessment, but there is a large percentage of parents and boosters today who make the lives of coaches far more difficult than they should be. The sense of entitlement from a lot of parents/boosters today is mind blowing; just because you donated X amount of dollars or just because "back in your day" you were a great player, or just because Johnny was a "stud" in middle school, does not, and should not, dictate how things go on your team. Continued, unfortunately, social media, has made it easier for critics to voice their often unfounded displeasure very public and far worse than the situation actually is. It is very easy for angry parents/boosters to post something online that they would NEVER have the intestinal fortitude to say to a coaches face (and yes I realize the irony in us typing on a message board about this). Finally, many administrators today will hype up the athletic programs in their schools but when push comes to shove and they have to put money, resources, and time where their mouth is, they don't follow through. This is especially true when it comes to supporting coaches against parents/boosters. Some will argue that the job of school administrators is to put the classroom first, and although that is a fair argument, I, and many others would argue that the lessons learned from athletics are every bit, if not more, important than some of the things learned in the classroom. I know I am not the only one on this site who would admit that they learned way training/winning/losing/networking/failing/etc. in sports than they ever did in the classroom. In summary, if supposed supporters would actually do what they claim to do, I believe, that there would be far more young people pursuing coaching positions.

I truly hope you are right and there is a ton of interest. I hope that for every job because I know how valuable good coaches are and athletics are for young people. However, based on my experience I think people would be very surprised how few, and honestly how low quality, candidates there are for coaching jobs. It sucks to say it, but that industry just isn’t that appealing like it used to be.

Nick Rice was more or less a game day coach for Dixie the last couple years due to time constraints from being a principal. Nick’s son is a really solid player at Dixie. Great coach who is an absolute warrior but I doubt he would leave his position to go back to full time coaching. JMO.

How long has there been a 2A championship? I hear about the "All A" a lot but I don't recall hearing about the 2A.

Anyone have CCHS’s schedule for next year?

This is what I’m curious to see as well. HHS could be losing a mainstay for the last 25+ years with this hire.

I understand that those drives are hard on families and the school's pocketbook. However, from a team building aspect I used to love playing these types of games; these games immediately put you and your teammates out of your comfort zone preparing you for potential long travel games during the playoffs. Also, there were some really great memories made with teammates on those long bus trips. I can completely understand why a coach would want to schedule 1-2 of these games a year; especially when it is against a quality opponent.

I doubt we will see someone targeted as much as Robinson was this past year. My guess is that Coen will be forced to spread the ball around more to make up for the loss of Robinson. Some names that I hope to see step up are transfer Tayvion Robinson, Chris Lewis, and Dekel Crowdus. However, the one I am most excited about is incoming freshman Barion Brown. His speed to stretch the field vertically is something UK has not seen in years; or maybe even ever. Getting Keaton Upshaw back at TE and the continued development of Izayah Cummings as a flex type player will help ease the loss of Robinson as well. TE room is stacked for UK. Towards the end of the year Coen started utilizing backs out of the backfield more and more. I hope that continues. The Cats have some RBs in C-Rod, Smoke, and McClain that can be nasty mismatches against LBs.

Now that is a crew right there!

Meyer is not overrated. Should be, and seems to be, taking 10x the shots of anyone. This honestly isn’t much different than HHS with Sam last year. If you got a dude, get the dude the dang ball!

Thanks for the rundown. UC impressed me and was fun to watch this year. As long as they have Fickell I think I would at least hold or buy haha! I like how you brought up the transfer portal. I could see UC turning into a major destination for transferees going forward. They are putting players into the NFL, have a phenomenal coach, and are obviously presenting athletes with an opportunity to compete with the best of the best in college football.

@Walter, as a UC guy are you buying or selling your stock right now?

We spent some of the day yesterday at Robbie’s and had a blast. Kind of touristy but it seems like most things down here are. Good food and solid drinks. My buddy and I are taking a fishing charter today while our better halves enjoy some R and R.

If you look at Bathiany's resume, he is on the track to be a college HC; he has moved up very quickly. However, from what I have been told, his dream job is HHS. It is in his blood. It is my understanding that basically the only thing keeping him from being that right now is his lack of HC experience. Him winning at CC, which I think he would do (not titles but still win) would fix the hole in his resume.

All depends if he could get in the building with a teaching gig or something similar.

Bert Bathiany. Get some HC experience then take over HHS.

I could see him staying in Florida and going to Florida State.

Haha yes. It was more of a rhetorical question than anything to show the reason why the football program would be getting the field. Not saying I agree with the idea, and honestly wish it wasn't the case, but that is the position athletic departments are in.

How much money does the Mason Co. softball team make the athletic department a year?

In the modern day athletic climate where multiple teams of multiple sports at multiple levels (including high school, middle school, junior leagues, pee wee, etc) are using the same field to, not only practice 5+ times a week, but also play games, it is absurd to have grass fields. I am not sure the critics of Mason Co. getting turf understand the long term benefits of their community, as a whole, of having turf. It is far more than a nice place for the football team to play. If financial concerns are the issue, I would recommend renting the heck out of the field to soccer clubs, youth sports organizations, etc. I think you’d be amazed at how much money can be raised to pay for the existing, or a replacement, field.

Interesting. I can't imagine sitting in class after a workout. Maybe I just sweat more than the average Joe haha! I guess it is a privacy concern?