Cynical

I made this argument in another thread about what it takes to win at the high school level...it all comes down to the administration before the coach can really make his impact. You want to give out "swag"...you have to have an administration that allows the boosters to do their thing or that doesn't handcuff the coach with a million costs and $100 bucks to pay for them. You want coaches in the building...it comes back to an administration willing to hire them. You want a solid JV program...got to have coaches for that...got to have money to pay those guys...see the administration. Want the middle school program to hire and emphasize having coaches that are aligned with the high school, who take practice and development seriously...gotta have an administration that backs that. Facilities, upkeep, coaching responsibilities outside the football team, flexibility...all administration. Show me a school with a solid athletically supportive administration and I'll show you a team with 100 kids, regarless of how good the team is. Give me a building where you have a great coach and an administration that could care less, and I'll show you a good team with 35-50 kids on it. Just my two cents.

1. Be sure that you are understanding that I am talking the last FIVE years here...the 2006 Cov. Cath team was better than any Warren Central team I have seen...last FIVE years is my point when saying both Warren Central and John Hardin are better teams overall... 2. Warren Central v. Highlands this year...at Highlands...Cental lost by 2...when's the last time Cov. Cath did that? 3. Against the four opponents you have mentioned, in the last five years, Cov. Cath is 0-14 getting out scored 214-569. So, while Central does not play those level of teams, I doubt they could do much worse than Cov. Cath has done against them.

I would argue that Warren Central and John Hardin, based on the strength of their overall product over the last five years, are actually an upgrade over Lex. Cath, Cov. Cath, and Boyle. JMO

Yes it was...not a bad way to go out. For the last 30 years, BG has had just two coaches, Haley and Wallace. That Hoptown team was stacked but it was hardly an upset when BG beat them. BG pummeled them all game and at one point it was 28-0. An interesting fact about that game: about midway through the third quarter, as BG was driving yet again, the lights in the stadium mysteriously got shut off. It provided for about a 30 minute delay in the game.

The two well known coaches on here have hit the nail on the head. TONS of parents and players SAY they want to play college football. But when you get down to it, and you ask them to do some very simple acts like fill out this recruiting card or meet with me for an hour so we can discus all this, VERY FEW are interested in expending the effort. A lot of the proposed stats on here seem to want to point the finger at coaches...when in reality, I would say that 90-95% of kids are not really serious about wanting to go to the next level. That's not a bad thing either. Football is a hard sport to play, it wears on you, and honestly, by the end of most kids High School careers, they're ready to hang out rather than lift, run, and watch film. That's not a knock against them or a comment on how "we've gone soft", or a failing to see the opportunities, it's just reality. One of the biggest questions I have heard college coaches ask over the years has been, "Do you feel like "Johnny" really loves football?" What they're getting at with that question is, does the coach think Johnny is going to be a guy that will stick it out for four to five years or will be a part of the about 65% of kids that wash out before their senior years? I have personally coached DIA recruited kids who have skipped offered visits because they really "just didn't feel like going"...that's no joke. As for the CJ Coaches All State voting it clearly states for coaches to ONLY VOTE FOR PLAYERS THEY HAVE SEEN. That statement has a huge impact on the ballots.

Chuck Smith is the Duck Dynasty of this board...I'll be happy when his name is just no longer a consideration. It's been two years of every job that comes open = Chuck Smith possibility.

I see nothing really wrong with this...almost all of the mental aspect football can be taught without pads on, and those other aspects, such as tackling, blocking w/ pads, and so on, can certainly be achieved in a two-day a week format. JMO

Weisman was the QB of the '94 Runner-Up team to Cov. Cath. Shawn Taylor was one of the best backs BG has ever seen, big, fast, strong, but his Sr. season was '93, where BG finished 10-3 with two losses to Warren Central. '95's QB was Sylvester Gray and the RB's (BG was in the Wishbone then) were Brian Harpool, Steven Spurill, and Delvin Colton (who many will say is the most dominant player ever to play at BG...(the RT on that team was pretty special too )

I hear Chuck Smith or bust! ...my money is on bust...

no message

To be "Highlands Good"? Yes. Highlands' State-Championship Teams are generally made up of two things: 1. A couple of top-notch superstar like players (Towles, Collinsworth, Grover, Smith, JLo, Frisk, and so on and so forth) 2. Another 30 or so VERY solid High School players who have been excellently developed in the JFTL and as underclassmen. BUT, when you take away #1, that is when Highlands becomes susceptible to losing to the rest of the mere mortals that play in KY. I think the lack of a players who clearly fit the criteria for #1 is what has people questioning their talent level. Again, even minus the #1'ish kind of guys, Highlands is going to win, and win a lot.

An excellent point.

I think a better question is: Is Highlands a good job to take RIGHT NOW? I say this because of a couple of factors: 1. It is never good to follow a legend, and Dale was a legend of epic proportions 2. Highlands backups are not what I would call "Highlands Good" players...don't believe me or want to argue? Need I show you the film of the Warren Central game and Lex. Cath game when Highlands subbed out their starters and we witnessed and almost instantaneous explosion of scoring? 3. Highlands is just plain bad on defense right now, and as I alluded to above, it does not appear that the guys waiting in the wings are much better. 4. Cov. Cath is looking like Cov. Cath may be the team they can be once every 6-8 years...which is a beast. With the talent level down per Highlands standards (according to some on here), that makes for a dicey first go at your arch rival for a new HC. 5. The "Highlands Standard" in my mind is "win a State Title, or nothing"...that, no matter where you are, is a tough expectation. All that said, Highlands is still the best public school football job in KY. They will still likely win State Titles. They are still NKY's flagship. I just simply ask, given the points above, is the new HC in a position to really struggle, again, per the "Highlands Standard", and how tolerant will the fan base be of these struggles?

In most years I would pick Mayfield to win 1A through 3A. They would face some stiff competition, but because of their style of play, and ability to score, I just feel like they would be a tough team for any of the lower half of the classes to beat.

...and here is where you and I differ. If you give me a chance to hire a "great" teacher who does not coach/handle any extracurriculars vs. a "good" teacher who will coach/do extracurriculars; I'm hiring the "good" teacher everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. Education is about more than academics.

1. Your best coaches are usually some of the best teachers in the building...that's a pretty well known fact. 2. If you look at your highly successful athletic schools, there is a pretty direct correlation to them being highly successful in academics as well. 3. Who said it was a new or surprising issue?...neither is the national-debt, but that doesn't stop people on MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, and 50 other stations from debating and discussing it every single day. An old, time-tested problem, is still a problem. 4. If schools were doing "exactly what they should be doing" then we would be seeing dramatic, or at least semi-dramatic rises in average ACT/SAT scores...rather, we are in the bottom 50% of the country and are stagnated there...not saying a bunch of coaches in the building will fix this, but rather just debunking the notion that "schools are doing exactly what they should be doing". 5. I have found, in 11 years of education, that the more coaches that are in a building, generally, the better the school spirit, the better the school morale, and the better the general atmosphere of the school tends to be. None of my observations are what I would call absolutes, but I do believe them to be accurate.

Lack. Of. Money. ...and when I say lack of money I mean it in multiple ways: - Lack of Money for the hours you work as a Head Coach - Lack of Money to hire and justifiably pay quality assistants - Lack of Money for basic equipment needs - Lack of Money for Facilities and their upkeep - Lack of Money for giving kids that little extra (shirts, sweatshirts, cleats, ect...) to reward their commitment A few schools have great boosters or great administrations that find a way around these money issues, but in about 85% of your schools in KY, the money-issue is the killer IMO. I would also attribute the turnover to the fact that more and more administrations are refusing to hire teacher/coaches for in-the-building jobs. When you don't do that, you leave the HC depending on para-pro's. Most teams practice from 3'ish - 6'ish...how many people out there have jobs where they're off by 3 and can come coach? Couple that with the fact that you have little to no-money to pay these guys and you have a lot of frustrated folks.

Well, that's a pretty decent job that's now open....

I'll stir the pot... 1. BG 2. Collins - Best non-BG team in the state 3. Meade - Got robbed 4A. Scott - Robbery, but still a solid team 4B. Highlands - Phenomenal offense, absolutely horrible defense 6. DeSales - Great team 7. Mayfield - I think they'd beat everyone under them and probably lose to everyone over them 8A. Belfry - Shame we didn't get to see them play in better conditions 8B. Wayne - See above 10. Pulaski - Best JV-age team ever, they'll be a Collins'esqe force in the coming two years 11. NCC - Decent team, but not really on par with the company above IMO 12. Williamsburg - Congrats on getting there; that in itself is special

They'll be tough, no doubt...and will be aided by playing in the weakest Region in 4A as well. I would dare to say that they'll essentially become the John Hardin of 4A's West bracket in that you ain't going to the finals without having to go through them and you know they're going to be there cause there's nobody over there that can beat them.

Folks, Collins was pretty much all Seniors...and those were pretty much all Senior 3rd year starters. they'll be good, sure, but it will ne no where near what they were these past two years.

Holmes Esse's

The big guy in the sweater-vest just doesn't like hand shakes...I think he has made his stance on that pretty clear...

Dale? ...are we starting the "this is the greatest team I have ever coached at highlands" talk already? "We just have SO much speed and SO much depth..."

So, does Whack'em skip both of Highland's annual state game appearance and Trinity scrimmage....you know, being that they're both foregone conclusions to be blowouts....:whistling: I jest Bluebird faithful.