Bear78

I have heard that in the past some head coaches have inquired about a job for an assistant coach on their staff. Although I think it's great they are looking to help a co-worker advance I think it could add to the confusion that info-seekers like us help propagate.

I don't know Coach Carmony, but I wish him luck. Out of the seven seasons as head coach (4 at J-town; 3 at Butler) he has compiled a 23-40 record. Why is anyone thinking he will turn the program around?

The visit was a couple of weeks ago and he hasn't made an overnight yet. Likely in February sometime. I have heard for quite a few that the overnight helps quite a bit in the decision.

My son visited Centre and liked it quite a bit. A visit is planned for Rhodes, although we haven't heard much from them. Another parent said most schools aren't as good at contact and follow-up as the coaches at Centre.

Nice game last night. First time I've seen Manual play this season. They played pretty well as a team. I would creadit their success to some obviously talented players and a coaching staff that makes efforts to develop the talent and take advantage of the talent on the bench. With so much talent it's good to see Coach Just refuse to "showcase" any one player. Team play and fundamentals will win games - most of the time...:ylsuper:

Aren't the invited teams picked before the season has a chance to shake out a little?:confused:

Any insights on Centre College and Rhodes College. I know they are in the same conference and are very similar schools size-wise. I was hoping to get insight on academics, coaching styles, etc. or either or both schools.

I would agree, a whole lot of effort will need to be made by the parent. IMO D1 schools recruit primarily by size and speed. Players must meet minimum requirements (size or speed) for their position or they won't get a look. Not sure about D2. We have talked to a few D3 schools in the region and quite a few ask about grades. Case Western even says, if the player isn't an excellent student they don't even want to talk to them. More local schools have been more open and willing to talk. We haven't yet found out if any more academic $ comes his way if they want him to play football. As far as coaches that help kids live their dream I haven't heard of many that go out of their way. Our HS coach just doesn't have the time or the staff to market any number of players (probably 10 are interested in playing in college - at any level). I have heard that Trinity and St. X don't market their players much either - may not be the case but as you recognize there is a lot of time and effort to get his name out and match with a college that is a good fit athletically and academically. Options are good, but they take a lot of work to play out.

I took my son to a couple of NIKE combines. One in Chicago and one in Indy. Both were poorly run with little attention given to measurement conditions. The one in Chicago was moved from an indoor location to an outdoor location. The temp was about 40F with a wind. The one in Indy was inside, but so many kids went through the 40 sprint track was wet with condensation, some kids were running in their socks and some of the 40 and shuttle times were hand timed. The group we were with knew some of the other boys and heard their times, they said they could run that fast in the best of conditions (we're only talking 0.2 sec). The NIKE website was the only site that posted the results. Looking back, it did get him fired up for the moment , but also provided false hope that he would be seen. Not much help IMO, unless the player is a PLAYER. As mentioned by strongopenyon - proceed with caution! If you have a serious player who has been working on the items tested (40, shuttle, vertical leap and 185 lb bench reps) I would suggest looking for one of the combines that require a coaches reference, they generally tie-in with a service that ranks players and will likely post their info on a national site that pops up on searches more than the nike site.

As far as the criticism - it's generally just conjecture as you guessed. Some who post are very knowledable, have many connections and know the game(s). Others just comment and are having fun at it, I have gotten off track just trying to make a point, albeit unfounded. I like what you say about what makes a great coach. All are very admirable traits. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder or in this case a great coach is in the eye of the observer. Everyone has a slighly different perspective on these traits at any given point in the season. Without knowing what goes on in the coaches head we may guess right or not have a clue. We know Caracter was suspended for rules infractions although we don't know what he did to get back on track, but quite a few think it was too soon. Does that make Pitino less than a great coach? Don't know, but is sure is fun jawing about it.

I wouldn't rule out one of the Manual Assistants, Weiter was a HC at Atherton

It could turn out to be an Abbott and Costello routine. It seems Butler has had difficulty fitting a coach after Steve Jewell first coaching rotation.

Great information, Thanks Leatherneck!

Sounds like a sound program that continues to develop talent. With the low numbers per team in the juniors everyone can get comfortable in their skin. How do they distribute players? Are they drafted, lottery or do the players pick the team? Is there much competition for players from soccer? It seems kids have a lot more options for their time then I had when I was young.

The Junior leagues may help some, but areas like Louisville have the optimist and the Catholic leagues that feed the public and privates alike. Is Highlands in a smaller city/county that doesn't dilute the talent pool as much or is the talent pool big enough that it can supply all the schools sufficiently?

In another thread, Catlett - former coach at Ballard was mentioned as a possible, Coverdale, Nichols and Bruner were also mentioned along with oldham form Oldham and Wallace from Bowling Green. What's the word?

What will the big public's have to do? I'm not as familiar with Highland, but know they have a great tradition. What do they do to keep the program focused and always competitive? Is funding at Highland similar or better than other publics? Are the Boosters really involved? Are they made up of more than parents? Do they have a strong feeder system that brings a stream of talented young players to their doors every year? Do they have coaches that can teach and develop unseen talent? What makes Highlands (and any other strong public) the perennial power that they are and others aspire to be?

Is Lucas still coaching the all stars?

No disrespect intended, the whole point is there may be multiples from some teams....

no confirmation here. Lucas is a Butler grad, the AD is a Butler grad. Knowing some of the challenges he had I would think the situation warrants more time.

We're going through the process now. Put together our own highlight tape, the coaches didn't have time and too many kids to highlight. Coach did make phone calls and send emails. Also connected my son with recruiters coming into school. Yeah, we would like an easier path - but it ain't gonna happen. Welcome to the real world boys - things don't get done for you, sometimes it seems everyone is looking to put the thumb on you, etc. If you haven't figured it out so far by playing sports and resolved to make things happen for yourself - you will soon enough. Whether I like it or not Football does mirror life. Hard work pays off, but not always. People notice talent, but not always. Lazy bums sometimes get the nod because of who they are, or who they know. Welcome, jump in and be true to yourself regardless of what's happening around you.

Your right APNW, two hours is quite a drive for student in an unfamiliar area, 3-4 hours is even worse. It seems the discussion has moved to larger schools, with that said the larger schools could also rent buses - a $20 bus ride to and from, $6 ticket and $10 for concessions, back home before morning, and a win for your football team - priceless.

Sorry, I am actually with you and agree with your proposal. I took the post in a slightly different direction. Obviously the logistics would still need to be worked out, but I see your proposal as a great way to cut travel (vs. home and away) and being able to play on a more consistent surface than grass turf.

Off the top of my head I would say Teams split the gate - generally hte fans are theirs - save a few locals who want to see good football. The home school can take the concessions. This could be big depending upon the crowd, although with the setup now they have the gate and concessions....

I think this is a great idea. I have heard numbers for field turf on the order of $750,000 for the field. If some of the larger districts would put in one, or more, field turf fields they could actually share the field among teams. You might need to share the field among 4 teams with a game played Friday and one on Saturday. I see this as an opportunity for more schools to play on field turf. If the Jefferson County District, or Fayette District adopted a model similar to this I think they could save some bucks keeping a field up for each school. It becomes quite a mess when a grass turf field hosts 5+ football games and girls and boys soccer and possibly lacrosse. By the time you reach November the field can be one big strip of mud (if we had any rain). A common neutral sight would not necessarily cut down on the aggregate total of travel, but it will distribute evenly every year and allow the fans to make a reasonable trip, if they are able. I think it could also open up some cross state rivalries - which can't be anything but good for Kentucky prep football.:ylsuper: