Middle School Success= High School Success

[zonepirate]

MIDDLE SCHOOL SUCCESS NEVER EQUALS TO SUCCESS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL!!!!

 

 

Disagree. If you have a good MS coaching staff that teaches the HS system it can only help when these kids move up. Our Jr High team was 16-1 the last 2 years (and something like that the previous 2 years). These young kids are now contributing on the SP team and the HS coaches are pleased with their performance. The head coach on the Jr High team is a former HS assistant so we run it like the HS program. Our JR High coaching staff works almost as hard as the HS staff. Two-a-days, practice schedules, pre-game, film breakdown, game plans are all done similar to HS. Now there is no guarantee that a good MS program will equal a good HS team because some MS kids quit football or otherwise don't play HS ball but it definitely helps to have a good MS program. SP is pretty good right now and part of that success is due to a good Jr High (and Little league) feeder program

 

FYI we also play in a tough conference (Sequatchie Valley Conference). Last week we went up to Chatt and scrimmaged Red Bank, Chatt Christian and Soddy Daisy and pretty much manhandled them all. At our Jamboree Thur night 1 team (Bledsoe) looked to be better than us and 2 teams (Spring City and Rhea Central) looked to be about equal and couple of other teams will be very competitive. The coaches in our conference are a pretty good bunch, you don't just out talent them.

[Bulldog Fan #2]

In middle school, the team with better athletes win 90% of the time. In high school, its usually the teams with more discipline and better coaching that wins.

 

 

 

I agree with couga14 - Coaching, Preperation and Discipline determine the winner most Friday nights. Sometimes those things are lacking in Middle Schools programs. Not all programs, but most.

[Kevin38]

Disagree. If you have a good MS coaching staff that teaches the HS system it can only help when these kids move up. Our Jr High team was 16-1 the last 2 years (and something like that the previous 2 years). These young kids are now contributing on the SP team and the HS coaches are pleased with their performance. The head coach on the Jr High team is a former HS assistant so we run it like the HS program. Our JR High coaching staff works almost as hard as the HS staff. Two-a-days, practice schedules, pre-game, film breakdown, game plans are all done similar to HS. Now there is no guarantee that a good MS program will equal a good HS team because some MS kids quit football or otherwise don't play HS ball but it definitely helps to have a good MS program. SP is pretty good right now and part of that success is due to a good Jr High (and Little league) feeder program

 

FYI we also play in a tough conference (Sequatchie Valley Conference). Last week we went up to Chatt and scrimmaged Red Bank, Chatt Christian and Soddy Daisy and pretty much manhandled them all. At our Jamboree Thur night 1 team (Bledsoe) looked to be better than us and 2 teams (Spring City and Rhea Central) looked to be about equal and couple of other teams will be very competitive. The coaches in our conference are a pretty good bunch, you don't just out talent them.

 

 

While I was trying to think of a reply I came across zone's post and it said pretty much what I was coming up w/ anyway.....

[ksgovols]

I agree with zonepirate too. If the middle school and high school coaches are on the same page and working together, there can be a correlation between success at middle school and high school. Conversely, if the high school coaching staff won't share facilities, ideas and philosophies with the middle school coaching staff, the high school team is only cutting their own throats. A good middle school coach will tell you that their job is not to win games, but to get their players ready for the next level. The high school coach's job is to win games. Most of them aren't playing at the next level.

 

While there will be some guys that grow and develop as they get older, a good 8th grade athlete is typically a good athlete in high school. If a team lacks athletes and stinks it up in middle school, they're going to have a tough time in high school typically. If all you have to do is work hard and have a good coach, everyone would have a good football team. Most of the time, the team with the best athletes win. Alot depends on how much the roster changes between middle school and high school.

 

Big Country, do you think it's a coincidence that Harpeth won the Middle Tennessee State Sectionals in middle school basketball the years that Josh Goodwin and Shane Dansby were playing across the street? Harpeth also won the same tournament in 2006 and 2007. We'll see how those guys do as seniors in 2010 and 2011. My guess is they'll do pretty good if they stick with it. Harpeth's glory years in high school football followed the most successful run at the Jr. Pro and middle school levels. That's not a coincidence. On the other hand, middle school players don't necessarily go to the high school they are zoned for. Some of those good athletes will go to a private school or transfer out of the zone. Some kids will hit puberty late and blossom as high schoolers.

 

I know I'm looking forward to seeing what Harpeth's 8th, 9th and 10th grade classes will be able to put together at the high school level over the next few years. There's alot of athletes and big linemen on those squads that have had success at the middle school level. Let's see how it translates.

[Raynok]

I think the most important part of middle and even Jr Pro is to get the knowledge of the basics so that at the High School level the coach can work more on game plan and execution. So if the coaches work together at all levels yes, but if a player has to learn three different styles because of three different coaches then no.

[crockettfan]

No correlation at all. Crockett County has had some junior high and freshmen teams with terrible records, but 10 straight years in the playoffs speaks for itself.

 

A lot of it, IMHO, is philosophy. I know that Crockett County has always rotated a lot of players in and out, not necessarily playing the 12-14 best players and always going for the win. Often times, 5 or 6 running backs may touch the ball every game as 8th graders, but all but 2 or 3 of the best have dropped out of football by the time they reach high school.

 

At the same time, these kids are learning the high school system and the high school way of doing things, so by the time they reach the high school level they already have a feel of what is expected from them.

[OWLSRULE]

I don't think success of the middle school relates to the success of high school program. I do believe the coaches and the players have most everything to do with it and not necesarilly the schemes or philosiphies. If a player can learn they can learn. If a player can play he can play. Sometimes his abilities don't catch up with his size and strength til later. Sometimes his size and strength don't catch up to his abilities til later. That didn't mean ha had bad coaching or was playing in a bad scheme.

[FCSprideatUT]

In middle school, the team with better athletes win 90% of the time. In high school, its usually the teams with more discipline and better coaching that wins.

 

 

Unless the high school team in question has athletes that are ALOT better.

[t-mac]

Look at Howard football. Alton Park middle, John Franklin, Howard Middle whatever you want to call it always has a great football program. There has been years when they were alton park that no one even scored a touchdown on them. But due to drop outs and recruiting in chattanooga Howards program has suffered. LFO was good for years but all those were players who were zoned for Howard. How did they get there???? How can you live in tennessee but go to school in georgia when your neighbors all go to Howard. Plus loosing players to other schools like McCallie, Ooltewah just to name a few will hurt your program. But B-Ball is another story cause we keep MOST not all of our good players