William Blount Football- is it ever going to get any better

[Governm]

Thoughts? Tonight I saw another loss that should have been a govs victory.. Sigh* There's been a lot of those the past couple of years. Sometimes the problem has been bad coaching, sometimes it has been the players not putting forth enough effort, sometimes its been bad luck and injuries, and sometimes its been a deadly combination of all those things. Before this season started there was a lot of buzz and excitement around the program and alot of people thought this would be the year that the Govs got back on track but this season has ended up being a disaster. After losing

to lenoir city tonight the govs are in real danger of finishing 2-8 , their worst record since 08! They host west,then play maryville, farragut,and bearden and I dont see the govs beating any of those teams at this point... This is unacceptable! the Govs have the talent to be a respectable ball club year in and year out... When will this nonsense end? Will the Govs ever have a. 500 record again? Can Ridge get this program where it needs to be? discuss...

[Governm]

I know its Ridge's first year but I'm already having doubts about his coaching ability. This team is probably more talented than any team I have seen since 07 (except 2011 maybe?) but they are performing just as bad as last years team.... I have heard all the junk like "it takes time" and "its a process" but a good coach oughta be able to win right away imo... Especially if said coach takes over a team with good athletes. Before the season

I expected this team to win in the neighborhood of 5-7 games based on the talent they had,and I still feel those were reasonable expectations. As I said in the previous post its looking like the Govs may very well finish 2-8, based on the their remaining schedule. I know this is Ridges first year, but it will be hard to back him if they do finish 2-8. Gregory was a bad coach but he got 3 wins every year atleast. So it would be hard for me to excuse Ridge finishing 2-8 just because its his first year...Because:

1. The Govs have the talent to win

2. The schedule is a lot easier than the one gregory had

3. the district is way down this year with the exception of west and maryville.

 

I know a lot of people are going to cling to the fact that its ridges first year but you can't deny the facts above...

Edited October 5, 2013 by Governors91

[cbg]

IMO, William Blount is in a difficult position with very good teams Maryville & Alcoa within a good Taylormade driver shot from the school.  I am sure that those schools get some very good student/athletes that should be attending William Blount.  What I have found over the years is that in high school athletics success starts at the top with the school board, principal, administration, etc... and filters down to everyone else at the school.  If everyone is not pulling on the same end of the rope it's very difficult to dig yourself out of a hole. Let's also keep in mind that the head coach can not win by himself.  First he must be allowed to bring in multiple assistant coaches along with his strength coach.  Football must become a way of life for the Govs before anything changes.  I just read an article that a coach in the Midwest when taking a new job at a program that had not won a game in 3 years was allowed to bring in six assistant coaches, a head of strength & conditioning coach and hire the new wrestling coach.  His football players must lift weights for 11/2 hours after school and then practice wrestling for 1 hour.  Four years later he said that they were winning state championships because the wrestling made his football players have the hand fighting skills, footwork and mental toughness needed to win at the elite level. 

[strongx]

I've not seen the govs in person yet, except for jamboree. So my opinion is only from an outside observer.

 

Pros: From what I have read and heard, there has been excitement around the wb program this year. Many people have expressed confidence in the ability of the new coach. Some talented kids have transferred into the program. There are some good sophs and freshmen on the roster. Scores of most games have been competitive.

 

Cons: not enough wins - SOS. Losing close games.

 

If the current coach is able to continue improving his staff, the young kids get some valuable experience this year, then I think more wins will come. I don't believe it happens all at once. Once they win some close ones, then they will expect to win. The players own expectations of winning and knowing for themselves what it takes to win is more valuable than most any coach. That takes some time.

 

Good luck to the govs. As I've said before, get those younger kids on the field and it will pay off later. No quick fixes -IMO.

[GovFan]

cbg- I was always told not to mix wrestling with the football players because in wrestling the players need to be lean and fit. But actually it makes sense if not actually going to wrestle for the school. It teaches balance, upper body strength, and footwork. I already believe we have a good strength coach. We really need a receivers coach. The few balls we do get in their hands, they drop most of them. One of the receivers playing DB last night dropped an easy (imo) int or even a pick 6. Also has anybody noticed that some of our defense is still tackling at the shoulders? Need to get back to basics on that one. Stop the legs and you stop forward progress. Try to tackle Otis by the shoulders and he will take you for a 20yd ride. Better than Bronco bustin.

Edited October 5, 2013 by GovFan

[plumb69]

IMO, William Blount is in a difficult position with very good teams Maryville & Alcoa within a good Taylormade driver shot from the school.  I am sure that those schools get some very good student/athletes that should be attending William Blount.  What I have found over the years is that in high school athletics success starts at the top with the school board, principal, administration, etc... and filters down to everyone else at the school.  If everyone is not pulling on the same end of the rope it's very difficult to dig yourself out of a hole. Let's also keep in mind that the head coach can not win by himself.  First he must be allowed to bring in multiple assistant coaches along with his strength coach.  Football must become a way of life for the Govs before anything changes.  I just read an article that a coach in the Midwest when taking a new job at a program that had not won a game in 3 years was allowed to bring in six assistant coaches, a head of strength & conditioning coach and hire the new wrestling coach.  His football players must lift weights for 11/2 hours after school and then practice wrestling for 1 hour.  Four years later he said that they were winning state championships because the wrestling made his football players have the hand fighting skills, footwork and mental toughness needed to win at the elite level. 

The wrestling/football discussion has had at least one dedicated thread on the T over the years. I wonder how much money it took for this Midwest school to assemble that staff, the money issue cannot be overlooked.

  I would fall into the camp that says give the man a few years to get his program implemented.

[plumb69]

cbg- I was always told not to mix wrestling with the football players because in wrestling the players need to be lean and fit. But actually it makes sense if not actually going to wrestle for the school. It teaches balance, upper body strength, and footwork. I already believe we have a good strength coach but I think they train differently in the off season than during. We really need a receivers coach. The few balls we do get in their hands, they drop most of them. One of the receivers playing DB last night dropped an easy (imo) int or even a pick 6.

Remember several years ago a NFL team (Steelers or Cowboys maybe?) hired a ballet coach to help the lineman with footwork?

[cbg]

cbg- I was always told not to mix wrestling with the football players because in wrestling the players need to be lean and fit. But actually it makes sense if not actually going to wrestle for the school. It teaches balance, upper body strength, and footwork. I already believe we have a good strength coach. We really need a receivers coach. The few balls we do get in their hands, they drop most of them. One of the receivers playing DB last night dropped an easy (imo) int or even a pick 6. Also has anybody noticed that some of our defense is still tackling at the shoulders? Need to get back to basics on that one. Stop the legs and you stop forward progress. Try to tackle Otis by the shoulders and he will take you for a 20yd ride. Better than Bronco bustin.

 

No knock on you or any of the coaching staff but you MUST allow the new coach to bring in ALL of his people including a strength coach.  You cannot tell them who to hire.  Give a new coach enough rope and resources to be successful or hang themselves. 

[MeritIII]

Hope they can get it together. They are just 5 points away from 4-2 instead of 2-4. Just don't do it this week against West. Give your coach some time to get the payers and his staff to buy into his program. Teams that last are built over time.

[Governm]

Hope they can get it together. They are just 5 points away from 4-2 instead of 2-4. Just don't do it this week against West. Give your coach some time to get the payers and his staff to buy into his program. Teams that last are built over

time.

Thanks, I hope so too.I know conventional wisdom says you gotta give a coach time but if he can't win atleast 3 games it is going to be really hard for me to believe in him going forward. Gregory was able to win 3 games every year he was here at wb, including his first year, so you can't really excuse ridge going 2-8 just because its his first year. The objective is to win more games not lose them.As far as I'm concerned Ridge walked into a pretty good situation. This team has more talent than most of the teams I have seen since 07,they have a softer non district schedule, and the district as a whole is a little down this

year. Add all those factors up and you have reason to think that a team is going to be better, but add a few big time transfers into the mix and you are thinking this 9could be a great year! That was my mindset before season anyway. If Ridge couldnt win with this group I don't think he is going to get it done next year or the next or the next... I hope I'm wrong because we are stuck with him regardless.

[volfan6]

IMO coaching is just terrible. It seems the OC has no idea what he wants to do. The play calls have just been awful. The team has no discipline. Coach ridge I think has a star system; he treats some players different than others. I just don't think he is putting the players in the best position to win. The team has way more talent than the way they play. You right I don't see them winning another game this season. I could ho on and on. Its just been awful. On a positive note the defense has not played to bad in certain games. One more thing the way ridge handled the last minute of the game last night was embarrassing. Wasted almost 20 seconds because they didn't know what to do.

[volfan6]

IMO coaching is just terrible. It seems the OC has no idea what he wants to do. The play calls have just been awful. The team has no discipline. Coach ridge I think has a star system; he treats some players different than others. I just don't think he is putting the players in the best position to win. The team has way more talent than the way they play. You right I don't see them winning another game this season. I could ho on and on. Its just been awful. On a positive note the defense has not played to bad in certain games. One more thing the way ridge handled the last minute of the game last night was embarrassing. Wasted almost 20 seconds because they didn't know what to do.