Evaluation: Where are we now...

[ELA]

ELA,

I was in Louisville this weekend and heard talk of football being only four classes now with the multiplier, especially if all the privates that are talking about moving over to DII go. That was why my question about classification was brought up. The only scenario wher we would have three classes and then split to five is the Virginia Plan. That is the way I understood it in December at the championship games. I guess what I am wondering is where the cutoffs will fall and will we still have five classesC Only time will answer those questions.

IF the Metro ABC's don't jump to DII, it will be around 400 for the first class. I don't know anything beyond that. ERHS will move down to AAA in 2005 because our numbers are down to about 865.

[itzme]

CoachT, you said: "I hope that the schools in DI decide to stay in DI but I realize it is a decision they have to make individually. There are so many factors that must be considered that I will not judge any school based on their decision. I do hope they stay, personally."

 

Why does it matter to you? Solely to make scheduling easier for the DI teams? Why does nobody give a hoot about the position DII teams have been put in for the past 7 years? The players for these teams are high school kids too!

[Indian]

Give me a 500 student school where just about everyone is motivated, supported by parents and wants to make something of him or herself. which results in a lot more of the best athletes going out for sports and giving it their all when they do. I would move a 2A school up to 3A or 4A in a second if the student body was nearly all that type, and I guarantee I would be "competitive."

[std]

Indian the current classification system is based on "students walking the hall" not students going out for sports. Good athletes that don't play sports is a problem that for some reason some schools don't have and others do. It's about choice, it's about motivation, it is a decision to be competitive. Why can't you get those students out of the hall and on to the field.

[mustang69]

I think if you look at the dominant single A privates over the last 5 yrs you would probably see that they have WHOOPED several AA teams.

[CoachT]

CoachT, you said: "I hope that the schools in DI decide to stay in DI but I realize it is a decision they have to make individually. There are so many factors that must be considered that I will not judge any school based on their decision. I do hope they stay, personally."

 

Why does it matter to you? Solely to make scheduling easier for the DI teams? Why does nobody give a hoot about the position DII teams have been put in for the past 7 years? The players for these teams are high school kids too!

Actually, I would prefer everyone be back together and go their separate ways in the playoffs. Therefore, I prefer to stay as close to that as possible. Nothing in what I said earlier should be interpreted as a put down to DII and you are making quite a stretch with my words to jump that far afield.

[Indian]

Indian the current classification system is based on "students walking the hall" not students going out for sports. Good athletes that don't play sports is a problem that for some reason some schools don't have and others do. It's about choice, it's about motivation, it is a decision to be competitive. Why can't you get those students out of the hall and on to the field.

A lot of them have other interests, including some illegal interests, and sports is the last thing on their minds. Others are flunking or at least doing badly enough to be ineligble. Some have failed a grade or two and are too old. Quite a few quit school so they won't be playing. A lot have no parental guidance to speak of and don't have discipline to follow even the mildest team rules. Some care about almost literally nothing. All those potential players are not going to come out for sports, I don't care if Bear Bryant walked through the front door. Maybe it could never be accurately calculated, but that cuts out a lot of talent before a roster could even begin to be put together. For the ones that do come out for sports, some of them aren't the most determined, and are playing to impress the girls, or parents, or both. Some just want to be part of an in clique. Those things are good that it gets players out for teams, but lots of times that doesn't result in many wins. That leaves the eligble, hardworking, not in juvenile court players who want their teams to succeed. How many is that per 100 students or whatever? Like I said it's probably impossible to determine. But what's easy to determine is the record of private vs public schools in every sport offered in this state. And yes, South Pittsburg and a few more have gotten it done consistently, but measuring the best 3 or 4 out of dozens isn't a good read on what's going on. It would make your head spin if I listed all the girls and boys who played in little leagues here, many through seventh or eighth grade and either never began playing in high school or stopped after one year. Most of that has nothing to do with how well a coach can reach a student, but I guess the coaches should just work harder.

[std]

Indian, so the privates should be moved up or banashed to another division because of this? It doesn't seem like they are to blame for this. It makes it a little easy to see why some parents may want to move their kids to privates to escape the influence of all these bad apples that you describe. I just don't think the picture is quite as bad as you have often described.

Edited February 18, 2004 by std

[Indian]

Yes. Totally different types of schools and student bodies. Put them all in Division II and there would be enough for 2 or 3 classes in the different sports.

[std]

Move them because of the failings of others. Lame reason.

[Indian]

Inequality in what each brings to the table leads to those failings.

[std]

Extremly lame