SBFootball1

Yes, finally someone is fighting the good fight.

Don't forget "national champions" at sub BCS level colleges as well. D2, D3, NAIA...pssh. "national champs"

It is inversely related to the air temperature, should be a chart somewhere!

37 minutes ago, PDB26 said:

I'd be curious to know which other sports have declined outside of football's apparent backslide in recent years.

While I've argued for a long time that the NIC has a had a negative effect on Penn's (the same will be true for Elkhart) football program because of the size of the other schools, the two-division format was at least an improvement since it allowed for fewer conference games than under the old regime. Specifically, it allowed Penn to avoid playing all four of the South Bend schools at the cost of playing Marian and St. Joe every year. For Penn and Elkhart, the collapse of the current format all but guarantees returning to a six or seven game conference schedule, reducing opportunities to schedule similar sized schools/peer programs, and, in some years, requiring the use of an out of conference game to schedule each other. 

I suppose if we're ever going to see Penn make a move to get out of its long-standing relationship with the NIC it would be in the near future.

I can't imagine Penn agreeing to a conference with 4 SB schools again, but what about 3 if that's the direction SB goes? Or two?

Are you guys arguing there is no drop in participation numbers or you just don't like the reasons given? I don't have numbers to back it, but it seems like the number of schools with frosh and/or JV teams is lowering every year.  A one or two year low trend can be overcome, but all of a sudden a kid doesnt have a chance to pay in games from his 8th grade year until maybe junior year, the participation levels will only worsen. Goshen and Plymouth are great examples of the current situation in a number of districts.

1 hour ago, Bash Riprock said:

Then eliminate the rule...its there for a reason and that's player safety.  The impact isn't just to the Saturday game...exceeding quarters also allows more contribution to the friday night game and increases depth....depth that may absolutely provide benefit.  Additionally, the other team following the rule keeps kids out of the game.  It does create advantage.

If you don't plan on adhering to IHSAA rules, at least reach out to the opposing coach, so they can decide how to play the game.  Their kids may want to play and gain experience as well.

Is anyone really not utilizing a substitution on Friday night to keep someone eligible for more quarters on Saturday morning? Any program I have been around has been all in for Friday night, anyone on the sidelines and eligible to play is fair game...then JV were kids that did not get the playing time Friday.  I never really thought of not playing a kid Friday to save for Saturday.  I never understood how Michigan could play JV games on Thursday night without seeing who had played in the varsity game.

Is this a normal practice, to accept a new head coaching job but keep/send applications out for a better gig? Calumet got a very good coach, and I suppose you have to do what you have to do from a personal standpoint.  I just feel for the kids in the Niles program who haven't had much success lately, get a coach in talking up a plan/vision, and then having him leave them high and dry 2 months before the season.

11 minutes ago, NLCTigerFan07 said:

And only 4 other 6A programs within an hour (Elkhart, Penn, FW Carroll, Homestead) and 2 of those schools do not have room for out of conference play. The Region schools aren't THAT much further, but with the time difference that adds to issues. I love that the Tigers have looked to Indy.

What, having to add or subtract an hour on watches? There are issues because people want excuses.  Indy is about 2.5 hours away and if you go each direction from Warsaw the same distance, you have plenty of like sized schools to choose from: from Lansing, to Indy and Toledo to Chicago. Don't get me wrong, glad Coach Curtis has been able to make this happen with the schedule, but I am not very sympathetic to the "woe is me at Warsaw, we are too big and dont have anyone else to play".   You could if you think outside the box with scheduling, especially with football that plays once a week.  And this isn't anti-Warsaw either, Penn is the same way. Not sure if its laziness or apathy changes could be made to make these teams premier but no one is willing to go that route.

Have to load up where they can when playing in a conference with 4-4a teams and 3-5a teams.  

8 hours ago, Coach Dowell said:

I called about this camp and never got a call back.  Anyone help me out on who to contact about this camo?

Thanks!

Paul Page and George Dury run the camp:

ppage@pjpinvestmentsllc.com(317) 945-5914

Coach George Dury

georgedury@sbcglobal.net(317) 590-5549

2 minutes ago, Wedgebuster said:

I hope at some point kids and parents start to realize that the pageantry, buzz, the big deal in town, etc.   All that stuff is synonymous with high school sports.  You'll never recreate that with travel athletics.  (Insert whiny voice): "Well I play travel....."    

Great kid, how did it feel to score the game winner in front of a parents only crowd of people you don't really know?  

"It was awesome! We left Wednesday from New Carlisle for Evansville on Wednesday, so we needed 4 nights in a hotel....but it was so worth it to beat Laporte in the semi-finals and  South Bend West in the championship!"

3 minutes ago, Wedgebuster said:

Will the pendulum ever swing back the other way?  What causes that shift?  

Most of these things are cyclical but there may be a few trends in our area pointing towards a swing back towards high school sports and their importance.  Look at the Elkhart county schools? many have added turf fields, weight room additions and improvements in many of the schools, and it seems more coaches in the buildings for football than we have in Saint Joseph County.  SJ County, as usual is behind the 8-bal but the signs of life are there : Penn's huge upgrades, SBCSC putting turf at School Field, and the "new" Saint Joe facilities.  It may be a slow process, but hopefully the pendulum does swing back in favor of high school sports and football, in particular.

On 3/24/2021 at 7:32 AM, NEIFootballGuy said:

3. At a smaller school, you're not going to have a 5-6 coaches that are in the building nowadays - if you do, you're very lucky. Having a lot of lay coaches is fine, but whoever is in the building has to be a pretty dynamic person in terms of recruiting the hallways, monitoring offseason work, grades, behavior etc.

I think you are correct, but this may also lead to an even bigger coaching shortage.  If you are asking a HC and one assistant to do the work of what was done by 4-5, burnout is going to get very real.  I think we are already seeing it and it does not look like a situation that will improve any time soon.

1 hour ago, POTLUCK said:

Here is the issues I have.

One my kid does not go to Chatard or any CYO feeder school, but I still receive that in an email. Wonder why I have not received anything from Ben Davis, Center Grove, Warren Central etc. 

Secondly, it states "Inviting ALL Football Players". Typically a public high school sends out their camp info to the students in their school system.  I have never seen a IHSAA High School advertise their youth camp outside of their cooperation like this. 

Seems very odd of the age group that was chosen as well. 

Where did they get your e-mail address?

49 minutes ago, Gipper said:

Tough Question.  I do know Pop Warner begins up here for the first graders.  But is that too early?  They have all of the armor on running all over the field using is a weapon without necessarily being trained how to hit, etc.  Injuries can definitely result and I know this from what I have witnessed.

This is what worries me about starting too young. I am sure I will get some flak for this, and I am not making a blanket statement about youth coaches, but are there enough good coaches teaching proper fundamentals and safety techniques? It is hard enough to fill high school staffs with people who are willing to put in the time to learn and then teach all of this correctly while still making it enjoyable for the KIDS.  I love getting kids involved in the sport, especially properly.  I worry that having 8 year olds having to travel from South Bend to Orlando to play for a championship gets away from the fundamentals/teaching process and exerts an emphasis on winning way too early. Maybe I am wrong, but I would think youth football programs at that age are our sport's equivalent to t-ball and I don't think we have t-ball tourneys/national championships...at least I hope not!

1 minute ago, HHPatriots said:

5th grade is when we start.  I know there are some that start much sooner.  I don't think it is necessary.  

I think it may steer more kids away from football than to football if you start in say, 1st grade.  

We play flag through 4th grade and the objective is simply to make it fun so that they will want to play in 5th grade (tackle).

That is more along the lines of what I am thinking. Introduce them to the game, but keep it fun and safe and make them want to play as they get older.

11 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

18.  With all the dangers involved, that have been extensively documented,  the decision to play tackle football should be for an adult individual to decide, not when that individual is still a child.

 

 

Interesting perspective.

Would you also change the driving age to 18 and not start schooling at all until 18 so the individual can make their choice on that as an adult?

I saw story recently about a local Pop Warner team, 8U, winning a national championship.

As much as I love football, so much about this made me cringe:

1- Do 8 year olds need to be playing tackle football? And, forgive me if i am wrong, i just assumed it is full contact since they looked like they were in full pads.

2- Even if 8 year olds are playing full contact, tackle football, do they need to be playing in a "national tournament" or should they be focused on fundamentals.

3- Is this growing in popularity, do we have to worry about the AAU'ing of football?

Maybe I am just becoming a curmudgeon in my old age. I love the positive publicity in South Bend, that is for sure, but I worry about the effects starting football this young will have on our kids. Burn out, fatigue, injury, and loss of interest isnt anything that football needs right now.

Do you really believe a school like CC is going out and recruiting by position? That wasn't meant to be a snarky question, I genuinely wonder if that is really the case?

On 12/3/2020 at 4:54 PM, Donnie Baker said:

Not enough schools for 8 man. The co-ops would be a better choice 

It seems as if the IHSAA has dug in against co-ops but their is some light in the 8-man discussion...but I could be wrong on that.

Whichever helps make football in our state better and gets more people playing, I am all for!

On 12/1/2020 at 2:36 PM, PDB26 said:

 

NIC North: Penn, 3338; Elkhart, 3185; SB Adams, 1913; New Prairie, 961; St. Joe, 857; Marian, 645

DAC: Lake Central, 3316; Crown Point, 2855; Portage, 2436; Merillville, 2187; Chesterton, 2063; Valparaiso, 2054; LaPorte, 1819; Michigan City, 1611

WIthout destroying two conferences, could these two conferences do a split for football only? Bold teams one half, the rest in the other?

11 minutes ago, oldtimeqb said:

Providence or Rock Creek to North Daviess would be 2 hours/100 miles minimum, probably closer to 125-130 if they decide to take interstates. 

South of US 50, the football playing schools are so spread out, sectional travel can get pretty long. 

That’s another reason I wish the state would allow co-op teams for those students a chance to play. The entire Blue Chip Conference with schools like Barr Reeve, Loogootee, Shoals, NE Dubois, Washington Catholic, Rivet, South Knox and Wood Memorial are all small schools in that geographical area.

I am becoming more and more intrigued with 8 man football.  It would allow schools, such as those mentioned above, to field a team and allow some smaller 1A programs a chance to be more competitive.  Add to that what it could do to shake up the classes across the board and I am becoming a bigger proponent each year.

17 minutes ago, DT said:

The reasons I chose Elkhart as the one northern school that can potentially break thru and compete against The MIC 

Athleticism

Physicality

Depth

Coaching

Admin support

Drive and Determination

I believe the program possesses all of these qualities

No other northern 6A can match this profile in my view

 

Who else could be the torch bearer and what are they missing?

Warsaw

Penn

Homestead

Merrilville

9 hours ago, foxbat said:

  9 hours ago, DT said:

All the top coaches are in Indy already.  Northern staffs are not as driven and not under as much pressure to win.  You dont see them moving around much from job to job to take on new challenges or make more money.  They are a complacent bunch for the most part. 

I find this comment to be fairly condescending and not at all tuned in to the realities of coaching ... especially at small school level.  Very broadbush indeed.  Maybe the whole purpose is to generate clicks, but I think there may be a better way to accomplish that without such a statement.  I've known many coaches and I've yet to find one that doesn't feel the pressure to win even if it doesn't come directly from an AD or a Board of Education or a player's parents.  It's almost always in the coach's DNA at a minimum plus whatever else is piled on.  I've also not known any that are complacent in what they do.  Hamstrung perhaps.  Challenged perhaps.  Constrained perhaps. But never complacent.

I think DT is on to something here, it is just hard to hear.  I dont think it is a knock or an accusation that the coaches don't care, but there really isnt the movement you see around the Indy area and jockeying for positions.  Maybe not a complacency, but just resolved to the fact that moving around within the area isnt worthwhile.  

1 hour ago, Titan32 said:

Intriguing analysis.

He may be on to something....

Is Mishawaka able to play?

https://www.953mnc.com/2020/11/07/mishawaka-cavemen-football-team-placed-into-quarantine/

The story wasn't specific as to a timeline or anything.