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Gipper

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Posts posted by Gipper

    High School Football Dying a Slow Death

    in The Indiana High School Football Forum

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Kick4fun said:

    This is the first time I have seen this article. I believe the title is inflammatory and false; a different look at the numbers would suggest the following title:

    High School Football Participation Numbers Decreased Slightly, but that is OK

    There is absolutely NO evidence that football is Dying a slow death. There is still plenty of participation. The author points to a 6.5% decrease in athletes playing football and the rise of Lacrosse. What the author does not point out is that the decrease in participating schools across the country has been 1% in 10 years. That means that 99% of the US high schools that fielded teams 10 years ago still have students excited about playing football. 1% decrease in schools participating is not a slow death.

    Furthermore, the author makes additional points that explain the slight decrease in participation. Most notable of these is the decline in the total number of boys in this country aged 15-19. His census numbers showing that there are 700,000 fewer high school boys in this country accounts for a 6% decrease in the number of high school males. So football participation has decreased at the exact same level as high school boys attending high school. Amazing coincidence (haha). Bottom line: Using his numbers, the same proportion of boys are playing now as did 10 years ago. Hardly a dying sport.

    There is some truth to arguments that sports specialization causes some athletes to choose other sports (baseball players choosing fall ball over football). There is also truth that some families are pushing kids in different directions due to concussion risk. And there are a few families that see sports as a path to a scholarship and push their kids toward other sports that that they mistakenly believe are easier routes to that scholarship.

    But overall, our communities are excited about this Friday night and the beginning of football season. Players are excited. Students look forward to attending and entire communities are coming together on Friday nights.

    Football is definitely not dying.   

       

    Absolutely not!  My train goes right by Mt. Carmel High School in the Chicago where the Caravan were engaged in morning practice, none of them appeared to be dying...

    Duneland Conference Preview

    in The Indiana High School Football Forum

    Posted

    15 hours ago, Boilernation said:

    I’ll give the nod to Valpo as Top Dog. Curious to see how City bounces back after losing some solid offensive production. Valpo’s D is going to strangle the conference.

    Speaking of D, Crown Point’s supposedly looked really good against Penn. They have really good size on the D-Line. 

    I agree about Merrillville. This could be a breakout year for them. That large OT going to Minnesota is going to open up a lot of running room. 

    I think Portage will have a average at best season. Lost all of their offensive output and a lot of defensive starters. 

    LaPorte is a wildcard with the new coach. 

    LC and Cheesetown will bring up the rear.

    Week 1:

    Merrillville over Andrean by 10

    Hobart over Chesterton by 13

    Crown Point over Lowell by 6

    City over Griffith by 31

    Munster over LC by 3

    NP over LaPorte by 7

    Valpo over Penn by 7

    Mishawaka over Portage by 15

     

    Catholic Recruiters 24, PS 65 16

    The Mall 16, Second City 10

    The Juggernaut 16, The Hub 9

    Lighthouse Place 33, Strip Mall 10

    Ponies 21, Injuns 10

    Don't care about NP, but I hope they lose

    Penn 21, Valpo 17

    Neanderthals 52, the other Injuns 13

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Good picks, but...

     

     

    • Haha 1

    MIC -HCC-SAC

    in The Indiana High School Football Forum

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Boilernation said:

    Hamilton Southeastern was thoroughly dominated a few years ago by a very average DuPage Valley team (Waubonsie Valley), but I'm guessing that was just an outlier. I used to live in Downers Grove and I'm very familiar with Chicago HS football. At the end of the day the teams in Indy are good for the same reasons the teams in Chicago are: enrollment, coaching, and socioeconomic advantages. Based on a stark difference in population, Chicago just has more of what you can find in the MIC/HCC.

    There are definitely some differences between the two areas though. In Indy, Cathedral is really the only Private that can hang with the large 6A schools. In Chicago, Loyola, Naz Academy, Mt. Carmel, St. Rita, sometimes Marist, Brother Rice, Providence Catholic, can hall hang with the 8A schools with Loyola and recently Naz Academy among the best in Illinois. Mt. Carmel has fallen off a little and Joliet Catholic isn't the beast they used to be. I do think you won't find a program similar to Ben Davis or Warren Central in Chicago. City schools like Phillips and Simeon have the raw talent, but they don't have the depth. Suburban schools like Bolingbrook and Homewood-Flossmoor are as close as you can get to Warren/Ben Davis, but I believe the enrollments of Warren/BD are significantly higher. IMO, there are a lot of really good HCC quality Chicago suburban schools that would struggle against the speed of Warren/Ben Davis. Maine South out of Park Ridge is consistently one of the better 8A programs in Illinois and they were embarrassed by Warren a decade or so ago. 

     

    Thanks for sharing, and Boiler up!  I agree, Philips and Simeon do have the talent, but depth and even coaching are lacking.  Crete-Monee and West Lafayette (both a little smaller) hooked up for a home-and-home a few years ago.  How about these potential matchups?

     

    Penn-Maine South

    Cathedral-Mt. Carmel

    Carmel-New Trier

    Columbus East-Nazareth Academy

    Fishers-Hinsdale South

    South Newton-Schurz (sorry, had to get that one in, as an ex-girlfriend of mine went there)

    MIC -HCC-SAC

    in The Indiana High School Football Forum

    Posted

    All 3 are great conferences.  I read the Chicago papers on my commute into the Loop on a daily basis and see a portion of their sports section cover the local high schools.   With that, I can't help but wonder how teams such as Carmel, Fishers, or Homestead would fare in Illinois conferences like the ones of Homewood-Flossmoor, Oak Park, and New Trier...

    Purdue 2019/2020

    in The Next Level

    Posted

    32 minutes ago, boilerfan87 said:

    These guys don't mess around on the recruiting trail, that is for sure. It is quite impressive. Tiller had one really good class, but this staff is already about to have two better than it in a row. It's going to be fun to watch the product on the field in the coming years. 

    you better believe it!!!  Start looking for airbnbs in Pasadena...

    • Like 1

    Pennsylvania bill to separate Public - Private

    in The Indiana High School Football Forum

    Posted

    On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 4:49 PM, JustRules said:

    One thing to counter the "private schools have an unfair advantage" is not every private school dominates. It's really only a handful of them. The ultimate private schools (Culver Military Academy and Park Tudor) don't dominate in many sports, and they recruit all over the country. Their emphasis on sports is different than other private schools too. That's why a blanket policy for all private schools (i.e. multiplier) doesn't make sense. I think the Success Factor is the best solution I've seen. It could possibly be tweaked, but in general it works because it applies to everyone equally and doesn't unnecessarily punish private schools that don't perform as well.

    I agree private schools generally do have an advantage because they have a high percentage of active students in activities including sports. The make-up of the student bodies are very different. But that doesn't mean they will all automatically be better. We also have to accept the fact no system will be perfect and the ultimate goal is competition, teamwork, and goal setting. Generally the players don't care. They  just want to play and compete and some will be seeking college scholarships. This really is an adult problem.

    I concur.  In the Northwest Crossroads Conference, Andrean is the lone private school to the 5 others.  Do they dominate?  No, but they usually are pretty good and Dan Dakich was a Niner...

    Chicago Bears 2019/2020

    in The Next Level

    Posted · Edited by Gipper

    Should be quite a year.  I'm still amazed the Bears were able to get a good coach as I think he is the goods.  I also like the Packers hiring LaFleur--they actually get along!

     

    I consider myself more obnoxious than a meathead...

    Moratorium Rant

    in The Indiana High School Football Forum

    Posted

    On ‎7‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 9:28 AM, DannEllenwood said:

    I’ve been out of the game for a bit....this past week was moratorium week, correct?

    I highly recommend Bonita Springs, Fl. this time of year. 

    Florida in the summer, a little to humid for me, I prefer the UP of Meat Chicken...

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