wabashalwaysfights

Not that it matters, because doesn't , but since I'm pretty sure this thread is dead anyway, I just have to point out that I think @Coach Nowlin would dispute this claim... Second place is still pretty good though... Carry on...

Did anyone else notice the words "suspended" and "postponed" in point #5 above? That doesn't read like a cancellation to me, but damn close to it. It's a subtle difference I'll grant you, but it would seem that there may be some "hope" yet?

All well and good, but you initial point that it would just be this years current Junior class that gets "double hit" is still incorrect. Even accepting your premise that JV and Freshman games would not be allowed, which I still find hard to believe that they wouldn't, those freshmen and sophomores will still practice and will still see in some cases significant Varsity playing time at the 1A, 2A, and 3A levels. Freshmen maybe less depending on roster size, but still, even with your suggestion there are still at least 3 classes, freshmen through juniors, who would play in the Spring and Fall of 2021.

Seriously, another one of thes topics? I know we all miss sports in general and are anxious to find out what's gonna happen, but these "should we go back on time" topics have proven time and again to be counter productive. No disrespect to the initial poster here (looking at you @Football Guru 25) but come on...

I'm not entirely sure, but this is a great question. May be best answered by looking at what the last sport the IHSAA added.

This is only true at your bigger schools. Most 1A, 2A, and 3A schools carry freshmen through seniors on their varsity rosters. Also, to think that most staffs aren't going to fight for at least JV games (even if only a couple) is fantasy. Those reps are seen by most small schools as crucial (and they are). You would even see a push for a Jr. H8gh season in most cases.

Still one heckuva thing to go through. Think about it, even if you play a 6 game spring season before starting the tournament and then held a normal season in the fall, at minimum that's 17 games in what, roughly 9 months? If you play 2 full seasons that would be a minimum of 20 games in 9 months? If you play even a shortened season in the spring of 2021 you about have to play a shortened fall season in 2021.

That's what I said when this was brought up before. To my mind, that "grind" would be worse for high school age student-athletes than the threat posed to them by Covid. And I get it, the fear surrounding Covid isn't necessarily just the student-athletes, but still...

I see that now... every lineman's dream... except for us centers, we're pretty much out of luck unless you have some wacky unbalanced stuff floating out there.

As with any other conflict, both sides shared in a little of the blame...

Now at least I know where to set the number on the next topic of this kind...

I said this three months ago when this possibility got brought up; the issue is not this spring, but the next fall.

Who had the over? I should have set it at about 5-6, but I also didn't consult Vegas so... I saw this circulating on social media a while back. The problem with this logic has to do with the perception of danger. If I'm being honest, the "no shirt, no shoes, no service" thing never made any sense to me other than, well, we don't all need to see that... Traffic laws: unfortunately, I think we probably have all seen the effects of people not following traffic laws. Without really even thinking about it, I can think of at least 3-4 instances from my 4 years of high school alone where I have friends either killed or nearly killed because they were not obeying the rules of the road. This includes speed limits. Does this mean that I do not speed? Come on. But when I am written a ticket for breaking those rules? I do accept that because I can readily conjure up an image of what happens, or could happen if I don't OSHA safety regulations: if you work in an occupation which sees heavy OSHA regulation (my assumption is "blue collar" work) you are probably also trained very early on in your carrier as to the dangers of what happens if you do not follow those regulations. This likely includes images or video of some pretty graphic stuff and or seeing other individuals you work with who suffered the consequences of not following those regulations. The example that comes most to mind is if you are working with someone who is missing a digit. Airlines: again, we can conjure images of what may happen if we do not abide by the safety standards in an airplane because air travel is general considered more dangerous than conventional ground travel. Here, we are influenced by anything from personal experience (bad turbulence) or movies. TSA: 9/11. Moving on... With Covid-19, there is a break from that perception. We can look at charts and graphs and "data" or anything else we want, but ultimately if an individual does not perceive danger, it is not seen as being dangerous and therefore not that big a deal.

So clearly, without knowing @Fan90's experience with 8 man, is a slight difference in rules. Perhaps linked to state/region?

Some of the best offensive linemen I've played against and coached weren't much bigger than that, regardless of class.

This is interesting. Coach, I am unfamiliar with the overall geography of the Wheeler area, but appears from looking at a map that it is in the middle of a few larger urban/suburban areas. If you are able, can you disclose the specific location of your hospital? You may have done so elsewhere, but I'm just curious.

Unlikely anytime within about the next calendar year at this point. If we, as a collective society, wait for a vaccine to begin moving away from this thing we have bigger problems than football, or any sport, at any level.

Good for you all. I am for any solution to expand any sport, including the game of football in its various derivatives, to communities where they deem it a) necessary for the improvement of the experience of the student-athlete, b) the body of student-athletes shows enough interest over a sustained number of cohorts, and c) the community as a whole is able to support such expansions. As it pertains to football, that could be the 11, 9, 8, or 6 man derivatives or the form of a co-operative program. I am further in favor of the inclusion of any such sport, or football derivative, under the governing body of the IHSAA should enough member schools show interest, and in some way commit, in participating in such sport. I would leave the establishment of threshold of what is considered "enough" to the IHSAA. Enjoy your conversation lads.

It could quite literally come down to a couple of kids per class through a school system. It also does depend on what else is currently offered in terms of extracurriculars. I would venture that small schools that already offer sports like soccer (see Rossville) probably aren't even interested based on the number of kids you need to field a soccer team. But if the current offerings are primarily the more "individual" sports like cross country and tennis for boys, that's a situation where something like 8 man football may be considered. Another consideration that hasn't even been talked about is Title IX. I don't know the intricacies of that, but it could hurt (meaning to offer 8 man means you have to offer an additional sport for girls) or help (maybe you already have, say, volleyball and have "offered" 11 man in the past just to save legal face). How likely is either scenario? The second one is probably FAR less likely than the first, but still something to think about. Damn.

That sounds frustrating to say the least. What about scheme then? I assume there is a "spread" versus a "power" different offensively? I looked up some highlights from the Michigan state championships and it looked like each school differed quite a bit. Like I said in my first post, as a former offensive and defensive lineman, that thought kind of hurts. My understanding is that you are correct in terms of the elimination of positions for players on the field for each team. However, if you are dealing with smaller roster sizes, you would look at this as a net gain because you would now have built in depth. Secondly, and @DanteEstonia could probably correct me here, but my understanding is that in 8 man football ALL players are eligible to catch passes, run the ball, etc. which is a lineman's dream. So in terms of raw opportunities to get on the field, yes, linemen would get shorted, but once you get on the field, if I am correct, you get more opportunities to touch the ball. That is, if that matters to you. It would also stand to reason that schools would have the ability, if their numbers allowed, to have JV and Junior High levels of 8 man football as well.

Ditto.

@DanteEstonia, you said you coached an 8-man team last year, I'm curious about x's and o's, what is the same what is different? @cw13, you said you have coached in a co-op program before, how does that work in terms of facility usage, revenue sharing between the two schools, etc. I've lived near the Illinois state line my whole life and am familiar with the basics of co-op programs, but don't know much beyond, essentially, two or more schools field a team together...