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IHSAA 8 Man Football Proposal


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any of those above can if they make the choice, but I also see several current football playing 1A schools with declining enrollments and or numbers finding the 8 man route might be the way to go

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Where are you going to find all the officials to cover these extra games, which will require travel to remote locations and likely lower per game stipend.  Tough sell.  

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8 hours ago, DT said:

No, because they will likely be considered Class 1AA and still participate in the state tournament, further watering down the product on the field.  

You are aware that high school football isn't the NFL, right?

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If it was actually approved (not likely) I would expect any decisions to go to 8 man football would be agreed upon by schools that are members of the same conference.  Small schools (1A) that are in the same conference as 2A and 3A schools would probably continue to play 11 man as long as numbers support it.  Conferences made up entirely of 1A or very small 2A schools would possibly convert all members to 8 man football.  That could lead to a new round of conference realignments, especially if some current schools without football add 8 man football.  Highly unlikely to become reality, but interesting to think about with the loss of some programs due to consolidation.

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1 hour ago, HoopsCoach said:

If it was actually approved (not likely) I would expect any decisions to go to 8 man football would be agreed upon by schools that are members of the same conference.  Small schools (1A) that are in the same conference as 2A and 3A schools would probably continue to play 11 man as long as numbers support it.  Conferences made up entirely of 1A or very small 2A schools would possibly convert all members to 8 man football.  That could lead to a new round of conference realignments, especially if some current schools without football add 8 man football.  Highly unlikely to become reality, but interesting to think about with the loss of some programs due to consolidation.

You just described in detail the death of varsity high school football in Indiana.

 

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2 hours ago, DanteEstonia said:

How many kids participate in football, on average, at 1A schools in Indiana?

Numbers have never been a good thing in most cases.  A lot of the freshmen and JV teams dress on Friday nights.  

 

 

 

 

 

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I’ll give some clarification regarding what I mean by participation- Pahranagat Valley HS in Nevada has 120 students in grades 9-12; they will dress 40+. Mountain View Christian Academy in Las Vegas has 150 HS kids, and they will dress 20 kids, tops. 

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9 hours ago, DanteEstonia said:

So, more than 30 kids will participate?

Hard to say.  Back in my playing days, when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, it was safe to say 35-50 dressed for the games.  Yes, a lot of us played both offense and defense.  But, you know, it was the time of our lives and we loved it.

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14 hours ago, DT said:

Where are you going to find all the officials to cover these extra games, which will require travel to remote locations and likely lower per game stipend.  Tough sell.  

This could definitely be a challenge, but if they only added 16 teams and nothing changed on the current 1A/2A side then it's only a net 8 crews. If some of those teams come from the current 1A/2A school the net will be less than that. The officiating shortage is NOT a reason to reject this proposal. It's going to be a challenge regardless.

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14 minutes ago, superjay said:

Heard on the radio this morning that 32 non-football playing schools have expressed interest.

Interesting and great news, IMO.

I wonder if the sticking point with many non-football playing schools have been numbers or $$?   I've never priced it, but I would think cost to outfit 20-30 players could be prohibitive, but I think I read somewhere they might (or already have) a grant?  That would go a long way.

 

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12 minutes ago, wvigo13 said:

I'd be curious to see how this works and what schools would join. I'd love to see some of the schools around here that don't play football now join this.

Do those schools currently have any fall sports for boys besides CC and tennis (assuming they have those)?

Edited by tango
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1 hour ago, gahoosierfan said:

I sure hope this is true. 

This would be great for a school like Barr-Reeve.  They are basically a juggernaut in all sports not called football.  They just don't have the numbers for 11-man, but if they did, they'd be lights out.

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Terrible idea   

Eight man football is for rugged rural outpost communities and for the generally unsophisticated sports fan.

Modern, sophisticated and educated Hoosiers will not support this neanderthal version of the regular game.

117 Indiana High Schools, or 25% of the total in the state, have already said NO to high school football.  We need to cull the 40 bottom feeders in 11 man and fine tune and elevate the remaining 280 go forward schools to catch up with our neighboring states who are playing at a higher overall level and produce significantly more next level talent.

Edited by DT
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On 7/6/2020 at 1:10 PM, DT said:

There is a time for expansion, and a time for contraction.

Now is clearly a time for the latter

Choices and options are being reduced and eliminated everywhere.  High school football will be no different.  And people will survive and move on.  

Oh, give it a chance. 

Edited by Robert
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On 7/6/2020 at 11:40 PM, DanteEstonia said:

I’ll give some clarification regarding what I mean by participation- Pahranagat Valley HS in Nevada has 120 students in grades 9-12; they will dress 40+. Mountain View Christian Academy in Las Vegas has 150 HS kids, and they will dress 20 kids, tops. 

It would be nice to see if Blackhawk Christian, Canterbury, Hamilton, some of the Lake... Christians stick with their soccer winners or pick up 8 man if it comes to fruition... Smith Academy in FW, and any other schools that I'm forgetting.

On 7/7/2020 at 8:58 AM, JustRules said:

This could definitely be a challenge, but if they only added 16 teams and nothing changed on the current 1A/2A side then it's only a net 8 crews. If some of those teams come from the current 1A/2A school the net will be less than that. The officiating shortage is NOT a reason to reject this proposal. It's going to be a challenge regardle.

Remote locations?  In Indiana?  Come on. Obviously that didn't quote correctly.  OOPS! 

 

Edited by Robert
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1 hour ago, DT said:

Terrible idea   

Eight man football is for rugged rural outpost communities and for the generally unsophisticated sports fan.

Modern, sophisticated and educated Hoosiers will not support this neanderthal version of the regular game.

117 Indiana High Schools, or 25% of the total in the state, have already said NO to high school football.  We need to cull the 40 bottom feeders in 11 man and fine tune and elevate the remaining 280 go forward schools to catch up with our neighboring states who are playing at a higher overall level and produce significantly more next level talent.

Pomposity. 

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2 hours ago, DT said:

Terrible idea   

Eight man football is for rugged rural outpost communities and for the generally unsophisticated sports fan.

Modern, sophisticated and educated Hoosiers will not support this neanderthal version of the regular game.

117 Indiana High Schools, or 25% of the total in the state, have already said NO to high school football.  We need to cull the 40 bottom feeders in 11 man and fine tune and elevate the remaining 280 go forward schools to catch up with our neighboring states who are playing at a higher overall level and produce significantly more next level talent.

Preposterous.  If small school football is that far beneath you, disregard it and move on.  No one is forcing you to watch/comment on us small town folks who support kids in an attempt to give them an opportunity to compete and become better, more well rounded young men (and women, I've seen a few girls play here in recent years). If a community wants to and is able to support a program, let them, if not, that is fine, but we "neanderthals" do not appreciate or need you descending from on high telling us how to best support our kids and our communities.

High school football is not about producing "more talent" than our neighboring states or for "the next level." As a coach, that is the furthest thing from my mind.  If a student-athlete has the capacity to compete at the next level, I/we support that pursuit, but my focus is typically on the student-athlete who needs football because he doesn't have much else to motivate him. But sure, go ahead and let's tell a community that our state's overall "product" trumps their willingness and desire to provide opportunity for their student-athletes that they see fit.

Rant over.

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1 hour ago, wabashalwaysfights said:

Preposterous.  If small school football is that far beneath you, disregard it and move on.  No one is forcing you to watch/comment on us small town folks who support kids in an attempt to give them an opportunity to compete and become better, more well rounded young men (and women, I've seen a few girls play here in recent years). If a community wants to and is able to support a program, let them, if not, that is fine, but we "neanderthals" do not appreciate or need you descending from on high telling us how to best support our kids and our communities.

High school football is not about producing "more talent" than our neighboring states or for "the next level." As a coach, that is the furthest thing from my mind.  If a student-athlete has the capacity to compete at the next level, I/we support that pursuit, but my focus is typically on the student-athlete who needs football because he doesn't have much else to motivate him. But sure, go ahead and let's tell a community that our state's overall "product" trumps their willingness and desire to provide opportunity for their student-athletes that they see fit.

Rant over.

Well said.  

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