Do parents really not know what a D1 player is????

Some parents know... in my experience the vast majority have ABSOLUTELY NO idea. Most of these are still 'good' parents, supportive and all, but they don't have a clue.

Just out of curiousity? is the kid even close? not that it matters, I just thought I'd ask.

I'll add that most of them don't realize how good you have to be to play d3!! I coach in a very rural area--western IL. We have Quincy High which is about 2500 kids, but no other programs bigger than 550 students in our area. Most parents don't realize that, with a few exceptions, the best players our area produces are d3 or NAIA players.

Coach, unfortunately most people have no idea of what it means to be that strong and that fast (say small guy at 6' who runs a 4.4 and benches 325). I think that's because most of them watch any college ball live, and even fewer watch the pro game live. I hadn't seen a pro game in years when I went to a 'Skins-Eagles game 2 years ago. I spent the first six minutes with my jaw on the ground saying to my son "Jeepers, those guys are so fast!". Every one of 'em, even the lineman. And I knew that before going to the game on a knowing-the-game-better-than-the-average-bear level, but it still blew me away to see it live. The same is true for college ball: FSU spring game, Lorenzo Booker bounces out of the C gap, he's got 25 yards of green grass with nobody there when a blur of a garnet jersey that I barely caught out of the corner of my eye sticks him for a 6 yard gain. When you watch high school ball all the time, you see a few speedy guys, but not all over the field at every position.

I'd say don't worry about it, that guy is just showing his ignorance and making an idiot of himself. If you must address it, sit down with him and spell it out. You son plays position X, runs the 40 in whatever, squats xxx and benches yyy. The D1 players at his position average (whatever it is). The info is out there, check out a few web sites for the big schools and you'll probably find some info about how they guys improved over the off-season last year (I know FSU does it, I'm sure others do). Rivals.com gives you another place for comparisons.

Don't know the situation, but if the guy is not in any position to harm you program the best thing to do would be to just ignore him, his ignorance will be evident soon enough. Having said that, I can certainly understand your frustration in dealing with the situation.

There is nothing wrong with being a very good high school player; indeed, it is something to be proud of. I was thinking about this the other day: High school football is the heart and soul of the game. Sure, the colleges rake in the bucks, the pro players and owners rake in the bucks, but the high school kids have the opportunity to learn things that serve our nation in a way that is incalculable: personal sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself, paying the price to find out how good you can be, perseverance, being part of a team... The list goes on and on and we could all add to it (maybe that's a good subject for another thread). You can't purchase those lessons, you earn them with blood, sweat, and sometimes tears. Each of those lessons grows outstanding young men if they will apply those lessons. Fortunately for our country, most do. The rest become TO....

No, parents do NOT ever get it. Especially in the less populated areas, where D1 athletes are more rare both as teammates and opponents. Parents see their kids excelling at the youth level. Parents see their kids performing better than other high school football players. Parents simply assume that this means their kids are the cream of the crop...and they are wrong.

People rarely recognize true talent at the top levels, because by its very nature that talent is rare. Parents think all of their kids are brilliant, few have ever met someone like Kissinger or Oppenheimer. Parents think their kids are fast...few have ever seen anyone run like Michael Johnson or Carl Lewis did at 16 and 17. Parents think their kids can shoot, few have ever seen anyone shoot like Chris Mullin in high school. Parents think their kids are amazing quarterbacks. Few have ever seen or played against a Peyton Manning in H.S.

No. They don't know. Until I was around a few I really didn't even know.

It would be very possible to coach in my area and not go up against or coach a D1 kid in a ten year stretch.

I have only had 2 d1 players in 19 years. It is very possible not to to see very many d 1 guys

This is a really good idea.

Really? What part of VA are you in?

We have lots of small schools in SW Va near the TN/VA line that used to turn out Div 1 recruits all the time when I was in school (I know of 4 who are currently in the NFL, though 2 are brothers). Of course, in those days 2 or 3 of them would also be legit title contenders every year, too, and they don't seem to produce players like they used to.

I'm surprised by all the coaches on here who say they haven't played against Div 1 recruits in years. I came up and live in an area that's not known as a football hotbed by any means, but this area still turns out about 2-3 a year on average. Usually it's linemen or TEs. Our area doesn't produce much at the "glamour positions." Wisconsin's Curt Phillips was our last one--he got knocked for facing "weak competition," and 2 players from a team in my alma maters league are going to SEC schools next year. Do other leagues really not ever have those types of players?!?

Personally, I never had a teammate go Div 1, but a couple of guys I played with had offers from lower-tier 1a schools they turned down for 1aa schools closer to home.

Exactly. Even as coaches we think we know just because a kid dominates at the HS level. When a D1 kid comes around, and you have to keep in out of drills because he is hurting other kids, or he throws a football so hard nobody can catch it, or he has 4/5 runs every game that make your head spin, do you realize what a D1 prospect is.

We need to watch HS footage of guys that go D1

Yeah, baseball and basketball may actually be worse, b/c of AAU coaches with no school affiliation. We have AAU coaches telling 6'2 power forwards they can get into UCONN in this area

They have no clue! None!

Talked to a mom the other day who want to "make sure that her son (incoming senior) was on track to start this year". He wants to get a full ride scholarship to play football at the U and wanted to make sure he had the opportunity to get "discovered."


Like we have been hiding this D-1 lineman for the last 3 years.

LOL, and it's even worse when Jr.'s got a 2.2 GPA a 970 on his SAT and has no idea what the Clearing house is.

I was a manger in college(D-1 SWC). in college, I was 6' and 275. Pretty solid. I worked with the OL, and was the little guy. I took a picture with the guys I came in with and I hit them all about shoulder height. The shortest one in that group was 6'5". I have kids ask me why I did not play and I just show them the picture. Talk about a reality check.