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Post by holmesbend on May 30, 2012 20:34:02 GMT -6
Do they start at the same day as your upperclassmen or do you give them the option of starting 2-3 weeks later?
To give you a little background, I just took over at the school where I had been an assistant the previous 4 years (3 as the DC). We are a rural school of about 720 kids in Kentucky, and have had roughly 30-45 kids finish the the year over the last few, and it's been a steady decline each year. I'm not one that thinks numbers are a saving grace, but the fact of the matter is our numbers flat out suck. Right now we are looking at 22 kids grades 10-12 next year and our sophomore class only has 2.....no, not a typo..T-W-O.
I'm just thinking of ways to get more kids out in the younger grades, and though that if I didn't bring them in until around the time school started (not having to worry about two a days as freshmen, etc) that it might get a few more kids out? Right now, I think we should have a solid 15 or so (give or take a couple), but I'd love to get 20-25 (some of those are baseball and/or basketball only kids who have played football in their younger years).
We implemented a practice schedule last year where we basically split the kids up into varsity and JV/Freshmen groups (young kids never went against the older/varsity kids except for when we needed them as dumby holders) .coaches only coached one side of the ball, and we would do the same this year when the freshmen come in; essentially rotating the groups from offense to defense everyday. So, the young kids wouldn't be behind when they come in because they'd be practicing by themselves....us coaches would obviously just start over from scratch on the day we get the youngsters, then progress from there.
I've scheduled 18 frosh and JV games.....my 'plan' is to bring up several of our 8th graders to help with freshmen games and our freshmen being the bulk of the JV roster in hopes to offset the massive sophomore class we have haha.
Ideas?
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Post by Chris Clement on May 30, 2012 20:53:28 GMT -6
Same day.
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Post by coachbuck on May 31, 2012 1:31:37 GMT -6
Im a freshman coach. We are on the same day as the upperclassmen. Im a little more forgiving if kids miss early in summer. They are new to the program and they have vacations planned with football not on there mindset.
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Post by blb on May 31, 2012 5:09:48 GMT -6
Freshmen start same day as 10-12 graders. Their first game (as is JV's) is day before Varsity.
This year we will play three games before school opens. We do not allow kids to come out when school starts for obvious reasons.
We had only 11 sign up yesterday so may not have a Freshman team this season.
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Post by coachbuck on May 31, 2012 5:14:36 GMT -6
Freshmen start same day as 10-12 graders. Their first game (as is JV's) is day before Varsity. This year we will play three games before school opens. We do not allow kids to come out when school starts for obvious reasons. We had only 11 sign up yesterday so may not have a Freshman team this season. blb not to hijack this thread but let me ask you a question. Starting that early does it mess with game attendance for your varsity? We have one game in august and I was thinking man this is going to be bad for attendance and you have three. Football here brings in good revenue. |
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Post by blb on May 31, 2012 5:34:31 GMT -6
Yes, buck, it does.
Combined with "Pay to Play" it also impacts our participation numbers too.
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Post by holmesbend on May 31, 2012 6:31:36 GMT -6
Same here BLB, we will play three games in August this year, it's typically just two, but the way the dates fall in place this year it's just one of those things.
I don't know, just trying to think of ways to get more numbers out in that age group. Our sophomore class next year is ridiculously low with two, but our Junior and Senior classes aren't much better in the grand scheme of things.
Seniors- 8
Juniors- 12
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Post by holmesbend on May 31, 2012 6:47:10 GMT -6
Our practice schedule goes like this
July 15- 1st day of practice (all of KY)
July 30- 1st day of full gear (in KY, this date is based off your 1st day of school)
Aug. 17- 1st Varsity game
Aug. 20- 1st JV
Aug. 23- 1st Frosh game
So, what I was thinking is for those freshmen that want to dress and/or have a chance for varsity playing time, show up July 15th. If they just want to play freshmen/JV and not dress on Friday nights, then show up July 30. The day of the 30th, whichever side of the ball the upperclassmen are practicing, the freshmen would be doing the opposite, in helmets only.
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Post by wingtol on May 31, 2012 7:14:41 GMT -6
Our practice schedule goes like this July 15- 1st day of practice (all of KY) July 30- 1st day of full gear (in KY, this date is based off your 1st day of school) Aug. 17- 1st Varsity game Aug. 20- 1st JV Aug. 23- 1st Frosh game So, what I was thinking is for those freshmen that want to dress and/or have a chance for varsity playing time, show up July 15th. If they just want to play freshmen/JV and not dress on Friday nights, then show up July 30. The day of the 30th, whichever side of the ball the upperclassmen are practicing, the freshmen would be doing the opposite, in helmets only. Gotta get football done in time for hoops down there huh LOL We don't even start pads till Aug 14th this year. Back to the question...if numbers are a problem for you I would give them no choice, you want to be a part of the team you are here from day one. Now I know it's frosh we are talking about and you have to use kid gloves with them esp. when numbers are low. But give them no choice between when they start and if they dress for varsity. Create a one team mentality with them. We are a small school usually around 50 if we are lucky. Our frosh/jv whatever dress and go to all varsity games. We don't have any rules on how many qtrs a kid can play in a week so we usually have one or two games a year where those frosh are playing in a varsity game. That helps keep them in the program and build numbers. |
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Post by fantom on May 31, 2012 7:29:59 GMT -6
Our practice schedule goes like this July 15- 1st day of practice (all of KY) July 30- 1st day of full gear (in KY, this date is based off your 1st day of school) Aug. 17- 1st Varsity game Aug. 20- 1st JV Aug. 23- 1st Frosh game So, what I was thinking is for those freshmen that want to dress and/or have a chance for varsity playing time, show up July 15th. If they just want to play freshmen/JV and not dress on Friday nights, then show up July 30. The day of the 30th, whichever side of the ball the upperclassmen are practicing, the freshmen would be doing the opposite, in helmets only. We don't have a freshman team but we do that with our JVs. They don't play until the second playing date of the season so we don't start full JV practice until a week after the varsity. Any JV player who wants a chance to play varsity starts at the same time as the varsity. |
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Post by bluboy on May 31, 2012 7:37:51 GMT -6
Frosh start same day as varsity(approximately August 11). First frosh game will be Friday, Sept. 7.
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Post by blb on May 31, 2012 7:48:17 GMT -6
In our state first day of practice depends on when Thanksgiving weekend is - only Friday-Saturday Ford Field guaranteed to be available each year for state finals.
This year practice begins August 6. By state law public schools cannot start until after Labor Day, or a month after football starts.
We are losing kids because of the early start and Pay to Play. If kids don't see themselves as starters they choose to keep summer jobs and-or do other things another four weeks.
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Post by fantom on May 31, 2012 8:09:43 GMT -6
In our state first day of practice depends on when Thanksgiving weekend is - only Friday-Saturday Ford Field guaranteed to be available each year for state finals. This year practice begins August 6. By state law public schools cannot start until after Labor Day, or a month after football starts. We are losing kids because of the early start and Pay to Play. If kids don't see themselves as starters they choose to keep summer jobs and-or do other things another four weeks. Scheduling a whole season based on the availability of a stadium seems pretty crazy to me. In Virginia after Thanksgiving weekend there are still two more weeks of playoffs. |
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Post by blb on May 31, 2012 8:11:30 GMT -6
fantom, I suspect Virginia in November-December is a little different climate-wise than the Winter Wonderland.
So playing state finals in an indoor NFL stadium does seem like a good idea to us.
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Post by fantom on May 31, 2012 8:25:10 GMT -6
fantom, I suspect Virginia in November-December is a little different climate-wise than the Winter Wonderland. So playing state finals in an indoor NFL stadium does seem like a good idea to us. I went to HS in Pennsylvania. |
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Post by blb on May 31, 2012 8:30:01 GMT -6
fantom, I suspect Virginia in November-December is a little different climate-wise than the Winter Wonderland. So playing state finals in an indoor NFL stadium does seem like a good idea to us. I went to HS in Pennsylvania. When I went to HS (Wolverine state) we had one week of Two-a-days before Labor Day and school opening, played final two games in November (no playoffs then). But that has nothing to do with HS Football calendar here now either. There have been playoff games played in absolutely horrendous conditions outside in November here. And I wasn't commenting on your toughness as it relates to weather. Anybody who has picture of Nitschkle in his avatar has my undying respect. |
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Post by jgordon1 on May 31, 2012 9:12:39 GMT -6
Im a freshman coach. We are on the same day as the upperclassmen. Im a little more forgiving if kids miss early in summer. They are new to the program and they have vacations planned with football not on there mindset. we were basically the same..we started the frosh w/ single sessions then worked up to doubles...We were one of the only ones in the area to really bring the Frosh in early. Our Frosh only lost 2 games in the last two years and we felt like the extra practice helped...I think having success at the Frosh level really brings those kids together..small successes early leads to larger successes later on |
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Post by fantom on May 31, 2012 11:18:45 GMT -6
I went to HS in Pennsylvania. When I went to HS (Wolverine state) we had one week of Two-a-days before Labor Day and school opening, played final two games in November (no playoffs then). But that has nothing to do with HS Football calendar here now either. There have been playoff games played in absolutely horrendous conditions outside in November here. And I wasn't commenting on your toughness as it relates to weather. Anybody who has picture of Nitschkle in his avatar has my undying respect. I never thought that you were questioning my toughness or the toughness of our kids. Actually, the worst conditions that I've ever been involved in during a game, and that includes high school and college in PA, were in a playoff game here in November. Thirty degrees with sustained winds of 30 MPH and gusts to 50. It was in a baseball stadium with no cover and our bench was on the outfield (uncovered) side. |
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Post by holmesbend on May 31, 2012 12:50:18 GMT -6
Our practice schedule goes like this July 15- 1st day of practice (all of KY) July 30- 1st day of full gear (in KY, this date is based off your 1st day of school) Aug. 17- 1st Varsity game Aug. 20- 1st JV Aug. 23- 1st Frosh game So, what I was thinking is for those freshmen that want to dress and/or have a chance for varsity playing time, show up July 15th. If they just want to play freshmen/JV and not dress on Friday nights, then show up July 30. The day of the 30th, whichever side of the ball the upperclassmen are practicing, the freshmen would be doing the opposite, in helmets only. We don't even start pads till Aug 14th this year. Back to the question...if numbers are a problem for you I would give them no choice, you want to be a part of the team you are here from day one. Now I know it's frosh we are talking about and you have to use kid gloves with them esp. when numbers are low. But give them no choice between when they start and if they dress for varsity. Create a one team mentality with them. We are a small school usually around 50 if we are lucky. Our frosh/jv whatever dress and go to all varsity games. We don't have any rules on how many qtrs a kid can play in a week so we usually have one or two games a year where those frosh are playing in a varsity game. That helps keep them in the program and build numbers. It's a joke, and it's not like KY is a national recruiting hot bed for HS bball players as is. UK had one scholarship kid on their roster and he just graduated, Louisville had one and he just transferred.....for some reason people think the days of Rupp are going to come back. These dipsticks that think their little 5'10, Joe Average white kids are going to get recruited by Coach Cal have lost it....that or they haven't been watching the same games I watch on TV during basketball season. We can't even do 7 on 7 in June with outside competition, but basketball and summer league baseball can play 989 games....makes a lot of sense, huh?! Surprising thing is...KY has really started churning out a lot more Div 1 talent here of late (nothing like you all in PA, OH, GA, TX, AL, FLA, etc of course, but making huge strides). The idea of starting freshmen late isn't anything I came up with, but I got it from my college head coach who went back to the high school ranks 7 years ago. He took over a program much like ours in terms of size (relatively) and demographics who had won 4 games in 4 years prior to his arrival...this year, they were the 5A State Runners-Up. I like your idea too, one team. And that's how things have been done here, which is the same way I played in (different school), but I don't know....something isn't working. Almost thinking about doing it the way I mentioned for nothing more than the simple fact of, how the he11 can it get any worse?!? Especially with this sophomore class coming up...TWO kids..have you ever heard of such?? We only had 6 of them as freshmen (3 have moved, Army kids...we're about 30 miles from Ft. Knox). Thanks for the input! |
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Post by CVBears on May 31, 2012 13:29:22 GMT -6
for the summer time, practice can start for us on a Friday. The Frosh team is starting on that Friday. The upperclassman are starting the following Monday.
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