VeniceIndiansFootball

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m going to be able to make the drive down. I will do my best to keep up with the score online, as much as I can.

I’m hearing Valdosta is gonna have a good squad this season. Are they playing week 1?

If that’s the case, then maybe Aquinas should start swapping their starters!

Thank you. I think it’s going to be a defensive slugfest all game long. Gonna be a lot of fun to watch. Hoping Aquinas comes away with the dub!

Do you know if the game will be televised?

How’s Madison County looking this year? Did they retain much of their talent from last year’s squad?

St. Frances has overwhelming size up front and a lot of speed in the secondary. I don’t think STA will score more than 17 points in this game. But the same could also be said for St. Frances as well. Aquinas’s defense will keep them in the game with timely stops and turnovers of their own. They will help their somewhat flaccid offense score with opportunistic plays and hopefully turnovers as well that will give them respectable field position. STA really has to play a perfect game to win this one. Home field will help a lot. Their crowd will keep them motivated to win the game and they will at least keep it close, if nothing else. Can’t turn over the ball with sloppy play in the first game. They have to score first and try to stay in front. Getting behind early against Frances’ defense could spell a loss. But nonetheless, I’ll be rooting for the Raiders to take it home. Give it your all!

Do you think STA wins this game?

Are they reporting their numbers to the FHSAA honestly, to your knowledge?

Didn’t anyone tell you? Venice is the only high school in the country that gets transfers!

I will write one last post on this topic, to clarify my viewpoints and help people understand why I believe what I do. If anyone disagrees with me, we can agree to do so respectfully. We are all adults on this board, and I want to stay on here for the years to come. But this will be my last post on the matter, as I frankly am tired of beating this dead horse into the ground. So here it is. As I have said many times, I firmly believe in school choice. The freedom of teenagers to choose their own education and what school they wish to attend, in my opinion, is vital to their own growth and personal development. My parents raised me to be respectful of my peers and family, and to respect the responsible decisions that they make as it pertains to them. We, as fans, have no real bearing on how teenagers function in high school, and the personal decisions that they make off of the field. Although we have our disagreements, everyone that I have spoken to on this board over the past 3 days agrees on one extremely important detail. Recruiting by way of texting kids, or trying to entice them to join their program in any way, is immoral, and should not go unpunished. I could not agree more in this regard. However, it is my opinion that there are certain schools that foster better environments, and have better attitudes towards football, than others. One does not need a coach, or even another kid to tell them about that. We live in a very robust, technologically advanced society where you can find recent schedules, and games played with a few clicks on a keyboard. We can not forget about this, when discussing why kids choose to transfer and how they obtain information about other programs. As far as loyalty goes, I don’t think I can put it much better than @Jambun82 already has. Loyalty can and will drive you off of a cliff if you allow it. I’ve asked this question several times, but I have yet to receive a coherent answer. Why should any kid remain loyal to a losing program, that has absolutely no intentions of at least trying to turn itself around? Is it so awful to think that kids may not like a coach because they don’t foster a positive environment? Is it outside the realm of possibility that a kid may want to make it to the NFL, and play for a school with an at least fairly decent team to have better film? Is it also impossible, that a kid may want a scholarship, but plays for a school where college recruiters may not even show up? We have to remember that these are kids. Absolutely nobody has any right to chastise them for making personal decisions about where they go to school, especially if their decision has massive ramifications as far as their futures are concerned. That’s my stance on the matter. If anyone has a different view, we can discuss our opinions as adults.

Recruiting almost always involves bribery in some manner. As far as sports are concerned, I don’t really believe one can exist without the other. Bribery in the State of Florida is a second degree criminal offense, punishable by a $10,000 fine or up to 15 years in prison. In essence, the person who is trying to recruit must be absolutely certain that no officer of the law or public official will catch wind of it. A good program will attract players, without a shadow of a doubt. You don’t need an insider to tell you if a school has a winning culture or not; one simply looks at previous recent records of success, and makes that distinction for themselves. The issue lies when coaches approach a student, and try to entice them to join their team with promises of things such as: better academics, a winning attitude, and chances for scholarships. That is an enormous infraction that can cost a school tens of thousands of dollars, forfeited games or championships, and can land members of their staff behind bars. Nobody wants that, but sometimes it slips under the radar and goes unnoticed. I agree that there are loopholes, but most kids aren’t going to report someone who “appears” to be trying to help them. I believe the process begins when kids start touring schools in 8th grade. They get a real chance to see what attending that school entails, and may even get a glimpse of the football program as well. I personally have no issues with this. However, I do have an issue with kids getting texted by other coaches who believe that their talents could be used more fortuitously at another school. This is unacceptable, and needs to be stopped before it becomes a major issue.

Thank you, Jambun. Always great to hear from you!

I think we can all agree that There are schools out there that have better environments and attitudes towards football than others. I wasn’t necessarily talking about Venice, I was talking about any school that is more successful and seems enticing to a kid who wants to transfer. Strange how people assume I’m talking about Venice, but I suppose Venice is the only school in the entire world whom has ever received a transfer. Why would you want to stay loyal to a program with no intention of turning itself around? Are you going to have a better chance at getting a scholarship at a school like STA, or North Port? You can’t set yourself up for failure. Remember that many kids in today’s day and age have short attention spans. They want to win NOW. So they want to play for a school that has the best facets to do so. If they can not do so, then they will not be desirous of playing for that school. It is as simple as that. People on this board seem to have extreme difficulty differentiating between transfers, and recruiting. One is perfectly legal as long as school choice remains in tact. The other leads to suspensions, heavy fines, and possible legal action for bribery. It’s as simple as that.

Yes, he went on to play for Old Dominion.