Perspective
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Posts posted by Perspective
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So, is this going to be a situation where Dillard will have a fantastic regular season, going 10-0 or 9-1, and then falter in the playoffs because they didn't play anyone challenging in the regular season?
- muckboy561 and Ray Icaza
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In your opinion, which of those games, if any, will Dillard be the underdog and have trouble winning?
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11 hours ago, PinellasFB said:
No, Rise Prep is a remote school where you typically dual enroll between online HS classes and Dade county community college classes, of which I'm sure most will choose the online DCCC class offerings. Student athletes at RPA can then choose any school to play for. This is how Broward athletes can attend. While RPA seems legit academically, the sketchy part is their role in sports where they are nothing short of true hired guns sent to various teams in the area. It just never "feels right" that a big portion of West Boca's team doesn't even attend West Boca.
Respectfully, this just isn't the way that high school sports are supposed to work.
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21 minutes ago, MarkECannon said:
IMG’s tuition is between $75,000- $95,000. I’ve spoken to some parents of IMG football players. They told me it was all on scholarship.
Again, that means there are a lot of parents of tennis players, soccer players and baseball players overpaying for their kid's education/athletic development so that IMG can field a football team full of D1 prospects.
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53 minutes ago, nolebull813 said:
What about the public schools? They get double digit transfers every year. No one ever says a peep about them. Public schools actually have it easier because they don’t have to jump through financial aid and tuition barriers. The only difference is it appears that when giving the opportunity kids want to get the better education along with the top-notch football experience.
Miami Northwestern is not in a desirable location for families to move to, but they can get 20 transfers in one off-season. Does that mean they are IMG?
I don't know of many (if any) people who fault athletic/talented kids for taking advantage of the opportunities that come their way. I certainly don't -- although from time-to-time I do catch myself looking over at the sidelines at a football game involving a private school and wondering how many of the kids on that team would have any desire whatsoever to attend that particular private school were it not for sports. But, I usually resolve that issue in my brain by concluding that, in all likelihood, a kid at CCC or Berkeley or Jesuit is probably getting a better education and overall high school experience than if they were at their local D or F rated public school . . . and that's a good thing.
From my standpoint, athletic kids can go to whatever school they want to. Those kids are entitled to attend a public school. They are not entitled to attend a private school. In order to attend a private school, the kid and his/her family must go through the same application process that any other kid goes through. If they meet the academic standards established by the private school, and if they qualify for financial aid and the school is willing to provide financial aid to all kids who get accepted and who qualify, that's great. Everyone wins. But, as it stands right now, no schools - public or private - are allowed to recruit kids to come to their school for the purpose of playing sports. And private schools are not allowed to offer 'scholarships' to kids as an inducement to get those kids to attend. Sadly, this is what is happening. I say "sadly" not because I hate on kids who might benefit from their athletic talent to improve their station in life. I'm all in favor of that. I say "sadly" because we end up with a system where schools are breaking the rules in hopes of winning a state championship in a particular sport that likely will be forgotten by most everyone but them in a decade and doing so in a manner that gives them a distinct advantage over the schools that try to play by the rules. Just remember, each time one of those rule-breaking schools wins a state title, there's one other team that has been denied a state title and/or one other team that was denied the opportunity to play for a championship.
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1 hour ago, Dr. D said:
You raise a good point. Let's look at the 2025-2026 tuition for some of the powerhouse schools frequently mentioned herein. STA: $16,500; C-M: $17,150; First Academy: $26,270; AH-P: $42,700(!). I'm sure these are all excellent schools and well worth the money to those so inclined. But makes one wonder how these players from "extreme poverty" (as described by one poster) can afford to pay these rates. Obviously, they are receiving "financial aid" to offset all or some of the expense. I guess they are allowed to do that. But is that same financial aid available to a young lady from the same background who wants to take AP courses and play in the band? Maybe; I guess it's a matter of priorities. Either way, it's easy to see why people are suspicious of these schools and the advantages they possess.
If the school is giving financial aid/scholarships only to athletes, that would be an impermissible benefit and would violate FHSAA rules. As long as all the students are on an even playing field, the aid can be provided. It's uncanny, however, how many 'underprivileged' kids end up at these expensive schools and what percentage of them play sports. The reality is that the families/students that can afford to pay full freight do so and end up subsidizing those kids who can't afford it and then up hold their chests out all proud when their school wins a state title.
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18 hours ago, FBGUY1989 said:
What about Armwood and Plant. They're pretty good every year and I'm sure people want to see them play.
Armwood and Plant still draw good crowds, especially when they play each other. Plant's crowds dwindled a little after Coach Weiner left and the team struggled for a year or two, but they seem to be back on track again under Coach Brown and the good crowds have returned. Apparently, there's a correlation between winning and crowd size.
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14 hours ago, nolebull813 said:
And to the other point of recruiting, if a coach or coaches were busted for illegally recruiting and any other infractions, THEY should be banned for 2 years. Not the kids who could use the playoffs for extra reps and film for college. The FHSAA is essentially stealing 2-8 games of precious film time from student athletes in these 2 years over something an adult did. I don’t think that’s right. Suspend the guilty adults for 2 years from coaching any sport in the FHSAA for 2 years and levy and monetary fines to recoup for the investigation from the school, but don’t steal the kids opportunity that they only get once in their life
Responding to Nolebull's comment with an SAT-like question for everyone on this board:
Here's the scenario (and I'm making it as blatantly obvious as I can): Assistant coach for Local High School ("LHS") identifies a rising junior skill position player from another high school that the LHS coach believes could be a real difference-maker for his team. The LHS coach pulls the kid aside after a 7-on-7 tournament and starts extolling the virtues of LHS and telling the kid what a great fit the kid would be. He then meets up with the kid's parents and offers them housing right down the street from LHS. He then tells them he can make arrangements for the kid's mom to get a new "job" at the car dealership owned by former LHS quarterback and long-time LHS booster, Rooster Calhoun, who took LHS to the state championship game back in 1974. In short, the coach commits what everyone and their brother could only describe as 'recruiting,' and extends an offer of what everyone and their sister could only conclude would be 'impermissible benefits.' And the kid and his family members willingly participate in the recruitment process and, ultimately, gladly accept the benefits.
Who should be punished:
A. The assistant coach.
B. The head coach (and, yes, I was intentionally vague on whether the head coach participated in or had knowledge of the actions).
C. The school.
D. The kid.
E. All of the above.
Unlike the SAT, you are not limited to one answer. Put down the letter for each one (unless you think all should be punished, in which event you can just put down "E").
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3 hours ago, nolebull813 said:
How did they cheat? What were they found guilty of that the punishment should be teenagers losing the ability to compete for a state title?
If those teenagers truly want the ability to compete for a state title, they can simply transfer to another school. Apparently that's a thing now.
- nolebull813 and Dr. D
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12 hours ago, Ray Icaza said:
Have no info indicating that has happened, rather he recently posted our "Voluntary Workouts" for summer kickoff on June 10th. As was indicated by another poster, Jeff Rolson who was our HC over 10 years ago has resigned at Apopka citing the open transfer policy as a major factor in his decision.
Thanks. I couldn't remember if you had a line of communication open with DarterBlue, as I haven't seen him on this board in quite some time.
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On 5/28/2025 at 4:22 PM, Ray Icaza said:
The 2024 version of OHS Kowboys was one of the premier programs in the state and my comments reflected that during the season. Can't come close to projecting that out for next year with the group we fielded against Windermere and a lot can happen over the summer. Again, Windermere has a nice squad but isn't in the league they would like to be and OHS was without their #1 projected RB for next year and breaking in 4 new OL so our offense was anemic at best with our coaches not satisfied where we are either. Always the best policy to not over promise what your team will look like until you have plenty of data to back that up. They ain't close yet.
Ray, just saw where the head coach resigned? What's up with that?!?
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1 hour ago, MarkECannon said:
Contacted GoFan yesterday about my $8 refund. There is not a phone # to call of course. I found one online. I called it and left a voicemail. We’ll see. Anyway, I went through the process that was a Chat on the GoFan app. The Chat informed me it did not matter that the event did not occur there will not be a refund. It referred me to the school since the funds go to the school hosting. I called Bartow High. Told the operator so I’m guessing they transferred me to the athletic director so I left a message. Not sure I’ll continue to spend much more energy on this but these companies, like GoFan, that do not have an option to speak to a live human being are very impersonal and frustrating.
From your profile picture, you appear to be a Lightning fan. Knowing that, I'd like to offer you some tickets to the first round playoff games between the Lightning and the Florida Panthers. No mark-up; face value. If you're interested, just let me know and I'll send you my Venmo info.
Seriously, how difficult can it be to program in a response message that says "Tickets can no longer be purchased for this event, as it already has taken place" when you try to buy tickets to an event that has already taken place?
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28 minutes ago, MarkECannon said:
I’m sure Ray will give us the 411. Do people say 411 anymore?
Only people from Auburndale.
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6 minutes ago, nolebull813 said:
They play St James from Virginia. They are a IMG-Wannabe who is an Athletics factory openly recruiting kids from all over the area.
Are they members of the FHSAA?
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10 hours ago, nolebull813 said:
They also play Venice
SHEESH!!!!
And I don't even need to go back and look to know where that game will be played.
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12 hours ago, Longtime Observer said:
He just needs to be competent, given he'll play behind a mammoth, awesome OL, have great WR targets etc.
Where did he play last year?
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Most shocking part of the story is that there are 7 people in Tampa that wanted a used Lakeland helmet.
All kidding aside, this is a very sad story.
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13 hours ago, nolebull813 said:
TC Williams came down to FL back in 2019 and lost to Spruce Creek in a preseason game 34-21.
Yeah, well, that's because they didn't have Petey, Alan, Gary, Julius and Sunshine.
- JDHoss and nolebull813
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13 hours ago, FBGUY1989 said:
Isn't it the responsibility of parents or a parent to make sure their children has the best high school experience as possible.
Parents absolutely have a responsibility to do whatever they can do, within the existing rules, to benefit their children. However, the schools/school districts/state/FHSAA all have a duty and responsibility to create a system that is fair, equitable, and competitively balanced for all high school athletes. Historically, these entities have established rules and regulations to promote a system that works for benefit of the whole and not necessarily for the benefit of a single individual (for example,specific school districts, rules limiting transferring, rules prohibiting recruiting, etc.). Like many things in life, the pendulum sometimes swings too far one way or the other before it starts swinging back the other way. That's kind of the way I see it right now. A system that only benefits a select handful of kids and teams could ultimately kill the sport. And that would be sad.
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12 hours ago, JDHoss said:
I've seen it work in Tennessee and Virginia, but those were consolidations, where at least two schools were closed and a new one opened, and they were competitive to pretty good on day one.
Worked out pretty well for the T.C. Williams Titans. Remember the Titans?
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No disrespect to any of the other teams on Lakeland's schedule, but this early-season stretch of games could either propel the 'Naughts to another state championship or completely demoralize them:
Aug. 29: at De La Salle (California)
Sep. 5: vs. Lake Mary
Sep. 19: at Miami Booker T. Washington
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5 hours ago, nolebull813 said:
Hell no! But I understand that. A lot of teams wouldn’t schedule those programs. They had plenty money to schedule a horrible team like North Miami Beach. Booker is a little better than them, but they still chose an opponent they know they can be comfortably. I know they have enough money to entice a team in the top 20-50 in FL. Hell even in Georgia where they are right next to there is plenty of quality teams who would play. But they cherry pick inferior teams they know they can beat. It’s a sorry mentality to have and I wouldn’t want men leading my son with that mentality
So, a team schedules an inferior opponent (one that it should be able to beat fairly easily) at the beginning of the season and pays them some amount of money to come play the game and take the loss . . . . Hmmm, sounds like almost every top tier D-1 college football program in the country (and every mid-to-low level team trying to bolster their athletic budget).
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15 hours ago, nolebull813 said:
Horrible. Auburn is a top 5-7 team in Bama year in and year out. Booker is not even top 50 in FL. This is a blowout. I hate that these FL teams just sign up for any ass whooping no matter what.
I don't know . . . I seem to recall that Florida teams have done pretty well against Alabama teams -- especially Auburn teams -- this year. Then, again, I may be confusing high school football with college basketball.
- nolebull813 and KeemD321
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20 hours ago, Zachk1003 said:
St Thomas
With officials from the STA Officials Association, no doubt.
- KeemD321 and MarkECannon
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KICKOFF Classics must see games
in The Huddle
Posted
I'm thinking this might be too far of a trip for that Lakeland guy who wears a boat on his head.