Perspective

Not an apologist for Bartram Trail, but they finished second in their district with one district loss, behind the district winner and top seed in the region, Buchholz.  If BT had beaten Buchholz, there's a very good chance that Buchholz would have been in the same position that BT is in now:  3rd seed in the Region, having to travel from Gainesville to 6th-seeded, but district champ, Navarre, for the first round game and then traveling the following week to #2 seed Niceville for the second round game.   Bottom line:  it's just a really, really big region, so travel is inevitable. 

Disagree here with you NoleBull. It is good to see Plant and Dr. Phillips back to making a run of sorts. Sumner has been building up and Durant... come on now give them some credit.
Just because a couple of names aren't traditionally the names we usually hear does not mean some of these can't be starting a path of their own, which they should be.
Things cycle. That is a part of life... and football.

Of course, all of this "ideal scheduling" talk means very little in a county like Hillsborough where the County AD does the lion's share of the scheduling for all public schools. 

Of course, all of this "ideal scheduling" talk means very little in a county like Hillsborough where the County AD does the lion's share of the scheduling for all public schools. 

This "jambun82" character seemed to be a more level-headed poster years ago.  Then he started posting more humorous stuff, and then starting going the direction of taking informal jabs at others which was fine.  But after a while, his overall tone went further south and became a little more on the annoying side.  Now here we are today, and he's basically relegated himself to the level of an outright troll.
I sort-of wanted to like the guy.  As we know, referees do a thankless job.  You're the most hated person on the field, paid dirt, but we need 'em.  Otherwise, there's no football, no games, nothing.  He was the one who would post his perspectives about being an official.  But the way he's been acting lately, I've basically had no choice but to seriously lose any respect for him.
 

This whole discussion about scheduling began because of our record this year.  The so-called "GAUNLET SCHEDULE" we signed up for last year, to get these teams we had to make a 2 year commitment which I have previously alluded to.  We knew last year we could compete with anybody and felt we had a chance to win "EVERY GAME" on that schedule.  As it turned out, we lost to a total of 3 teams on that schedule of 10 games; a loss to Seminole by 1 in OT which we should have won in regulation had it not been for a missed extra point. Then a 3 point loss at Lakeland, mind you a ghost from our past known as Skyway claimed they would beat everyone by 40, including us.  I laughed at him knowing we could win and they not only wouldn't win by 40, but they wouldn't get 40.  This was all posted on this site last year for everyone to see, so it should be obvious to anyone with a functioning brain those 2 games were winnable.  Lastly, we committed 6 or 7 turnovers at Jones uncharacteristically and lost another game we clearly were the better team.  It happens.  Thinking ahead to this year when that scheduling was decided, we felt we were blessed with a great incoming freshmen class of 2026 (which happens to be correct) and knew it would be tougher to navigate but the talent would be there to compete although not as confident we could win them "ALL" like the previous year.  For a myriad of reasons without boring you with them all, we lost more games than we would have liked.  Our HC does participate on this forum at times and I know he would echo my sentiments that he has no regrets regarding the scheduling which will only serve these sophomores that carried a monster load to be better next year.  The other missing element in all this was the "SUPPOSED" added incentive called STRENGTH of SCHEDULE", which didn't play as big a role as we thought it would.   With FHSAA discussions underway for next year, the mindset just as always is to do what we feel benefits us the most and best prepares us for a championship which is always our goal.  Each HC for FL schools decides how the scheduling can help achieve that goal depending on the level of talent, ability to compete, etc... and thus choose different routes to their desired goal.  Someone that knows little about our team wanting to criticize our HC for his decisions because you know better is asinine for the simple fact you know little.  Final Point to address your concerns Perspective.  We have never considered devising a schedule to help you "RECRUIT"!   More idiocy.

1.  The comparison to the district champion/runner-up model is not pertinent, as the current Metro-Suburban/Power Ranking system replaced the 1A-8A/RPI system.  The district champion/runner-up model has not been used for at least 5 seasons.  But I compared this year's results to the 2021 season, which was the last year of the previous system.  2021 had 96 first-round games, and the median margin of victory was 27 points - the same as this year.  So based on a limited sample size, the Metro-Suburban split made first-round games no more or less competitive on the whole.
2.  Although the data point that 89% of state champions had come from the 8 highest Metro areas in the previous 10 years was used as evidence of an imbalance, FHSAA documents cite "blowouts in playoff games and state championships" and "achieving a competitive balance in state championship series (i.e. 'playoff games').  It seems incredible that this seismic change would have been undertaken only to make 8 championship games more competitive.  In fairness, the 2022 championship games were more competitive than those in 2021.
3.  One could argue that if 52 of 104 playoff games were decided by 4 scores or more, there are up to 52 teams who may not belong in the playoffs.  We're talking about playoffs, not regular season games, where mismatches should be more likely.
4.  NCAA March Madness equates to your first option.  Even though we know Southeast Missouri, Canisius, or Western Carolina are not going to win the championship, they are given an opportunity to take their shot.  I still happen to enjoy March Madness, even if there are some blowouts.  So I guess that makes the FHSAA Playoffs -> November Madness!   
 

Wouldn't we expect there to be bigger blowouts due to a #1 facing a #8, #2 vs 7 rather than the randomness that often was associated with the neighboring district champions/runner-up playoffs. Additionally, I thought the competitive equity was for more the state championships than the playoffs themselves, but I might be wrong (but if the goal is competitive equity, then a promotion/relegation system does this better) Also I am not sure the old system solves the issue anymore than the Metro/Suburban issue does As for too many mediocre teams making the playoffs, (not counting rural), we have 224 teams in the playoffs (if we went down to 6 classes (not counting rural), we would have 192 teams, so 32 teams less. If we assume that those mediocre teams are spread throughout all classes, you are talking about 5 teams per class, or a little over 1 per region. So just imagine removing the 8th seed (a couple of 7s) in every class, does that fix the issue, if not. Maybe there are bigger issues. When deciding what kind of playoffs to have, the members have to make a decision if they want A) every team that "could" win a championship even if that means bad teams get in
OR  Only having good teams in, even if 1 or 2 good teams stay home I generally fall into the A camp and thus blowouts in the early rounds don't bother me too much (blowouts in 4th and 5th rounds would bother me more).

I can see both sides of this issue.  In theory, I think you try to schedule at least one team that you suspect is either better than you are or that will play a style similar to the team that will stand in the way of a title run.
That said, I pulled out the two quotes above for a reason:  while it may go on, I find it troubling that people talk openly about "recruit[ing] better players," and "recruiting this off-season."  Recruiting is illegal.  It's against the rules.  Period.
Longtime Observer, I'm not picking on you.  Others have said it, too, in other threads.   You just happened to say it in this thread.  That said, if you know the team you support is openly recruiting (and not just attracting transfers because of the success they've had), you're supporting the wrong team. 

I can see both sides of this issue.  In theory, I think you try to schedule at least one team that you suspect is either better than you are or that will play a style similar to the team that will stand in the way of a title run.
That said, I pulled out the two quotes above for a reason:  while it may go on, I find it troubling that people talk openly about "recruit[ing] better players," and "recruiting this off-season."  Recruiting is illegal.  It's against the rules.  Period.
Longtime Observer, I'm not picking on you.  Others have said it, too, in other threads.   You just happened to say it in this thread.  That said, if you know the team you support is openly recruiting (and not just attracting transfers because of the success they've had), you're supporting the wrong team. 

I can see both sides of this issue.  In theory, I think you try to schedule at least one team that you suspect is either better than you are or that will play a style similar to the team that will stand in the way of a title run.
That said, I pulled out the two quotes above for a reason:  while it may go on, I find it troubling that people talk openly about "recruit[ing] better players," and "recruiting this off-season."  Recruiting is illegal.  It's against the rules.  Period.
Longtime Observer, I'm not picking on you.  Others have said it, too, in other threads.   You just happened to say it in this thread.  That said, if you know the team you support is openly recruiting (and not just attracting transfers because of the success they've had), you're supporting the wrong team. 

This might be him
 

There are definitely kids out there transferring to get a better fit/opportunity, but to suggest that kids aren't being recruited (by coaches, parents, boosters, other players, etc.) is disingenuous, at best, and flat out wrong, at a minimum.  

Josh was the team who went 10-0 and lost in the 1st round. Lol

Thanks for running it this year!

Coach, I don't know you other than through the forum, but I feel like I know who you are.   Programs are like kids.  You gave the Poinciana program everything you had and, understandably, you want to see your 'child' continue to grow and prosper.   But you have no control over what happens next.   That said, take comfort in the lives that you changed for the better while you were there and know that the "real" kids will played for you will benefit for the rest of their lives because of what they learned under your leadership and tutelage.  Move on and don't look back.  Best of luck in your next chapter. 

Coach, I don't know you other than through the forum, but I feel like I know who you are.   Programs are like kids.  You gave the Poinciana program everything you had and, understandably, you want to see your 'child' continue to grow and prosper.   But you have no control over what happens next.   That said, take comfort in the lives that you changed for the better while you were there and know that the "real" kids will played for you will benefit for the rest of their lives because of what they learned under your leadership and tutelage.  Move on and don't look back.  Best of luck in your next chapter. 

Coach, I don't know you other than through the forum, but I feel like I know who you are.   Programs are like kids.  You gave the Poinciana program everything you had and, understandably, you want to see your 'child' continue to grow and prosper.   But you have no control over what happens next.   That said, take comfort in the lives that you changed for the better while you were there and know that the "real" kids will played for you will benefit for the rest of their lives because of what they learned under your leadership and tutelage.  Move on and don't look back.  Best of luck in your next chapter. 

I'm pretty sure that's been the rule for a long time.   Good coaches anticipate such things and take adequate precautions. 

Since I had a random message from somebody about last year's Coaching Change thread. I will usually post openings and hirings as I find them out, but I will edit and update the original post with every new opening and hiring. So the date of this post might be for November 10th, and you might hire your new coach on March 1st. I will usually have posted further down this topic on March 1st that says "ABC High School - New Coach Vince Lombardi" I will then edit this original post to reflect that so that somebody who doesn't want to read through 100 posts can see an entire list.
Citrus (Inverness) Crystal River Santa Fe Catholic (Lakeland) South Miami Wekiva (Apopka) Wildwood
 

Badbird, here's my perspective:  the first incident warranted a stoppage and an indirect free kick for the white team, but in my opinion did not warrant a yellow card.   What's the rule in high school soccer?  Does a player who picks up a yellow card have to come off the field for some period of time?  Or did that player already have a yellow and just picked up his second yellow (which would result in a red)?  Either way, that was a minor foul and did not warrant a card, and ejection or a suspension.  Again, the only caveat would be that the ref gave him a yellow card when he was already playing with a yellow card, which resulted in a red card, which qualifies as an ejection for which the handbook says a suspension must be given.  As for the second incident, #7 white was clearly playing the role of instigator and definitely flopped.  If anything, that player -- and not the defender -- should have picked up a yellow card.
Having said all that, I will tell you that football ejections/suspensions are treated differently than all the other sports in the FHSAA Handbook.   It's almost as if they know the nature of the game of football is going to lead to skirmishes and fights which, in turn, will lead to ejections.  And I think they recognize the football season is typically the shortest season in terms of games played.  Therefore, it doesn't make sense to suspend football players the same number of games as other sports, as you will then be suspending a football player a much larger percentage of his or her season than in other sports (a suspension of 3 games would be 30% of a 10-game season, but only 12.5% of a 24-game season).  

I plan to get my picks in by 4:59 on Friday (right after I confer with the South Florida bookies).  In other words, I'll get my picks in about an hour or two before Josh gets his in.  

From the Lakeland Ledger:
"FHSAA officials confirmed that 12 players from both Lakeland and Kathleen were suspended as a result of a fight that broke out at the beginning of the third quarter when the two teams met on Oct. 27.
Kathleen players sat out last week, while Lakeland players will miss Friday night's home playoff game against New Port Richey Mitchell in the Class 4S, Region 2 quarterfinals."
. . . 
"Polk County athletic director Dan Talbot said most of the suspensions were for one week, although a couple of players received two weeks suspension. The punishments were lighter than they could have been, he said, because the schools meted out their own punishments first."
 
Lakeland officials couldn't/wouldn't disclose what the punishment was because of "privacy laws." 

As in Animal Farm, some are more equal than others.