Ray Icaza

Again, I certainly agree with the skepticism that exists by opponents like yourself as there are plenty reasons to be skeptical of all government bodies. I think I have exhausted my openness to try a different approach and though I know the bills I quoted have nothing to do directly with the subject at hand (NIL vs FHSAA governing body), I used the example for a reason. The legislature made NIL in FL a quagmire initially, but they managed to come back and rectify the situation. Hopefully that can repeat itself in this other arena as the original sin was theirs in 2011.

What motivated said body to enact Senate Bill 8B and House Bill 7B? I don't know the answer, but it appears to have wide support from coaches at UM, UF and FSU along with their athletes. My inability to answer your question and educate you doesn't detract from the results. My guess is they have a plan, a goal and whether for good or bad remains to be seen. My hope is that better coordination/communication between a FHSAA governing board and the current legislature will bring about positive change in the competitive balance in HS football. That is it, though I do appreciate your skepticism.

Keep up the good fight thinking the real fairy tale is this problem will fix itself.

I agree, it should be apolitical but nothing is anymore. But to answer the crux of your question I will ask a follow up question. Who created the transfer mess in the first place? The state legislature in their wisdom. The FHSAA is powerless as I have heard folks on this site on both sides repeatedly state. So the question I would ask is who has the power to fix it? At least in my eyes if the aforementioned premise is correct, the answer is obvious. So all I am suggesting is "Give Peace a Chance".

Any organization would be wise to keep politics out of the equation. Common sense dictates that our country is pretty much divided 50/50. Why would any organization, company, ESPN, NFL, etc. choose to alienate half it's potential viewers/customers/fans?? Someone brought up the Disney dispute which is a perfect example of stupidity by management to get involved in politics regardless of "Principle". Half of your potential customers will disagree with the stance regardless the side it falls on. Laissez-faire is the best policy. Even my former employer at Starling Chevrolet clearly understood that as he refused allowing political signs on our dealership property regardless if he supported the candidate for that very reason. That was true for the 30 plus years I worked there. Hence the drop in viewership over the years for sport networks and leagues in general. Obviously, reasoning has gone out the window as I can't fathom another explanation.

Correct, watching him perform in the Under Armour All-American game he seem to draw substantially more attention (double teams) from the opposing offensive line than Peter Woods, Kirby Collins, etc... which freed them up to make plays. I can't wait to see how he helps UCF as well.

Would like to thank Josh for the effort required to compile this list of players for each classification. Congrats to all the players selected as well as I am sure they are all deserving. Our OHS Kowboys managed to place 3 players on 1st team, 4 players on 2nd team squad with an additional Honorable Mention. That is a reflection of the quality team we fielded this year as in years past with the number of players that got in. With that said, I do think that the one player that should have been on the 1st team list as opposed to the 2nd team list was John Walker. He made 1st team last year as a junior and although playing a much tougher schedule this year than last he was even more dominating his senior year. Yes, I am biased as I have showered him with praise on this forum for the last couple of years but this opinion seems to be shared by opposing coaches universally based on comments they have made in their local papers. Be it from Rockledge, Mainland, Vero even Lakeland they not only believed he was the best DL they played against this year but some said the best they have "EVER" seen perform against their respective squads. Also saw that a poll was supposed to be tabulated with the POY selections for offense, defense, as well as coach for each classification this weekend but have not seen it yet. Curious what the status of that is.

You are probably on to something as when he left Viera for the AD job at Toho they started getting a few key transfers which enabled them to get into the playoffs within the first 3 or so yeas of existence. Once he left as well as his HC things at Toho quickly fell apart.

That is simple and should be agreed upon by all. What isn't so simple is not just knowing who committed the offense but proving it in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt. That standard will continue to shield offenders.

An example of your proverbial "Elephant in the Room"? You see, I am not forgetting about the Elephant because he isn't merely in the room, he is here to stay and this school has made a choice on how to deal with him today, tomorrow and into the future.

Whether they realize it or not, each school is in control. Some choose the path that earns your respect while others choose the path that earns your disdain; a conscious decision is made and whichever path they choose they will have to live with it. I think the vast majority of programs in the top 10% do adhere to the rules and still get transfers; the top 1% programs I question/wonder how they do it. Not here to smear anyone but are those few coaches really that good??

Again, facts are stubborn. Your QB came from Ridge, you got other kids from Bartow, Kathleen and elsewhere. Not here to criticize just to point out when one is blinded by bias.

Exactly right, that is why pissing and moaning about it year after year solves nothing. Each school needs to figure out how they want to participate/compete in this environment. Coach Beek from Poinciana decided it was best for his program to go independent, construct a manageable schedule and work hard to achieve success. He said he will follow that plan for another year and with continued success he will re-evaluate what his next step will be. This is just one example of how to begin building a team that was known as a perennial loser rather than sitting around crying in your beer. Each and every HS has that same opportunity and should realize this transfer problem is not going away so come up with a strategy that is beneficial to your team.

Understood, but to be clear I am a big advocate of parents choosing where to send their kids to school; private, parochial, charter, magnet, public or whatever offers their child the best possible education. But in our state it had been a big loophole giving those few privates that wanted to be football powers a big advantage when it came to recruiting. I know our long lost Columbia fan seemed to be a big defender of the privates who had been doing it for years before some publics decided to get into the act. But his only card was that NOW publics (not all) are doing it as well. So if you wanted to be competitive with those few privates you had to find dudes. It ain't rocket science.

I actually think where the FHSAA has a conflict re-enacting this rule is how it applies to privates vs publics. Privates business model requires them to attract transfers but it is mostly for academics and that is difficult to argue against. That isn't the case with publics thus they have difficult choices as the open transfer rules gives those privates that want to also be superior in sports a leg up. Thus the dominance exhibited by the Bolles School, STA and others beginning in the early 2000's with that huge recruitment advantage. People want to equate their success to coaching, facility, etc and although important it boils down to the Jimmies and the Joes. During the ensuing decade the privates continued to become even more dominant and caused some publics to resort to whatever means necessary to keep up. To me publics and privates should continue to schedule each other if they wish but privates should have their own state champs (playoffs) and publics the same with the 1 year sit rule in place for publics. Again, lots of the forum members have good ideas but implementation of those seems highly unlikely so then each school needs to figure out what is important to them and execute a long-term strategy to achieve that. Continued complaining gets you nowhere.

You have a valid argument but it is diminished when you exaggerate the facts. I don't know how many transfers they got but will agree it was alot. However, I think they only had 2 5-star players on the entire roster with Williams (WR) not being a transfer where McClain moved across town. I am not bashing Venice for doing it nor Lakeland as I do realize if you want to compete for a title year in and year out that is unfortunately baked in. Again I am a strong supporter of the 1 year sit rule as it would without a doubt curb the majority of this type of movement as I wholeheartedly believe more teams would have a crack at the top every 10-15 years. And yes, our team also benefits from this movement to some extent in our county but my preference would be for it to stop. However, it is pointless to continue to criticize the enviroment you are in knowing the change you want isn't happening as opposed to adapting to create that winning culture over time to make your team competitive with the best.

Wow, for a minute there I thought Jesse had returned as I don't see who has that QB as a 4-star. He did put up over 3000 yards last year but So. Plantation is ranked in the 320 range with a weak strength of schedule so accomplished vs weak opposition. I wouldn't consider our local kid Sabby Meassick (9th grade from Toho) a world beater but he also passed for over 3000 yards this year, they're ranked higher at 270 but also weak competition to try to put this in "Perspective". Also to claim those 2 RB's are the Best Duo in the Country sounds a bit over the top; maybe you meant in the County. They certainly didn't impress vs the Naughts. Our 10th grader (Taevion Swint) had about as many yards as those 2 combined for the year and showed out against that outstanding Lakeland front with about 125 yards in the semi's. His upcoming side kick, only a 9th grader (Jeffrey Sinophant) had almost 300 yards in a very limited role this year but averaged over 8 yards a carry. In my view they stack up not to mention a couple other very electric freshmen in Flash Jenkins and J. Watson who will be used in a variety of ways (WR, slot, punt return, RB, etc..). Just a little food for thought.

All of it predictable.

Can anyone say the highest bidder?

Coach Pinellas is such an honorable man, so yes will also be praying for he and his entire family. It must be unimaginable trauma and grief but he is grounded in faith which will help him navigate this horrible tragedy.

Just to be factual, those 2 kids from Osceola referenced here plus another player that excelled for them (DJ Cummings-WR also) were zoned for Poinciana but didn't return there till their Senior year (22-23) when the realization of playing time came into the equation. Coach Beek has acknowledged as much complimenting on the discipline, work ethic and other positive traits these players exhibit when they returned to their zoned school.

I know it’s not going anywhere so it is what it is. Then why keep endlessly babbling about it??

Your feelings are completely understandable as I imagine Liberty, Celebration and Gateway coaches getting just a few feel the same way. Keep the program moving forward consistently and I bet those things will take care of themselves.

You are 100% correct, you were in the room and I was not but what you are now describing is a whole separate issue than your original statement that not a single player made all county. We both know 3 of your players in fact did.

Again Coach, congrats on a successful season and as always I respect your opinion on HS football matters. However, your best player Perry Garrett actually made first team all county, not as a WR or RB or DB but as an athlete who could do it all just like you utilized him. He was one of your 3 players that did shine in that senior game. Your RB Davrell made 2nd team all county, as like Perry was a back-up on our team so who should they have kept off the 1st team? Taevion, the 2 very good RB's from Harmony? You and I both know that would not be just. Lastly, you probably have a good argument for your QB statistically plus leadership and other factors but he also made the 2nd team. I don't get a vote or have a dog in the hunt but still not sure why they gave the 1st team honor to the SC QB. If it was based on the stats your kid had a few hundred yards more thru the air and was better as a runner. But if that was the overriding factor they should have given it to Sabby from Toho as he had over 1000 more yards than either and he only got an honorable mention. Remember, all year I hammered Toho not for their strength of schedule but for running up scores on those inferior teams. At years end their strength of schedule was a -2 while yours was a -19, so that may have also been a factor. So factually all three of your players you say were passed over actually made either 1st team or 2nd team.