Ray Icaza

Nolebull is ordering his "Free Teddy B" shirt right now

If it’s for something reasonable like a Gatorade and water donation & they reach out to the community of course I will help. 
 
it’s all within reason tho. 14,000 for a 3 day gym stay is unreasonable. 2,000 a week for food. Me & a few alumni would just get together and cook. 

I hope it grows too. To about 500 members! Some of the SSAA teams were or would be playoff teams in FHSAA.  You are correct, they have zero chance of winning a championship in FHSAA.  Some are figured that out. About 400 or so need to come to the same conclusion. 

It's on our "to do" list, maybe next year if not this year. We love going to KW. We made it from The Fort in 5.5 hours last time, and that was stopping for a long lunch on Islamorada. Their stadium looks nice. I think we'll make a long weekend of it, maybe finding a Thursday game in the Miami area, then leaving on Friday morning and coming back on Monday. We've seen the Conchs play a couple of times, once at PSL West Centennial and once at Southfork. Going in September or early October, the traffic shouldn't be too bad. It won't be a high level of football, but the right opponent might give you a competitive game in a unique setting. 

I was just looking at the state of GA HC top 100 salaries list and it is crazy how much more they get paid than a Florida coach.  Even the 100th ranked coach on the list makes $100k+.  How the heck can other states pay coaches well while this dumb ass state, with the best talent pool in the nation, can't even pay a coach minimum wage for all the time they put in?
https://www.si.com/high-school/georgia/georgia-high-school-football-top-100-head-coaching-salaries-01jwgttnkwbz

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?

Both my boys wrestle and play football.  I am very familiar with the home schooled wrestlers who are free agents wrestling for the various power programs in the state.  I can say with great certainty that nearly 100% will not earn a college scholarship in wrestling because wrestling is literally the hardest sport to earn a full ride in.  There are only 10 collegiate weight classes compared to 14 in high school.  You could be the state champ at your weight class but to wrestle at the next level, you will also have to be better than other kids at a weight class above and below you.  Additionally, there are only 70 D1 wrestling schools and not a single D3, D2 or D1 team in Florida.  Finally, Pennsylvania is so far above every other state in wrestling that they will take half of the scholarships, leaving crumbs for everyone else. 
Last note, wrestling also has very poor NIL prospects.  So kids that are sacrificing their HS experience to wrestle three hours away are doing it for only high school glory, nothing else.  After wrestling is over, what can they do with their shitty education?  The kids I know that are home school athletes pretty much just train all day.  I wonder when they even go to school at home? 

I agree that this is an interesting concept.  But Florida has 67 counties, and what might work well in your county could be a bust in others.  No question that you could potentially get more money invested, better coaching, and better quality of play with regional all-star teams.  But you lost me when you state that you would get better fan support.  While high school football may be transactional to some, it is still an emotional experience for many.  It's not just the play on the field; it's about the sights and sounds in the stadium on Friday night, and if the home team wins, all the better.  Yes, the hardcore fan will always make an effort to see an "all-star" game, but I don't think that holds true for the casual fan who knows the QB who lives down the street or has a son/daughter in the band or some other personal connection to the school.  I'll travel 50 miles to see my local school play on Friday, but I personally would not travel 20 miles to see a game with just a handful of players from my local community, no matter how high the quality of play.  And I think that's true of the majority of fans who typically attend games and support their local high school.  My belief is you would end up with the typical AAU basketball crowd - parents, hardcore fans, scouts, and hangers-on.  Again, probably a better model for the football purist, but I don't see it being more popular in terms of fan support in large parts of the state.

Interesting concept and we should be open to consider these kinds of possibilities going forward as the current environment for HS football is not ideal. 

south dade has been a top team for well over 20 years!  lake gibson gets all the transfers in central florida it wants, read a wrestling message board and see the truth behind that.  there are kids that transfer from brandon and go to lake gibson and win big, has happened 2 or 3 times in the last few seasons.  south dade long time hc just retired and his long time assistant, who wrestled for him, is taking over.  could be a new power house in the state.  jesuit is alwasy good and has been for a long time, dating back 15 plus years.  brandon is not near what they were when cozart was in charge(even though his son is hc and he is still coming in working with kids, sitting in the corner, coaching offseason kids).  

Respectfully, this just isn't the way that high school sports are supposed to work. 

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.  

Literally half of West Boca's players don't even go to the school.  They are Rise Preparatory Academy rent-a-players.  RPA signs these players and send them to whichever team needs a player and they are all high end prospects.  If your team has a bunch of RPA players, then you are a serious threat to win a title. The fact that WB has so many RPA players should tell you how strong they are and also how they got that strong so quickly.

Sounds like your intentions are genuine, but your argument is weak.  NO ONE is telling any student he or she can't transfer to a better school be it for academics or athletics and here is where your argument falls apart.  We have "SCHOOL CHOICE" for that very reason, but that doesn't include coaches, their agents, parents or others actively trying to recruit an athlete simply because he can help their program win offering them any number of perks.   Osceola is a relatively low income county compared to the surrounding Orange, Seminole, Brevard and Volusia thus a Title 1 school.  However, the administration, faculty, coaches and support staff do a very good job with the kids they are handed be it on the education front or athletics.  We just had a DB transfer to Lakeland HS and my guess is he and his parents have their reasons for doing so that they deem beneficial for his senior year.  We had a RB transfer in from Toho probably with a similar scenario.  That I have no problem with and the way the program is supposed to work.  TFA and the kids (30 as others have pointed out) that went there is an abomination that can only be chalked up to recruiting which is illegal and thankfully has consequences for ALL!!

Everything is relative for me growing up here.  In the mid to late 70's early 80's when we played out at the Silver Spurs arena and our population was a fraction what it is today, we attracted fans in the thousands to big home games.  Today, despite consistently fielding excellent teams year after year the attendance is typically in the hundreds which I consider a paltry number.  I see the work the coaches and players put in so feel they should get alot more support than they do.  The least that can happen in the upcoming year is for all our coaches to be paid better than they have for the value they provide the school system and the kids they impact. 

I was also there that night for the TBT game as I was the previous week when we beat Lakeland in those same playoffs as well as the following week when we beat Niceville.  That 2014 team was pretty good, but as a heavy run team we ran into the best defensive front I had seen at the HS level in the state championship when we got bullied by STA with Nick Bosa and Co. who were unblockable. 

I was also there that night for the TBT game as I was the previous week when we beat Lakeland in those same playoffs as well as the following week when we beat Niceville.  That 2014 team was pretty good, but as a heavy run team we ran into the best defensive front I had seen at the HS level in the state championship when we got bullied by STA with Nick Bosa and Co. who were unblockable. 

Go to an Osceola home game, especially a big game, and you will see why kids want to play there.  It’s one of those places you wish your program was if it isn’t already.  Great atmosphere, pageantry, sense of community.  You will be impressed.  

Sounds like your intentions are genuine, but your argument is weak.  NO ONE is telling any student he or she can't transfer to a better school be it for academics or athletics and here is where your argument falls apart.  We have "SCHOOL CHOICE" for that very reason, but that doesn't include coaches, their agents, parents or others actively trying to recruit an athlete simply because he can help their program win offering them any number of perks.   Osceola is a relatively low income county compared to the surrounding Orange, Seminole, Brevard and Volusia thus a Title 1 school.  However, the administration, faculty, coaches and support staff do a very good job with the kids they are handed be it on the education front or athletics.  We just had a DB transfer to Lakeland HS and my guess is he and his parents have their reasons for doing so that they deem beneficial for his senior year.  We had a RB transfer in from Toho probably with a similar scenario.  That I have no problem with and the way the program is supposed to work.  TFA and the kids (30 as others have pointed out) that went there is an abomination that can only be chalked up to recruiting which is illegal and thankfully has consequences for ALL!!

No, this kid has good parents with good jobs and his older brother started for us several seasons and attended LIU on scholarship this past year.  His Dad is a very savvy football guy and he must have been onboard with the decision.  The WHY is always a guessing game, thus speculation so I hope you appreciate me not opining on reasons.  We hope it works in his favor, but you never know as I think he will have to compete for playing time in the secondary there just as he was doing here.  Thankfully our coaching staff believe in merit and all starting positions have to be earned, which I fully support.   Reason given why players transferred to TFA have little merit as they certainly don't apply to the 2 we lost to them last year.  The OL we lost is from a very well to do family whose Dad is a prominent OB/ GYN doctor in the central FL area and after last season and looking ahead to this season, it remains a real head scratcher as to WHY??  Over the summer I am sure we will gain a few and lose a few with the hope in each of those moves it truly benefits the student/player, not the coach that is only trying to make a name for himself by taking shortcuts.

Sounds like your intentions are genuine, but your argument is weak.  NO ONE is telling any student he or she can't transfer to a better school be it for academics or athletics and here is where your argument falls apart.  We have "SCHOOL CHOICE" for that very reason, but that doesn't include coaches, their agents, parents or others actively trying to recruit an athlete simply because he can help their program win offering them any number of perks.   Osceola is a relatively low income county compared to the surrounding Orange, Seminole, Brevard and Volusia thus a Title 1 school.  However, the administration, faculty, coaches and support staff do a very good job with the kids they are handed be it on the education front or athletics.  We just had a DB transfer to Lakeland HS and my guess is he and his parents have their reasons for doing so that they deem beneficial for his senior year.  We had a RB transfer in from Toho probably with a similar scenario.  That I have no problem with and the way the program is supposed to work.  TFA and the kids (30 as others have pointed out) that went there is an abomination that can only be chalked up to recruiting which is illegal and thankfully has consequences for ALL!!

Sounds like your intentions are genuine, but your argument is weak.  NO ONE is telling any student he or she can't transfer to a better school be it for academics or athletics and here is where your argument falls apart.  We have "SCHOOL CHOICE" for that very reason, but that doesn't include coaches, their agents, parents or others actively trying to recruit an athlete simply because he can help their program win offering them any number of perks.   Osceola is a relatively low income county compared to the surrounding Orange, Seminole, Brevard and Volusia thus a Title 1 school.  However, the administration, faculty, coaches and support staff do a very good job with the kids they are handed be it on the education front or athletics.  We just had a DB transfer to Lakeland HS and my guess is he and his parents have their reasons for doing so that they deem beneficial for his senior year.  We had a RB transfer in from Toho probably with a similar scenario.  That I have no problem with and the way the program is supposed to work.  TFA and the kids (30 as others have pointed out) that went there is an abomination that can only be chalked up to recruiting which is illegal and thankfully has consequences for ALL!!

Is this a common sense question or should we be getting an "EXPERT" in here to tell us the answer?

Perhaps we should spend $20 million for an expert to tell us 

Good thing he rescued those 7 kids from Timber Creek. The Avalon community is a scary place. So poverty stricken over there.