Longtime Observer

Some of you may remember, in the Manatee Allstar vs Sarasota Allstar game following that season the Sarasota Allstars had the 69-36 score on their jerseys.  Correct me if I got the details wrong but thats what I remember.

Now that I'm all the way down this rabbit hole, let me confirm for those wondering:
1994 Southridge's record entering the state title game: 14-0
Head coach Don Soldinger
RBs: Darren Davis and Sedrick Irvin.

Not so fast my friend. Niceville for the longest was the go to place for players. Kids weren’t going to Choctaw and they dang sure weren’t going to FWB. Don’t let the good ole boy mantra fool you. North FL has had some “magnet schools”. The talent just isn’t as good as the South. It’s not for the lack of trying. 

I'm thinking this might be too far of a trip for that Lakeland guy who wears a boat on his head.   

I’m hearing , it’s Lakeland vs Miami northwestern, Vero Vs Miami norland , and carol city vs Lincoln Tallahassee 

Although not much is known yet, apparently it’s the marquee game of the “Treasure Coast Kickoff Classic”- an event being put on by the Treasure Coast Sports Commission. Nothing else has been announced but I would expect Vero to play Friday night August 15, but as they have not made any schedule announcements yet this year, so their opponent is TBD. 

This is the first time Vero has ever hosted an event like this, as they’ve always played a traditional KOC game that week. 

Just announced that Miami Northwestern will face Lakeland Aug. 16 at 7pm at...Vero Beach High. So, a somewhat middle ground for each. Weird venue to be sure!

It woudn't have to be strictly tied to counties. Just general regional areas. The number of programs would depend on the level of interest and number of players in a given area. Dade/broward area might have 5+ programs, while Polk/Heartland might have 1-2, for example.
The key phrase you mention in deciding what game to attend is "my local school". This seems to be more about them being the local program, rather than it being your alma mater. This would still be an option for you, as the idea is to have higher caliber programs that represent a geographic area. You'd root for your local team against a strong team from another area. All of the players on your local team are from your area, though they can attend a variety of schools for academics.
A Manatee county program can appeal to all of the residents of Manatee county, including those who may have attended historically poor programs when they were at each individual school. Now, if Bayshore is your high school, you're basically frozen out of having a team to root for that can win. It's been that way for decades. Manatee (and Southeast back in the day) have been so dominant that it's got to be hard to get excited to even a tiny degree. Because a form of what I propose already exists to a lesser, informal extent, the lower level programs are actually much worse now than the past. Bayshore failed to score a single point in eight (8) games last year. How many fans attended their games? Contrast that with the number of people who'd like to support the program if it was ever a little bit close to mattering. I bet there's plenty of folks who'd be willing to invest time/money, but are abstaining because it is hopeless.
Sharply reducing the number of programs as I propose allows all of the folks in the Bradenton area to unite around 1 strong team. Everyone is included, regardless of where academic classes occur. Each Friday night would see the Manatee county area program face another strong program from another area. For example, the Manatee elite program vs. East Hillsborough elite one week. Another week, Manatee vs. Sarasota elite. Etc. All the best players, coaches and all in the community who want a team to root for are consolidated. Ticket sales, booster contributions and other investments are consolidated into a much smaller number of elite programs. 
You see this to a small degree in a place like Texas, where there are fewer but larger high schools with mega support. Allen High, for example, is known for having massive, super impressive facilities. But, Allen High has over 5,000 students! They could've very easily split that up into three high schools. And then all three would be smaller, with potential stars and donors diluted to the point that none of the three programs offer anything remotely close to what the huge Allen High offers now. At a super large school, everything end up being bigger or more robust. Academically, many feel that comes with trade-off costs. So, it may not be the case that super large schools are best overall for students. BUT, when it comes to sports programs, the benefits are obvious. If you separate schools from mega, for-profit sports programs, school enrollment doesn't matter any more. A Manatee county area super program pulling in fans from all over the area, could be something very special. Of course, they'd face special programs from other areas as well. So, the quality of play would be better. Also, with fewer programs in this super league, the need for officials is also less. This should lead to cutting the worst performing officials and eliminate the shortage we face currently.  
I've never gotten the impression that AAU teams were tied to geographic areas and regional pride. And, the AAU championships have never been seen as THE championships. They're also held in summer, when folks aren't paying attention to basketball. But, sure, considerations around how to avoid making such a league another kind of AAU thing would be important.

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. 

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

I think we can count on the game "counting" as far as both trying their best to win. If MNW blows Lakeland out, I promise I won't switch up and pretend they didn't try! It's also going to be a really good "gate" for an 11th non-playoff game. Hope the crowd is big!

Gonna be a nice indicator to start the season which it counted 

Miami Northwestern vs. Lakeland in Orlando.

Miami Northwestern vs. Lakeland in Orlando.

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.

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

The OL coach-which happens to be the most impressive part of the team in 2024 and now- came from Lake Minneola and brought a 4* tackle with him.

Your view of society is typical where the perpetrator has all the rights and the victim has little.  That is where we live today but thank God that isn't my view. 

None of this has anything to do with the (im)propriety of allowing some schools to play by a different set of rules. What would happen to Osceola if they actively and blatantly recruited players on TFA's roster, as TFA did to them? There'd be a scandal, the coaches would be fired, and the team banned from playoffs. IMG does this and it's "savvy marketing" or something lauded. What would happen if Lakeland offered housing for prospective players as IMG does? We don't have to search for an answer to this question, as it's assumed it already happened in about 2011 and there was an outcome that was highly unfavorable to Lakeland. Meanwhile, IMG and SFA do it and are lauded, while programs who won't play them are accused of being scaredy cat wimps by internet posers. Any program who wants a seat at the table and a place in the playoffs needs to play by the same set of rules as the others who want to do this.

IMG openly recruits on a national level and is fine playing a national schedule with no interest in the FHSAA playoffs.  The same cannot be said about the First Academy as they want to openly recruit, play a national schedule but also desperately want a state championship in the FHSAA.  Their appeal to lift the suspension for this season was just rejected by the FHSAA board 10-0 which I applaud them for.  A Christian school that cloaks itself in righteousness and virtue should not be rewarded for cheating to win.  

Plausible Deniability can be used as a defense, but it still doesn't eliminate GUILT!!  They took 2 kids from our program and had a full court press on our 2 top LB's that just graduated, Melendez who is now at Auburn and Robert Lee at FAU.  This isn't hearsay as their parents told me as much at practices.  "COERCING" the player isn't the standard, instead simply talking too and encouraging it.   Kids that were not involved shouldn't be punished and with the School Choice they are free to play elsewhere.  The institution knew all along as their Principal as well as the varsity baseball HC resigned in protest of what they witnessed.  TFA needs to be held accountable for turning a blind eye.   Hopefully, we will see more of this in the upcoming season as they aren't a one off. 

They were found guilty of recruiting players plus providing impermissible benefits during the past season and fined $36K, two-year suspension for the HC and two-year suspension in playoff competition.   Get real Nolebull, both the players and coaches knew exactly the rule breaking they were engaged in and both groups should pay the price.  Spare me the pity for the "Teenagers" who have parents that should also know better.  They got what they deserved and happy their appeal fell on deaf ears.   You and I could have a different opinion of what constitutes cheating but we don't count, only the opinion of the FHSAA which has ruled on the matter. 

Hopefully Lakeland does good this year.

It felt like the Super Bowl when Lakeland won, then it ended up being a dud