Lakeland-Venice

[skyway]

polkway now reports 4* DB Brayshon Williams has also left Lake Gibson for Lakeland. Again, I don't really enjoy this. It's kind of sad IMO. I have no reason at the moment to believe the new LG coach is anything other than a solid coach. There's a fair chance this is about spoiled kids wanting to drive the car, rather than accept coaching. Maybe I'm wrong. 

It should be the most loaded team in Polk county history, likely without a peer.  Never before could you (or would you want to) literally take all the best players from the county and play them on the same team. There have been transfers for decades, but absolutely nothing remotely to the scale of this. 

[skyway]

Just now, skyway said:

polkway now reports 4* DB Brayshon Williams has also left Lake Gibson for Lakeland. Again, I don't really enjoy this. It's kind of sad IMO. I have no reason at the moment to believe the new LG coach is anything other than a solid coach. There's a fair chance this is about spoiled kids wanting to drive the car, rather than accept coaching. Maybe I'm wrong. 

It should be the most loaded team in Polk county history, likely without a peer.  Never before could you (or would you want to) literally take all the best players from the county and play them on the same team. There have been transfers for decades, but absolutely nothing remotely to the scale of this. 

Polkway is Polkway863 on social media. Seems like a good guy, and he is the guy with the inside scoop on all of this.

[Ray Icaza]

7 hours ago, skyway said:

I won't try to be inside the mind of teenagers, but, good questions! The WRs are surprising given how loaded the position already was, with two guys each with multiple SEC offers and a third guy in the slot that they like. Seems like the new HC at LG is too strict, or demanding (perhaps too good of a coach) so some guys are jumping ship. The Kathleen kids probably all wanted to go together. Harrison is a DB/athlete so I doubt he will play QB.

I gather the new trend is for players to value competing in practice every day against top players. Also with that is the wish to play other top teams. While the 2022 schedule is one of the more challenging schedules we've had, it's probably still too weak for this monster team. They need at least one game against a recruited up "metro" team.

Don't see anywhere a published schedule for this season, so can't comment on how challenging it is overall.  But we do have you on Sept. 16th at Bryant Stadium and our kids look forward to the challenge as I think this may be one of the best squads Osceola has ever had.  Definitely will be in attendance as I am for most games each and every year. 

[THAT S--T WAS FUNNY]

7 hours ago, skyway said:

polkway now reports 4* DB Brayshon Williams has also left Lake Gibson for Lakeland. Again, I don't really enjoy this. It's kind of sad IMO. I have no reason at the moment to believe the new LG coach is anything other than a solid coach. There's a fair chance this is about spoiled kids wanting to drive the car, rather than accept coaching. Maybe I'm wrong. 

It should be the most loaded team in Polk county history, likely without a peer.  Never before could you (or would you want to) literally take all the best players from the county and play them on the same team. There have been transfers for decades, but absolutely nothing remotely to the scale of this. 

The 2019 Lakeland squad had a bunch of star studded transfers as well.

[skyway]

13 hours ago, THAT S--T WAS FUNNY said:

The 2019 Lakeland squad had a bunch of star studded transfers as well.

true, but I think this year will surpass that team. Depends on if Cormani comes, which appears more likely than not.

[skyway]

Consensus #1 corner in the country Cormani McClain will play for Lakeland this Fall. Players joining Lakeland who did not play vs. Venice include:

5* CB/WR Cormani McClain

4* DB Brayshon Williams (2024)

3* OL Genorris Wilson

3* LB RJ Kelly

3* DB/Ath Shadarian Harrison 

3* WR Jamar Taylor (2024)

Potential 2-3* level recruits S/RB Jerrod Johnson, WR Jayren Dennis, OL Vass, DE Idris King. All ten players were standouts at other area schools last season, and have D1 offers. None played against Venice.

[VeniceIndianFan]

1 hour ago, skyway said:

Consensus #1 corner in the country Cormani McClain will play for Lakeland this Fall. Players joining Lakeland who did not play vs. Venice include:

5* CB/WR Cormani McClain

4* DB Brayshon Williams (2024)

3* OL Genorris Wilson

3* LB RJ Kelly

3* DB/Ath Shadarian Harrison 

3* WR Jamar Taylor (2024)

Potential 2-3* level recruits S/RB Jerrod Johnson, WR Jayren Dennis, OL Vass, DE Idris King. All ten players were standouts at other area schools last season, and have D1 offers. None played against Venice.

It looks like 4A suburban is doomed! 

[skyway]

28 minutes ago, VeniceIndiansFootball said:

It looks like 4A suburban is doomed! 

a silver-lining may be that this will make a mockery of the "suburban" division. The Dade, Broward and even IMG aren't really any worse with poaching players. They literally went out and got all of the best players from their rivals.

[skyway]

The secondary, which did very well vs. Venice, is now basically the second string. Four new guys rated higher than the guys who were out there in May.

[cribboy305]

1 minute ago, skyway said:

a silver-lining may be that this will make a mockery of the "suburban" division. The Dade, Broward and even IMG aren't really any worse with poaching players. They literally went out and got all of the best players from their rivals.

yall refuse to believe its the kids that choose to transfer. coaches can only do so much but ultimately these jits wanna win! 

[VeniceIndianFan]

4 minutes ago, cribboy305 said:

yall refuse to believe its the kids that choose to transfer. coaches can only do so much but ultimately these jits wanna win! 

Tell it!  Miami Northwestern looks like they’ve reloaded well too. That o-line is gonna be some special group this season! Can’t wait to see how they look in Week 1. (Fingers crossed that they lose, though! )

[skyway]

7 minutes ago, cribboy305 said:

yall refuse to believe its the kids that choose to transfer. coaches can only do so much but ultimately these jits wanna win! 

There's no doubt the players drive all of this. 

I think there'e plenty of doubt over whether it's best to allow teenagers so much control. Kids are saying "business is business" about things they used to never have a say in. And, as I've suggested before, NIL money may eventually be a part of these decisions. The "super teams" tend to attract more attention, which can lead to more NIL opportunities.

[cribboy305]

24 minutes ago, VeniceIndiansFootball said:

Tell it!  Miami Northwestern looks like they’ve reloaded well too. That o-line is gonna be some special group this season! Can’t wait to see how they look in Week 1. (Fingers crossed that they lose, though! )

yeah its gone be a show my guy, mnw a whole different animal this year. I pray you guys can beat chaminade lol…

[VeniceIndianFan]

28 minutes ago, cribboy305 said:

yeah its gone be a show my guy, mnw a whole different animal this year. I pray you guys can beat chaminade lol…

You coming over for that game? 305 always shows out win lose or tie...

[Perspective]

11 hours ago, skyway said:

Consensus #1 corner in the country Cormani McClain will play for Lakeland this Fall. Players joining Lakeland who did not play vs. Venice include:

5* CB/WR Cormani McClain

4* DB Brayshon Williams (2024)

3* OL Genorris Wilson

3* LB RJ Kelly

3* DB/Ath Shadarian Harrison 

3* WR Jamar Taylor (2024)

Potential 2-3* level recruits S/RB Jerrod Johnson, WR Jayren Dennis, OL Vass, DE Idris King. All ten players were standouts at other area schools last season, and have D1 offers. None played against Venice.

While this may be good for the Polk County All-Star Team, er, Lakeland, is there anyone on this board who thinks this is good for high school football in general?

[Ray Icaza]

1 hour ago, Perspective said:

While this may be good for the Polk County All-Star Team, er, Lakeland, is there anyone on this board who thinks this is good for high school football in general?

My vote is a resounding NO!!  For many reasons which include they are not good for the schools or even the kids themselves.

[Ray Icaza]

6 hours ago, Ray Icaza said:

My vote is a resounding NO!!  For many reasons which include they are not good for the schools or even the kids themselves.

Particularly FANS!  If Lakeland will steamroll every team in the playoffs, what will they do other Polk schools they play in the regular season and is that really enjoyable for either set of fans to have a running clock in the 2nd quarter?

[cribboy305]

1 hour ago, Ray Icaza said:

Particularly FANS!  If Lakeland will steamroll every team in the playoffs, what will they do other Polk schools they play in the regular season and is that really enjoyable for either set of fans to have a running clock in the 2nd quarter?

Right. it’s like on one side i understand you guys want a ring but they could’ve did that at lake gibson. the suburban league sucks (no offense to them). and plus check lakeland schedule… it’s embarrassing for all the talent they brung in. even for the talent they already had. its too much good football played in that central florida area for yo best opponent to be armwood… maybeish. who even knows. point is they’re scared. played cc in 2015 & 16 and said “no more dade for us”. 

[skyway]

12 hours ago, Perspective said:

While this may be good for the Polk County All-Star Team, er, Lakeland, is there anyone on this board who thinks this is good for high school football in general?

My primary reaction is to be disturbed by it, followed by some sadness. Lakeland is literally-not even as a joke- forming a Polk county all-star team. That said, this merely follows a trend we see at all levels of team sports, most egregiously in college and high school at the moment. Players are jumping around to play for whatever team they want, whenever they want. This is mostly because gutless adults have decided to walk away and not bother to try to maintain any standards and rules. That part ticks me off.

Now, I also try to look for other ways to understand what is happening, in hopes of finding some positive direction for this to eventually lead.

For one thing, if you're a fan of the free market, and of people having the freedom to do whatever betters their situation, all of this can fit right in with that. (Of course, there are more rules and standards in place in the business world than there is in college or high school sports now). If a restaurant does a great job and pleases its customers, nobody thinks it's appropriate to make the customers split their time equally among other restaurants in the area. When schools like Lowell High in San Francisco stopped using high admission standards to sort through who to admit-there is very high demand- most of us were upset to see them go to a lottery system where it was just the luck of the draw which determined who was admitted. And, school boundaries amount to the same sort of lottery system when you get right down to it.

The other point here is that I think football is going to see continuing declines in participation. CTE and other injuries drive families away from the sport. And I also think the consolidation of talent at fewer places will lead to schools dropping the sport. So, we might see more all-star teams among fewer teams overall. The quality of the games will go up. And, you might just see regional all-star teams going at it, representing their communities. Word is most all of these kids for Lakeland grew up playing youth sports together. They all wanted to play together to close out their high school careers. if we end up seeing a Polk County all-star team taking on super teams from Dade or Broward, I don't think that's a bad thing. I just wish the kids would pick a spot to play and then stick with that program throughout.

[skyway]

5 hours ago, Ray Icaza said:

Particularly FANS!  If Lakeland will steamroll every team in the playoffs, what will they do other Polk schools they play in the regular season and is that really enjoyable for either set of fans to have a running clock in the 2nd quarter?

Word is, that idea is attractive to players. They won't have to be run ragged given the quality of depth on the roster. They'll be fresh for the start of their college careers. It may be a compromise between the (awful) idea of sitting out the senior year, not wanting to jeopardize NIL or NFL money. A guy like McClain can play relatively few plays per game without it affecting Lakeland's ability to beat who they play. 

[skyway]

3 hours ago, cribboy305 said:

Right. it’s like on one side i understand you guys want a ring but they could’ve did that at lake gibson. the suburban league sucks (no offense to them). and plus check lakeland schedule… it’s embarrassing for all the talent they brung in. even for the talent they already had. its too much good football played in that central florida area for yo best opponent to be armwood… maybeish. who even knows. point is they’re scared. played cc in 2015 & 16 and said “no more dade for us”. 

A big concern for all high school programs is money. And, with the cost of gas being so high, the farther the travel, the more money is spent. Traveling long distances is also very taxing on all involved. That can get lost on the minds of you guys in Dade/Broward because there are so many good teams within a short distance. If you look at Lakeland's schedule, it's actually pretty strong...within the context of limiting opponents to those within a couple hours of driving distance. The only teams you'd give credit to them for scheduling are from Dade and Broward lol. 

2017 was the first year the current craziness with open enrollment really took off in Polk. Before then (like when they played CC) it wasn't wide open yet. Now, with the pandemic and the inflation mess, I don't think you'll see many public schools spending much money to travel far for games. That's going to apply everywhere, including Dade. They just don't happen to need to travel a long way to play a power like a Lakeland will.

Lakeland's players are trying to get games with IMG and American Heritage. I have no idea if it'll work out or not. Keep in mind, the adults make the schedule. It was the kids that got all the transfers, and not until June. 

[VeniceIndianFan]

8 minutes ago, skyway said:

A big concern for all high school programs is money. And, with the cost of gas being so high, the farther the travel, the more money is spent. Traveling long distances is also very taxing on all involved. That can get lost on the minds of you guys in Dade/Broward because there are so many good teams within a short distance. If you look at Lakeland's schedule, it's actually pretty strong...within the context of limiting opponents to those within a couple hours of driving distance. The only teams you'd give credit to them for scheduling are from Dade and Broward lol. 

2017 was the first year the current craziness with open enrollment really took off in Polk. Before then (like when they played CC) it wasn't wide open yet. Now, with the pandemic and the inflation mess, I don't think you'll see many public schools spending much money to travel far for games. That's going to apply everywhere, including Dade. They just don't happen to need to travel a long way to play a power like a Lakeland will.

Lakeland's players are trying to get games with IMG and American Heritage. I have no idea if it'll work out or not. Keep in mind, the adults make the schedule. It was the kids that got all the transfers, and not until June. 

Agree with everything you have said here, Skyway. High gas prices now are probably going to end up raising the cost of travel and bus tickets and stop teams from traveling far (120+ mins,) to their opponents. Open enrollment led to mess we have now, but the FHSAA has to lie in the bed the state legislature made and make do with what they have. (Neutral political statement.) I see on social media they are trying to bring IMG to Bryant Stadium and get a game against AHP. Assuming both games happen, The Naughts will probably be favored in both matchups with all of the transfers they’ve received. 

[skyway]

36 minutes ago, VeniceIndiansFootball said:

Agree with everything you have said here, Skyway. High gas prices now are probably going to end up raising the cost of travel and bus tickets and stop teams from traveling far (120+ mins,) to their opponents. Open enrollment led to mess we have now, but the FHSAA has to lie in the bed the state legislature made and make do with what they have. (Neutral political statement.) I see on social media they are trying to bring IMG to Bryant Stadium and get a game against AHP. Assuming both games happen, The Naughts will probably be favored in both matchups with all of the transfers they’ve received. 

I hope they can make one of the games happen. But, it would require one of the schools currently on the schedule to step aside. Not sure that will happen. If it does, I hope it will be a bit later in the season to give the coaches a better shot to scout those opponents.

[VeniceIndianFan]

37 minutes ago, skyway said:

I hope they can make one of the games happen. But, it would require one of the schools currently on the schedule to step aside. Not sure that will happen. If it does, I hope it will be a bit later in the season to give the coaches a better shot to scout those opponents.

Why not play IMG to start the season week 1? They have a fairly new, young team returning this season compared to Lakeland’s jaw-dropping all-star squad. Surely, that would give Lakeland the best chance to knock off the Ascenders, especially if they convince them to come to Bryant Stadium. No?

[skyway]

34 minutes ago, VeniceIndiansFootball said:

Why not play IMG to start the season week 1? They have a fairly new, young team returning this season compared to Lakeland’s jaw-dropping all-star squad. Surely, that would give Lakeland the best chance to knock off the Ascenders, especially if they convince them to come to Bryant Stadium. No?

Would have to get Clearwater to sign off on that. That was to be a return trip for the 2021 game.