Interesting article from the TBT

[SPCjessica2004]

I wanted to share an article that was recently posted on the Tampa Bay Times as the coach at St. Pete Northeast made some very public and interesting comments about the FHSAA regarding transfers and the situation going on at Largo High School. The link is listed below.

My understanding is that St. Pete Northeast, who finished 5-5 last year- was expecting to take the next step as a program this year as they brought some key components back. They were actually a trendy pick to be one of the more improved teams in Tampa Bay this year; however, the 2 best players the QB (Gulley) and WR (Edwards) transferred to rival Largo. Largo is already pretty well set at both positions which makes one ask, "why did they transfer?"

It's an interesting take, especially because Largo has quietly built an all-star team.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/high-schools/2018/04/27/talent-piles-up-at-largo-at-northeasts-expense/

[DB4]

I was just about to share this article. Very interesting story.

[OldSchoolLion]

30 minutes ago, SPCjessica2004 said:

I wanted to share an article that was recently posted on the Tampa Bay Times as the coach at St. Pete Northeast made some very public and interesting comments about the FHSAA regarding transfers and the situation going on at Largo High School. The link is listed below.

My understanding is that St. Pete Northeast, who finished 5-5 last year- was expecting to take the next step as a program this year as they brought some key components back. They were actually a trendy pick to be one of the more improved teams in Tampa Bay this year; however, the 2 best players the QB (Gulley) and WR (Edwards) transferred to rival Largo. Largo is already pretty well set at both positions which makes one ask, "why did they transfer?"

It's an interesting take, especially because Largo has quietly built an all-star team.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/high-schools/2018/04/27/talent-piles-up-at-largo-at-northeasts-expense/

Another one for the stack.  Just as some say it's not about the worker anymore...it's all about the CEO and shareholder. Well, coaches are now just a cog in the system, so get over it or move on.  Sorry if that sounds harsh, but coaches are no different than thousands of others today trying to make a living in a system rigged against them.  I can complain all day long, but nothing is going to change until those calling the shots start feeling pain, ie coaches/workers walk away, creating a crisis mode.  

..concerning the kids.  Imagine yourself working in a job where you could jump ship when you didn't like your boss...with no negative consequences and you get at least the same pay/benefits or maybe even better at your new job.  And do it every year if you like!  Dreamy stuff, huh?  That is the "system" we are teaching student athletes to operate in.  And we wonder why so many kids today are so confused/disappointed when reality sets in?   We call them entitled and tell them to buck up, buttercup, but us older folks are the ones who created the environment to nurture such entitlement.  

 

[Proseteye]

On 4/27/2018 at 12:50 PM, OldSchoolLion said:

Another one for the stack.  Just as some say it's not about the worker anymore...it's all about the CEO and shareholder. Well, coaches are now just a cog in the system, so get over it or move on.  Sorry if that sounds harsh, but coaches are no different than thousands of others today trying to make a living in a system rigged against them.  I can complain all day long, but nothing is going to change until those calling the shots start feeling pain, ie coaches/workers walk away, creating a crisis mode.  

..concerning the kids.  Imagine yourself working in a job where you could jump ship when you didn't like your boss...with no negative consequences and you get at least the same pay/benefits or maybe even better at your new job.  And do it every year if you like!  Dreamy stuff, huh?  That is the "system" we are teaching student athletes to operate in.  And we wonder why so many kids today are so confused/disappointed when reality sets in?   We call them entitled and tell them to buck up, buttercup, but us older folks are the ones who created the environment to nurture such entitlement.  

 

As long as blatant "recruiting" is tolerated, in high school football, it is no longer an amateur game. It is no different than the NFL and Colleges where recruiting comes in the form of pay or scholarships. HS players, of course, don't receive pay. But, they do receive future college scholarships which is a form of Quid Pro Quo. As I have stated previously, I don't believe that the Florida legislature ever envisioned HS football players being able to jump ship, from one school to another, just to play football for another team when they passed transfers at will. They envisioned students being able to transfer from poor quality schools to better quality schools for academic and environmental reasons. Building artificial powerhouse teams, through ambitious recruiting, is antithetical to the educational and moral processes that high schools are supposed to stand for.  Just my opinion for what it's worth.

[badbird]

proset I agree but I still find it funny that you defended Trinity Christian all those years and now are so against recruiting.  Trinity Christian was one of the innovators.

[DarterBlue2]

48 minutes ago, badbird said:

proset I agree but I still find it funny that you defended Trinity Christian all those years and now are so against recruiting.  Trinity Christian was one of the innovators.

The old story of the pot and the kettle!

[gatorman-uf]

18 hours ago, Proseteye said:

As I have stated previously, I don't believe that the Florida legislature ever envisioned HS football players being able to jump ship, from one school to another, just to play football for another team when they passed transfers at will. They envisioned students being able to transfer from poor quality schools to better quality schools for academic and environmental reasons. 

 

As always, then the members of our state legislatures are idiots. The FHSAA called it the Free Agency bill, the coaches called it that. They said exactly this would happen. The state legislature in it's goal to delegitimize public schools went full speed ahead on a bill that does not improve education for students. I am waiting for a local minority church to round up their students and enroll them in a school like Ponte Vedra or Bartram Trail enmasse and see how quickly the parents and their legislators change their mind about this bill. 

 

[Proseteye]

On 4/29/2018 at 4:39 PM, badbird said:

proset I agree but I still find it funny that you defended Trinity Christian all those years and now are so against recruiting.  Trinity Christian was one of the innovators.

Well, in the first place I think you have Trinity Christian Conquerors, Jacksonville mixed up with Trinity Catholic Celtics, Ocala.

If the Celtics were actually recruiting I never witnessed it. Neither did the FHSAA. Since TC is a private school they have to advertise and encourage students to enroll, unlike public schools. If they can't fill up their classes they go out of business. I will admit that it is very hard to determine where the encouragement ends and actual recruitment begins. However, every private school has to follow these procedures in order to survive financially. You have to remember that many students transfer from public schools to private schools for academic reasons, among others. Private schools just educate their students better and give them better opportunities to attend colleges or even quality colleges. I believe this is the reason that public school students enroll at private schools if they can afford it. If, among these students, there are a few athletes then so be it. Athletes want a better education, too.

If Trinity Catholic was recruiting, in order to explicitly enhance their football team, then I am adamantly against it. I heard the complaints being thrown around by some public high schools that Trinity was taking away some of their players. Maybe those players enrolled at Trinity for a better education and opportunities, to include playing in a good football program led by some good coaches. I never heard a thing from these same high schools when Trinity lost good players to them. If the truth be known Trinity actually lost more players to the public schools than they gained from them. I never heard a peep when North Marion took 3 top D-1 players from Trinity over the summer of 2015.

 

Badbird   -----    I think we are on the same page regarding how we feel about this subject.

 

 

[badbird]

I'm talking before 2015 Proset but it's all good.  All we can hope for is that the people cheating get caught.   I don't like what high school football has become but I get it.  That doesn't mean I have to be a fan of it.  

[Mashburns]

The issue is not so much on the coaches here with recruiting what's going on now is that kids recruiting kids and parents recruiting parents. This is the issue most local coaches are facing in our county (Palm Beach), the parents are talking to other parents about which program is best for their child then to top that players at those programs talk to players at other programs getting kids to transfer. The article was a great example showing how the climate of high school football hyas changed. Atlantic (Delray) had a great season last year made it to state but they received about 10-15 guys that contributed both offensively and defensively which made it difficult for local teams to compete with them.    

[OldSchoolLion]

15 minutes ago, Mashburns said:

The issue is not so much on the coaches here with recruiting what's going on now is that kids recruiting kids and parents recruiting parents. This is the issue most local coaches are facing in our county (Palm Beach), the parents are talking to other parents about which program is best for their child then to top that players at those programs talk to players at other programs getting kids to transfer. The article was a great example showing how the climate of high school football hyas changed. Atlantic (Delray) had a great season last year made it to state but they received about 10-15 guys that contributed both offensively and defensively which made it difficult for local teams to compete with them.    

...completely agree.  Short of a big ego trip, there is not a lot to gain for a FL hs coach who risks his reputation and subsequent career recruiting kids.  It's not like Texas or certain other states where some may justify the risk, ie salaries over $150k/year plus big "bonuses" from booster clubs.

With the skyrocketing costs of college education, parents are desperate to gain an edge for their kid(s)...to the point of paranoia.  They have many more motivating factors to stretch the limits than coaches.  And colleges are adding fuel to the fire creating the circus-like recruiting atmosphere, getting the kids talking up college as freshmen in high school.  

 

 

[gatorman-uf]

51 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

With the skyrocketing costs of college education, parents are desperate to gain an edge for their kid(s)...to the point of paranoia.  

Shouldn't these parents have focused then on the value of the education. Hasn't the state of Florida returned to the 100% and 75% Bright Futures scholarship which is essentially the same thing as a football scholarship in terms of value. Could not the time that was spent on the football field or basketball court or the softball and baseball diamonds be just as valuable if it was focused on the concepts of reading, writing, math, and science. Could a kid not earn a welding, truck driving, or culinary arts scholarship if their talents lay elsewhere?

I wish parents understood that college is affordable if we invested as much time and money into a child's learning as we do their athletics.