A Big Problem with Our Current Classifications

[OldSchoolLion]

Below are 100 schools that opened since 1992 in the most populous areas of Florida.  Only 23 of those schools made the playoffs last year, and only 11 of them won a playoff game.  Amongst those who didn't, relatively few have had significant success in football since the school opened, and for those that did, the success was often short-lived.  Hillsborough County is the poster child for this phenomenon.

The 100 schools below have won a total of 203 playoff games between them.  20 of those 200 victories were by Bartram Trail.  Listed after each team is the number of playoff (p/o) wins by each school since they opened.  43 of the schools have never won a playoff game.  

Teams in bold below made the playoffs last season.  38% of teams in Classes 1A-8A presently make the playoffs each year.  So, the number of teams below that made the playoffs last season is disproportionately low.  

The amount of big, new schools is unprecedented in Florida's history.  Existing schools are becoming mega-schools, like Lehigh High below, potentially moving them up in class to an even more competitive environment. 

https://www.news-press.com/story/news/education/2018/07/06/lehigh-senior-high-growing-into-mega-school-rapid-growth/760552002/

The upper classes have become loaded with "newer" schools.  In a sense, they have been thrown into the fire before their programs have a chance to get traction.  And even after 20 years, some are still struggling.  With the current environment of talent concentrating at less and less schools, one has to wonder if these programs will ever get traction. 

The number of schools in Florida will no doubt increase in the future.  At this rate, will our upper classes become even more flooded with mediocre teams unless we develop a strategy beyond classifying by population?   

Totals below by class:

8A-26 teams

7A-35 teams

6A-18 teams

5A-14 teams

4A-3 teams

3A-1 team

2A-1 team

1A-1 team

Independent-1 teams

 

Brevard County

Bayside(6A) 1998     4 p/o wins

Heritage(6A) 2009     5 p/o wins

Space Coast(5A) 2001     0 p/o wins

Viera(7A) 2006     7 p/o wins

 

Broward County

Coral Glades(Ind) 2004     0 p/o wins

Coral Springs Charter(4A) 1999      0 p/o wins

Cypress Bay(8A) 2002     10 p/o wins

Everglades(8A) 2003     2 p/o wins

Flanagan(8A) 1996      9 p/o wins

Monarch(8A) 2003     0 p/o wins

West Broward(7A) 2008     1 p/o wins

 

Clay County

Fleming Island(7A) 2003     9 p/o wins

Oakleaf(7A) 2010     2 p/o wins

Ridgeview(5A) 1998     2 p/o wins

 

Collier County

Golden Gate(6A) 2004     0 p/o wins

Gulf Coast(7A) 1998     0 p/o wins

Palmetto Ridge(6A) 2005     0 p/o wins

 

Duval County

Atlantic Coast(7A) 2010     0 p/o wins

 

Escambia

Northview(1A) 1996     9 p/o wins

West Florida(5A) 2001     6 p/o wins

 

Flagler County

Matanzas(6A) 2005     0 p/o wins

 

Hernando County

Nature Coast(5A) 2003     3 p/o wins

Weeki Wachee(5A) 2010     0 p/o wins

 

Hillsborough

Alonso(8A) 2001     1 p/o wins

Blake(6A) 1997     3 p/o wins

Durant(7A) 1995     5 p/o wins

Freedom(7A) 2002     0 p/o wins

Lennard(7A) 2006     2 p/o wins

Middleton 2002(5A) (reopened)     2 p/o wins

Newsome(8A) 2003     3 p/o wins

Riverview(8A) 1998     2 p/o wins

Sickles(7A) 1997     3 p/o wins

Spoto(5A) 2006     1 p/o win

Steinbrenner(8A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Strawberry Crest(7A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Wharton(7A) 1997      6 p/o wins

 

Indian River County

Sebastian River(6A) 1994     1 p/o win

 

Lake County

East Ridge(7A) 2002     6 p/o wins

Lake Minneola(7A) 2011     0 p/o wins

South Lake(6A) 1993     1 p/o win

 

Lee County

East Lee County(6A) 2007     0 p/o wins

Ida S Baker(6A) 2004     0 p/o wins

Island Coast(6A) 2007     4 p/o wins

Lehigh(6A) 1994     2 p/o wins

 

Leon County

Chiles(7A) 1999     0 p/o wins

St John Paul II(2A) 2001     0 p/o wins

 

Manatee

Braden River(7A) 2005     8 p/o wins

Lakewood Ranch(7A) 1998     2 p/o wins

 

Marion County

Belleview(5A) 1995     7 p/o wins

Westport(7A) 2000     1 p/0 win

 

Martin County

Jensen Beach(6A) 2004     0 p/o wins

 

Miami-Dade County

Dr Krop(8A) 1998     4 p/o wins

Ferguson(8A) 2003     0 p/o wins

Goleman(7A) 1995     1 p/o win

Hialeah Gardens(8A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Reagan(7A) 2006     0 p/o wins

Varela(8A) 2000     0 p/o wins

Westland(7A) 2007     0 p/o wins

 

Nassau County

Yulee(5A) 2006 (reopened)     3 p/o wins

 

Orange County

Cypress Creek(8A) 1992     0 p/o wins

East River(7A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Freedom(8A) 2003     0 p/o wins

Lake Nona(7A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Ocoee(7A) 2005     0 p/o wins

Olympia(8A) 2001     1 p/o win

Timber Creek(8A) 2001     4 p/o wins

Wekiva(8A) 2007     3 p/o wins

Windermere(7A) 2017     0 p/o wins

 

Osceola County

Celebration(7A) 2003     0 p/o wins

Harmony(7A) 2004     2 p/o wins

Liberty(7A) 2007     0 p/o wins

 

Palm Beach County

Boynton Beach(6A) 2001     0 p/o wins 

Palm Beach Central(8A) 2003     2 p/o wins 

Park Vista(8A) 2004     3 p/o wins

Royal Palm Beach(7A) 1997     5 p/o wins

West Boca(7A) 2004     2 p/o wins

 

Pasco County

Anclote(5A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Fivay(5A) 2010     0 p/o wins

Mitchell(6A) 2000     2 p/o wins

Sunlake(6A) 2007     2 p/o wins

Wesley Chapel(5A) 1999     0 p/o wins

Wiregrass Ranch(7A) 2006     1 p/o wins

 

Pinellas

Calvary Christian(3A) 2000     1 p/o wins

Palm Harbor(8A) 1996     1 p/o win

 

Polk County

George Jenkins(8A) 1993     0 p/o wins

Lake Region(6A) 1995     0 p/o wins

Ridge(8A) 2005     2 p/o wins

Tenoroc(4A) 2008     0 p/o wins

 

St Johns

Bartram Trail(7A) 2000     20 p/o wins

Creekside(7A) 2008     1 p/o win

Menendez(5A) 2000     1 p/o wins

Ponte Vedra(5A) 2008     5 p/o wins

 

St Lucie County

Centennial(8A) 1998     2 p/o wins

Treasure Coast(8A) 2006     1 p/o wins

 

Sarasota

North Port(7A) 2001     0 p/o wins

 

Seminole County

Hagerty(7A) 2005     0 p/o wins

Winter Springs(8A) 1997     1 p/o win

 

Volusia

Atlantic(4A) 1994     1 p/o win

Pine Ridge(6A) 1994     0 p/o wins

University(8A) 2010     0 p/o wins

 

[Hwy17]

48 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Below are 90 schools that opened over the past 25 years in the most populous areas of Florida.  Only 19, or 21%, of those schools made the playoffs last year.  Amongst those who didn't, relatively few have had significant success in football since the school opened, and for those that did, the success was often short-lived.  Hillsborough County is the poster child for this phenomenon.

Teams in bold below made the playoffs last season.  38% of teams in Classes 1A-8A presently make the playoffs each year.  So, the number of teams below that made the playoffs last season is disproportionately low.  

The amount of big, new schools is unprecedented in Florida's history.  Existing schools are becoming mega-schools, like Lehigh High below, potentially moving them up in class to an even more competitive environment. 

https://www.news-press.com/story/news/education/2018/07/06/lehigh-senior-high-growing-into-mega-school-rapid-growth/760552002/

The upper classes have become loaded with "newer" schools.  In a sense, they have been thrown into the fire before their programs have a chance to get traction.  And even after 20 years, some are still struggling.  With the current environment of talent concentrating at less and less schools, one has to wonder if these programs will ever get traction. 

The number of schools in Florida will no doubt increase in the future.  At this rate, will our upper classes become even more flooded with mediocre teams unless we develop a strategy beyond classifying by population?   

 

Brevard County

Bayside(6A) 1998

Heritage(6A) 2009

Space Coast(5A) 2001

Viera(7A) 2006

 

Broward County

Coral Glades(Ind) 2004

Coral Springs Charter(4A) 1999

Cypress Bay(8A) 2002

Everglades(8A) 2003

Flanagan(8A) 1996

Monarch(8A) 2003

West Broward(7A) 2008

 

Collier County

Golden Gate(6A) 2004

Gulf Coast(7A) 1998

Palmetto Ridge(6A) 2005

 

Duval County

Atlantic Coast(7A) 2010

 

Escambia

Northview(1A) 1996

West Florida(5A) 2001

 

Hernando County

Nature Coast(5A) 2003

Weeki Wachee(5A) 2010

 

Hillsborough

Alonso(8A) 2001

Blake(6A) 1997

Durant(7A) 1995

Freedom(7A) 2002

Lennard(7A) 2006

Middleton 2002(5A) (reopened)

Newsome(8A) 2003

Riverview(8A) 1998

Sickles(7A) 1997

Spoto(5A) 2006

Steinbrenner(8A) 2009

Strawberry Crest(7A) 2009

Wharton(7A) 1997 

 

Lake County

East Ridge(7A) 2002

Lake Minneola(7A) 2011

South Lake(6A) 1993

 

Lee County

East Lee County(6A) 2007

Ida S Baker(6A) 2004

Island Coast(6A) 2007

Lehigh(6A) 1994

 

Leon County

Chiles(7A) 1999

 

Manatee

Braden River 2005

Lakewood Ranch(7A) 1998

 

Marion County

Belleview(5A) 1995

Westport(7A) 2000

 

Miami-Dade County

Dr Krop(8A) 1998

Ferguson(8A) 2003

Goleman(7A) 1995

Hialeah Gardens(8A) 2009

Reagan(7A) 2006

Varela(8A) 2000

Westland(7A) 2007

 

Orange County

East River(7A) 2009

Freedom(8A) 2003

Lake Nona(7A) 2009

Ocoee(7A) 2005

Olympia(8A) 2001

Timber Creek(8A) 2001

Wekiva(8A) 2007

Windermere(7A) 2017

 

Osceola County

Celebration(7A) 2003

Harmony(7A) 2004

Liberty(7A) 2007

 

Palm Beach County

Boynton Beach(6A) 2001 

Park Vista(8A) 2004

Royal Palm Beach(7A) 1997

West Boca(7A) 2004

 

Pasco County

Anclote(5A) 2009

Fivay(5A) 2010

Mitchell(6A) 2000

Sunlake(6A) 2007

Wesley Chapel(5A) 1999

Wiregrass Ranch(7A) 2006

 

Pinellas

Calvary Christian(3A) 2000

Palm Harbor(8A) 1996

 

Polk County

Jenkins(8A) 1993

Lake Region(6A) 1995

Ridge(8A) 2005

Tenoroc(4A) 2008

 

St Johns

Bartram Trail(7A) 2010

Creekside(7A) 2008

Menendez(5A) 2000

Ponte Vedra(5A) 2008

 

St Lucie County

Centennial(8A) 1998

Treasure Coast(8A) 2006

 

Sarasota

North Port(7A) 2001

 

Seminole County

Hagerty(7A) 2005

Winter Springs(8A) 1997

 

Volusia

Atlantic(4A) 1994

Pine Ridge(6A) 1994

University(8A) 2010

 

In another thread we were discussing the impact of transfers and how some metro schools seem to be able to leverage them to their advantage and maybe that's why rural schools no longer are the powerhouse programs.  I mentioned that I am starting to think that the transfer policy hurts newer metro schools more so than rural schools.  

[OldSchoolLion]

Only 11 schools in the current Maxpreps 100 for Florida are less than 25 years old.  6 of those 10 teams are from north Florida and 4 are from central Florida.  (Fleming Island, Oakleaf, W Florida, Bartram Trail, Ponte Vedra, Menendez, Braden River, Wekiva, Palm Bay Heritage, Viera and Palm Beach Central).

[DisabledAccount]

11 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Only 10 schools in the current Maxpreps 100 for Florida are less than 25 years old.  6 of those 10 teams are from north Florida and 4 are from central Florida.  Two of the 6 from North Florida are from Clay County(Fleming Island and Oakleaf), which I did not have listed above.  So, of the 90 teams I did list above, only 8 are within the Maxpreps Top 100 (W Florda, Bartram Trail, Ponte Vedra, Menendez, Braden River, Wekiva, Palm Bay Heritage and Viera).

How is a team who went 2-8 last year in top 100 (Oakleaf)

 

Their 2 wins were against teams with a combined record of 5-15

 

One of those (Creekside who went 4-6) was by 3 points 

 

Other win was over 1-9 Orange Park 

 

 

 

[OldSchoolLion]

Last night I added playoff records for each of the teams in the original post and one can see how poorly some of these programs have performed since opening.  If Florida is overflowing with talent, why have so many of these teams struggled?  If nothing changes, is it possible that in 25 years we will have yet another 75 "new" schools in the upper classes who struggle? 

Something is very wrong when we have numerous schools in major metro areas in football-rich FL who are still not competitive after 20 years of playing.  

   

[DisabledAccount]

8 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Last night I added playoff records for each of the teams in the original post and one can see how poorly some of these programs have performed since opening.  If Florida is overflowing with talent, why have so many of these teams struggled?  If nothing changes, is it possible that in 25 years we will have yet another 75 "new" schools in the upper classes who struggle? 

Something is very wrong when we have numerous schools in major metro areas in football-rich FL who are still not competitive after 20 years of playing.  

   

FL is overflowing with talent but for the most part metro areas have talent consolidated into a few schools 

 

 

[DisabledAccount]

In other cases new schools open and split talent in areas from 1 elite team into 2 or 3 average ones

 

[smashmouth80]

17 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Below are 90 schools that opened over the past 25 years in the most populous areas of Florida.  Only 20, or 22%, of those schools made the playoffs last year.  Amongst those who didn't, relatively few have had significant success in football since the school opened, and for those that did, the success was often short-lived.  Hillsborough County is the poster child for this phenomenon.

The 90 schools below have won a total of 184 playoff games between them.  20 of those 184 victories were by Bartram Trail.  Listed after each team is the number of playoff (p/o) wins by each school since they opened.  39 of the schools have never won a playoff game.  

Teams in bold below made the playoffs last season.  38% of teams in Classes 1A-8A presently make the playoffs each year.  So, the number of teams below that made the playoffs last season is disproportionately low.  

The amount of big, new schools is unprecedented in Florida's history.  Existing schools are becoming mega-schools, like Lehigh High below, potentially moving them up in class to an even more competitive environment. 

https://www.news-press.com/story/news/education/2018/07/06/lehigh-senior-high-growing-into-mega-school-rapid-growth/760552002/

The upper classes have become loaded with "newer" schools.  In a sense, they have been thrown into the fire before their programs have a chance to get traction.  And even after 20 years, some are still struggling.  With the current environment of talent concentrating at less and less schools, one has to wonder if these programs will ever get traction. 

The number of schools in Florida will no doubt increase in the future.  At this rate, will our upper classes become even more flooded with mediocre teams unless we develop a strategy beyond classifying by population?   

Totals below by class:

8A-24 teams

7A-33 teams

6A-15 teams

5A-12 teams

4A-3 teams

3A-1 team

1A-1 team

Independent-1 teams

 

Brevard County

Bayside(6A) 1998     4 p/o wins

Heritage(6A) 2009     5 p/o wins

Space Coast(5A) 2001     0 p/o wins

Viera(7A) 2006     7 p/o wins

 

Broward County

Coral Glades(Ind) 2004     0 p/o wins

Coral Springs Charter(4A) 1999      0 p/o wins

Cypress Bay(8A) 2002     10 p/o wins

Everglades(8A) 2003     2 p/o wins

Flanagan(8A) 1996      9 p/o wins

Monarch(8A) 2003     0 p/o wins

West Broward(7A) 2008     1 p/o wins

 

Collier County

Golden Gate(6A) 2004     0 p/o wins

Gulf Coast(7A) 1998     0 p/o wins

Palmetto Ridge(6A) 2005     0 p/o wins

 

Duval County

Atlantic Coast(7A) 2010     0 p/o wins

 

Escambia

Northview(1A) 1996     9 p/o wins

West Florida(5A) 2001     6 p/o wins

 

Hernando County

Nature Coast(5A) 2003     3 p/o wins

Weeki Wachee(5A) 2010     0 p/o wins

 

Hillsborough

Alonso(8A) 2001     1 p/o wins

Blake(6A) 1997     3 p/o wins

Durant(7A) 1995     5 p/o wins

Freedom(7A) 2002     0 p/o wins

Lennard(7A) 2006     2 p/o wins

Middleton 2002(5A) (reopened)     2 p/o wins

Newsome(8A) 2003     3 p/o wins

Riverview(8A) 1998     2 p/o wins

Sickles(7A) 1997     3 p/o wins

Spoto(5A) 2006     1 p/o win

Steinbrenner(8A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Strawberry Crest(7A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Wharton(7A) 1997      6 p/o wins

 

Lake County

East Ridge(7A) 2002     6 p/o wins

Lake Minneola(7A) 2011     0 p/o wins

South Lake(6A) 1993     1 p/o win

 

Lee County

East Lee County(6A) 2007     0 p/o wins

Ida S Baker(6A) 2004     0 p/o wins

Island Coast(6A) 2007     4 p/o wins

Lehigh(6A) 1994     2 p/o wins

 

Leon County

Chiles(7A) 1999     0 p/o wins

 

Manatee

Braden River(7A) 2005     8 p/o wins

Lakewood Ranch(7A) 1998     2 p/o wins

 

Marion County

Belleview(5A) 1995     7 p/o wins

Westport(7A) 2000     1 p/0 win

 

Miami-Dade County

Dr Krop(8A) 1998     4 p/o wins

Ferguson(8A) 2003     0 p/o wins

Goleman(7A) 1995     1 p/o win

Hialeah Gardens(8A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Reagan(7A) 2006     0 p/o wins

Varela(8A) 2000     0 p/o wins

Westland(7A) 2007     0 p/o wins

 

Orange County

East River(7A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Freedom(8A) 2003     0 p/o wins

Lake Nona(7A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Ocoee(7A) 2005     0 p/o wins

Olympia(8A) 2001     1 p/o win

Timber Creek(8A) 2001     4 p/o wins

Wekiva(8A) 2007     3 p/o wins

Windermere(7A) 2017     0 p/o wins

 

Osceola County

Celebration(7A) 2003     0 p/o wins

Harmony(7A) 2004     2 p/o wins

Liberty(7A) 2007     0 p/o wins

 

Palm Beach County

Boynton Beach(6A) 2001     0 p/o wins 

Park Vista(8A) 2004     3 p/o wins

Royal Palm Beach(7A) 1997     5 p/o wins

West Boca(7A) 2004     2 p/o wins

 

Pasco County

Anclote(5A) 2009     0 p/o wins

Fivay(5A) 2010     0 p/o wins

Mitchell(6A) 2000     2 p/o wins

Sunlake(6A) 2007     2 p/o wins

Wesley Chapel(5A) 1999     0 p/o wins

Wiregrass Ranch(7A) 2006     1 p/o wins

 

Pinellas

Calvary Christian(3A) 2000     1 p/o wins

Palm Harbor(8A) 1996     1 p/o win

 

Polk County

George Jenkins(8A) 1993     0 p/o wins

Lake Region(6A) 1995     0 p/o wins

Ridge(8A) 2005     2 p/o wins

Tenoroc(4A) 2008     0 p/o wins

 

St Johns

Bartram Trail(7A) 2010     20 p/o wins

Creekside(7A) 2008     1 p/o win

Menendez(5A) 2000     1 p/o wins

Ponte Vedra(5A) 2008     5 p/o wins

 

St Lucie County

Centennial(8A) 1998     2 p/o wins

Treasure Coast(8A) 2006     1 p/o wins

 

Sarasota

North Port(7A) 2001     0 p/o wins

 

Seminole County

Hagerty(7A) 2005     0 p/o wins

Winter Springs(8A) 1997     1 p/o win

 

Volusia

Atlantic(4A) 1994     1 p/o win

Pine Ridge(6A) 1994     0 p/o wins

University(8A) 2010     0 p/o wins

 

Bartram Trail opened in 2000 not 2010. 

[DisabledAccount]

2 minutes ago, smashmouth80 said:

Bartram Trail opened in 2000 not 2010. 

Sharp observation. 

I read through post 3 times and never caught it

[OldSchoolLion]

...another tidbit.  Below are the more successful programs from the list above.  Note the coaching continuity.

Bartram Trail-Darrell Sutherland-18 seasons as head coach

Braden River-Curt Bradley-6 seasons

Cypress Bay-Mark Guandolo-11 seasons (resigned last season)

Heritage(Palm Bay)-Mark Ainsley-4 seasons (and one other coach who was there 4 years since the school opened)

Wharton-David Mitchell-13 seasons

Viera-Kevin Mays-7 seasons (resigned last season)

[OldSchoolLion]

1 hour ago, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:

FL is overflowing with talent but for the most part metro areas have talent consolidated into a few schools 

 

 

.Hillsborough County has 27 public schools and only two of them have historically made deep playoff runs.  Wouldn't you think one of the biggest metro areas in Florida could support more than 2 top-tier programs if it was truly overflowing with talent?  

 

[Drogo]

Missing Indian River County: 

Sebastian River (6A) 1994

[OldSchoolLion]

49 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Missing Indian River County: 

Sebastian River (6A) 1994

Thank you. Another example of a team with only 1 playoff win in 24 years...even though they had a coach who stayed a long time.

Sorry, but I got tired and stopped after about 25 counties. 

[DisabledAccount]

4 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Thank you. Another example of a team with only 1 playoff win in 24 years...even though they had a coach who stayed a long time.

Sorry, but I got tired and stopped after about 25 counties. 

It's crazy that in that list it looks like Bartram Trail only one with 10+ playoff wins

 

Unless my eyes missed one

[OldSchoolLion]

14 hours ago, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:

It's crazy that in that list it looks like Bartram Trail only one with 10+ playoff wins

 

Unless my eyes missed one

...only ones in addition to BT with 8 or more.  Surprising, isn't it? 

Braden River 8

Northview(1A) 9

Fleming Island 9

Cypress Bay 10

[DisabledAccount]

2 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

...only ones in addition to BT with 8 or more.  Surprising, isn't it? 

Braden River 8

Northview(1A) 9

Cypress Bay 10

Braden River been getting some serious talent lately

 

Northview used to be a 1a power 

 

And Cypress Bay had a few good years but been in decline last few years 

[OldSchoolLion]

16 hours ago, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:

Braden River been getting some serious talent lately

 

Northview used to be a 1a power 

 

And Cypress Bay had a few good years but been in decline last few years 

Only 11 of the 100 teams listed above won a playoff game last year. 

[Hwy17]

29 minutes ago, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:

Braden River been getting some serious talent lately

 

 

Braden River was destined to be a powerhouse on day one.  If your are not familiar with the area, the school is located on Hwy70 and only a mile or so from University Blvd (University Blvd is also the county line) and all the new growth and development in Manatee and Sarasota in right there.  The people there all want there kids going to school at BR.   Southeast, Bayshore, Booker and even Lakewood Ranch are viewed as old and second rate. 

[OldSchoolLion]

7 hours ago, Hwy17 said:

Braden River was destined to be a powerhouse on day one.  If your are not familiar with the area, the school is located on Hwy70 and only a mile or so from University Blvd (University Blvd is also the county line) and all the new growth and development in Manatee and Sarasota in right there.  The people there all want there kids going to school at BR.   Southeast, Bayshore, Booker and even Lakewood Ranch are viewed as old and second rate. 

Great observation...parallels with Brevard County and Viera/Heritage.

Brevard and Manatee are both tradition-rich, mid-size counties with some older schools likely falling out of favor and limited private schools to fight with over talent..the perfect storm for a newer school to blossom, especially if they find a coach to hang out there for a while and build. 

Ridge in Polk County could be another one to come in if Lakeland fades in the future. 

     

[Cat_Scratch]

11 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Last night I added playoff records for each of the teams in the original post and one can see how poorly some of these programs have performed since opening.  If Florida is overflowing with talent, why have so many of these teams struggled?  If nothing changes, is it possible that in 25 years we will have yet another 75 "new" schools in the upper classes who struggle? 

Something is very wrong when we have numerous schools in major metro areas in football-rich FL who are still not competitive after 20 years of playing.  

   

Maybe poor coaching?

[OldSchoolLion]

I added the following 10 teams to the original list above, giving us an even 100 "new" schools since 1992.  

Cypress Creek(8A) 1992     0 p/o wins

Fleming Island(7A) 2003     9 p/o wins

Jensen Beach(6A) 2004     0 p/o wins

Matanzas(6A) 2005     0 p/o wins

Oakleaf(7A) 2010     2 p/o wins

Palm Beach Central(8A) 2003     2 p/o wins

Ridgeview(5A) 1998     2 p/o wins

St John Paul II(2A) 2001     0 p/o wins    Leon County  

Sebastian River(6A) 1994     1 p/o win

Yulee(5A) 2006 (reopened)     3 p/o wins

[gatorman-uf]

And this reinforces my belief that in the long term a re-classification based on historical strength of teams will be a move in the right direction. These teams need to get their feet under them before they have to start playing with against more established programs. It takes time to institute not just a culture on the team level, but also at a community level. 
If you have the chance to show some promise early on (even if it is against also-rans) I think that encourages the community to stay with the team from the infancy of the team. 

 

 

[OldSchoolLion]

15 minutes ago, gatorman-uf said:

And this reinforces my belief that in the long term a re-classification based on historical strength of teams will be a move in the right direction. These teams need to get their feet under them before they have to start playing with against more established programs. It takes time to institute not just a culture on the team level, but also at a community level. 
If you have the chance to show some promise early on (even if it is against also-rans) I think that encourages the community to stay with the team from the infancy of the team. 

 

 

I really like your comment.  In the days before the internet, people may not have anything better to do a Friday night than go watch the local hs team, regardless of how good they were.  Now we have so many choices.  Once fans lose interest today, I can see it being very difficult to get them back.   

[smashmouth80]

6 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

I added the following 10 teams to the original list above, giving us an even 100 "new" schools since 1992.  

Cypress Creek(8A) 1992     0 p/o wins

Fleming Island(7A) 2003     9 p/o wins

Jensen Beach(6A) 2004     0 p/o wins

Matanzas(6A) 2005     0 p/o wins

Oakleaf(7A) 2010     2 p/o wins

Palm Beach Central(8A) 2003     2 p/o wins

Ridgeview(5A) 1998     2 p/o wins

St John Paul II(2A) 2001     0 p/o wins    Leon County  

Sebastian River(6A) 1994     1 p/o win

Yulee(5A) 2006 (reopened)     0 p/o wins

Yulee has won 3 playoff games. 

[Cat_Scratch]

7 hours ago, gatorman-uf said:

And this reinforces my belief that in the long term a re-classification based on historical strength of teams will be a move in the right direction. These teams need to get their feet under them before they have to start playing with against more established programs. It takes time to institute not just a culture on the team level, but also at a community level. 
If you have the chance to show some promise early on (even if it is against also-rans) I think that encourages the community to stay with the team from the infancy of the team. 

 

 

Excellent post. I totally agree.