Is the Internet & Social Media Ruining HS Football? Let's Look at the Soph All-American List

[OldSchoolLion]

Below is Maxpreps' list of 64 Sophomore All-Americans. 

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/viw4eDe1FEmiZGlSD3KwFA/2018-maxpreps-high-school-sophomore-all-american-football-team-.htm

Further below I have broken down the number of players from each metro area/city.  54 of the 64 players are from metro areas and only 10 players are from areas outside of metros.  The vast majority of teams for which the 64 play had very good/outstanding seasons.  Only 4 players came from teams that did not have a winning season.  One of those played for BT Washington in Miami and one was a kicker in Arizona.

As expected, there were lots of players from Los Angeles and Houston.  Surprisingly, there was only 1 player each from Atlanta and Miami, yet there were 6 players from the Seattle/Tacoma area.

It appears that polls, ranking services, and now All-American lists are favoring teams and players from the metro areas. In another thread, I pointed out how most of the teams in the recent "small school" rankings were from urban areas.  There is a subtle (or maybe not-so-subtle) message being sent to kids that one must play for a successful team with a big name to get noticed.  Maybe that is why some kids are moving from rural to metro areas to play.  I am sure when kids look at this list and see the players on it, they see that many of them play for teams that are amongst the best in their respective areas...not the losers. 

The kids today are deluged with these "messages" that may prompt them to question themselves endlessly...Am I playing for the right team?  the right coach?  the right position?   Would things be better "over there?"  Am I getting enough exposure?  etc etc  I think it is much more than coincidence that when the internet and social media came around, things exploded  in terms of the development of "superteams" and players wanting to transfer.  Everything is so visible today.  Prior to the internet and USA Today, kids really only knew about what was going on in their immediate area. 

I am thoroughly convinced that the development of the internet and social media has played a huge role in getting hs football where we are today...for better or for worse.  Maybe ignorance was bliss. What scares me is how a select group of people, such as those at Maxpreps, Rivals, etc, can have so much influence...despite the fact that they are clearly not doing their homework and are subject to major bias or even corruption.  Sorry, but there are plenty of teams and players out there in non-metro areas who are just as talented.  But maybe it's easier for some people just to focus on the bigger school names and/or metro areas when creating polls and player lists.

There is all kinds of opportunity for funny business and hidden agendas with all of the stuff they are publishing.  What incredible exposure this is for just a sophomore.  Might even be worth a little money to give/get such exposure, huh?   To say these services are objective...hmmm.  

 

Metro/Urban-54 players

Akron, OH-1

Atlanta, GA-1

Baltimore, MD-1

Birmingham, AL-3

Charlotte, NC-4

Chicago, IL-2

Columbus, OH-1

Dallas, TX-3

Denver, CO-1

Detroit, MI-3

Fort Lauderdale, FL-2

Houston, TX-7

Indianapolis, IN-1

Las Vegas, NV-1

Los Angeles, CA-7

Miami, FL-1

Philadelphia, PA-2

Phoenix, AZ-1

Provo, UT-1

Rochester, NY-1

Seattle/Tacoma, WA-6

Virginia Beach, VA-1

Washington DC-2

Winston Salem, NC-1

 

Non-Metro/Rural-10 players

Plant City, FL-1

Athens, GA-1

Cairo, GA-1

Kingsland, GA-1

Peach County, GA-1

Wayne County, GA-1

Shelby, NC-1

Weatherford, OK-1

Aledo, TX-1

Bluefield, WV

[OldSchoolLion]

...just to clarify.  The internet has helped us tremendously in hs football and I love it.  My point above is simply that kids reading stuff on it can be heavily influenced.  No doubt some stuff out there is just for "fun."  But now that we have have big name sponsors and advertisement taking place at a high school level, I get concerned about "messaging" and manipulation for financial gain.

I find it ironic that there is all this talk about coaches recruiting, yet I think what kids read on the internet can have just as much of an influence.  Heck, even some parents probably read stuff like this Soph All-American list and say "Son, you need to go to ____."   

[gatorman-uf]

I don't know how much of this is kid leaves rural area and moves to urban area to be on a good football team. I think this is just a result of some general bias that allows "Big Name" teams to be more in the news (both TV and newspaper), Closer connections to many of the combine and other scouting tryouts that are available. I also think that a true rural school will go through ups and downs in talent as they aren't having that influx of talent every year. Urban schools, do the general nature of only having to move 4 city blocks could easily end up at the "right" school.

[OldSchoolLion]

4 hours ago, gatorman-uf said:

I don't know how much of this is kid leaves rural area and moves to urban area to be on a good football team. I think this is just a result of some general bias that allows "Big Name" teams to be more in the news (both TV and newspaper), Closer connections to many of the combine and other scouting tryouts that are available. I also think that a true rural school will go through ups and downs in talent as they aren't having that influx of talent every year. Urban schools, do the general nature of only having to move 4 city blocks could easily end up at the "right" school.

Plant, Wekiva, Osceola, Carol City, Edison, Gulf Breeze, Clearwater Central Catholic, Clearwater International, St Thomas Aquinas, and Chaminade-Madonna all got high profile, out-of-state transfers over the past couple of years...and of course IMG.  In some cases, the kids were from rural/non metro areas. 

When I see that that number of 4* players moving into the state , it strikes me as being more than just coincidence and makes me wonder about the motivation.   So, in addition to the metro/rural factor, there could also be a "Florida is a recruiting hotbed" factor.    

I bet that some kids within Florida would transfer from a rural area to a metro school in a heartbeat if the opportunity was there.  Even within some of our own state polls, the schools from the metro areas get most of the love.   

 

[DisabledAccount]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Plant, Wekiva, Osceola, Carol City, Edison, Gulf Breeze, Clearwater Central Catholic, Clearwater International, St Thomas Aquinas, and Chaminade-Madonna all got high profile, out-of-state transfers over the past couple of years...and of course IMG.  In some cases, the kids were from rural/non metro areas. 

When I see that that number of 4* players moving into the state , it strikes me as being more than just coincidence and makes me wonder about the motivation.   So, in addition to the metro/rural factor, there could also be a "Florida is a recruiting hotbed" factor.    

I bet that some kids within Florida would transfer from a rural area to a metro school in a heartbeat if the opportunity was there.  Even within some of our own state polls, the schools from the metro areas get most of the love.   

 

Well let's be realistic with this

 

If someone is moving from say Detroit or Chicago for a job in South Florida and bringing their family to FL

 

They not likely going to move to a Lake City or a live oak

 

It's likely they moving to Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, ect.

 

 

No denying that OOS players transferring in are going to favor large metro areas, one of reasons I'm feeling that the real divide in the state isn't public vs private

 

It rural and urban, 99% of the time any urban school will easily be able to load up on talent whether public or private more effectively than a rural school simply because they have a better talent pool at their disposal 

 

In the past some rural areas managed to make up for talent not being up to par by having great support and a solid coach at the helm but FL has started to change in demographics and as more and more migrate from other states and have no alumni connection to a school they aren't going to just support a team unconditionally like you may see in Texas or Georgia

 

Bc of this questionable support system booster clubs can't always afford to pay the coaches effectively and as a result more and more elite level coaches are leaving the state 

[badbird]

On 1/6/2019 at 9:13 AM, OldSchoolLion said:

Plant, Wekiva, Osceola, Carol City, Edison, Gulf Breeze, Clearwater Central Catholic, Clearwater International, St Thomas Aquinas, and Chaminade-Madonna all got high profile, out-of-state transfers over the past couple of years...and of course IMG.  In some cases, the kids were from rural/non metro areas. 

When I see that that number of 4* players moving into the state , it strikes me as being more than just coincidence and makes me wonder about the motivation.   So, in addition to the metro/rural factor, there could also be a "Florida is a recruiting hotbed" factor.    

I bet that some kids within Florida would transfer from a rural area to a metro school in a heartbeat if the opportunity was there.  Even within some of our own state polls, the schools from the metro areas get most of the love.   

 

Osceola did not get one or at least they didn't get one that played. 

 

Also the Wekiva kid went to Wekiva as a freshman

[OldSchoolLion]

33 minutes ago, badbird said:

Osceola did not get one or at least they didn't get one that played.  Kid was ineligible grade wise

 

Also the Wekiva kid went to Wekiva as a freshman

Diwun Black was the kid in question who moved to Kissimmee from Mississippi

[badbird]

10 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Diwun Black was the kid in question who moved to Kissimmee from Mississippi

He did not play football this year