Orlando Freshmen & JV Football Moved to Spring

[HornetFan]

Winter Park football players were informed that Freshman & JV Football have been moved to the Spring, 2021. 

Varsity football tryouts for all players will be held this coming Monday, August 31st. Adjustments will be made to classroom learning for the varsity football players on campus. The goal is to try and put them in a partial bubble while physically at the high school. It will involve isolating those who have been in open classroom learning the past two weeks for a period of time to ensure they are virus-free. They will switch to on-line learning in a area to be designated in the high school.

This is far more complex than I would expect of a single high school. My best guess is that this came down from the Orange County School Board and will apply to all Orange County football teams. 

[Perspective]

59 minutes ago, HornetFan said:

Winter Park football players were informed that Freshman & JV Football have been moved to the Spring, 2021. 

 

Interesting approach.   On the one hand, it probably makes some sense with the limited supply of referees available and knowing that Friday Night Lights are going to be shining on Thursday and Saturday nights for varsity football games, as well. 

On the other hand, is a kid going to be able to do both?  The FHSAA recently dealt with the issue of kids bouncing back and forth between V and JV and voted to essentially allow kids to play in one varsity game and one JV game in the same week so long as they didn't play more than 6 total quarters.   Now, it would seem that a coach should keep as many kids as possible on the varsity roster this fall for purposes of practice, red O and red D and getting reps (knowing that he can only dress out 60 for games), and then drop several of them down to JV in the spring to get game reps.  

Hornet, what's going to keep a coach from dropping all returning players down to JV in the spring?  Historically, and with several exceptions, 9th and 10th graders played JV and 11th and 12th graders played varsity.   But I don't think there are any rules concerning this.   So, why wouldn't a coach drop all his 11th graders down in the spring to get more game experience?   Will there be a gentleman's agreement among the coaches not to do this? 

Last thought:  this is starting to look a little like college where athletes are being separated/isolated from the general student population.   While I understand the rationale from a 'football standpoint,' I'm not sure that's the best thing for the majority of these kids.   Looks like "On-line learning" is being converted into "O-line learning." 

[HornetFan]

12 minutes ago, Perspective said:

Interesting approach.   On the one hand, it probably makes some sense with the limited supply of referees available and knowing that Friday Night Lights are going to be shining on Thursday and Saturday nights for varsity football games, as well. 

On the other hand, is a kid going to be able to do both?  The FHSAA recently dealt with the issue of kids bouncing back and forth between V and JV and voted to essentially allow kids to play in one varsity game and one JV game in the same week so long as they didn't play more than 6 total quarters.   Now, it would seem that a coach should keep as many kids as possible on the varsity roster this fall for purposes of practice, red O and red D and getting reps (knowing that he can only dress out 60 for games), and then drop several of them down to JV in the spring to get game reps.  

Hornet, what's going to keep a coach from dropping all returning players down to JV in the spring?  Historically, and with several exceptions, 9th and 10th graders played JV and 11th and 12th graders played varsity.   But I don't think there are any rules concerning this.   So, why wouldn't a coach drop all his 11th graders down in the spring to get more game experience?   Will there be a gentleman's agreement among the coaches not to do this? 

Last thought:  this is starting to look a little like college where athletes are being separated/isolated from the general student population.   While I understand the rationale from a 'football standpoint,' I'm not sure that's the best thing for the majority of these kids.   Looks like "On-line learning" is being converted into "O-line learning."   

You make some good points that may have to be addressed by the FHSAA. This presents multiple concerns for some players and their parents, especially for those that opted for in-classroom study. For younger players, the question is can they play both Fall (varsity) and Spring (JV). What would happen to the old Spring football; would the FR/JV season run concurrent with varsity Spring practice? This could be detrimental to 10th graders competing for starting varsity positions in the Fall of 2021. Would the FR/JV seasons be severely limited to a number of games? 

My youngest grandson is a sophomore QB competing with two junior transfers for the varsity QB position. He has no desire to play JV football this Fall and is fully committed to playing varsity, especially since he has grown from 5'5" to 6'0" and put on 40 pounds of muscle since last season.  When you have lifted weights and trained for the past 9 months for a Fall varsity season, you don't want to be told to wait for Spring JV. Then, if you're forced to play JV in the Spring, does that lessen your chances for a starting varsity spot in the Fall if your competition is training at the same time with the varsity in the Spring. Monday's varsity tryouts in Orange County will be interesting.

[Perspective]

Good luck to your grandson.   That's quite a growth spurt! 

[HornetFan]

1 minute ago, Perspective said:

Good luck to your grandson.   That's quite a growth spurt! 

Thanks. His older brother (12th grade) is 6'4", 215 pounds; plays TE and DE for Winter Park. Based upon his bone density and projected growth rate, the younger one's doctor said he could be 6'4" or 6'5" within the next year or so; supposedly he has about three years of bone growth left. Somehow they determine that by measuring bone growth in their hands; way beyond me. That type of growth spurt runs in the family though. His mom grew about 7 inches to 5'11" when she was in 10th grade, and his older brother grew almost 10 inches in the last 15 months.

[Pipe Dreams]

I wonder if there will be a varsity roster cutoff #. 

[HornetFan]

18 hours ago, Pipe Dreams said:

I wonder if there will be a varsity roster cutoff #. 

I'll know more this evening after they complete their varsity tryouts and name those who are on the varsity team. I suspect there will be very few surprises. Last year's varsity and the upper class transfers should not be in question. It probably comes down to a handful of JV players on which they have to decide. The head coach on Friday told my youngest grandson that he will be wearing #13 this Fall, so he's not concerned. Winter Park usually has around 50 kids on varsity each season. I expect they would carry a few more just in case they lose a few during the season for a couple of weeks to virus related quarantine.

[Peter]

I was just wondering if anyone has heard anything about when JV practice should begin for the 2021 winter season?

[HornetFan]

On 1/3/2021 at 9:01 PM, Peter said:

I was just wondering if anyone has heard anything about when JV practice should begin for the 2021 winter season?

I haven't heard anything in the past few months about a freshman or JV season for the 20-21 school year. When everything was in doubt about Fall football, Orange County decided to go with varsity in the Fall and possibly FR and JV in the Winter/Spring. As the varsity system played out, many JV kids gained some varsity experience and I think the idea of a Winter season disappeared. I think a lot of 9th and 10th graders lost out on playing time because of the uncertainty.