Mountain Football

Update: Tazewell had a skid steer show up at the field this week. It still hasn’t done anything, but it’s there. Still no work started. 

So, while I was on vacation, my wife and I considered going to opening day in Chicago for the White Sox and Tigers.  Could have got tickets fairly cheap but the outrageous amount for parking was what made us decide against it.  Glad we didn't go now.
Tigers won 1-0.  I would have been bored out of my mind watching a 1-0 baseball game, especially with the one run not coming from a home run.  
I imagine folks got bored out of their minds who watched that VT and Wake football game several years ago be scoreless in regulation.
I also get bored watching a 0-0 draw in soccer.  How do you feel @EH31 and @Ryan4VT watching a scoreless draw unfold?
 

I understand a portion of it was sent to McDowell County, WV, as a token of thanks for all the memories created.

Call me sentimental, but I miss the grass field. 
Now, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for upkeep, but I wholeheartedly believe that natural grass results in fewer injuries. I occasionally miss the dealing with the elements when a team that relies on power suddenly has an advantage when it comes to rain, snow, and mud.

Gofundme charges a pretty standard 2.9% for the credit card transaction plus $0.30 cents. 
 
example: If you donate $100 to a Gofundme campaign then the recipient would get $96.80.
As crowdsourcing goes, they are one of the lowest when it comes to fees.  
They obviously net a lot of money for theirselves because of the volume they receive being #1 in the industry but that is a trade off you take for using a well known & safe platform. 
 
If you can donate at First Sentinel bank  then I would encourage that but if you can’t make it then I’d also encourage to use the Gofundme. They can use all the help they can get right now. 
 
 

Grim news this morning seeing that prolific kicking coach Doug Blevins has passed. Heard they found cancer on him too late.
He is the second coaching legend with local ties to pass this week. 
Tony Colobro passed earlier this week as well. Coach Colobro had his hand on a number of programs, both high school and collegiate and was a tremendous man.
RIP to these two great men.

Thats because you have been watching Tazewell football all these years.😂
*I'm just picking but couldn't pass it up lol

Thats because you have been watching Tazewell football all these years.😂
*I'm just picking but couldn't pass it up lol

Thats because you have been watching Tazewell football all these years.😂
*I'm just picking but couldn't pass it up lol

Thats because you have been watching Tazewell football all these years.😂
*I'm just picking but couldn't pass it up lol

Thats because you have been watching Tazewell football all these years.😂
*I'm just picking but couldn't pass it up lol

Thats because you have been watching Tazewell football all these years.😂
*I'm just picking but couldn't pass it up lol

Thats because you have been watching Tazewell football all these years.😂
*I'm just picking but couldn't pass it up lol

Thats because you have been watching Tazewell football all these years.😂
*I'm just picking but couldn't pass it up lol

This recipe can be made spicy by mixing in one fan base speaking a language the other doesn’t understand. 

SWVA SOCCER RECIPE
Ingredients: 
1-22 Unskilled and overly aggressive players
2 Woefully ignorant, yet vocal fan bases
1-2 Obnoxious coaching staffs
1-3 Incompetent officials
Instructions:
Mix thoroughly and place both fan bases on the same side of the field for 90 minutes.
Watch from a safe distance and ENJOY!
 
 

And at ZERO times did I write that you couldn't complain.  It's your choice.  I've also complained.  We all have opinions.  I just wrote.....that in my opinion.....it's a bit unfair if someone all of a sudden starts doing their complaining AFTER the game is played.....AFTER Va High chose to play the game and that In My Opinion, it's a bad take.  That's all I wrote.
I will write this again.  For fans of teams that make it to the state title or play JM in regular season, it's one thing as to whether you have a say so in playing them.  Most fans certainly don't have any say so.  But if you are an administrator or have some kind of influence on whether your team can play them or not,  then you are just as guilty as JM is.....again....in my opinion.  We all know that what is going on is unfair, or at least 90% of people likely hold that view.  If it's unfair, then DO SOMETHING about .  Stop playing them.  Stop it with the narcissism and rationalization by claiming, "we can't take this opportunity away for our kids" which is something cloaked in narcissism and a hint that the team that plays JM would do EXACTLY the same thing JM is doing if they were in that situation.  Here's the sad part......90% of schools WOULD do the same thing.  That's the sickening part.  My post isn't directed to you personally Observer.  I respect your opinion and you complain any time you choose as to each is their own, but I'm making the general complaint point for basically anyone that has influence, an admin or coach that has the ability to not play them.......should not play them.

I don’t know the landscape of WV football but I do know they have a great coach! Coach Taylor is absolutely a class act. He cares about the kids and does a great job spreading the word which is something that is lost in this day and age of high school sports. What other coach would wear a shirt with a bible verse on in during the playoffs instead of the school colors! That tells me that he care more about what happens in these kids life’s long after that clock hits zero of that last game. I would want my son to play for a guy like that over a coach that wins multiple state championship but the kids get nothing out of it. Princeton will be winners as long as he is heading up that program regardless of what their record is. 

I think he was referring to the tweet not what you said.

Who wants butter on their popcorn?

I think he was referring to the tweet not what you said.

There is more to it with Jennings going to Princeton in my opinion. The Div 1 looks are already there right now at Graham. He's already in the recruiting realm and we'll entrenched into Div 1 programs radars. I think this might be related to a more personal, school thing. You don't announce in the middle of a school year that you are making a decision to go to a nearby school. You do that at the end of a year. 90 plus percent of the time, that announcement on social media would have a strong Emotional component. A strong emotional component along with the time of the announcement (middle of the school yr and not the end of the school yr) leads one to believe that there has been some type of event, a one or two time event related to school that quickly and emotionally led to that announcement. This is my opinion. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.

Brother Lance. Uncle Percy says it’s about time to shutdown these topic and lock it away. The critics have expounded their thoughts and concerns. The “experts” have voiced their “expert” opinions. The head coach has been discussed, asst coaches’ names have been tossed around along with discussions on “recruiting” and other topics. As always, when it comes to Richlands, The Mayor of the Trailer Park has made the most sense. However, after 25 pages, 614 comments and 51k views Uncle Percy just laughs. He said “Out of this commenting there’s no Paul Harveys that know the rest of the story”.  Mayor, Uncle Percy says you’re probably the closest. See folks, Uncle Percy knows something the rest of us don’t and he’s not talking. He won’t even tell Cousin Claude and they both belong to one of those secret societies with about 13 - 15 handshakes and upteem pass words. So Bother Lance, Uncle Percy says if these people haven’t figured it out yet, they probably never will, except maybe the Mayor. So lock her down and turn out the lights as Dandy Don used to sing.

In my opinion, HS athletics is going to resemble Club Sports and/or Intermural Sports at the college level within the next few decades. The schools will provide space for the students to compete but nothing more, including coaches. Students will be responsible for paying their own freight and volunteers will coach. The competition level we have grown to expect at the high school level will transition to AAU type programs. High school athletics as we know them will be akin to what you see at your local recreation department.
That's my opinion but I think the evidence shows, we're already headed in that direction. I will use golf and tennis as an example of what football, basketball, baseball might resemble. Golf and tennis have almost exclusively moved over to the junior circuit similar to AAU over the past 30 years. Nobody in golf or tennis is recruited from the high school level to play in college. Recruiters go to USGA, AJGA, and USTA events. Not high school tournaments. 
It may take more than 10 years to fully get to that level but I think, in 10 years, we will have a much clearer picture of where we're headed.
Edit to add: When thinking about this, take yourself and everyone in your generation out of the equation. Try to think in terms of how young people think. They are the ones that will be in charge of these decisions a decade or two down the road. I don't like it but it is what it is. 

My daughter has 67 credit hours completed, taking 17 credit hours currently, and is in her second semester of college. She'll have 84 credit hours completed at the end of her first year of college.