Bearcat Dad

I understand completely. Aaron has played all up and down the east coast in travel baseball. It’s no exaggeration that if I added up all the money we’ve spent just with his travel baseball, I could have paid cash for my house. My wife was in the band, and like you, she traveled everywhere including to London to play for the queen. I can remember their tireless efforts in fundraising and that was over 20 years ago. We see the band parents working concession stands at all of the athletic events, among the many other things they’re doing to raise money. I can’t imagine how expensive it is today compared to when I was growing up. I feel bad for being late, but congratulations on the upcoming baby boy, my friend!

@UVAObserver you and @sixcat are two of the posters I respect the most here. With that said, I have to respectfully disagree with the point that you guys are trying to make about the importance of a future in technology, being a big reason kids aren’t playing football. I will do some research on SWVA numbers as a whole, but I can speak for Bristol. @Blue 72 described what Bristol is suffering from, perfectly in his post. The fact of the matter is, yes, technology is more important now, than ever before. With that said, there is way more than the sport of football that is suffering from low participation numbers. Nearly all youth sports programs in Bristol are on the decline because of lack of participation. Also, extracurricular activities such as band, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other wonderful programs are suffering locally. Local parks, ball fields, playgrounds, etc. that were once littered with playing children on evenings, weekends and usually every day during summer break, are empty on a daily basis, unless being manned by one of the few remaining organized sports teams. I do understand that population has an affect on the numbers, but I will share this link with you to use VHS as an example that enrollment has not really changed at VHS for a very long time. The DOE website would only go back to the 03-04 school year, but I can attest to the fact that these are nearly the same enrollment numbers dating back much farther, as I am a member of the class of 97 at VHS. https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/apex/f?p=180:1:6370136481561:SHOW_REPORT:NO::: The point I’m trying to make is that going back 3 decades(roughly) the enrollment at VHS has stayed virtually the same, yet student participation in sports is at an all time low, along with the fact that our Parks and Rec sports league that goes back over 40 years, is now non existent. Couple those facts, with empty parks and fields, with declining numbers in clubs/groups/organizations that require physicality, and the fact that the video game industry is a billion dollar conglomerate worldwide, shows that the world of indoor playing(so to speak) has progressively been replacing the times of going outside and being physically active. I’m definitely not trying to say that you were wrong in what you said, and in certain areas in SWVA, your point holds true. I’m just not in agreement mostly with your quote...... “Every generation has its lazy kids, and this generation has it in the exact same proportion as did the Baby Boomers and Generation X.” Of course, every generation has lazy kids, but laziness is definitely progressing by generation, and it’s not just on the level of sports where this can be clearly seen. I am however in complete agreement that, unfortunately, coal will never be what it once was. I would also like to add, at least for our area, farming and manufacturing are on the decline as well.

It really is a shame. I can remember when I was at VHS in the early to mid 90s, we had 3rd string players at a lot of positions, without having to reach into the JV pool. In baseball, coaches had to cut twice as many kids than the amount that ended up on the rosters. VHS, along with most SWVA schools, may never see those days again!

Unfortunately, when a team has fewer than 30 players dress out, and 10-15 of those kids are JV players, there are quite a few two-way players. That was the case for VHS in 2018. Their two way seniors were good football players, hence why even though they were 5-5 in the regular season, they were within one score and possession of the ball late in the game against the best team Tn. High has had in many years. It’s why it took a last second defensive stand for Abingdon to escape with a 14-10(or so) win when the next two weeks that same Abingdon team went on to score 70 combined points in two wins against Union and Ridgeview. It’s also why they were within one score and had possession of the ball in the 3rd quarter against Graham in the playoffs, when the Bearcats had a kid playing QB, that had never played that position in his entire life. The talent was there in their few seniors, but as you correctly stated, and as did I in the “numbers” thread, they were gassed because of a very small roster. Tazewell went through the same thing two years ago and the poor numbers, combined with youth, allowed them to get their teeth kicked in nearly every week.

One of the best football players in SWVA that very, very few will talk about is the Moss kid from Marion. Very few will talk about him because he doesn’t touch the football (unless he destroys the ballcarrier and causes and recovers a fumble). The Bearcats have played Marion 3 times in the last 2 seasons, and every time I’ve watched him, he has impressed me very much. If I’m not mistaken, he has already been voted All-Region twice in football, and he is an absolute stud in the heavyweight division on the wrestling mat. My son graduated VHS this spring with multiple scholarship offers in two sports. He has been mentioned by many associated with VHS football over the years(not me) as one of the best two-way football players from VHS in a long time. He played against the likes of James Mitchell, Taymon Cooke, Cam Allen, John-Luke Asbury, Jake Sturgill, Matthew Fulton, Javon Scruggs, DeVon Graves, Landon Lowe, Seth Johnson, Jeb Stidham, Cody Howie, Hunter Collier, Greg Sanchez, Logan Branson, Courtland Carter, Ryan Gibson, Lane Scarborough, and many others, and he says that Moss is one of the baddest MFers he’s ever lined up against. Film proves that to be true. Just like my kid and the Stanley kid from Lebanon last year, Moss plays at a school that is mostly an afterthought in football in our region. This usually means that the standout players get very little recognition by the casual fan. A big difference between the first set of names I mentioned and kids like Moss, are that the first group of kids played on really good teams. All of those kids in the first group were/are uber talented, but nearly all of those kids did not have to shoulder a huge majority of the load of responsibility for their respective teams, except for maybe Scarborough at Battle and Collier at Gate City. Hell, just about all of the guys in the first group have a teammate mentioned in that group. Those kids in the first group also had other really, really good teammates that I didn’t even mention, and most had top notch coaches as well.

Bristol has become nothing short of a retirement community as well. With once thriving industrial parks becoming little more than ghost towns, young families have no choice but to move away from the area to find work that pays good enough to raise their children. At least we are working hard to become the retail capital of SWVA! (Sarcasm) Even a respectable profession like education, is in a horrible state in SWVA. Teachers are grossly underpaid compared to the rest of the state and because of issues like declining population, cities like Bristol do not want to build new schools, they just want to slap band-aids on their decrepit old schools and build fancy shopping centers in hopes of mirroring our Tennessee brethren. We do have a superintendent that is fighting very hard to help the kids in Bristol, but as we all know, the powers that be in Richmond usually forget that the state does extend west past Roanoke. Both of my kids have expressed interest in leaving the area when they receive their degrees. I hate it, but I can’t say I blame them.

Bingo! I can speak for VHS, on the fact that the school’s halls are crawling with big, athletic kids, that do not participate in ANY sports. These same kids will attend games, badmouth the teams when they lose, but when confronted on why they’re not playing, will give a BS excuse, every time. Ive spent a total of 16 years coaching youth sports here in Bristol. Some of those years were well before my kids, who are both now college athletes, ever picked up a ball. I’ve witnessed first hand, the progression of laziness in kids who are now in their late 20s-early 30s, to the kids now in high school or are just entering the adult world. Both the VHS football and baseball teams suffered greatly this past year because of low numbers, due mostly to kids that played youth sports, being too lazy to put in the work required at the high school level. Mark my words, our region will see an all-time low in numbers and success for VHS sports across the board, this upcoming school year. It’s sad, but true.

If you need a baseball fix, come to Tn. High today at 5:30 and support some of SWVA’s top seniors, as they play one last high school game against seniors from Tennessee.

Virginia High has a true chance to only win 2-3 games. They have a great group of assistant coaches and a couple of good, young athletes, but they are a couple of years away from trying to be competitive again. Eighth graders had to try and carry their JV team last year, and unless a kid is a D1 or high level D2 talent, freshmen tend to take lumps at the varsity level, especially with the schedule that VHS has had the last couple of years. Numbers will be a problem again and they won’t have that same core of seniors having to carry the load, despite all of the in-house cards being stacked against them. Region 2D should be Graham’s play thing again this year. Tazewell, Ridgeview, Union, Richlands, and Wise Central will be the 2nd tier teams. Battle and Gate City would round out my top 8. Marion, Lee, Lebanon, and VHS will be at the bottom looking up.

Unfortunately for VHS, Bristol is trending in a different direction. This year’s starting lineup is talented and experienced, but they generally only dress 12-13 kids per game. A couple of which, have to change into a varsity uniform, immediately after their JV game ends, just so we have some bodies. People have been fooled by the 11-8 record of VHS on the season. Injuries ravaged the team in the first half of the season. Our two-time All-State 1st baseman missed 5 games due to a hamstring injury. Our #2 pitcher, and regular SS has dealt with herniated disks in his back all season. Our 3 year starter at 2nd base, as a baserunner getting a lead from third base, took a foul ball on the ankle from a near 100 MPH exit velocity line drive, and was hobbled for a bit. Our utility outfielder that plays both LF and RF depending on who is pitching, who is 6’5 and the fastest kid on a team with great team speed, would be a valuable asset to the pitching rotation but has dealt with shoulder issues all year. The Bearcats are the healthiest they have been all season and are winning games. The Bearcats have lost 8 games, but not a single one has been a “bad loss”, so to speak. Their losses are..... Three hard fought losses at Myrtle Beach, an extra inning loss to JSB to one of the area’s top pitchers, two losses to a very solid 18-2 Abingdon team, where the Bearcats led in the 5th inning in both games, an extra inning loss to a stacked team from Ohio, that beat Abingdon, in the FCA tournament where the Bearcats blew a five run, 7th inning lead when two of our starters went down with injuries, and a 3-0 loss to potentially one of the best pitchers this area has seen in decades, from a (previously) one-loss Lebanon team. The beautiful thing about all of this, is we are talking about playoff, high school baseball. You never know what to expect at this time of the year. I’m glad that Graham’s baseball feeder system is doing well. I hope to see this for other schools in the region, too. I’m just afraid that is not the case in the immediate future in Bristol.

That’s exactly how I understand the scenario to be. Yeah, Marion has had a rough year. Graham should win that one in 5. Richlands/Tazewell is much tougher to call. Richlands has the offensive advantage but I liked what I saw out of Tazewell’s ace when he threw against VHS, a few weeks ago. I give Graham a good chance to play with anyone in the M7 in the Region tournament, outside of playing Battle with Moore on the mound. I’ve seen Battle twice, Union once, and watched Wise Central play Battle. The G-Men are a scrappy bunch that can beat you if you overlook them.

At last check, Tazewell was ahead of Graham, but barely. I believe that with a Graham win and Tazewell loss in the opening round of the district tournament, coupled with points Graham would receive with either a win or loss in the second round, would be enough for Graham to secure a spot in the region tournament. I really believe that Graham is much better this year than the previous three years that my son has played against them. They played us very tough in our last matchup. If they do indeed secure the 4 seed, they will be a tough out for Battle, especially if Moore doesn’t pitch for JSB.

It looks like this is probably going to happen in baseball this year. Even though GC finished 3rd, I believe, in their district, they pulled a huge upset at the end of their regular season and received a huge point amount for playing to a tie with Carroll County. Had VHS not beat Lebanon last night, mathematically speaking, GC could have finished as high as the 2 seed. I believe with the VHS win, the highest GC can finish now is 3.

Bearcats win a barn burner 8-7. Great game with multiple lead changes. Tiebreaker will be Saturday at Abingdon @1:00. Rematch from Tuesday night. Both team’s aces are eligible. Should be another fun one!

I can only answer for baseball. If I understand correctly, winning the regular season guarantees the #1 seed for each side of the region bracket. By default, JSB will be the 1 seed on one side of the bracket, while the winner of VHS/Lebanon series will be the 1 on the other side of the bracket. Lebanon won the first meeting 3-0 on Tuesday. They play again tonight and if VHS were to win, a one game playoff will be played to determine the district champ. Four teams from the M7 and 4 teams from the SWD will make up the 8 team Region tournament. In a similar situation to Abingdon, Grayson County, while in a 1A district, will be figured in to the SWD spots for the region, as they are still a 2A school. The SWD #1 plays the M7 #4, and so on and so on. Seeds 2-4 in the region will be determined by how teams do in their district tournament. Everything is based on a “Points” system. Every team gets points for a win, a loss, and a tie. The bigger the school you play, the more points you’re awarded. These points are tallied up after every game this year, including thru the district tournament. Regular season district champs earn the 1 seed, while points decide 2-4. I hope that helps.

Good deal. Thanks!

I was thinking Mabe as well, so I did a little research and his PG profile says he’s in the class of 2020.

Is this official?

I’m afraid I don’t know much about him, but if he’s signed with WV, that speaks volumes!

That may be a tough one outside of Dixon for VHS and Taylor at Abingdon. Outside of those two, most of the good pitchers in SWVA are underclassmen. EDIT: I forgot about Bailey for Union. If I’m not mistaken, he threw well in the FCA tournament at the beginning of the season when Union beat Boone. EDIT #2: If the Parker kid at Tazewell is a senior, he throws it pretty well too. The Tn. side is loaded with hitters! EDIT #3: Jeez, I forgot Moore at JSB as well.

I’m not touching the “who’s the best seniors” for the Bearcats with a 10 foot pole, but I will echo @Falcon Mania and say Tanner Barrs is the best hitter in SWVA and even if you add in NETN, he’s second only behind Gavin Cross for Tn. High. TJ Taylor is also a really, really good baseball player that can play multiple positions, very well. Trey Brown and the Cole kid for Richlands are good ball players too. (I think they’re both seniors.) Simmons is a really good player, but I’m not sure what year he is. Nate Bailey for Union is another good one I’ve seen this year. A few more I’ve seen do some good things this season are.... Moore (JSB) Osborne (Marion. Another one I’m not 100% sure of what grade he’s in) I can’t speak on the Graham kids yet. We haven’t played them, but we do play them twice this week.

They are definitely in the running with their ace on the mound. During the FCA tournament they were beat 11-1 and no-hit by Tn. High. This Lebanon team is eerily similar to their team from 3 years ago when they had Will Stamper as their ace. When he pitched they had a chance to beat anyone. They were a little different team when Stamper couldn’t pitch. This year’s Lebanon team has shown signs of this. They’ve played Battle 3 times. A dominating win with Buchanan on the mound. 2 close wins in the others. Im not taking away from them, they have talent, but just like most of last season, they’re a much different team when he’s not pitching. EDIT: What I meant by last year’s team was in their first matchup against VHS, Buchanan threw a no-no in a 2-0 win. The next game, VHS scores 11 runs in the first inning.

They haven played VHS yet. The game was rained out

It’s still a little early to tell about Virginia High. The Bearcats have yet to actually play a regular season game. So far their schedule has been..... Game 1) W vs. Union (FCA) Game 2) L vs. Licking Valley, OH (FCA) (Blew a 7 run, 7th inning lead) Game 3) L vs. Robert E. Lee Academy from SC (Mingo Bay Classic - Myrtle Beach) Game 4) L vs. Whitewater, GA (Mingo Bay Classic) Game 5) L vs. Dinwiddie, VA (Mingo Bay Classic) The Bearcats could have won all 4 games they have lost and definitely SHOULD have won 3 of those, but they didn’t. They had a very late start to the season, coupled with weather costing them the chance to play Lebanon earlier this week and now Graham has pulled out of tonight’s matchup because they have advanced in the tournament they are playing in. With the forecasted weather looking bad for their next scheduled game against Abingdon, there’s a chance they could enter the 3rd week of April having played only 5 games with none being regular season contests. It could make for a crazy last month of the season for VHS, but they have returned 7 starters from last year’s team that lost the State Championship game by one run, plus they got back one of their top guys that did not play last year, so we’ll see how things go. I’ve seen Union twice now and they should be in the mix late in 2A. Abingdon is off to a good start and they have a lot of young talent, plus a couple of very good seniors. Lebanon has the region’s top pitcher and can beat anyone when he’s on the mound.

Looks like VHS will FINALLY play their first game of the season, Friday @ 6:00, against the Union/Boone winner.