Bearcat Dad

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.

The baseball draft receives no media attention because the media is not showing the players in college or high school. Most people already know who the NBA draftees and NFL draftees are before they are drafted. Almost no one knows who the baseball players are.

Baseball has a bigger issue.

VHSL Athletics Retweeted
CoachTube.com‏Verified account @thecoachtube U.S. High School Sports Participation History 1970-2018   https://coachtube.com/youth-coaching/articles/sports-participation-rate-barchart …     @NFHS_Org   great state

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.

Confirmed today 
 

It was at Target I think

^This. Until recently, with the exception of '00 & '01 and '86 & '87, Marion hasn't been consistently relevant since the mid-70s, and quite frankly for the bulk of the time from around '75 to the late '00s they were flat out bad. So bad that most folks on this board probably don't know Marion as being anything more than a historical tune-up game. 
Even now, I think the best profile that they could expect would be a "respectable program." But that's not a knock, because if you're in 2A and not named Giles, Graham, Richlands, Union, or Gate City, I think that being a "respectable program" is about as high of an echelon as you can reach.

Theres actually a card game version of Oregon Trail. It was everything I could do not to buy it lol

From what I’m hearing, that’s exactly what he’s doing. That’s the style I played with, so of course they’re my favorite.

I LOVED Pitfall! Q-bert was another favorite of mine. I hated that damn snake!
The game was actually called Oregon Trail. It was the first popular desktop computer game that I was introduced to in my library class in elementary school. My parents could never afford a computer back then, so the only time I was able to play it was at school.
Oregon Trail has developed a cult following in recent years. I’ve actually seen kids wearing t-shirts today with the old-school green computer graphics of the big covered wagon with the infamous slogan “You have died of dysentery” captioned underneath.
The object of the game was to take your family on a winter-long trip on the Oregon Trail, to relocate from whatever town you were living in at the time. At the beginning of the game, you could choose your character’s strengths, like being an efficient hunter, or being good with tools, or good at bartering. 
During your journey, a million different things could go wrong to slow you down, like one of your oxen dying that’s pulling the wagon, or your wagon could be attacked and your food and few personal items stolen, or an axel or wheel on your wagon could break. The longer it took you to reach your destination, the more likely it was that bad things would happen to you and your group, like hunger, pneumonia, and the most popular, dysentery lol.
For the time, it was so much fun. I’ve seen a few recent mobile versions of the game, but the ones I tried just never compared.

So the coaches have to cut out the ear hole & the snaps? No, thanks. They look great, though. 
 
I got $5 for Christ if he’d go back to the Michigan style Va High look. 

Pitfall was the bomb. What game was about the Oregon trail? I’m sure I would’ve remembered a game where you died from drinking stagnant water.

I didn’t really believe your earlier post was exactly directed at me, but since I did mention parks, gyms, and fields, I just wanted to clarify what I meant by what I’ve personally seen with kids over the last two decades, because I do respect your opinion on other topics I’ve seen you post on over the last few years.
I agree with your last statement wholeheartedly! I know personally, because as a teenager that was a decent athlete, I was part of the problem in my day. I got away with murder, along with a lot of my teammates, back in our day.
My claim to fame as an athlete at VHS, aside from being an average D2 football player, I became Virginia High’s first ever athlete to be banned from a sport/team because of the then new state rule that athletes had to maintain a 2.0 GPA to play sports. My terrible GPA had nothing to do with lack of intelligence, but I preferred playing ball, getting drunk, and chasing skirt to actually doing my homework. When the news broke, I actually went to my teachers in a last ditch attempt to get make-up work, to reach the 2.0. Looking back, the worst part about that experience was that I had teachers that played along! My Algebra 2 teacher let me retake my first semester exam, with the answer key right next to me!
I was not able to do enough to reach the 2.0, so I had to sit out baseball season my junior year, in the Spring of 96. That season just so happened to be the last state title that VHS won, before the 2014 team ended the school’s longest title drought since the early 80’s. That experience scarred me for life.
I swore that I would do whatever I could to ever keep my kids from going through that themselves. Now, the good Lord did bless both of my kids with a little bit of athletic ability, that did allow them to earn money for college, but they can attest to the fact that their mother and I have preached the importance of “academics first”.
The “Good Ole Boy” system is an epidemic that unfortunately, isn’t going anywhere soon. I believe that stems from society’s view of professional athletes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sports nut, but way too much importance is placed there.

I didn’t really believe your earlier post was exactly directed at me, but since I did mention parks, gyms, and fields, I just wanted to clarify what I meant by what I’ve personally seen with kids over the last two decades, because I do respect your opinion on other topics I’ve seen you post on over the last few years.
I agree with your last statement wholeheartedly! I know personally, because as a teenager that was a decent athlete, I was part of the problem in my day. I got away with murder, along with a lot of my teammates, back in our day.
My claim to fame as an athlete at VHS, aside from being an average D2 football player, I became Virginia High’s first ever athlete to be banned from a sport/team because of the then new state rule that athletes had to maintain a 2.0 GPA to play sports. My terrible GPA had nothing to do with lack of intelligence, but I preferred playing ball, getting drunk, and chasing skirt to actually doing my homework. When the news broke, I actually went to my teachers in a last ditch attempt to get make-up work, to reach the 2.0. Looking back, the worst part about that experience was that I had teachers that played along! My Algebra 2 teacher let me retake my first semester exam, with the answer key right next to me!
I was not able to do enough to reach the 2.0, so I had to sit out baseball season my junior year, in the Spring of 96. That season just so happened to be the last state title that VHS won, before the 2014 team ended the school’s longest title drought since the early 80’s. That experience scarred me for life.
I swore that I would do whatever I could to ever keep my kids from going through that themselves. Now, the good Lord did bless both of my kids with a little bit of athletic ability, that did allow them to earn money for college, but they can attest to the fact that their mother and I have preached the importance of “academics first”.
The “Good Ole Boy” system is an epidemic that unfortunately, isn’t going anywhere soon. I believe that stems from society’s view of professional athletes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sports nut, but way too much importance is placed there.

I wasn't pointing specifically toward you with my comments.  It was intended to be more of a blanket statement supporting my daughter.  Her STEM camps thus far have been Wake Forest, Emory University, and Johns Hopkins.  If she chooses to attend next summer, it will likely be Stanford.  Her disgust with athletics as a whole comes almost exclusively from her experiences within her school system.  The issues that lead to her disgust are far more frequent than they should be.  Especially at Galax where the rules don't apply to athletes until local law enforcement is forced to get involved. Those same issues have lead to a 20% average yearly turnover rate for school system staff.  From where I sit, lack of quality leadership and a "good ole boy" system prevail at Galax!   
I agree completely with the assertion that many, many factors contribute to kids not playing sports.  But my larger point is, it should also be viewed from the opposite direction.  How does the negativity that often surrounds athletics affect academics?  I would make the argument, much more than we stop to consider!  

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!

It's too expensive. That has something to do with it, too. 
I'm the step-parent of a 5 year old who is heading to kindergarten in WashCo next month. He hasn't played any sports yet. Part of that comes from the split household lifestyle he lives. Another part is the expense of playing. I know that from my band career, my family shelled out over $6k for me to have a good instrument, to go on the trips to the Cotton Bowl, NYC/Philly Thanksgiving Parade, Governors Parade, to go to the competitions each week in the fall, the other activities that require money. It's expensive, and this region doesn't have the jobs to support it as much any more. It is what it is, but I think a big problem in SWVA is that we as a region are starting to get to where sports and extracurricular's are breaking the bank for some. 
My wife and I are also expecting our first (and only) child. It's a boy. And while that thrills me, I'm not sure I'll let him play football. We've seen all too often lately what CTE does to a human. And the price of life is not worth it for a game, IMO. 

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.

Given my age, I fall square between Generation X and the Millennials (though technically I fall in the latter category, I have little in common with 1990s babies).  When I was 5, I had 13 channels on TV.  When I was 17, I could download 1000 songs per week off the Internet.  This is a prelude for what I’m about to say.
 
There’s a constant pining on this board for the good old days, when men were men; when every single boy played football; and when a succession of presidents with dreadful foreign policy had the U.S. embroiled in unwinnable wars.  In case y’all haven’t noticed, our population is on average roughly 25% less than what it was back then.  Since fewer of the remaining 75% are having babies than their ancestors (mostly because the young ones fled the region leaving the old ones behind), our schools are roughly 40% smaller than in the era of LSD and 8-tracks.  For schools like Pocahontas, that means closure.  For schools like Garden and Whitewood, that means consolidation.  For every 10 linemen you had in 1974, you have about 6 now.  What used to be depth now is simply having enough to play iron-man.
 
In addition, what most of the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers bemoan as “picking up a controller” is in reality becoming more oriented in STEM and electronics.  I hate to break this to anyone, but coal will never again be what it was in 1973.  Information technology (IT) is the backbone of our future economy.  The boys that used to bale hay and dig ditches in the summer, which lends itself to a sport like football, are now learning to code and program, which doesn’t lend itself.
 
Every generation has its lazy kids, and this generation has it in the exact same proportion as did the Baby Boomers and Generation X.  The kids who lay around smoking dope and play Fortnite today are the same kids who laid around smoking dope and playing guitar terribly in 1975.  There were probably more of them in 1975, because there were more people in general.  Far be it from me, though, to criticize the generations who gave us the pet rock and pension systems that irreparably leach the retirement funds of the younger generations to subsidize themselves.  It’s ALL because the kids of today are lazy and worthless.
 
The kids of today will be responsible for repairing the mess left behind by the generations who are criticizing their work ethic.  And I, for one, am not going to ride them like Seattle Slew, even if it means that we have fewer kids playing football.
 
Rant over.

A lot of truth has been shared on this thread, and I agree with most of what has been said, but one thing has been overlooked.  Kids use to want to "Be Like Mike", or whoever their sports hero was, and tried to emulate them on sandlots, outdoor basketball courts, cow pasture football fields, and anywhere a ball could be tossed around.  Today, they can set in air conditioning, sip on a soda, push buttons, move toggles, and become whoever they desire to be without sweating one drop.  How many kids do you see playing pick up games in the summertime. Instead they are picking up a controller.  Sad but true, we're creating a generation of lazy children who don't give a squat about playing sports and a lot of the players we see in high school sports are there because their parents have been there before them.  What is missing, or in decline, is a desire to "Be Like Mike" where it counts, putting in the time and effort, pouring out the sweat and using up the stored energy, not flopping on the couch with controller in hand, living in dreamland, believing they are going pro, screaming into headset, and all the while poised in front of a high def Xbox monitor.

Where you are missing the point is that all these kids are going DI or straight to the pros out of high school 😂. Same kids cant even dominate A or AA SWVA talent. 
I will say all the travel teams have taken the hometown pride out of local sports. That is a big part of it. There is no sense of commitment or loyalty to the community.   
PREACH!

Lebanon is the same way. Halls are filled with big guys who could play but won't as far as football is concerned. 

The Twin County area of Galax, Grayson and Carroll has become a retirement community for northerners who spend the winter in Florida and the summer in the mountains.  Especially Grayson County!  They retire from Michigan, New Jersey,  Massachusetts, Connecticut or New York, buy cheap land in this area and a condo in The Villages and divide their time between the two.
This has become so common here that the median age for this area is well over 10 years above the state median age.  Checking the online stats for 2017, the median age in Grayson County is 10 years higher than Norton and about 7 years higher than Wise, Dickenson and Russell.  Scott County is the only median age approaching Grayson's.  

The truth is, a lot of kids in SWVA are just plain old lazy.  They don't play sports or work.  They've learned from those older than them that they can do nothing and the Government will send them a check every month for doing nothing.  Lots of folks live that way and don't see anything wrong with it...they don't try to find a job because they don't want a job.  It's becoming hereditary.