SwvaOG

Connor Smith, punter from Ridgeview, committed to Arkansas.

who and where did he go
 

From videos I am seeing of 7 on 7s Richlands is going to be very dangerous offensively. The QB is chucking it to 2 really good WRs

WR Payton Jenkins (GC) -- Can't recall whether he's a junior or sophomore.  Pretty sure a junior.
 
Appears to have big bro Carson's electric speed/swiftness, and made some big downfield plays last year.  If plays develop soundly, and throws are on point, the epic potential is there.
 
 

I actually think this is a good compromise. They get three true home games at their place.  I think they rebounded pretty well.  If I'm Graham, I'm pushing for five home games in 2026 (whether they are Saturday or not) and then all five home games under the lights by 2027.  Once they get there, this will all be a blip.

I actually think this is a good compromise. They get three true home games at their place.  I think they rebounded pretty well.  If I'm Graham, I'm pushing for five home games in 2026 (whether they are Saturday or not) and then all five home games under the lights by 2027.  Once they get there, this will all be a blip.

Max Simpson - Bluefield QB has received his first D1 offer from ETSU.

There are some major hurdles for this region:
Obviously low population density and long commute The majority of the region's children are economically disadvantaged, there just isn't a lot of money here Virginia doesn't allow home-schooled children to participate in VHSL activities.  This is a strong arm tactic to force parents to send their kids to state schools. Several other states allow home-schooled children to play state sports and some states will do a hybrid model where the student must at least enroll/participant in a few classes in order to earn sports eligibility.

There are some major hurdles for this region:
Obviously low population density and long commute The majority of the region's children are economically disadvantaged, there just isn't a lot of money here Virginia doesn't allow home-schooled children to participate in VHSL activities.  This is a strong arm tactic to force parents to send their kids to state schools. Several other states allow home-schooled children to play state sports and some states will do a hybrid model where the student must at least enroll/participant in a few classes in order to earn sports eligibility.

Connor Smith, punter from Ridgeview, committed to Arkansas.

Apparently Southern Gap (Buchanan County) went 6-1 at the 7 on 7 in Princeton and also won the linemen competition.

I think that was their Middle School teams in middle school competition 

RV was badly out coached.  I felt bad for those kids. They had more than enough talent to win it all. 

Yes.  Often people think of it as “It’s just one kid”.  But, take Beavers for instance, looking at an old article he was listed as All Region as a WR, DB, P and PR.  That’s four positions.  At this level, especially 1A, one or two transfers can really change a team. Not so much as you get to 4A or above.

The 2022 Graham team lost a tremendous amount of talent from kids that transferred out prior to high school. Will Helmadollar moved to Georgia, he's now at South Carolina. Layth Ghanam moved to WV and is now at Tech. The Jollay twins were key players helping a George Wythe team make it to state their senior year. 

It absolutely sucks the motivation out of good kids......and good parents.  I've watched over the past 5-6 years.  When I moved back to the region I faced it head on and wasn't prepared for how extensive it is.  I had coached with absolute professional and highly experienced youth coaches in Georgia and Florida.  I was brought up in coaching outside of the region and some of the tenants that were drilled into me were: become certified in your sport, have open and fair tryouts and share your evaluation criteria with parents/kids, always be teaching (ABT), be consistent, use skill and body type to determine positions, ABSOLUTELY NO PREDETERMINED STARTERS and open dialogue with parents about playing time (proactively manage expectations).   Well....was I shocked.  Every other coach that I coached with had a kid on the team and required their kid be in a "skill position" (Have you ever noticed there are no problems with the OL/DL's parents....always the WR/RB/QB, shortstops, and pitchers).  At least 50% of the time their child had no business being in that position.  At one point, I had to step away from all of it as I bumped heads with a coach that would consistently pencil in their kid into a starting position where I had the kid honestly rated as the 5th best option for that position.  I couldn't justify not playing talented kids whose dads didn't happen to be too involved in the community sports scene. 
This continues on to the varsity level as well.  Certain kids get to "pick" their starting positions.  I recently watched a practice where a kid was practicing at a position that he simply didn't have the knowledge, foot speed, nor change of direction speed to play.  I counted at least three...probably four kids that were better suited to the position. I have zero doubt that he will be the starter at that position because of his familial connections. 

VHS’s QB will be a junior I think

Graham needs their own place.  They have the chance to make a cozy, right-sized stadium and have it be theirs.  The hell with Mitchell.....I always hated playing there....just didn't feel right....like a neutral game.  They can make it work using Tazewell's field, especially if they will consider the occasional Thursday game. If I'm Tony and I have a "gimme" game I'd consider a Thursday night game.
They could get Graham's field serviceable fairly quickly in terms of brining in some bleachers and a couple of food trucks and portable restrooms. 

I think several teams use 7v7 more for their defense than offense.  Honestly, if you really think about it...7v7 is the only time the back seven can really focus on coverages and reads.  This may honestly be Union's primary focus.  Obviously, letting the WRs and QB get on the same page is a key benefit but I think too many people focus on the offensive side of this. I can tell you that I watched RV vs Graham in 7v7 several years ago over at Honaker ...before they met in the Region Championship..2021.  Dennis Palmer was extremely active on the field.  RV had those good WRs and one them burnt Bradshaw and the CB for a couple of TDs and Palmer was livid and was using every bit of that time to very actively coach up his DBs.  Snake was pissed! 

Graham needs their own place.  They have the chance to make a cozy, right-sized stadium and have it be theirs.  The hell with Mitchell.....I always hated playing there....just didn't feel right....like a neutral game.  They can make it work using Tazewell's field, especially if they will consider the occasional Thursday game. If I'm Tony and I have a "gimme" game I'd consider a Thursday night game.
They could get Graham's field serviceable fairly quickly in terms of brining in some bleachers and a couple of food trucks and portable restrooms. 

The field is completed and looks great!  Track looks great as well.  Just need bleachers.  Heck I’ll cook hotdogs on a grill for folks if someone would help!   

Graham needs their own place.  They have the chance to make a cozy, right-sized stadium and have it be theirs.  The hell with Mitchell.....I always hated playing there....just didn't feel right....like a neutral game.  They can make it work using Tazewell's field, especially if they will consider the occasional Thursday game. If I'm Tony and I have a "gimme" game I'd consider a Thursday night game.
They could get Graham's field serviceable fairly quickly in terms of brining in some bleachers and a couple of food trucks and portable restrooms. 

The Mountain 7 District is brutal in most sports, and softball was no exception. Teams spend their seasons beating up on each other, and you think one team is not very good when they lose, but when it comes region tournament time the M7 usually has at least 3 of the 4 best teams. That's not to say the SWD doesn't have any good teams, they just don't have as many.

I think the region as a whole will shift back a bit more toward the run.  It feels like the passing attacks have stepped back a bit with Tazewell changing offenses and losing a four year starter, Honaker changing coaches again and RV losing their four year starter and changing coaches.  Outside of Tazewell, I don't think people realize that those "pass happy" offenses of the past several years were only throwing the ball about 35% of the time.....not exactly Air Raid. For this region and talent level, I still like a more pro-style, play action based offense that throws it about 25-30% of the time. Think the Detroit Lions....great running game with an excellent play action passing game off that running game. 

Should be some 7 on 7s coming up…anyone know for sure where. I know E & H , VT, possibly Honaker , maybe Eastside, George Wythe????
 I heard Richlands & Graham have done some between themselves. I wish one of the Tazewell Co. schools would host a one with several schools but I realize it a lot to probably get together.