SwvaOG

Because most are from east of Roanoke and there is nothing to do in Wise.  I don’t want to sound racial but I think Wise especially being mostly a white town doesn’t help. 

The RV crew reminiscing about their Haysi football days gets old as well.  My pet peeve is complete lack of preparation and just winging it.  You should know about the other teams and who their star players are and what they want to do or are good at.

The RV crew reminiscing about their Haysi football days gets old as well.  My pet peeve is complete lack of preparation and just winging it.  You should know about the other teams and who their star players are and what they want to do or are good at.

I think Tazewells crew for HS crew is solid. They are the best in the coverage area that I've heard now that Jim Nelson of the Bluefield Beavers is retired.
Guys, can't expect to have the same or anything close for a High School crew compared to college. I LOVE it when HS crews are biased for their team. It's a good thing. It is what makes HS ball unique. There's no need to appease neutral or opposing fans.  Be biased as hel$. That's part of the fun. The radio crew at Tazewell doesn't owe Ridgeview fans a "neutral" broadcast and vice versa. 
Just my opinions

I knew someone could answer this question for certain and end any speculation! It’s hard to even think about going back to a place when one was treated the way he was after all those years he dedicated to Blue Tornado athletics. I’m glad he’ll be staying put! Best wishes to whomever takes over! I hope they can build the program back up! It benefits all the teams in our area when everyone is better! 

This is a very interesting take. My biggest concern with talent development trends in most sports is the way to early separation of the haves and have nots. Football especially is dependent upon physicality and way too many potential players are prevented from learning and developing due to injury, burnout, or negative experiences due to bad coaching or late maturity. Smaller teams with seemingly more equitable talent breeds more playing time and fewer blowouts.

I suffered my first concussion doing Oklahoma drill in little league, I was 11 and completely trucked the kid trying to tackle me.     My second one came my freshman year doing bull in the ring, going against my older brother who was a senior.  I tackled him but he was an All-State fullback and he knocked the living shit out of me.  My form was fine but physics came into play. The point being that proper tackling didn't play into either of these scenarios.   I probably didn't need to suffer the first concussion.  And, listen, my older brother was one of the baddest dudes to ever suit up in this region.  Absolutely fearless and played with ill-intent and is, to this day, still talked about by the old-heads.  I have no idea how many concussions he suffered but he is now 55 and his mental acuity has greatly diminished over the past 8-10 years.  Forgets what he is doing all the time, developed a brutal stuttering habit in the past 3-5 years or so.  I'm 100% certain football played a part in that and he suffers from CTE.
Not arguing the point for or against Marion but I've always said that there is no benefit for kids under 11 to play tackle football other than their dad's ego and glory. 

This is the trend outside of this area.  In the south you are seeing a proliferation of competitive flag football and Under Armor sponsors big tournaments and the participation numbers are high.  This is the counter to kids leaving football for soccer and other "safer" sports. The push is for less contact early on and I'm sure the science backs it up.  I've always said that an improperly ran little league will only drive kids away.  Throw in the fact that the majority of little leagues in the area are coached by dad's who kids are skill position players and the focus on safe and proper fundamentals has decreased because the focus is on "scheme plays to get my little Johnny four TDs".   When I coached we had to be certified and attended training classes through multiple organizations.  There is zero focus on that in the local youth leagues from what I've witnessed.  
To make matters worse a lot of the youth coaches never played and don't understand the mental side of the game.  They run kids off.  "Let's see if he is tough enough to stick it out."  Football is a fast, physical and intimidating game to young kids, many of who haven't grown into their bodies.  Coaches need to teach and mentor those kids and work to keep them in the fold. 
If I could, I'd pass a law tomorrow that requires all youth coaches to be trained and certified and only allow credentialed personnel on the field.  

I specifically asked Snake this question last year and his response, verbal and non- verbal, said he wasn’t interested in a return. 

I specifically asked Snake this question last year and his response, verbal and non- verbal, said he wasn’t interested in a return. 

I could see him at TE for sure,  but when they put him out wide, he's out of his element.  He's a banger, blocking and catching tough passes in traffic.  The way he's been used this season,  he'd been more beneficial at tackle. 

Usually the concussions are from the head hitting the ground.  I don't think people realize that "getting your bell rung" is often a mild concussion.  If a 10 year old hits an 8 year old, wraps him up and drives his hips on the tackle and there is no helmet-to-helmet (basically a text book tackle).  The 8 year old has a good chance of having the back of his helmet smack the field with enough force to move the brain inside the cranium. 

I don't think you can bring very many in because if the old guys are employed as teachers or inside school system its not like they are leaving their full-time jobs just because they don't coach anymore. You'd have to find a load of assistant coaches willing to move to a place and coach for a $2000 stipend or hope they get full time jobs. People always say clean house and bring in your own assistants but thats not really possible for most of SWVA jobs you are stuck with people who teach at the school or already work in the area.  It cannot be turned around quickly baring some influx or transfers or the ones who transferred out coming back because the JV and middle school teams had very little talent

Padded rooms coupled with flag football have virtually eliminated concussions here at the Institute. 

I
I've said this all year.  Region 2D is down this year but I've not followed the other regions enough to say 2D can't win it all.  Union has been the best team in 2D this year and I feel like they would have been the third best team last year. The individual talent is down, especially in the class of '24.  The class of '25 and '26 are shaping up to be good classes. 

This is the trend outside of this area.  In the south you are seeing a proliferation of competitive flag football and Under Armor sponsors big tournaments and the participation numbers are high.  This is the counter to kids leaving football for soccer and other "safer" sports. The push is for less contact early on and I'm sure the science backs it up.  I've always said that an improperly ran little league will only drive kids away.  Throw in the fact that the majority of little leagues in the area are coached by dad's who kids are skill position players and the focus on safe and proper fundamentals has decreased because the focus is on "scheme plays to get my little Johnny four TDs".   When I coached we had to be certified and attended training classes through multiple organizations.  There is zero focus on that in the local youth leagues from what I've witnessed.  
To make matters worse a lot of the youth coaches never played and don't understand the mental side of the game.  They run kids off.  "Let's see if he is tough enough to stick it out."  Football is a fast, physical and intimidating game to young kids, many of who haven't grown into their bodies.  Coaches need to teach and mentor those kids and work to keep them in the fold. 
If I could, I'd pass a law tomorrow that requires all youth coaches to be trained and certified and only allow credentialed personnel on the field.  

I think the following statement applies for most schools, maybe not all, but most.  If the issue is small town good ole boy politics, it's tough to change.  Even if a completely new regime is brought in, it is often impressive how the small town and good ole boy system engulfs the new regime.  This is Not always the case, but many times, it is the case.  It will take some changing not just among the New Staff, but it will require some change or "discomfort" in the local population-powers that be (whoever that is, Board, Principal, AD, etc) in order to be successful.  You see a guy like the former Galax Coach do wonders, but then he goes to Pulaski and still did pretty good, but tough resistance with the culture there that is just entrenched in 1993.  
Graham's Glynn Carlock comes to mind.  Carlock of course was an insider as part of the Graham system, but in a small way, somewhat of an outsider.  He lived in Bluefield, WV.  He had a little distance from the small town political stuff, maybe not much, but some, and of course, he had great leadership qualities.  He just wasn't going to allow the BS and had buy in.  Finding great leaders is tough man.  It ain't easy, but there are some out there that are special and you get the right one, and things can turn quickly.  Best wishes for the Blues

Only 2 strategists, the rest is all tactical and operational level. (I just read an article on military leadership levels today). I had to throw it in here. 
MountainFootball, many can have "brains," but if they have ego and narcissism with the brains, then it's a problem. Heck, only takes one at the top to have zero humility and narcissistic personality to crap the whole bed.

Agree.  He will not leave although he may regret it in a couple of years.  They have most of their talent coming back next year but they have to overcome some systemic issues.  They have to diversify their offense and stop being so tendency driven and they have to get back to being a physical, down hill blocking line like they were several years ago during the Adkins years.  They have the kids and size but they rarely dominate the LOS,   
 Also, please calls plays for your talent.  You have a good slot and a potential All-Region TE if you will use him.  
 

If you do that they would still be reliant upon local "in-house" assistants.  Not saying it is a bad idea at all, just that to get a clean sweep you would need a HC and 2-3 of his hand-picked assistants to be a package.  That is incredibly hard to do in high school sports.  I think in this scenario you can count anyone not in the SWD footprint as being an outsider.  

I suggest letting the School Board Supervisor of Secondary Education be the coach, after all he thinks he knows more about coaching football than anyone else, so let him show everyone how it is done.  

They had a two year run with basically zero key injuries and it looks like it caught up with them this year.  They will have to out-scheme the Bulldogs to win.   We will see if they can do that.  I'm not big on Tazewell defensively and I'm not big on RV's offensive scheme.  Maybe this will be the game they decide to try to get all the playmakers involved.  After watching this team last couple of seasons, I can't figure out the reasoning behind their usage rates for certain kids.  It seems like once a defense adjusts to stop a play, they stop using that kid as much.  They don't counter.  Hell, maybe the staff just like certain kids better and play favorites.  That would explain some of the decision making last two seasons. 

I
I've said this all year.  Region 2D is down this year but I've not followed the other regions enough to say 2D can't win it all.  Union has been the best team in 2D this year and I feel like they would have been the third best team last year. The individual talent is down, especially in the class of '24.  The class of '25 and '26 are shaping up to be good classes. 

Something tells me they have a good idea of who it is going to be already. 

I’m a true believer in real grass. I think at every level, football should be played on real grass.