About 25-30% of any given football team truly cares about representing their school/community and upholding the history/tradition of the program. It can be preached all you want but thats just the truth, granted that percentage is probably higher at certain schools.
How much did representing the school/community and history/tradition mean to the players at GC last year when their numbers were really low? Not trying to throw off on those kids or the program but its just the truth.
They had 46 last year which is usually the norm, so the numbers weren't low. Any school that goes 1-9 for 2 straight seasons will see a drop off in participation. This is the smallest number of kids I've seen GC have in 47 years of watching them, but after it's all over they may have the biggest heart of any team I've watched. They're not back yet, but I feel the foundation is being put down.
I think GC could get back to being a contender with the new coach and atmosphere. It will help with the Mcclung and Ervin era ending as the focus among the youngsters will gradually shift back to football for the school. It will take time for the consistency to come back through the youth programs.
I agree with this. The basketball team was exciting and fun to watch and more kids leaned towards basketball. If GC can pull off a few more surprises this season, it could light a spark for more kids to want to move back to football. Wasn't that long ago kids played both. I'm not sure what happened there.
I think folks are taking too much from the Hurley scrimmage. They flat hit Tennessee High in the mouth the week before and Richlands the week after. I'm not saying they're world beaters and I haven't even seen them in person yet. All I'll say is this bunch has confidence now, and still a huge chip on their shoulder. The town of Gate City has been starvin to death for a team that'll bust their hind ends for 48 minutes. I look for Legion Field to be rock'n and roll'n Friday night. Abingdon may win by 28 Friday night, but they could also run into a buzzsaw. Keep in mind, GC played them solid for the first half last year at Abingdon.
Gate City is much better and it's directly related to their offensive line. Their OL is going to create problems for opponents. From tackle to tackle on the OL, they are legit, but.....if you run, run, run and play defense and don't turnover, you shorten the game and that's typical GC.
3 of your first 4 opponents are going to beat you like you stole something. George Wythe and Union are also superior, and you play them away. There’s 5 losses that are darn near a guarantee. @John Battle, Marion, Central, and Sullivan South are toss-ups. You have one games that ekes into the “should win” category, and that’s the game against Lee.
If your new hire can get 6 wins out of that schedule, he’s AA Coach of the Year in my book. I think 3-4 is more likely.
My entire last sentence must've not came across as I intended.
I'm curious as to why 6-4 would be a "shock and awe" for GC. They lost 3 games last year by a combined 11 points that they should've won. Boone's off the schedule this year and they have an impoved coaching staff. Everybody's undefeated at this point so a little optimism is good.
I wish him a ton if success, if it is indeed Mr. Akers. Lord knows that he has had to deal with a ton of negativity. He is after all a human and is dedicating his time to coach young men. From an outsider looking in, nobody should have to endure the criticism that this man has endured while trying to coach kids. If it were me, I would have left a long time ago and focused on the people that matter in my life.
Should he have had a safe place and some crayons? Did you see his record at GC? If I don't do my job the way it's supposed to be done, my employer is going to be critical of me. If you're a football coach and you can't handle that, then that tells me all I need to know about you as a coach. Having said that, I do wish him luck in the future but it's going to take a lot of changing.
Fixing the Little League program is already on the to-do list from what I was told. It should've never been touched to begin with. It's going to take time but it'll get there.
Coaches have read these boards for years. OleTob was questioned about a comment he made on the old board at a game in the early 2000's by a coach...lol
I am kind of new to the DB scene, but yeah, I get the vibe that Christian isn't liked very much.
A guy that I work with at the Big E always refers to him as "our Akers". There's no doubt DB could become a monster if he ever made that decision, but I honestly don't think he will. He wants to be a Dad and that's very understandable. That's not to say they won't load up the Brinks truck and head that way in the future...lol
Not sure what it means to have "realistic expectations against bigger schools". GC has beaten "bigger schools" more than it's share. It just happened that the bigger school this time has a pretty darn good team that was ready to play. It also doesn't helping playing said bigger school after playing 4 games in 5 days. GC will be fine. I think folks need to pump the breaks.
I saw nothing wrong with the sign, or the response. If that's considered bad, they would've hung us from the train tressel in Moccasin Gap back in the 80's. My problem lies with intentionally taking a player out while they're in the air. I get the mouthing off at each other, making gestures, etc....that makes for an exciting game in my book, but to intentionally try to injure another person like that is bs.
Like Larry said, everyone was very positive on social media last night, including current and former players. I wouldn't be surprised if our numbers don't jump up quite a bit next year. If the kids stay this excited and will run through a wall for him like it appears, then good things should be ahead in the future. Wasn't long ago GC beat Graham 70-0. This week I'll be pulling for them in the state championship game. Hopefully the kids will buy in and stay positive.
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They had 46 last year which is usually the norm, so the numbers weren't low. Any school that goes 1-9 for 2 straight seasons will see a drop off in participation. This is the smallest number of kids I've seen GC have in 47 years of watching them, but after it's all over they may have the biggest heart of any team I've watched. They're not back yet, but I feel the foundation is being put down.