sixcat

Mark Dixon brought the concept to Galax youth football in 2010. The idea is to get more kids involved and keep them involved longer. Read the "Building a Successful Program" thread for further detail. Here is an excerpt. First, what Dixon did was reestablish the sandlot program by convincing the recreation center to go to 8-man football and only allowing 10-11 players per team. No neighboring county wanted to be a part, saying it was doomed to fail, so Galax circled the wagons and does everything within the confines of the city. Participation is WAY up to the point of having 4 teams per age/grade level with 10 to 11 players per team. Prior to 8-man, Galax fielded a younger team and an older team with about 15-18 players per team. 8-man guarantees more playing time due to shear numbers. Sandlot coaches are forced to develop less talented kids they can no longer hide under the bench. A lot of those kids are obviously dropping football prior to high school for various reasons but many are sticking it out who might otherwise, not have. The biggest reason for dropping football in my opinion, is the demand on time generated by "The Breakfast Club". The younger teams consist of 3rd and 4th graders while the older team consists of 6th and 7th graders. The 5th graders are divided between the older and younger teams by size, age and ability. But I believe Redtiger is speaking in terms of implementing the concept for high school football.

But that wouldn't stack the deck in favor of Salem!

The issue I have with the current conditions is no attempt whatsoever has been made to improve field conditions as is. The worse it looks, the more likely corrupt school board members and city councilmen have in getting what they want!

It takes a little forethought and planning for rules changes and making sure coaches understand. The biggest being 6 men on the line of scrimmage for the offense, eligible receivers, and defensive front alignments. For some reason I have yet to understand, having 3 fewer kids on the field made coaches think anyone should be eligible to go downfield for a pass. I cannot begin to tell you how often kids "covered up" would go downfield and the coaches couldn't understand why it was a penalty that first season. It takes a little time to work out the rough edges but is well worth it. But if anyone implements this, expect pushback. Galax got plenty but stuck it out and 6 years later, are reaping the benefits.

I honestly thought this issue had been put to bed. Obviously, I was wrong! http://www.roanoke.com/sports/high_schools/galax-football-wars-in-might-be-contested-on-new-turf/article_0d2609ce-21a4-5021-a116-6a7c019b5e00.html

I haven't had anything on the menu that wasn't excellent. I don't eat wings so I cannot speak specifically for them but my wife and daughter love them.

Funny, for generations, Galax was the exact opposite. If dukey is a lifelong resident of this area and old enough to know of the family that owned the factories in Galax, he can attest to this. That family controlled everything. Who played, coached, taught classes, principal, mayor, superintendent, police, etc. etc. etc. Many of the old-timers talk about how they would dismiss the factory by department on election day with explicit instructions on who to vote for, especially for local elections.

Yeah, the Galax, Grayson, Carroll kids have been going back and forth for as long as I can remember. It isn't a big deal and nobody is bothered by it until one school starts winning regularly. For instance, my brother lived in Galax and played basketball at Grayson 20 years ago. I would imagine that would be no different for any other locality with multiple schools. In 2011-2012, all three local QB's, Conner Lundy (Carroll), Austin Pack (Galax) and Max Rodgers (Grayson) along with Salem QB, Matt Hill lived just around the corner from each other before Matt's dad took a job in Salem. As for Caleb and Josh Spurlin, their father is a teacher in the Galax school system as well as being the varsity wrestling coach so, I'm sure that plays a role. The kid who transferred from George Wythe mentioned above is a product of divorced parents with his father living in Wytheville and mother living in Galax. He attended Galax schools from kindergarten through 8th grade, George Wythe in 9th and 10th grade before returning to Galax last year. The only "recruit" I have been concerned about is the current QB. Not to go to far in-depth but he lives in Sparta, NC and has not been a positive addition to the community. I won't go any further publicly.

Galax had absolutely zero athletic history outside a few golf state championships and girls tennis prior to Mark Dixon's hiring in 2010. They had a football playoff record of 2-5 prior to Dixon. He equaled that playoff win total in his first season. First, what Dixon did was reestablish the sandlot program by convincing the recreation center to go to 8-man football and only allowing 10-11 players per team. No neighboring county wanted to be a part, saying it was doomed to fail, so Galax circled the wagons and does everything within the confines of the city. Participation is WAY up to the point of having 4 teams per age/grade level with 10 to 11 players per team. Prior to 8-man, Galax fielded a younger team and an older team with about 15-18 players per team. 8-man guarantees more playing time due to shear numbers. Sandlot coaches are forced to develop less talented kids they can no longer hide under the bench. A lot of those kids are obviously dropping football prior to high school for various reasons but many are sticking it out who might otherwise, not have. The biggest reason for dropping football in my opinion, is the demand on time generated by "The Breakfast Club". The younger teams consist of 3rd and 4th graders while the older team consists of 6th and 7th graders. The 5th graders are divided between the older and younger teams by size, age and ability. Second, he established "The Breakfast Club" and everyone in the community has bought in. "The Breakfast Club" is a weight lifting and film study program that begins at 6am every morning throughout the year. It has nearly a 100% participation rate among football players. Those who can't cut it generally drop out of football as a result but the kids hold each other accountable. Galax also has built in advantages in this aspect due to the size of the city and ease of access to the high school from almost anywhere within the city limits. Many players live within walking distance. What has been amazing, is seeing the older kids so willing to pass along the "tradition" and "work ethic" to the middle school kids under Dixon's watchful eye. Third, he has significantly beefed up the scheduling. In his tenure, Dixon has scheduled home-and-home series with Altavista, George Wythe, Giles, and Glenvar all during their state championship seasons as well as playing home-and-homes with Radford and Covington during that same time. The thought process being the more often you play "big games" the more prepared you will be to play "big games". Forth, Dixon believes in building from the inside out. That may not seem like the case given the rushing numbers that have been put up through the years but he develops offensive and defensive line play and lets everything else come together around that. His OL's are some of the most impressive units I have ever seen at the high school level, especially for 1A. His offensive zone blocking techniques are more complex by nature than some college programs run. And those kids run it to perfection. The success was immediate for Galax. As I stated before, Galax had a 2-5 playoff record prior to 2010. Dixon equaled that playoff win total in his first season and made a state championship appearance in his second. Dixon has a playoff record of 18-5. The talent has always been here, the organization, film study, weight program and coaching has not. As long as certain administrators don't ruin a great thing, the future is VERY bright. In my humble opinion, the middle school team has the potential to win multiple state championships. That is a special group of athletes!

East Mont beat Galax in the 2010 regional championship game before losing in the state title game to Riverheads. East Mont were a very good team from 2009-2010 but immediately returned to mediocrity the following year. They won 13 games in 2010 and have won 11 total games since. Grayson did beat Clintwood that season, soundly. Galax beat Grayson in the regular season finally fairly handily, 21-6, in a game that wasn't as close as the score would indicate. I was in attendance for both games. If Galax had played Grayson the night they trounced Clintwood, the result would have been similar. As coach Mullins stated after the game, Grayson would have given the Pittsburgh Steelers a game that night. Grayson finished 10-2 that season, losing to a Dan River team that featured all three Edmunds brothers. The proof is in the pudding so to speak. Clintwood played a tough schedule that season and didn't wilt under the pressure of playing another quality opponent in Galax. Battle tested teams rarely wilt when facing quality opponents.

UVAO is correct on several fronts. First, he is a UVA graduate making him the smartest person in the room, any room! Second, he is an attorney making him the smartest person in the room, any room! Third, he is a millennial making him the smartest person in the room, any room! ;) Seriously though, having a reasonable opinion doesn't mean someone is targeting you personally. Several people on this board have had a reasonable opinion that once Hurley faced stiffer competition, those lopsided scores would reverse. Facing your first serious test in the postseason rarely ends well. Graham fans aren't singling out Hurley fans, either. Several others, including myself, have tried to offer constructive criticism. Hurley had a special season against less than special competition but, as UVAO pointed out, the first reasonably talented team you face drubbed you. That reasonably talented team was then trounced a week later by GW. Then, you beef up future schedules by booking a home and home with Eastern Montgomery. Not exactly going for broke with that one! Galax learned a valuable lesson in the 2011 state title game when a battle tested Clintwood team smacked them in the mouth and didn't back down. Galax hadn't played a game all season where the final score was closer than, say, 45-10. They have since, significantly beefed up the schedule dropping Eastern Montgomery, Alleghany, NC, Craig County, and Floyd County in favor of Glenvar, Radford, Giles and George Wythe. That's beefing up a schedule! The result was a 6-4 regular season last year that still awarded them a #3 seed in the playoffs which resulted in a state championship. An 8-2 record this season gave them a #1 seed over 9-1 GW and 10-0 Hurley. History rarely ever lies and is fascinatingly accurate in predicting the future, if you're willing to listen to what she has to say. You invite the attitude you seeming despise when you come to this board with attitude to begin with. The only part of this post I wrote being a "sarcastic aZZ" was the first paragraph! Speak softly and carry a big stick. ~Theodore Roosevelt~

The best college football team in history couldn't beat the worst of NFL teams......ever! Great college football programs have, at best, 10 NFL players on the entire roster. Every player on an NFL roster is an NFL player.

Hell of a good football player.

Cody Journell. There was anorther kid who played in my day but I cannot remember his name. Steele, maybe?

Another excellent choice and a Galax staple. Creek Bottom is relatively new so a lot of people aren't familiar with it.

They keep 22 different craft beers on tap, updated every few days, along with hundreds more bottled. Let me know if you want directions. It's only a few blocks from the high school behind CVS.

I will give you a follow. As for restaurant recommendations, Creek Bottom Brew's should NOT be overlooked! The house lager is amazing!

CalPreps will only allow you to go back to 2001 and VHSL Reference to 1999.

I'm sure it happens, I just haven't experienced it. Given your BRJGT ties, I am sure there isn't much you haven't seen.

Results according to CalPreps Project A Matchup function....... Gate City '03 - 28 Appomattox - 31 Gate City '10 - 17 Appomattox - 31 Graham '03 - 24 Appomattox - 35 Giles '13 - 21 Appomattox - 35 Richlands '06 - 31 Appomattox - 33 Richlands '10 - 31 Appomattox - 30 Richlands '14 - 14 Appomattox - 31 Take it for what it's worth!

The last information I had was the game is at Galax. The local sports editor has been Tweeting out directions, restaurant recommendations and parking all day. Galax hosted Lunenburg Central in the 2011 state semifinal. As for internal issues, they have cropped up from time to time throughout the season and are very much enabled by administration. It's my understanding, Dixon isn't happy about it but it's out of his control. All things being equal, Dixon is masterful at knowing the opponents offense better than the opponent. If he can do that again against Riverheads like he did last season, Galax wins. Otherwise, this has the potential of being a one sided semi. I would also expect Casto to learn from the defensive sets Galax employed last year when Galax held a Casto offense to a career low in rushing yards.

It's difficult for a coach, any coach, to "fix" issues enabled by the administration the coach answers to.

I was wrong earlier. Galax doesn't have just north of 400 students. The actual figure is just south of 400, 383 to be exact. 90 seniors, 92 juniors, 111 sophomores and 90 freshmen. This isn't my opinion, it's fact!

Galax has a little north of 400 students.

Historically, CalPreps is far more accurate with predictions. But as you get deeper into the playoffs, it becomes more difficult.