I’m not entirely sure. Troy Barkley took over in the late 00’s and won 5 state championships before going to Pulaski, where he attended high school. Since that time, it’s been one-and-done.
Now that basketball is over , can we just fast forward to football? Not that the spring sports aren’t important just not as much fun as chewing the fat about football. Maybe baseball & softball get interesting but soccer? 😂😂😂😂
What the hell are you talking about, man? It's golf season!!!
Eastside with the championship trophy, but Coach Funk's with life's trophy!!!!
Awesome!!!
I knew Brock and his family well. He’s a Fries native, as am I. Brock’s dad is the head girls basketball coach at Grayson County. His sister is in administration at Galax.
Very happy for the whole Funk-Moore extended family!!!
Not everything requires mental gymnastics. This could very simply be a case where she moved when the family did. Not like she had another option. Then decided she didn't want to give up high school softball so she transferred to THS.
At the end of halftime auburn had a 7 point lead and stretched it to 12 points for the final. I do kinda agree that the calls one of the officials made was a bit of a difference maker. Calling 4 charges on Keene that were very questionable made him sit. That’s their leading scorer and biggest player and I do feel like he would have altered some of the shots auburn got
That’s what Auburn does. That’s what’s made them a dynasty in Class 1 basketball over the past decade. They are terrific at taking away your strengths and capitalizing from your tendencies. I’d bet money Millirons can describe in great detail, what he picked up on film to expose Keene the way he did.
Auburn always starts slow. Once they feel out their opponent, they make small adjustments and take advantage of what the opponent is doing.
Coaching matters and Auburn has the best in this state.
As the political divides continues, and it will, the next battle ground is going to be homeschooling vs public schooling. Currently, 20 states allow home-schooled kids to play high school sports (TN is one of them), five states allow it with the approval of local districts, five allow it if the students are partially enrolled in a public school program (my preferred option) and 20 states bar home-schoolers from public high school sports (of course Virginia and WV are in this group).
Ask yourself, how many kids are only going to public schools so they can play sports? It is quite a bit. Now, the smart states will get in front of this early before a competing league is established. The answer is to allow them to play as long as they are partially enrolled (which will allow the states to receive increased funding). The backwards answer is the complete ban/bar which, of course, our state does.
There is a homeschool girls basketball program locally called State Line Rush. They have sent a girl or two to college to play basketball every single year for over a decade. Not hard to see why Galax and Grayson County High Schools have seen a sharp decline in girls basketball talent in that timeframe. They fundraise like crazy and play all over the eastern seaboard. Probably play 50 games a year. Of the former SLR players that I know, one starts at George Washington currently, one starts at UT Chattanooga currently, and one started 77 games at Liberty between 2019-2023.
That is where I see youth athletics in the future. What State Line Rush is doing will be the rule rather than the exception.
Edit to add: That 2018 NACA National Championship SLR won (on Facebook link) was with an extraordinary team. All three D1 players mentioned above plus three girls that played D2 basketball in South Carolina and another that played D2 basketball at Lee University. One of the D2 girls was an All-America selection.
In my opinion, HS athletics is going to resemble Club Sports and/or Intermural Sports at the college level within the next few decades. The schools will provide space for the students to compete but nothing more, including coaches. Students will be responsible for paying their own freight and volunteers will coach. The competition level we have grown to expect at the high school level will transition to AAU type programs. High school athletics as we know them will be akin to what you see at your local recreation department.
That's my opinion but I think the evidence shows, we're already headed in that direction. I will use golf and tennis as an example of what football, basketball, baseball might resemble. Golf and tennis have almost exclusively moved over to the junior circuit similar to AAU over the past 30 years. Nobody in golf or tennis is recruited from the high school level to play in college. Recruiters go to USGA, AJGA, and USTA events. Not high school tournaments.
It may take more than 10 years to fully get to that level but I think, in 10 years, we will have a much clearer picture of where we're headed.
Edit to add: When thinking about this, take yourself and everyone in your generation out of the equation. Try to think in terms of how young people think. They are the ones that will be in charge of these decisions a decade or two down the road. I don't like it but it is what it is.
It’s just not a high school issue. Good coaches are disappearing at the college level too.
I agree but not for the same reasons, I don't think. Especially in terms of football. Coaches used to cut their teeth in high school and college 20 years ago before making it to the NFL. Now, they grow into themselves as young assistants in the NFL. The average age of an NFL head coach in 2000 was 53.6. In 2024, that average is 46.1. That might not seem impressive but, it's quite the leap.
Assistant coaches in the NFL is where the story really begins. The average age of an NFL assistant in 2000 was 50.3. In 2024, that average is 37.8!!!
Good coaches are disappearing from college but not disappearing in general. The good ones cut their teeth in the NFL now as opposed to the absolute train wreck the NCAA has become. I, for one, don't blame them. The NCAA has made such a mess of itself.
Emily Edwards of Galax won her second consecutive state championship in Shot Put with a throw of 40'-11-1/2". Breaking her Class 1 state record of 40'-6" from a year ago. She's headed to Australia this summer as part of the Junior Olympics.
Her dad played football and baseball at Haysi and Emory & Henry.
the VHSL is out for the VHSL and nothing else, they will not spend money to fight any of these lawsuits!!!! They could stop all of this if they wanted, If there not willing to do what is right then they need to fold and reorganize into another league!!! Also there may not be any money there to fight this as well!!!
I still don't think it's that simple. The LCA court ruling makes it a virtual impossibility that VHSL can reprimand anyone for recruiting. If LCA is allowed to participate in VHSL activities without having to give up it's ability to recruit anyone from anywhere, VHSL can't stop anyone else from doing so.
As I said in another thread, I urge anyone to go read and watch YouTube videos about how this has played out in Pennsylvania. We're exactly where they were in 2018.
Is the vHSL scared of Ty White? It sure seems like it to me.
I don't think this issue is that simple. The LCA lawsuit against VHSL was shocking to the system for an organization that had quite literally, never been challenged before. To lose that lawsuit in glaring fashion has sent VHSL reeling and they have absolutely no idea how to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
I've said it before and I will say it again, nothing is stopping any other program in Virginia from doing exactly what JM and/or Ty White is doing. Especially not VHSL at the present time.
I know some kids when they graduate High School, they already have a good year of college done because of AP stuff and all of that, but that's a lot of work
My daughter has 67 credit hours completed, taking 17 credit hours currently, and is in her second semester of college. She'll have 84 credit hours completed at the end of her first year of college.
I do believe that Lebanon's floor is full actual length as well!!! lots of gym's in the area actually have non full length courts!!!
Auburn's gym is not 94 feet. High school courts are only required to be 84 feet, which most in this are are. That might be something of an advantage for Honaker and take Auburn a little bit to get used to but I doubt it has any meaningful impact on the outcome. I know the guys that designed the Montgomery County schools in the decade between 2005 and 2015. In the link below, click the image in the center of the page. The gym is the 5th slide.
I think most in that age range are more wary of the required time commitment, combined with unrealistic expectations, and lack of security nowadays. If you want to raise a family, it’s much tougher now than in yesteryear. The stress and sacrifices are much greater with little increase in pay.
Whatever the reason, I don't see very many 20-somethings hang around more than a few years before moving on to something else. Most of the ones I know have moved completely out of the school system as a whole. Graduate from college, teach/coach for three or four years, leave for something completely different.
Honest question; How much longer before athletics as a whole are dropped completely from public schools? We all know it's coming. It's just a matter of time.
Theres not much of a youth movement with coaches locally, not sure why
Are there very many in that 20's to 30's age group to choose from?
It doesn't seem like a profession the younger generation is keen on getting involved in to me. Of the two jobs locally that were open after this fall, neither had an applicant under the age of 38. That 38 year old applicant landed one of those positions and turned 39 two weeks later.
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Jason Mullins out at Central
in SWVA Football
Posted
Alan Fiddler or one of his assistants?